English Cocker Spaniel, also known as Qu Jia's dog, English Cocker Plover, English Gamecock, and English Cocker Long-haired Hound, has excellent hunting skills in hunting sandpipers and other animals, which has made a sensation in the dog world, forming an independent Cocker pedigree. The English Cocker Spaniel is a member of the highly diverse Spanish hunting dog family in terms of body shape, type, coat color, and hunting ability. It is one of the oldest terrestrial hunting dogs. In the early 19th century, because of its innate kindness, sweetness, high obedience, and highly emotional character, the breed became popular and chosen as a companion dog by humans, especially in Europe and the United States. The English Cocker Spaniel is deeply loved and the English Cocker Spaniel Club was established in Britain in 1902.
Before the 17th century, this type of dog with differences in size and skills were called hunting dogs. Gradually, hunters noticed that larger dogs could quickly flush game while smaller dogs could be used for hunting sandpipers. The different uses of them led hunters to separate these two types of hunting dogs with different sizes and name them Spaniels and Cocker Spaniels or Sandpiper Hunting Dogs. Therefore, English Cocker Spaniels are bred from dogs with different sizes, categories, coat colors, and hunting abilities. They are one of the oldest land hunting dogs, although they were separated in name, they continued until 1892 when the Kennel Club recognized them as two separate bloodlines.
There were records showing that dogs that were very similar to the breed existed in paintings from 1300. About 5000 years later, the breed evolved into 7 different varieties: English Springer Spaniel, Welsh Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Sussex Spaniel, Field Spaniel, Irish Water Spaniel, and Clumber Spaniel.
The specific written history of Cocker Spaniels began with the birth of the first English Cocker Spaniel, Obo, on June 14, 1879. Obo participated in his first dog show at the age of four.
The English Cocker Spaniel is not suitable for busy working people to raise because of its long hair, which needs to be groomed every day. Owners should pay special attention to its long hanging ears, which may hide some hard-to-find dirt. Therefore, it needs to be carefully cleaned, otherwise it may be infected with disease due to inadequate cleaning. Busy working people may not have the energy to take better care of their dogs. In addition, the English Cocker Spaniel has a lively, playful, and energetic personality, so it needs to ensure that it has sufficient exercise every day and spend more time playing with it, otherwise it may become moody.
1. Heart disease
Heart disease in dogs is often related to obesity and old age. When a dog has heart disease, it will mainly show symptoms such as easily getting tired and having difficulty breathing. Heart disease in dogs is difficult to detect and often by the time the owner notices, the dog is already seriously ill.
2. Infectious diseases
Canine distemper and canine parvovirus are common and highly fatal infectious diseases in dogs. Dogs that have not been vaccinated in a timely manner are susceptible to these two infectious diseases. Once infected, the dog may show symptoms such as lethargy, decreased appetite, high body temperature, vomiting, and diarrhea.
3. Kidney disease
When it comes to common diseases and symptoms in dogs, kidney disease cannot be ignored. The frightening aspect of kidney disease in dogs is that it often progresses unnoticed. By the time the owner notices, more than 75% of the dog's kidney cells may already be damaged. Common symptoms of kidney disease in dogs include blood in the urine, abnormal urine color, and changes in urination habits.
4. Parasites
Intestinal parasites such as roundworms and hookworms, as well as heartworms, are common parasites that infect dogs. When dogs are infected with intestinal parasites, the main symptoms include weight loss, lethargy, diarrhea with worms, and pale gums. Heartworms, on the other hand, are parasites that reside in the dog's heart. Dogs infected with heartworms may show symptoms such as decreased vitality, coughing, anemia, wheezing, and abdominal fluid accumulation.
5. Canine pneumonia
Pneumonia is also a common disease in dogs, but it is often a complication of other diseases. It commonly occurs in dogs with abnormal upper respiratory tract, bacterial infections, canine distemper infection, viral flu, compromised lung function, or heartworm infection. Coughing, nasal discharge, and increased body temperature are the main symptoms of canine pneumonia.
1. The English Cocker Spaniel's feeding is similar to that of ordinary dog breeds. It requires more meat supply. You can feed it an appropriate amount of dog food and a small amount of low-sugar biscuits at regular intervals every day. Pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables. It needs 250-350 grams of meat per day to supplement the necessary nutrients. Remember to cook the meat until it is half cooked and then feed it. Vegetables should also be blanched and cooled before feeding.
2. Adult dogs' daily nutritional ratio: lean meat (generally recommended beef, pork or chicken) 291 grams; grains (generally recommended rice, steamed buns) 442 grams; vegetables (generally recommended green leafy vegetables, carrots, etc.) 150 grams; vitamin and mineral supplements (there are special nutritional supplements for dogs in the market) 56 grams.
3. The English Cocker Spaniel is active and needs sufficient exercise. It enjoys the company of its owner and should be played with regularly. Its fur is long, so it needs to be cleaned regularly to prevent illness.
1. Cannot bathe frequently
When bathing a dog, of course, it cannot be too frequent. Giving a dog a bath depends on the dog's hygiene. If the weather is hot in summer, you can bathe the dog one or two more times. In winter, you can reduce it by one or two times, but in total, it should not exceed 5 times. Otherwise, it will damage its fur and skin!
2. Groom regularly
Dogs shed almost every day, especially in spring and autumn. Seasonal shedding is more severe. In order for the fur to grow well, regular grooming is an important step. Pet owners can use pet-specific combs to help the dog remove naturally shed fur and avoid tangling. Grooming once in the morning and evening for about five minutes is enough.
3. Sunbathe
Sunbathing is beneficial for the growth of a dog's fur. Besides making the fur more shiny, letting the dog sunbathe can also help sterilize. At the same time as sunbathing, pet owners can let the dog exercise, which can improve the dog's physical fitness, promote blood circulation, and help the growth of healthier fur.
4. Deworming
Bad fur is actually closely related to parasites. Parasites absorb a large amount of nutrients from the dog's body and compete for nutrients, so deworming is essential. It is recommended to conduct internal and external deworming together. Deworming medicine can cause great harm to the dog's intestines and stomach, so it is recommended to feed probiotics at ordinary times to relieve gastrointestinal discomfort.
5. Pay attention to diet
In order for the dog to have shiny fur, it must have a good nutritional foundation and pay attention to daily diet. On the one hand, feed the dog with nutritious and healthy dog food, choose a dog food that is suitable for the dog and has sufficient nutrition to meet the dog's needs. On the other hand, you can feed the dog with lean meat, boiled egg yolks, and vegetable oil in moderation.
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