How to Prepare for a Cavachon Puppy

As you might have seen on Instagram, my husband and I recently added a new member to our family - Ruby, a Cavachon puppy! Cavachon’s are a mix between a Cavalier King Charles and a Bichon Frise and they’re adorable.

Now that we’ve had a month with our sweet girl, I wanted to share how you too can prepare for a Cavachon puppy - or any small puppy breed for that matter!

Do Your Research

Here are a few things we did to prepare mentally for a puppy:

READ! We enjoyed Puppies for Dummies as it will be a good resource throughout the life of our dog and How to Raise the Perfect Dog because we have become very into Cesar Millan in preparation for a dog. (Highly recommend watching The Dog Whisperer on Disney+ to get ready for training your dog.)
Find a vet. It was such a relief to already have a vet picked out before we brought our puppy home.
If you’re raising a puppy with a partner, establish your house rules. It was really helpful to already be on the same page with what our dog was allowed to do or not to do before we brought her home.
Write down a puppy schedule. This is something I wish we had done sooner! Figuring out your schedule ahead of time really helps with house training.

Go Shopping!

We did a big Chewy and Amazon order before the puppy to get most everything we needed. I’d recommend going with your gut on what you need immediately and what you want to wait to grab. For us — we waited to get a harness for Ruby until we met her and could really gauge her size (and style ;) ).

Crates: We definitely recommend create training to help with house training and keep your sanity in those moments when you can’t have your eye on the puppy at all times. Since we’re in a town house and knew we wanted Ruby to sleep in our bedroom, we opted for two crates. One large open crate (make sure to get one with a divider!) that we keep in our main room that she can grow into, and another travel-sized crate that doubles as her bedtime crate. We’ve lined both with old towels (plus an extra one underneath in case of accidents) so have those ready as well. Speaking of house training - don’t forget to grab a great cleaner for when your pup inevitably has an accident!
Bed: Cavachon’s are cuddly dogs so a cozy bed is a must. Ruby loves placing her head on the edge of a bed so I’d recommend something with sides. One note - since puppies are teething and figuring out how to treat their bed, I’d recommend opting for a less expensive bed to start and maybe upgrade your dog to something fancier once they’re older.

*Ruby loves sleeping half in and half out of her bed. We recommend getting a bed with sides to accommodate any and all of your pup’s crazy sleeping configurations.*

Gates and Playpens: One of the big things we read and stuck to was to limit the puppy to only certain areas of your home in the beginning. We live in a townhouse and decided to block off one floor (the non-carpeted one!) as the main floor for Ruby. To do that, we installed baby gates that have worked really well. In addition, we set up a playpen on another floor to keep her entertained in my husband’s office while he’s working, which has worked out great. We’ve also used the playpen outside.
Food and Treats: We grabbed Purina Puppy Pro Plan per our breeder’s recommendation. I definitely bought a gigantic bag accidentally and thank goodness Ruby likes it! Learn from us and don’t buy the biggest bag just in case your pup doesn’t like it. We also grabbed this chic dog food bowl. Don’t forget to grab a silicone placemat to put underneath for when they inevitably spill water or food. For treats, we opted for a wide variety of treats and put them in a mixed bag so that she’s always on her toes about which treat she’s getting next. I’ve really liked these mini Zuke’s treats for training.
UPDATE: Now that Ruby is older and able to go to the dog park, this water bottle has been wonderful! It’s easy to carry, doesn’t spill, and is SO easy for the dog to use. (Literally everyone in our dog park has one!)

*Ruby’s first day with her dog bowl — she has since learned how to properly eat from it :)*

Toys: For a Cavachon puppy, I’d recommend getting at least one cuddly-type toy and then quite a few chew toys. Puppies are figuring out how to use their mouths and teething so Ruby has really loved chew toys like this bone. The other must have is the Kong toy. Ruby has two so that one can always be in the freezer ready for use. She normally gets these when she’s in the crate and loves it. (Check out this video for tips on how to use the toy.)

*Ruby loves this monkey toy because it has the rope part for chewing and fetching and the plush/squeaky side for playtime.*

Walking: Similar to dog beds, we picked a pretty straight forward collar and leash knowing that we’d likely get new ones down the road. Opt for a collar and leash that are reflective for late night potty runs. We didn’t pick out her name in advance so we hopped over to PetSmart and used their dog tag machine to make a tag for her once we decided on a name. In addition, we got the mega pack of poop bags so we’re stocked up for a while. We also grabbed these portable bowls for long walks in the summer!
Travel: Make sure to grab a puppy-friendly seatbelt for your new fur baby. We tried a bunch of different seat protector options and the Car Pet has far and away been the best. It’s a little pricier but it stays put, looks nice, and is so cozy for Ruby. Use code “KRISTA65063” for 15% off!
Grooming: Cavachon’s need to be brushed consistently so grab a good brush and some puppy shampoo for their monthly baths. (We recommend blow drying your pup so make sure their ears stay warm and dry after their bath!)
Update: Ruby favors the Cavalier side may more than the Bichon side and, as a result, sheds more than a traditional Cavachon. We’ve found the Furminator brush as a must-have to keep her shedding in check.
Health: Small dogs tend to have more dental issues so it’s good to get them used to brushing their teeth early. We’ve tried this finger toothbrush and some puppy toothpaste but the real winner is this miracle — you put a few drops in your pup’s water and it works to combat tartar build up as they drink!