Anyone own a cocker and still have a nice house/garden???

[BettyBoo]

No, but then I didn't have a nice house before I got a cocker. It's a rented flat and it's been dropping to bits for years so I couldn't care less. On the other hand, Betty's half sister lives in a showhome

[JaspersMum]

I still have a nice house, it just looks more...........

hmmmmmm.......


LIVED IN 

but the lawn 

[Angels of Fur]

OUr garden i will admit we spent £2k on it doing it up, we got rid of the grass to make the garden a bit easer to manage and less mud etc in the house. Forgot the dogs would run through the Brick Planters though 

With regards to the house, yeah he get the muddy paws ( only from occasional running in the borders ) and after muddy walks, but that only takes seconds to clean up ( laminate  )

The kitchen skirting boards and the walls are ruined. We have put up boards over the holes in the wall, but painted them to match the walls, They are'nt THAT noticeable anyway.

They started on a bit of skirting up the stairs, but TOUCH wood we painted in over to make it look nicer and they havent touched it.

Office = not cockered up!
Living room = not cockerd up - apart from MINIMAL sofa damage and tiny scratches.
Bedroom = not cockerd up!
Downstairs Toilet = not cockered up!
Bathroom not cockerd up!

So all in all apart from the kicthen, our house is ok. The mess created is Hooman!

[Jeanette]

No damage to the house whatsoever  but the garden does looks a mess, in fact it did before Indie anyway.   Muddy pawprints are contained in the kitchen so just a mop up required and she doesn't come through to the rest of the house until she is dry. 

[Cockertime Blues]

Please tell me your secret if you do! I have chewed cushions, parts of the wall have been chewed, the carpet is chewed, the rug is chewed, there are footprints again on the kitchen floor no matter how much I clean him when he comes in, I have tops with one sleeve now and tops with no sleeves, I am missing numerous socks and the garden  . There are holes in the grass where he digs, and brown patches where he goes to the toilet and bits of random toys and all the flowers are trampled  . Does this sound familiar to anyone? Am I fighting a losing battle 

Yes, I do have a nice house/garden.  Half the garden is fenced off as dog run - the grass is brown in patches, there's a work in progress (excavation to Australia) but that's OK because my half of the garden is beautiful.  Our dogs are good in the house - just a bit of extra sweeping and mopping in mucky weather (i.e., all the time).  Worth it.

[Cockertime Blues]

Forgot to mention, I have to paint the back porch, kitchen, dining room and hallway on an annual basis.  Still worth it.

[fifer]

No, but then I didn't have a nice house before I got a cocker.

Me too! 

[Rats and Dogs]

We moved into a brand new house in November, it was beautiful and perfect.

This is the back door now...



It couldn't have been that innocent, if not slightly drunk-looking, doggy, he wouldn't do that to his new house...

[Beth]

My garden has survived quite well... Jarvis does occasionally raid the bin and scatter his treasure out there, but on the whole he doesn't actually damage anything. My house on t'other hand he has not only scratched the paint off of my porch door, but gouged deep ridges in the wood (he greets me from being out by scrabbling on it ) all of my worktops have a permanent dusting of forest mud along the edges, and between him and Lucy they've wrecked my sofas and throws by digging to make it more comfortable. tis a good job i'm not house proud!

[BabyB]

Not too bad I think.

Garden is fenced off in the winter as we've got decking for them to gallop around on and play bubbles, so no mud unless one 'escapes' when we put rubbish out.

Hmmm, the house.  I am a Dyson fanatic, but we have no carpet on the bottom two stairs from where the babygate is placed, they're painted/scratched. 

French doors have snot marks on them on the inside, and paw marks on the outside where Katie bangs on the door to be let in.  Wooden floor is a godsend, but if you come to visit, please don't look at my skirtingboard.

[pamela]

After reading some of the replies, I think I've got off lightly  The only mess Ben has made are a few scratch marks on the doors when he barges into rooms. He's never been allowed on the furniture so no mess there.
Luckily he's never bothered with anything in the garden and except for a habit of eating Lego when he was a pup, he hasn't chewed anything up since.
On the other hand, I also have a golden retriever......... The garden is a bombsite because of him, holes where plants used to be, a garden seat with a half chewed leg, and I've lost count of the things he's eaten in the house.
If you think a cocker leaves hair, if I didn't sweep twice a day I would be up to my ankles in goldie hair!!

[JenSam]

Nope............

[Rats and Dogs]

Nope............

Prove it! Bet your house is like a show home!

I showed you mine, so you show me yours...

[hblower]

I have to say we are not too bad, we have wooden floors so esy to keep clean, the walls were plastered just before we got him as a pup so we let him chew then patched it up and decorated.  he rarely comes on the sofa unless invited and the same with upstairs and we made usre he haad LOTS of toys and chews so no woodwork got chewed.  

the garden is pretty much o.k,  the odd little hole but we fill it as we find them and he knows to keep off flower beds.  he likes to roll in the gravel but we just rake this.  we do put  towel on the floor in the kitchen by the door when it rains and sya feet to him when he comes in and he knows to tread on it to try his feet before moving from the mat.  

he is a good boy really and loves his cuddles with mummy on the sofa.  but he loves his orvis bed too so spends a lot of time there.  we have a plastic storage box too which holds all his toys and they all get cleared up every night then he goes to help himself to what he wants when he wants.  

[GillSarge]

Oh thanks goodness others in the same position as us!  The lawn was OK till be we got Harley, and now there are big holes everywhere! I never knew where mud could get splattered too.  basically the whole garden is now wrecked! and we spent a fortune on it last year    We are now thinking of putting stone down and raised beds so my flowers have a bit of a chance    Will it ever stop......