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When considering purchasing a puppy, you will find that the links below are an invaluable source of advice: http://www.dogstuff.info/decided_to_get_puppy.htmlhttp://www.thedogscene.co.uk/articles/index.htm#buyinghttp://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk/breederadvice.htmYou should also read THIS and remember that a dog is for life.
Our pages are purely intended to give an idea of what is involved when choosing and caring for a puppy. It is by no means comprehensive. Please be sure to purchase some good reference material or visit your local library. A short selection of books can be found on our Shopping pages.
Do we want a dog? This is a question you must ask yourself. Remember that dogs are very 'tying', no more just getting away for a couple of days! You must arrange for someone to care for your dog in advance. The same obviously also applies to holiday times. Can you afford to keep the dog well? Not only is there the initial outlay for your puppy, but also vet's bills, food, grooming/clipping (for the longer haired varieties), kennelling, training classes, all of these things and more soon add up. Of course we don't want to put you off! But please think about getting a puppy very carefully before you buy.
So you've decided to get a Cocker Spaniel puppy, where do you go? Well please please stay well away from so called 'puppy farms', if possible check the local press, libraries or vets for the address of a local Breed Club, who will be able to put you in touch with quality breeders in your area. Try searching the Internet for breeders or get a recommendation from family, friends and colleagues. Or use the 'find a breeder' feature on our discussion forum. Read our feature on Finding a Reputable Breeder.
What colour? This is personal preference thing more than anything. But be aware that if you desire a less numerous variety such as orange roan, or orange and white for example, then you may have to be prepared to wait quite a while or do ALOT of searching to find a breeder who has these colours. It is usually much easier to find solids and the blue roan colours.
Sex? This could be classed as personal preference too, but bear in mind that if you choose a bitch then your garden must be dog proof to prevent all the local mongrels visiting whilst your bitch is in season. As for a dog being more aggressive than a bitch, well this is usually not the case with Cockers, both sexes are pretty much even tempered. A word of warning here, choosing puppies for future showing or from which you may like to breed is a very expert business. Try to get advice from someone with many many years experience in the field of showing or breeding Cockers. Remember also that if a litter does have a possible 'future star' the breeder may very well want to keep it for themselves!
Whatever your requirements are for having a Cocker the puppy you choose should be outgoing and friendly. Look at the pups eyes, are they bright with no discharge and it's nose should be moist but again with no discharge. The puppies coat should be silky and smooth (not wirey) the body should be firm and 'plump', not fat!
Be Prepared. You've been to the breeder, selected a puppy, you've waited for up to eight weeks until the little chap is ready to leave Mum, you've paid your money and you're ready to bring him/her home. Are you ready?
Things you will need for the puppies arrival:
A suitable bed - A readily available plastic bed is probably best. Or as a temporary measure a bed made from a large cardboard box (remember to cut out a doorway). Avoid boxes that used to contain things like soap powder cartons, the box may still contain dust or powder. Some bedding, a piece of blanket or Vetbed perhaps.
Food bowl / water bowl. Your breeder should tell you which type the puppy is used to. Water, clean and fresh, MUST be available at ALL times.
Newspapers - spread about your floor/carpet in case of 'accidents' of which there will be many!
Food - Try to continue feeding whatever the breeder has been feeding your puppy on. This will prevent upset stomachs. If you must change the type of food, do so gradually. Your breeder may also provide you with a feeding chart showing how much and when to feed your puppy. Don't be afraid to phone your breeder for advice.
Brush and Comb - You should start grooming early in the dogs life, be gentle and careful though. You want your puppy to learn to enjoy being groomed not to resent it.
Old towels - are good for drying legs and paws in bad weather.
If your puppy is to be a pet, he is bound to miss his litter mates and his mum! You need to really help him settle in to his new surroundings. Do not allow small children to play with the puppy when THEY feel like it, puppies sleep alot and should not be disturbed when resting.The little fellow is likely not settle very well on a night, DO NOT TAKE HIM/HER TO BED WITH YOU! Once you start this it is a very very difficult habit to break. You may well have a week or so of sleepless nights to come so to help the puppy, try a hot water bottle wrapped in blankets to emulate body warmth. Try leaving on a light or best still a child's night light, the pup will soon learn that once you have gone to bed you WILL return! We have never tried this but placing a ticking clock wrapped in blankets in the puppies bed will emulate the heart beat of his litter mates and help your lonesome puppy settle.
Toilet Training. Persevere, that is the key to house training, you need to be there almost constantly! As soon as you wake, take the puppy outside to allow him to relieve himself, if you don't want any accidents you will need to take the puppy out of doors almost every hour to allow him the call of nature. Obviously this may be highly impractical, so newspapers on the floor will save your expensive carpets! The puppy will soon learn that it is preferred if he goes outside to relieve himself, but be prepared though for accidents as the months roll on. Our Cocker still had the odd accident at twelve months old, and I recently heard of a two year old German Shepherd bitch who is still not quite house trained. You have been warned!!!
Discipline. A young puppy has no concept of words, remember this. It is no use getting angry when the pup does something it shouldn't. As much as you may want to scream and shout, your puppy will not listen, in fact the louder and angrier you get, the more the puppy will just switch off! Keep commands simple, a sharp 'No' when he's bad and a more gentle 'Good boy/girl' when he does something right. Remember also to get all of the family to use the same words as you. It will only confuse the puppy if it hears lots of different commands from lots of different people.
Training. Cockers love to be trained they enjoy having something to do. However don't expect your puppy to be fetching, dropping, sitting and rolling over at ten weeks old! Simple fetch games to start with then slowly but surely move on to more advanced games as the months roll on. Don't over do it though, playing the same game over and over may well make your puppy bored. One important point here. Cockers should not be possessive. If you throw it a toy perhaps, the puppy must learn to give you it back when he returns, this may take a little time. Another good way is to try this, once a week say, whilst feeding your puppy, take away his food bowl, just for a few seconds, then put it back for him to continue eating. This action will show puppy who's boss and also teach him to give things up with showing aggression. You may consider puppy socialisation classes, more on this later.
Inoculations. All puppies must be inoculated, there are many nasty diseases which can be fatal to your precious investment. As soon as you bring your puppy home, ring your vet and arrange an appointment for it's injections, preferably at a time when the surgery will be quiet thus reducing the risk of infection from other dogs. Needless to say your puppy must be confined to your house and garden until the inoculation programme is complete, your vet will advise you when it is safe to take your puppy out for walks etc. If you do have to take your dog outside of your home for whatever reason, be sure to carry it in your arms in a blanket or in a purpose built pet carrier. It has been known for puppy owners to have guests remove their shoes at the front door to prevent contamination, whether this is necessary I do not know, but still, better safe than sorry.
Socialisation. All puppies need to be socialised, this allows them to become familiar with other people, other dogs and different situations. Of course this process cannot be started until the inoculation process is complete. If you know lots of people with dogs, this is a good start, as long as you know the temperament of the dogs concerned. A fright from a bigger or more boisterous dog at this age may have a detrimental effect on your puppies character. A better course of action may be to enrol on a puppy socialisation class, they are usually relatively inexpensive and in the hands of a good instructor your puppy will experience other puppies of a similar age, everyone in the same boat as it were!
At a class you may learn some basic training exercises, house training tips, feeding tips and lots more. I would recommend classes to any new puppy owner and experienced puppy owners for that matter, they really can be lots of fun for you as well as your puppy!
Docking. You will notice that the Breed Standard says, 'Tails customarily docked'. I do not wish to argue the point of tail docking (although your views on the subject are welcome) apart from to say that I agree with docking for working dogs, as no doubt the long tail will impede the dog as it works through woodland and heavy undergrowth. For pet Cockers however, the matter is probably a matter of personal preference, some breeders will already have had the puppies tails docked before you even go to see the pups, as docking should be done at three or four days of age. It is illegal in this country now for breeders themselves to dock puppies. The procedure must be carried out by a qualified veterinary surgeon. Having said that, many vets will not carry out the procedure, due to a recommendation from the governing body, the Royal Veterinary College, against docking.
Finally a note on teething. At about 4 months of age, puppies begin to lose their puppy teeth as the adult teeth break through. Avoid hard foods at this time as the gums can be quite swollen and sore. A few hard biscuits will be enjoyed when ALL of the new teeth are through. NOTE. When the puppy gets it's adult teeth, the mouth should be checked for structure of the jaw and dentition, a puppy which shows out of line teeth or an undershot mouth should be excluded from any showing or breeding plans you may have had. Faults such as these are not to English Cocker Spaniel breed standard and once bred in are very difficult to breed out again.
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