Taking care of your Cocker

WORMER PRODUCTS

DRONTAL PLUS (BAYER) is a multi-purpose wormer product. Your dog should be dewormed every month until it is 7 months. Then it should be dewormed every 6 months but especially before vaccination since it is more effective.

GROOMING AND HYGIENE

You should avoid that your dog’s hair tangles up. Comb and brush it regularly and use specific iron combs for dogs (first with big tooths and later on with smaller tooths) to check that there are no knots left in its hair.

You can also use brushes with brass tooths set on rubber. You can also use a special brush with wire short tooths.

You can wash your dog every 2 months. It is not advisable to wash it very often. You should always use dog shampoos and water it down more than what is indicated by the maker. After the shampooing, apply a conditioner which should also be watered down. If your dog does not walk properly, remember cutting its nails.

You should also remember to take out the hairs inside its ears since they could cause a heating that could cause an otitis.

Do not forget to cut the hairs under the dog’s feet.

Check regularly that there is no knot in the skin between the toes.

ANTI-FLEA AND ANTI-FICK PRODUCTS: Frontline in spray and pipet.

FOOD

Morning, midday and evening: ROYAL CANIN MINI JUNIOR croquettes or EUKANUBA croquettes for pups. It is better to present food at a fixed time than to practise self-service.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR DOG HAS ALWAYS FRESH AND CLEAN WATER AVAILABLE.

You will gradually adapt the number of meals to the age of the dog. When the dog is about 8 or 9 months of age, it reaches its adult size and it needs less quantity of food, since it almost has its definite size. In fact, your adult dog will be fed twice a day, its day portion of food divided into two, which is better than a big meal once a day.

If you wish to modify the feeding of your dog, do it gradually: that is, incorporate the new meal slowly. This will avoid intestine disorders (diarrhoea, etc.) which are caused by any sudden change of diet.

It is not advisable to give amounts of vitamins to a small cocker since it can cause disorders. Feed your dog with industrial food, which is balanced in mineral salt and vitamins.

ETHOLOGY

We have written some information about the cocker spaniels so that you can enjoy the company of a balanced and happy dog. We hope it will be useful for you.

Socialisation period (From the 4th to the 12th week)

The pup has a pronounced exploratory and playful behaviour. About the 6th week of age, pups show social behaviours characteristic of adults, such as the approach and exploration of the anus and the genitals. When playing they perform typical sexual sequences.

Important: It should learn to accept the proximity of other dogs and people without showing excessive fear or aggressiveness.

The end depends on the moment when the reaction to fear appears. It usually appears from the 5th week on and it gradually increases. In the 10-12th week it is intense enough as to finish with the socialisation period.

There are variations among different breeds or among different dogs within the same breed.

We advise that pups get into contact with people and other dogs between the 3rd and the 12th week and especially between the 5th and the 8th week. Inappropriate socialisation increases the risk of behaviour problems such as fear and/or aggressions against other dogs or people. There is clinical evidence that a lack of contact with children during this period can be a risk factor. Socialisation is based on visual stimuli and that is why a child is different from an adult for a dog.

Socialisation is possible once this period is over, but the very same reaction to fear makes it more difficult and slow. Moreover, after a proper socialisation process, if a dog does not have contact with humans and other dogs during its youth, its sociability may diminish

Not every dog which has not been properly socialised will cause problems in the future. There are breeds more prone to suffer the effects of a bad socialisation process than others.

Youth period (From the 12th week until sexual maturity)

Within this period power relationships are established on a relatively lasting basis. From the 4th month on the hierarchy becomes more and more noticeable and stable. Thus, it is an important period to prevent dominance aggression.

As regards aggressiveness: The most effective way to avoid competitive aggressiveness is to establish a clearly power relationship on the dog, which is quite simple when the animal is young, especially during the period of socialisation and at the beginning of the youth period. All the people living with the dog should try to do it.

The owner can establish and strengthen his control on the pup by frequently holding it onto the snout or the back of the neck skin. If the animal shows incipient aggressive signs, especially when it supposedly competes with the owner, this should react energetically and should not give in. This aspect is essential, since power relationships are established according to the result of these competitive incidents.

Short sessions of simple orders such as “Come here” or “Sit down” reinforce our controlling position.

You should take into account that pups showing aggressiveness when they are bothered while eating usually (not always) develop dominance aggression, which is the most common kind of aggression towards people.

The Promise collar (or the Gentle Leader, or the “control and education collar”) can be an effective and simple way to establish control on the dog. Excitable and active pups are more prone to become aggressive. You should control excess activity.

Proper socialisation processes avoid fear aggression.

As a dog’s owner you should bear in mind that the dog’s origin is the wolf and that its main behavioural aspects are similar to those of the wolf.

As regards children, it is very important a good socialisation process. Dogs can develop a competitive conduct towards children. “It gets jealous of the child”, says the owner and what he or she does is to take the dog away when the child is around. The animal’s conclusion will be that the child is an obstacle to accede to the owner, whose nearness is very important for it. The dog will perceive the child as somebody to compete with. Your dog should receive attention from the owner when the child is present.

Prevention of elimination problems

Start teaching the pup in the 7th-8th week. It should have learnt by the 4th -6th month. We advise you to familiarise it to the street from the start. You should take into account that they need to eliminate every 2-4 hours in the 8th week (when the pups are 8 months they can eliminate every 8-10 hours). This means you should take the pup out for a walk (1) immediately after it wakes up, (2) after playing or (3) 15-30 min. after a meal. This means you should take the dog out for a walk from 6 to 8 times a day. It is advisable that the dog always eats at the same times. In the street you should give gim 15-20 minutes to eliminate. You should always take it to the same places and you should reward it during and immediately after elimination. We recommend you to use a specific sentence – always the same – when the dog gives signs that it will defecate or urinate. Thus, the pup associates the elimination behaviour to the sentence, which can be used to cause the behaviour afterwards.

If it is not possible to take the dog out so frequently and the owner has to be out during some hours, we advise to leave the pup in a limited space – such as a small room – and place the food and water in a corner. At the opposite end of the room, place some newspaper paper, which should be frequently changed. It is advisable to devote some time to supervise the pup’s behaviour at home so that it starts using the newspaper paper. When the animal gives signs that it wants to defecate or urinate, the owner should move the pup to the place where it will find the papers. When the pup eliminates on the papers it should be immediately rewarded.

When the pup eliminates in an inappropriate place it is very important to clean the remains of faeces and urine thoroughly, if possible with an enzyme detergent. Products which contain ammonia should not be used. Punishment is only effective if we catch the dog while it is urinating or defecating.

Prevention of separation anxiety

Separation anxiety is one of the main behavioural problems. As has been said above, dogs that are separated from their mother at a very early age seem to be more prone to develop separation anxiety problems. Also, pups that spend much time on their own when they are very young have a higher risk to develop separation anxiety since they cannot get used to being on their own progressively. Finally, inconsistent and arbitrary punishment when de pup is very young can also increase the subsequent effects of this problem.

Although not all authors agree, it has been suggested that separation anxiety is caused to a certain extent by excessive dependence on the owners. This dependence is often reinforced by the owners themselves, who pet the dog and give it attention every time it takes the initiative and wants to interact with them. In other words, the owners always reward the dog’s requests for attention. If this hypothesis is true, a way to prevent separation anxiety would be that the owner behaves the opposite way, that is, that he ignores the dog’s requests for attention and takes the initiative when he wants to interact with it. This is precisely the behaviour that the female dog exhibits in the process of weaning its pups. In fact, dogs that have not gone through this process are more prone to suffer dominance anxiety. Moreover, no rewarding the dog’s requests for attention may help the animal to become quieter in its interactions with the owner.

Obviously, this advice should not be taken literally and it probably should be especially followed by those owners whose dogs are too much dependent and constantly requesting for their attention.

Prevention of coprophagia

Although the causes for coprophagia are not known for sure, it has been suggested that the problem is more frequent in animals that were kept in a dirty place with few stimuli, that is, together with their own excrements, while they were very young. These animals would have acquired the habit of directing their natural exploratory conduct towards faeces and then they would have developed coprophagia.

Physical exercise and routine.

It is advisable that dogs do physical exercise regularly. It contributes to avoid behavioural problems in the dog.

Routine is important: it involves always acting in the same way towards certain conducts of the animal. Some behavioural rules are then established, which allow the animal to learn what is expected from it and which is its place in the group, especially as regards the hierarchical relationship with the owners. Lack of consistency on the part of the owners (when allowing or punishing certain conducts) makes the dog feel uncertain and this may develop into dominance aggression problems, often with an anxiety component.

We would be very pleased to answer any further questions you may have.

We also wish you enjoy your Diabolic Clown.