Cocker Spaniel – Common Information

June 7th, 2017 Filed under: Cocker Spaniel

History Breed

According to the history, Cocker Spaniel firstly originated in Spain and got their name ‘Cocker’ because they were used to hunt on the bird called woodcock.

Medium-sized, active and punchy breed became perfect gun and spotting ‘helpers’ usually used for fur and feather in the flushing games.

Temperament

Today, Cocker Spaniel is also a loyal and affectionate companion for people. Once you have a Cocker Spaniel you will never want to have any other breed of dog.

Cocker Spaniels are perfect watchdogs: they will always notice you of a stranger approaching your house. However, if you know this person, a dog will be very friendly and extremely loyal towards ‘recent’ unknown man.

Cocker Spaniels are cheerful dogs who will be a nice companion for your kid to play with. If you buy a Cocker for your child, there will be a lot of funny and active games. At the same time, Cocker Spaniels are very gentle with children.

Some Cocker Spaniels will be a little bit stubborn, but, however, Cocker is an easy breed to train and teach.

Recommendation: start to teach your Cocker basic commands since the very puppyhood: the dog should definitely know the commands: ‘Sit!’, ‘Come!’, ‘Stop!’, ‘Don’t do it!’ Since a dog is very active, it would be difficult to control it without these commands.

Sometimes, Cocker Spaniels can be a little bit timid, that is why it is important to socialize your puppy in the ‘society’ of other dogs to make it happy and self-confident in the future.

Characteristics

Cocker Spaniels are medium-sized dogs with sturdy and compact body. Its tail (docked or long) is always wagging whether he’s following a scent or checking to see what’s under the couch. Cocker Spaniel has a refined head with big pendant ears and round dark eyes.

Cocker Spaniel are extremely active dogs with medium to high endurance.

Their coats are very silky and smooth, however, long hairs always need a lot of grooming. Cockers shed just moderately. The dogs may be of various colors: liver, black, black and tan, golden, red, chocolate and any other combination of these colors and patterns that make Cockers’ coats very interesting.

Health Facts

In general, Cockers are healthy dogs, however, as every purebreed, these dogs have some diseases and conditions that they are prone to:

Skin problems (allergies, atopic dermatitis).
Ear problems (yeast infections, ear mites).
Eye problems (Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), glaucoma, cataracts, ‘cherry eye’).

Other health issues:

Hip Dysplasia;
Familial Nephropathy (FN);
Immune mediated thrombocytopenia(IMT);
Pancreatitis;
Heart and liver problems;
Kidney failure;
Patellar luxation.

Be careful! Do not forget to visit your vet at least once in 3 months and make a self-check twice a week.

Diet

You should take care for its daily diet and feeding schedule. Remember, that dog nutrition should be reach in protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber: the best choice for a Cocker Spaniel is natural food of a high quality. The fact, that Cockers are prone to obesity, is also very essential.

Warning! As Cockers are prone to food allergies, try to find good hypoallergenic dog food.