little cocker

[shaz]

i was hoping someone might be able to give me a bit of advice, one of my cockers has always been small and with not much feathering which she lost on her first season and never came back ,so i will never be able to show her ,but she is such a darlin and i love her to bits, can anyone suggest anything that could bulk her up a bit, she eats normally and is not ill ,but she does look like she is underfed sometimes, and i always leave food out for her.
shaz.                    

[LindaW]

Hi Shaz
As long as she is healthy I wouldn't worry.  Some of the cockers I have seen in the shows recently seem too small in my view anyway!
There are various supplements that you can buy to promote a showcoat and I am sure some of the show people will advise you on the best ones!                    

[PennyB]

I've got a petit cocker who's adult weight is only 10 kg. I wouldn't worry as long as she's healthy.                    

[Jane S]

Agree with the others, some Cockers are naturally petite & carry little excess weight whereas others are much bigger - its all in the genes Some Cockers are greedy & constantly have to have their weight watched whereas others are naturally slim & only eat as much as they need - they are all different. As far as growing coat is concerned, I have tried most of the supplements available but none of them work miracles unfortunately. The best one I've found is Restore made by Stock Nutrition (www.doghealth.co.uk) but if your Cocker naturally has a fine coat with little feathering, there is not a lot you can do about it.                    

[Kim]

I agree with Jane, but I find that raw tripe added to the complete food adds body nicely.                    

[Gilly]

MMmmmm, maybe this could be another one I might try...though I must admit the thought of raw tripe gives me the heebies  :shock:
Can i get this readily from the likes of Pets at Home as I am sure i looked last time and couldn't find it. I don't want to buy large quantities at first in case she doesn't like it....which with Butty is highly probable  :roll:   :wink:                    

[Jane S]

MMmmmm, maybe this could be another one I might try...though I must admit the thought of raw tripe gives me the heebies  :shock:
Can i get this readily from the likes of Pets at Home as I am sure i looked last time and couldn't find it. I don't want to buy large quantities at first in case she doesn't like it....which with Butty is highly probable  :roll:   :wink:

C'mon Gilly -it's not so bad (if you hold your nose ) Pets At Home do stock individual packets of Prize Choice frozen tripe - the same as I have delivered in bulk. If I can cope with it as a veggie, I'm sure you can :wink:                    

[Kim]

I buy mine in 1 pound blocks (frozen).
I then transfer it to a tupperware box with a lid to defrost, therefore no smell. you can then keep it in the fridge & use as much as you want, all I give mine is a third of a block per meal.
Remember tho to serve it at room temp & not straight from the fridge ie put a portion in the bowl & cover with a plate to warm up, or you could end up with an upset tummy.                    

[Gilly]

Ok jane and Kim...you've persuaded me to go and buy some tripe tomorrow  :shock:    
I must admit I do have an aversion to tripe as my Gran used to make me go and buy it from the butchers for her when i was a kid.....i've been scarred for life by visions of white fatty cow stomach lining covered in salt  :shock:  :?                    

[Shirley]

Yeuch :x   'Furry meat' I remember it well   :shock:  Don't think I could even look at it  :?                    

[Gilly]

OK I am now armed with some "Prize Choice" chunks of tripe  :shock:
I have defrosted one tomorrow and it is in an airtight container in the fridge  :shock:  Do i pre-cook it...or just heat it a bit in the microwave before I give it to her  :? like i would with Naturediet???                    

[Jane S]

OK I am now armed with some "Prize Choice" chunks of tripe  :shock:
I have defrosted one tomorrow and it is in an airtight container in the fridge  :shock:  Do i pre-cook it...or just heat it a bit in the microwave before I give it to her  :? like i would with Naturediet???

You definitely don't want to cook it Gilly - not unless you want to stink your house out for a week Just take the box out of the fridge half an hour or so before you want to feed Butty so that the tripe isn't too cold, then away you go. Dogs love raw green tripe generally so hopefully Butty will not be the exception to the rule :wink:                    

[Mike]

You're so brave, Gilly   Mine (fussy eaters  :roll: ) eat Butchers Tripe from the can - and their breath straightafterwards is pretty minging, and Daisy now has this ritual where she wipes her mouth/whiskers along the sofa after every meal, little monkey  :?                    

[Gilly]

Well Butty is in Tripe Heaven this morning    I took about a third of the block and put it in her bowl with a plate over and left it for half an hour. During this time she went absolutely mental  :shock:  something she never ever does with food. She sat in the kitchen barking, jumped up at the worktops...whined, ran around the house like a looney nicking slippers      I was just going to work so told Adrian to give it to her...and she tucked right in    normally she would just sniff the food and walk away  :roll:  I have just phoned home and Adrian said that the bowl has literally been licked clean  :shock: so I hope this may be the start of better eating habits for Butty  :wink:                    

[Mary]

She sat in the kitchen barking, jumped up at the worktops...whined, ran around the house like a looney nicking slippers      :

This is Lotties reaction to any food :roll:

I have a friend who feeds his cocker this tripe and he looks great on it.  Fit and healthy and 6 years old with a lovely coat  :wink: