They are much happier than they look. (Cocker Spaniels)

Member Name: goosey

Product:	Cocker Spaniels
Date:	14/07/09 (397 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A lifetime of loyalty and friendship

Disadvantages: none

Well - I have talked at length about Moses ( my Collie cross), Bingo, my Cairn Terrier and mentioned Mollie, my Yorkie.
But now, at the risk of boring the pants off non-dog lovers, I would like to tell you a bit about my Black and white Cocker Spaniels; Nelson and Monty, both of which were as different as chalk is from cheese, especially in the health department.
But First, a little about Spaniels in general.

Essentially, there are ten spaniel breeds, but the four most familiar breeds are; the Springer, King Charles, English Cocker and American Cocker Spaniel. Of the four breeds, the Springer is the most bouncy and energetic, the King Charles Spaniel is the smallest. The English and American Cocker Spaniels, generally being the more placid of the four and the American spaniel a smaller version of the English cocker. All spaniels have long, wide ears which droop down to the shoulder. The actual length of the ear lobe is about four inches, but appears much longer because of the feathering effect of their fur.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
COCKER SPANIELS
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first Cocker spaniels were imported from America in the 1880s and because of their short, sturdy and compact bodies, which are capable of considerable speeds, they were bred mainly as gun-dogs for sporting activities such as fetching pheasants and rabbits shot by hunters. Although today, they are more likely to be trained as 'Sniffer dogs,' working with police or other security networks. The remainder, of course, become our faithful buddies.

~~~~~~~
FEATURES
~~~~~~~

The Cocker Spaniel head is dome shaped, those appealing, dark brown coloured eyes are slightly almond shaped. The ears are set on a line level with the lower lid of the eye, and droop towards the shoulders and often are seen almost touching the ground. (usually in show dogs.) The muzzel is broad and deep; the upper lips droop and overlap the lower jaw.
They have strong muscular bodies, standing about fifteen inches high, their body length about twenty inches. The tail, being almost as long again. But for potential working dogs only, the tails, I believe are docked at birth,

The breed come in a variety of colours; for example, brown, black, black and tan, blue roan, black and white and liver and white. The coats can grow very long and thick so will need a great deal of care and attention to prevent matting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUALITIES AND TEMPERAMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cockers are highly intelligent, and respond well to training for they seem to have an intuitive knowledge of their master's mood. They are also very manipulative.
They have a sweet temperament, are good with children and extremely loyal to their masters. My two Cockers have shown that to be true, but more on that later.

A throw back from their gun-dog instincts to fetch game, maybe seen in their desire to carry items in their mouths, such as newspapers, rocks, sticks or mouth-sized logs. My two would be forever bringing the outside into my home - I could have built a rockery with all the stones that had passed through my doorways, in their lifetimes, and as for newspapers; part of our morning walk was to fetch the paper. Both would want to carry it home - all well and good, as long as it wasn't raining. If it was - TOUGH! Neither would let go until we arrived home, the paper by then resembling a long, drooping Mexican moustache.

The manipulative trait in their personalitys was all too plain to see.
If I dropped an item, it was a race between me and the spaniel to pick it up, the dog usually won. He would take it to the kitchen where I kept their 'treats' and only give the item back to me on the command "Swap?" - more of a question than a command. They would then release the object into my hand and take the treat offered as a swap. Cunningly clever and not at all unusual.

~~~~~~~~~~
HEALTH ISSUES
~~~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately, with all the inbreeding that occured in the late 1930s, many of the cocker related problems still occur. The most common in Cockers are:
EARS:
Some Cockers are prone to ear infections because debri such as seeds, hair and mites are trapped beneath the large drooping lobes. The ear canal drops at right angles, so any infected materials cannot escape easily, and often making treatment long and difficult.
Monty was troubled by this and had his ear canal resected, before the infection was successfully treated.
EYES:
Some Cockers are prone to ingrowing eyelashes, an extremely painful condition. I don't know the medical term for it, but it is where the eye lashes grow inwards towards the eye ball causing scaring and blindness if not treated.
Monty was also stricken with that problem which thankfully, was quickly and successfully resolved with an operation to pull the lid up and back from the eye.
DIET:
I have not met a Cocker Spaniel that is not hungry, even after having a dish full of food. Both Monty and Nelson were piggy in that respect and would eat whatever was put in front of them and still want more. When I say 'eat,' I meant 'sucked' straight past their teeth and down their throats, as in the actions of a strong vacuum cleaner.
So Cockers are prone to becoming overweight.
ALLERGIES:
Poor Monty, he was allergic to Gluten and also had a yeast infection, so had to be fed gluten free foods and where possible yeast free foods, and bathed using a special ( expensive) shampoo.
EPILEPSY:
Although not that common, I believe that the tan coloured Cockers, are more prone to developing epilepsy than most. Fortunately neither of my dogs did.

~~~~~~
LOYALTY
~~~~~~

The loyalty of Cocker Spaniels to their owners is second to none. This has been demonstrated to me on two occasions by each of my own spaniels, Nelson and Monty.

Nelson, a black and white cocker spaniel, was born in 1984. He was the 'runt'of a litter of seven, but in fact he turned out the healthiest. He had a tiny white patch in his eye, and so the breeders called him Nelson and sold him to me for £30, because "He was no good" as breeding stock according to the breeder.
I bought it for my mother, who lived 120 or so miles away, she had just lost her dog, so I thought Nelson would help her get over the loss a bit more quickly.
A year later, my sister told me that Nelson was too strong for my parents to handle, so I fetched him and kept him for myself. He settled down well, but whenever I took him home to my parents for a visit, he would not go anywhere without them, they could take him for walks, but I couldn't unless they came with us. His loyalty to them had not diminished one iota, even when apart.

Monty, also a black and white cocker, was born in 1995, a few months after I lost Nelson. His demonstration of loyalty became evident when he was ailing with kidney failure eleven years later. He was very poorly, but still bright-eyed, I needed to go into town to fetch some special diet for him, but not wanting to leave him on his own, I asked a kind neighbour and friend to us all, to just sit with him until I returned. I changed out of my 'doggy-clothes' into more appropriate clothing. At this point Monty would always know that I was about to leave for a short while. This time, he threw his head back, and for the first time ever, he howled, a long piercing howl. I had to change back into my 'doggy-clothes' before he would stop. It was plain to see that he did not want me to leave him. I lost him the following day, when his eyes no longer shone, the vet was called in to help him into the next world.
I leave you with a poem I wrote about his frequent visits to the vets. It just about sums up the characteristics of a cocker spaniel - sweet, manipulitive, loyal, and appreciative. I think Monty had most of the ailments common to Cocker spaniels, but for the best part of his life he was happy.

~~~~A letter To The Vets From A Cocker Spaniel~~~

You know me as Monty and other names too,
Like Treasure and soldier or My-chickaroo.
I am sometimes called Grumpy, Stubborn or Pest,
Which seems to apply when I'm not at my best.

Well - I've been plagued on and off for several years
with problem eyes and very sore ears,
Then to add to my troubles;I'm forced to endure,
long trips in the car, which unsettles me more.
I yowl and growl - but always in vain,
For I know we'll end up at the vets - yet again.

Oh if only my owner would listen to me,
then she might understand my heart-rending plea.
More food's what I need to cure all my ills,
Not injections, eardrops or pink and white pills.

Although - on reflection, I s'pose, must admit,
that since all these visits, I feel fairly fit.
Perhaps its' the smiles and kind, tender care
I receive at the surgery from everyone there.
More like - it's the increase in tit-bits I get,
but my owner says "No - it's all down to the vet."

So- just incase what she says may be true
I'm sending my thanks to each one of you,
with some pigs ears and bones to enjoy with your tea,
Originally bought by my owner for me.

But - I'd be grateful, however, regarding my meals,
if you're mindful how good an extra snack feels
and so understand that you have to keep quiet,
else my owner will put me straight back on a diet.
For if, by chance, she is wrong and i'm right,
a reduction in food could well worsen my plight.
(Goosey 2005)

Summary: Two Cockers, one perfect in every way, the other perfect in every way except in health