What about all that hair?!

One of the most common things I hear from people when they meet my Cockers is, “that’s a really cool dog, but I don’t think I could handle cleaning picking all of the burrs off of them when I got done hunting!” So, I thought I’d take a post to discuss how I maintain their coats and the amount of trouble their long hair is after a hunt.

I’ll never forget the first time Macy really got into the burrs. I took her for a walk down a local trail and let her off lead. When she came out of the brush she was absolutely COVERED in burrs. They were the small kind, the ones that are about half the size of a pea (I have no idea what their technical name is), and her ears were almost green from the sheer amount of burrs they contained. She also had them on other parts of her body, but the ears were by far the worst. I tried picking them out with my hands, but it only caused pain for her, and I was getting them out at a rate of about one every ten seconds. At that rate, it literally would have been a two hour job getting her de-burred! Her ears were so thickly matted I didn’t think there was anyway that a comb would do any good, but my wife (I have to give her the credit) suggested I try it anyway. I started running the comb over her at a rapid pace, without trying to dig the comb into her hair, and the burrs started flying. It turned a two hour job into a ten minute job, and although Macy came out of it with some pretty bushy looking ears, all of the burrs were gone. I’m now an avid user of the comb!

While the comb is certainly the most effective tool that I have discovered for removing burrs, there are a couple of other preventative measures that I use to minimize the amount of burrs they bring home with them in the first place. First, I keep their hair trimmed. While I refuse to take my Cockers to a groomer, if I keep their hair trimmed they look nicer and pick up fewer burrs. I pay particular attention to their ears, but also trim the feathering behind their legs. While I wouldn’t enter them in a show contest after one of my “home cuttings” I also haven’t had anyone criticize my work either. I would caution against using a clipper to cut their hair.  I have never used a clipper on either of my Cockers, but I have known others who clipped their Spaniel’s hair and it came back as a big, puffy, mess. While it was great when it was trimmed, when it grew back they were absolute burr magnets. You’d be much better off just using scissors and only trimming the long areas (legs and ears).

Second, I have discovered a product call Show Sheen that does an excellent job helping their coats repel burrs. You can find it in about any farm store, or just order it online. It’s original purpose was to make horses look shiny in the show ring, but it works great for Cockers too. Follow the directions on the bottle, but you essentially just spray them down and comb it through their hair, then let it dry. It leaves their coats feeling extremely soft and silky, and my experience has been that they don’t pick up as many burrs, and the burrs that they do pick up are removed relatively easily. I generally apply Show Sheen on a weekly basis so that they are always ready to get in the field.

Third, the healthier you keep your Cocker’s coat, the more naturally resistant they will be to burrs. I feed them a high-protein food, and regularly add eggs to their diet. This makes their hair naturally shiny and soft. I’m sure that feeding fish oil would have the same effect as eggs, but I find one or two eggs per weeks does the trick and they are cheap if you buy them on sale. Besides, my dogs absolutely LOVE eating them!

Lastly, regardless of what you do, the coat on a Cocker will always be higher maintenance than a short-haired dog. There is no way around that. However, I don’t hold it against them at all. In fact, I kind of like the “mandatory socialization” that I get with my Cockers after a hunt. It gives me a chance to praise them for their hard work, helps them trust me as I pull out burrs in painful locations (like in an armpit—err legpit), and gives me a chance to look for any injuries incurred in the field. It also helps to keep in mind that it ain’t easy lookin’ that purty!

Is a Cocker Right for You?

I have to imagine that some of the people viewing this blog are not Cocker owners, but simply want to learn more about the breed so that they can make an educated decision on whether or not they want to get a Cocker. I remember being in your shoes, and feeling frustrated that I couldn’t find more information! So, here is my honest take on who the Cocker would be a good fit for.

The Cocker as a whole is a very personable, intelligent dog. If you work a 8AM-5PM job and have a busy life in the evenings, DON’T get a Cocker! Both of my Cockers are indoor dogs, and they get lots and lots of attention. I make sure to take time for them every single day, and they thrive in this kind of environment. I know many Cocker owners keep their Cockers in outdoor kennels and they do well in that environment, but their owners still give them lots of time and attention each day. I strongly recommend not getting a Cocker if you don’t have adequate time to devote to it. Their personality just wouldn’t be able to handle not getting attention.

The Cocker is also not an extremely durable dog. I have heard them described as “tough but not durable” (I think that came from one of the links listed on the right). Meaning, they can take a beating and keep going, but they can only do it for so long. I experienced this first-hand when I took Macy on the Quail hunt to the Panhandle. After nine hours of abuse the first day, she was pretty tuckered out the next day. However, on a recent four day hunt in KS, I alternated my Cockers in and out of the field and they both held up extremely well for the four days of hunting. If you tend to long days in the field and hunt frequently (3+ days a week), one Cocker is probably not going to suit your purposes.

If you are an avid duck hunter in a cold climate, the Cocker is probably not a good choice for you either. Both of my Cockers absolutely love water, but when the temp starts to drop, the water starts to lose its appeal. Hunting ducks in sub-freezing temps with a wet Cocker is going to take some extra precautions from you (I’m experimenting with those precautions right now), or you’ll need to leave your Cocker at home.

Those are the negatives of the Cocker, but the Cocker can also be an excellent fit for some people! Obviously I am partial to them, and here are my reasons.

First, their compact size is very conducive to living in town. When I purchased Macy I was living in a medium sized apartment, and she still fit in just fine. Their smaller size allows me to take my Cockers a lot of places that I probably wouldn’t take a larger dog. Their compact size also has other advantages, like not eating much food (Macy gets 1 1/3 cup/day, Rocky gets about 2 cups/day), less waste in the yard, etc. Their small size made it easy for me to justify getting a second Cocker, and I keep telling my wife that I can get at least one more before their combined weight equals an averaged sized Lab!

Second, my Cockers are extremely quiet. The only time that I hear them make any noise is when they are play-fighting with each-other. Oftentimes our neighbor’s dog will be yapping away, and my Cockers just stand at the fence and look at them like, “why are you barking? I don’t get it…” In the UK, where my Cocker’s ancestors are from, any sort of noise out of a Cocker is worthy of elimination in a field trail. So, if you purchase a Cocker from good field trail lines, you have an excellent chance of getting a Cocker that is not going to make noise.

Third, Cockers are tenacious hunters, and a blast to hunt with. They are always extremely intense in the field, and I have to laugh at other people that talk about “increasing the prey-drive of their dog.” My Cockers do not need an increase in their “prey-drive”; they come with HUGE drive right out of the box! They will go non-stop as long as I let them, and I am confident that they would continue hunting as long as I let them, right up until they couldn’t move anymore. At the end of the day they might not be able to open their eyes because they’re so tired, but while they’re hunting they will not show it. Their small size is also great for warmer weather hunting. The tend to not over-heat as quickly as larger dogs due to their size. On the other hand, I have hunted Macy in sub-zero weather and she has handled it just fine. As long as they keep moving, they are fine.

Fourth, Cockers make good duck hunters in the right conditions. Their small size makes it easy to fit them in almost any blind, and they have no problem making long water retrieves. I am looking at getting a kayak to hunt ducks out of, and it appears to me that either of my Cockers would be able to comfortably sit in the cockpit with me.

In summary, if you don’t have time to put into your Cocker, or if you are expecting a dog that you can hunt all day every day with, the Cocker might not be the right fit for you. Or if you hunt ducks in very cold temps, again the Cocker might not be a good fit. But, if you’re looking for a dog that is a companion, intelligent, friendly, is easily kept in the house, hunts hard, is a real go-getter, and is down-right fun to watch, you need to look into getting a Cocker!

Housekeeping

There are a couple of quick things I’d like to mention:
First, please notice the labels at the top right of the blog. This will allow you to easily navigate through all past posts based on their content.
Second, please notice the “subscribe” label further down on the right hand side. This is a way that you can automatically be informed when I write a new post. Please subscribe!  For now I am updating the blog daily. In the future, it my slow down to several times per week. This subscribe feature is handy!
Third, don’t be shy to use the comment feature at the end of every post. I’d love to get your input, and if you have something to add to what I wrote, I think we would all appreciate reading it. I’d like this site to be as interactive as possible, and the best way to do that is to use the comment feature! Besides, if no one is commenting, I might have to start leaving comments on my own posts, and that would be weird…

What is a Field Bred English Cocker Spaniel?

At the end of this post I will include links to a couple of detailed descriptions about the ECS, but I wanted to take a stab at describing the two cockers that I have the pleasure of owning. While they both have their idiosyncrasies, they also have similarities that I believe are prevalent throughout the breed.
The ECS breed is a happy breed in general. They are constantly wagging their tales and they love people. They also are incredibly loyal and attached. I cannot walk from the kitchen to the living room without my cockers following me. They always want to be with me. When I take a shower, they will sit outside of the shower waiting for me to finish…they literally try to go anywhere that I go. The breed also tends to be very biddable. That is, they generally want to please their owner. Because of this, I do not own an e-collar for my dogs, and I have not desire to purchase one. While they are not always perfect angels, generally a harsh word or a little scruff of the neck is all that it takes to get them in line.  My dogs are also excellent with kids. I had Macy for almost a year before my daughter came along, and while that was definitely an adjustment for Macy, she still does an excellent job of tolerating the baby. Rocky, on the other hand, did not know life “pre-baby” and assumes that being pulled on, sat upon, and yelled at (yes, my daughter yells at the dogs) is a part of life.
As far as a hunting dog goes, the ECS excels in-spite of its size. They go hard and they can go all day long. While there are certain types of cover that are more difficult for the cocker to penetrate, they will never give up. I have found that they sometimes struggle in thick, deep, water-way type grass (and what dog doesn’t?) However, in the types of cover that most upland birds frequent they have no difficulties getting around. On a number of occasions, My cockers have amazed other hunters at their ability to get through thick cover all day long. The cocker goes through cover in a somewhat unique way. If the cover is very thick, they will often “bounce” through the cover. This is one of those things you kind of have to see to understand…it’s hard to explain. If the cover isn’t too thick, or if it is scrub oaks, or high horseweeds, cockers will keep their nose to the ground and “thread” their way through the cover. My opinion is that the small size of the cocker is a distinct advantage over larger breeds in many types of cover. They are able to get through the cover using minimal energy because they aren’t forcing their way through.
As to appearance, in a lot of ways the ECS looks like a Springer Spaniel that got its legs cut off at the knees. They also have a broad, deep chest for their size. The ECS eye’s are set back in the eye socket so as to avoid being injured or picking up debris while going through cover. Their ears are long, but not long to the point of being ridiculous; they are also set higher on the head than a show cocker. The color of a ECS is about any color combination that you can imagine. While not an exhaustive list, some of the colors are black, liver, red, golden, black and white, liver and white, black and tan, etc. Some have heavy ticking, others have no ticking at all. The cocker can weigh anywhere from 20lbs all the way up towards 40lbs. However, the upper 20’s seem to be about the norm. Macy weighs anywhere from 27-28lbs and Rocky is currently weighing in at 27 pounds, although he is not done growing yet. Males tend to weigh more than females.
More information about the breed confirmation can be found using the following links:
http://www.ecsca.org/fieldbredecs.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Cocker_Spaniel (you’ll have to pick through this article…it’s not all directed at the field bred ECS)
And some pictures to keep it interesting (did anyone actually read anything that I wrote above?!)
 

Just Another Blog? I Hope not!

There seem to be an abundance of blogs on the internet. Some are simply a venue for the spewing of opinions. I have no use for those blogs. Don’t flatter yourself by thinking that other people actually care what you think, much less will take the time to read it. Other blogs are running biographies. There’s nothing wrong with these blogs, but their target audience is generally a small circle of people. My desire for this blog is that it will fall under a different category. I want my blog to be the hub of everything Cocker in the United States. Specifically, Field Bred English Cocker Spaniels.
You see, almost three years ago I decided that I wanted to research and potentially purchase a Field Bred English Cocker Spaniel (from here-on-out to be referred to as ECS). I looked high and low and found a very limited amount of information about this breed. The information was essentially limited to one article from a magazine and then whatever I could find from breeder’s websites. The article was helpful, but I knew that the breeder websites would be biased since they were trying to sell their pups. While I was finally convinced to buy an ECS, I feel that the breed is not receiving the attention that’s due it, and that many potential ECS owners never get to that point due to a lack of information.
So, here my objectives for this blog are as follows:
1) To provide detailed, accurate, and relevant information about the breed in general
2) To provide articles that focus solely on the ECS breed
3) To be a resource for locating relevant ECS products
4) To be a sounding board for anyone that has an ECS related question
My hope is that this blog will be useful for prospective owners and current owners of cockers. As a current owner, I still have trouble finding things that I need for my cockers, and I often feel isolated due to the scarcity of the breed. Please feel free to chime in at any point using the comments section, or contact me by email at jordan.horak@gmail.com if there is something you’d like to see on this blog. I am looking forward to meeting other cocker owners as a result of this blog!