English Cocker Spaniel

Grooming Tips

Brush the English Cocker’s medium-length coat two or three times a week to prevent or remove mats and tangles. You may also need to trim it for neatness every couple of months. A bath every six weeks or so doesn’t go amiss. The coat sheds moderately, but regular brushing will help keep loose hair from floating onto your floor, furniture, and clothing.The rest is basic care. Trim the nails as needed, usually every couple of weeks. Brush the teeth frequently for good overall health and fresh breath. Most importantly, keep the ears clean and dry to prevent bacterial or yeast infections from driving your dog into a state of itchy madness.

Exercise Tips

There is no such thing as too much exercise for the English Cocker Spaniel. This breed needs daily exercise, so take it for a walk or run, or even train it for dog competitions. The English Cocker Spaniels excels at hunting, retrieving and agility competitions.

Feeding Tips

A well-balanced diet is essential to a healthy and happy English Cocker Spaniel. Choose a premium brand and feel free to rotate different flavors of the same brand. They should be fed a high-qualitydog foodappropriate to the dog’s age (puppy, adult, or senior) and activity level. Some English Cockers are prone to gettingoverweight, so watch your dog’s calorie consumption and weight level.Treatscan be an important aid in training, but giving too many can cause obesity. Give table scraps sparingly, if at all, especially avoiding cooked bones and foods with high-fat content. Learn about whichhuman foodsare safe for dogs, and which are not. Check with your vet if you have any concerns about your dog’s weight or diet.

Health Tips

Although the English Cocker is overall a healthy breed, some genetic health conditions are known to occur occasionally. These include progressive retinal atrophy, hip dysplasia, familial nephropathy, and adult-onset neuropathy.Responsible breeders will have their breeding stock tested for conditions that can affect the breed. The English Cocker’s ears should be checked regularly for signs ofinfection, and theteethshould be brushed often, using a toothpaste designed for dogs.

Trainability

English Cocker Spaniels are intelligent dogs and can be trained for a variety of activities. This breed is often trained to compete in dog competitions in agility and obedience. For an early age, you should start basic obedience. As well, the English Cocker Spaniel is sometimes difficult to housebreak.As well as being smart, this breed’s temperament makes them obedient and loyal. The female English Cocker Spaniel is known to be a bit stubborn, but once you make it clear who is the boss, your dog will obey your commands willingly.If you are taking your English Cocker Spaniel with you on the hunt, training is relatively simple, as this dog instinctively knows how this relationship is supposed to work.

The English Cocker Spaniel breed emerged in England from a more general spaniel-type dog breed. When the breeds were divided, seven different ones emerged. These breeds include theEnglish Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Clumber Spaniel, Sussex,Welsh Springer Spaniel,Field Spanieland IrishWater Spaniel. The Springer Spaniel and the Cocker Spaniel were lumped into the same division for a time with only size differentiating the two.This was true until 1892 when the Kennel Club of England recognized them as separate breeds. The English Cocker Spaniel is a gun dog that was utilized for flushing out the prey, driving it towards the hunters and their guns. The name “Cocker” comes from the Woodcock, a game bird that the English Cocker Spaniel would frequently flush out. Other talents exhibited by the English Cocker Spaniel are retrieving, agility, tracking, watchdog, and competitive obedience.