Cockers?

Hi! I'm a new member, but my own language is not english so please forgive me if i write something strange..
ok.. Does someone have a cocker spaniel? I love cockers myself, and i have two of my own, and my mum have three of them. And i'm speaking american cockers of course.. here in Finland we say american cocker, not just cocker.
Tell some stories about your cockers and what you do with them!

It's okay! Your english is better then some other americans I know.

I don't have a cocker but it is on my list of some of the breeds I am considering for the future. The ones I know tend to be very sweet and loving. How long have you been keeping them? How old are they? Tell us about yours.

my auntie has a cocker, but im not sure if its the english or american breed.
He is very cute though, and remained very playful even after reaching maturity and beyond. i take it tey are one of those dogs that never really grow up, lol

Cockers don't seem as popular as they used to be. I think they over bred them they started to get snippy. Hopefully that will change.

Yes, along with their popularity came the overbreeding part, unfortunately. They tend to have major ear and eye problems. My best friend has one, though, and she is very sweet.

It makes looking for a good breeder harder, but not impossable.

I love Cockers. Our neighbor had a wonderful female named Molly. Sadly, Molly isn't here anymore.

I had an American cocker and LOVED the little guy to pieces! They are a breed where you MUST go through a very well-established breeder, because they have been so overbred and it has resulted in a LOT of health problems, with eyes, skin, ears, etc...vets get dollar signs in their eyes when they see a cocker walk into the clinic.

Some can be snippy, but with a good owner they make great pets, they have a lot of personality and are such HAPPY dogs!

I've never met a snippy Cocker, to tell the truth. Molly was probably one of the sweetest dogs I've met.

I have "show cockers", and my youngest lady has a little too much temperament, but i haven't met any aggressive american cockers. English cockers still have problems with their behaviour. Here in Finland i mean. Those are going to a better way, but one of ours is a little bit "weird"..
I think there is much more cockers in America than here and so there are more problems? Yes, my own has problems with her ears and eyes but usually they are quite ok.

I got my first cocker when i was 7 years old. I call her "Nappi" and in english her name means "button". She is now 10 years, and a happy veteran-age girl. our hobbies were agility (we competed on third class! And she is almost Agility champion) and dog shows. Nappi is Finnish Champion and her "register name" is Comely Adorablebeauty. We don't compete anymore because she broke her knee at age of 8. But she is still my best friend and the most loyal partner.

My second cocker came to me last year. Serene Second Edition called "Samba" is wery temperament and hard to handle. She knows what she wants, and try every way to get it. Luckily i'm just as jackass as she is. So, we have sometimes a little fight to see who is who, but i always win.. We train agility and other sports like tracking, protecting and obedience, shows are not our case so much. This little lady is one and a halv years now.

My mum have three cockers "Elli"(5 years), "Armi"(7 years) and "Pekko Bäckström"(1 year).
Elli and Armi have a same father and Pekko is Elli's pup.

Those were my cockers. Could you tell me about yours?

Absolutely, generally the more 'popular' a breed gets the more irresponsible breeders get involved, and genetics tend to go downhill fairly rapidly.

I have a 3 yr old Cocker named Sadie. She's all black with White down her chest. When I got her at 7 months (around there) She had what they call "red eye" which is why nobody wanted her. arrrgh. Well she clung to me and was so sweet, I had to have her. When I brought her to the vet for the first time checkup, update shots and the like, the vet explained to me what red eye was. Apparantly, there is cartilidge (sp.?) right under their lower eye lid that will pop out and sort of go over the lower lid of their eyes and causes the eye to be red. My vet told me that there are two things that are done to correct it depending on who you go to. They can either cut the cartilidge completely out, therefore it won't pop back up in the future, or they can stitch the cartilidge back under the lid. (boy, I'm rambling, but hang in there for a bit, lol) Now, when my vet looked at Sadie, her right eye was clearly red eye and I knew that she had surgery on it before I got her. The vet concluded that they in fact, removed the cartilidge. She also informed me that her left eye needed the same surgery only she preferred to stitch instead. Soooo I made an appointment to get her spayed and the procedure done at the same time. Well, I got to tell ya, to this day, her left eye is perfect! and her right eye will still get red red red especially at the end of the day when she's tired.

She gets a yeast infection in her ears at least once a year I should buy stock in those eardrops I stock up on each year. lol (if I had a $1,000,000.00 .. la la la)

Other than that, I'd have to say that she's the most loving, affectionate, playful dog you'd ever meet (brownie points for mom) We tend to refer to her as the 'nanny' She's always looking out for us and never leaves your side. She took to Nora like she's been here all along. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better dog than Sadie. And ... no she is not snippy! hate that persona on her breed.

Sadie sounds like a winner !!! And she has you !

This is my Samba


Me and Samba


Samba on a oat field


My old pal Nappi waving

The best dog I ever had was a cocker. He was just the sweetest most loving dog. Unfortunately, he started going blind when he was about 6 yrs old. Then, I had to move and wasn't allowed to take him with me (stupid rules in a mobile home park about height and weight of dogs). I was never so heartbroken in my life. I found him a new home (and met my future husband in the process)...but the new owner passed away shortly after she took him. From there a neighbor of hers took him and after that....I lost track. I just hope he lived a long and happy life with someone who loved him as much as I did.
Cockers are still up there as one of my favorite breeds.

Pam

Cockers, when bred the right way, are beautiful. Though at work (I work at a vet), I do not like seeing one come in. It makes me sad to see how yucky the owners allow the ears to get. One came in the other day and had such a bad infection in it's ears, that it made raw spots on either side of the dog's mouth where the ears hung. It was terrible and stinks to high Heaven! I say when it comes to Cockers, go to an EXCELLENT breeder and ask if the parents had any problems with ears, teeth, skin... etc. I echo everyone else when I say it is just another overbred breed. Sad but true.

I can't believe I almost missed this thread!

I have a 3yr old buff American Cocker spaniel, Maddie. I've had her since she was 8wks. For me, it was rough screening the breeders. The breeder I finally found screened me as much as I screened her. She showed proof that eyes and hips were checked and good. Maddie is not show quality, but she is the best do I have ever had the priviledge of living with. She is my baby, and because of her excellent temperment I take her just about everywhere with me. Although Maddie obeys me near perfect, she only listens to others if she feels like it. She has tons of personality!
She is very bright and is eager to learn. She knows how to wave like in your picture of Nappi. What beautiful dogs you have! With Samba's full coat to you have problems keeping twigs and burrs off of him? Maddie and I go hiking through woods (no trails ) and I have to dedicate at least a half an hour to brushing her out afterwards, and she just has a medium length skirt.
My vet winced when he saw I got a vet, but with me keeping on top of her ears well (she's only had one ear infection in her life *crosses fingers*), and her being so sweet his only complaint is that her wieght varies everytime I see him.
We both get a little pudge in the winter, and then lose it during the warmer months
I know that Cockers don't have near as big problems now (in America) as compared to when there were incredibly popular... The 'good' breeders are working on it