Cocker Spaniel... American vs. English

[LSUmiss]

Degenerative Myelopathy. (I thought you worked in veterinary medicine?? )

That’s why I asked. I am usually familiar with most common conditions. I used to work in vet med but that was 15 years ago. DNA testing was definitely not a routine thing then. I am familiar with degenerative disc disease but not that one. But, if it mostly affects GSDs that wasn’t/isn’t a popular breed in this area now or back then. Saw a lot of disc disease but dachs, corgis, & bassets were popular in the practice. Plus, I had a dach with it. Most popular in this area then & still now are labs & goldens so was familiar with hip & elbow dysplasia. I have a golden & made sure to get him from parents who were OFA certified. Since I have a golden, I was mostly concerned that it was some form of dyplasia that I wasn’t aware of.

 

[Hrhpd]

That’s why I asked. I am usually familiar with most common conditions. I used to work in vet med but that was 15 years ago. DNA testing was definitely not a routine thing then. I am familiar with degenerative disc disease but not that one. But, if it mostly affects GSDs that wasn’t/isn’t a popular breed in this area now or back then. Saw a lot of disc disease but dachs, corgis, & bassets were popular in the practice. Plus, I had a dach with it. Most popular in this area then & still now are labs & goldens so was familiar with hip & elbow dysplasia. I have a golden & made sure to get him from parents who were OFA certified. Since I have a golden, I was mostly concerned that it was some form of dyplasia that I wasn’t aware of.

It doesn't mostly affect GSD's. It is prevalent in a ton of breeds, small to large. It is the main reason you see dogs in wheels later on in life and the main cause of spinal degenerative disease. The horrible thing about this disease is that it does not appear until the dog is well beyond breeding age, so by the time the dog displays symptoms, a backyard breeder or puppy mill may have 100s of affected puppies on the ground.

And unlike OFA certs of hips and elbows which just up your chances of having a litter of puppies without dysplasia, DM testing can 99.999% guarantee you a litter without DM. (nothing is ever certain and there are rare genetic anomalies)

 

[LSUmiss]

It doesn't mostly affect GSD's. It is prevalent in a ton of breeds. It is the main reason you see dogs in wheels later on in life and the main cause of spinal degenerative disease. The horrible thing about this disease is that it does not appear until the dog is well beyond breeding age, so by the time the dog displays symptoms, a backyard breeder or puppy mill may have 100s of affected puppies on the ground.

Oh ok. So DM causes degenerative disc disease? We had a dach with degenerative disc disease but no one ever told us DM causes it.

 

[Hrhpd]

Oh ok. So DM causes degenerative disc disease? We had a dach with degenerative disc disease but no one ever told us DM causes it.

DM is not the only degenerative spinal disease, but according to our repro vet, it is the most common of the degenerative spinal diseases and the most easily avoided. Your dachshund most likely had it, although without testing it would be hard to make a diagnosis.

 

[LSUmiss]

DM is not the only degenerative spinal disease, but according to our repro vet, it is the most common of the degenerative spinal diseases and the most easily avoided. Your dachshund most likely had it, although without testing it would be hard to make a diagnosis.

I guess that might be why I hadn’t heard of it b/c testing was definitely not a common thing back when my dach had disc disease. We just treated symptoms & kept him from jumping.

 

[sjberg79]

I LOVE cocker spaniels, you may notice my profile picture is one. That's my girl, Sophie. She is currently our only dog but we have had 3. Cockers make excellent family dogs in our experience. Sweet, loyal, intelligent, gentle, not very barky, just perfect. My biggest complaint would be as Sophie has aged (she's 9 right now) she has started to shed more. Not enough that it ends up on clothes or the furniture but enough that it does irritate my allergies. I would NEVER get rid of her for this, just something to note. Sophie is the picture of good health, her only problems are acid reflux that is controlled with plain old Pepcid and she has a gluten allergy. But otherwise very healthy.

Our first cocker lived to 11.5. He started to have health issues at 10. Cushing's disease was the biggest problem that led to many more problems. He had thyroid issues, hip dysplasia, tore both his ACLs... I'm forgetting his other problems but the first 10 years were great, the last 1.5 were rough. I'd do it all over again, he was a sweetheart.

We lost our other dog in May, he was only 3. He was actually a cockapoo (half cocker, half poodle). I got the mix because of my allergies. He developed an autoimmune disease called immune mediated thrombocytopenia when he was 1 as a very rare reaction to his rabies vaccine. I'd still (and do!) vaccinate animals because the rewards are worth the very minor risks. Anyhow, He needed immune suppressants from then on to keep his immune system turned off so he didn't bleed to death. In May, he suddenly became paralyzed (poor thing had terrible luck with his health). He had IVDD and we spent a small fortune trying to save him but coupled with his immune system being shut down and the bleeding issues, we lost him. We will be getting another dog, likely another cocker, when we are ready. I just love cockers, their sweet personalities are worth whatever health issues mine have had. Lady from Lady and the Tramp NAILS the cocker personality. They are sweet and protective of their families. I love all dogs but cockers just have my heart.

 

[Turn the Page]

We have had an English Cocker for years. She is now 14 years old and still very healthy, she is now almost deaf and has trouble with night vision. We have also had to start her on estrogen to treat some night time wetting but otherwise she is in great shape.

She has a wonderful temperment. She is quite calm and is great with kids and other animals. With her advanced age she now sleeps most of the time but she is still a snuggly, cheerful dog. She does get rather high strung when she goes to the groomer though. She does NOT like people working on her feet.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Oh ok. So DM causes degenerative disc disease? We had a dach with degenerative disc disease but no one ever told us DM causes it.

No, it's a gradual degenerative process of the spinal cord that causes all the nerves that innervate the rear end eventually fail. The dog loses its ability to walk and its continence of bladder and bowel. There is no pain, just numbness or no feeling back there. But the dog loses its dignity. And owners are faced with the tough decision to either provide the nursing care they require, or end their lives. It can progress fairly quickly once it starts, too. It's really devastating for an otherwise healthy and happy dog.

Here is a link:

http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/dm/basicdm.htm

 

[LSUmiss]

No, it's a gradual degenerative process of the spinal cord that causes all the nerves that innervate the rear end eventually fail. The dog loses its ability to walk and its continence of bladder and bowel. There is no pain, just numbness or no feeling back there. But the dog loses its dignity. And owners are faced with the tough decision to either provide the nursing care they require, or end their lives. It can progress fairly quickly once it starts, too. It's really devastating for an otherwise healthy and happy dog.

Here is a link:

http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/dm/basicdm.htm

Oh wow! That’s terrible. I always thought all dogs like that had disc disease. I guess I just never came across it in the practices I’ve worked. I’m not a veterinarian so I’m only familiar with the conditions I came across there. With disc disease there was usually less of a decision to be made though b/c there is pain. Thankfully, I never had to make a decision b/c my dach was diagnosed at 8 yrs old, but we religiously kept him from jumping & he lived to be 16 & died of pancreatitis.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Oh wow! That’s terrible. I always thought all dogs like that had disc disease. I guess I just never came across it in the practices I’ve worked. I’m not a veterinarian so I’m only familiar with the conditions I came across there. With disc disease there was usually less of a decision to be made though b/c there is pain. Thankfully, I never had to make a decision b/c my dach was diagnosed at 8 yrs old, but we religiously kept him from jumping & he lived to be 16 & died of pancreatitis.

They can be related. Both of my dogs who had this, who came from different places, had spondylosis of the spine that developed over time. Sometimes they don't actually call it DM, they call it rear leg weakness, and yes, it can affect many types of dogs for different reasons, often related somehow to the vertebral column and spinal cord. Whatever the reasons and whatever the cause, though, the effect is the same, and rear paralysis occurs. (So one could argue that even a DNA test for DM might not necessarily completely prevent paralysis if it occurs for reasons other than DM.)

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I have had a few American Cocker Spaniels. My experience is that they are wonderful dogs. My last one was not as social as she could have been, but that is most definitely my fault as I didn't have her around many different "environments" when she was a puppy. My current cocker, Lucy Brown, is the BEST dog I have ever had. She has the sweetest temperament of any dog I have ever been around - all breeds. I was a bit worried how Lucy would adjust when I had my DD (now 11), but she her personality never wavered and they were just the best of friends through the baby and toddler years. Never in her life has Lucy been snippy or even growled at anyone. The vet techs all love her and she is very easy for them to handle. Now that Lucy Brown is 14, she has definitely slowed down and she was diagnosed with Cushings a couple of years ago. She is still just a joy to be around. She is a red sable parti color and I made sure to purchase from a breeder who did health testing on her breeding dogs.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have had a few American Cocker Spaniels. My experience is that they are wonderful dogs. My last one was not as social as she could have been, but that is most definitely my fault as I didn't have her around many different "environments" when she was a puppy. My current cocker, Lucy Brown, is the BEST dog I have ever had. She has the sweetest temperament of any dog I have ever been around - all breeds. I was a bit worried how Lucy would adjust when I had my DD (now 11), but she her personality never wavered and they were just the best of friends through the baby and toddler years. Never in her life has Lucy been snippy or even growled at anyone. The vet techs all love her and she is very easy for them to handle. Now that Lucy Brown is 14, she has definitely slowed down and she was diagnosed with Cushings a couple of years ago. She is still just a joy to be around. She is a red sable parti color and I made sure to purchase from a breeder who did health testing on her breeding dogs.

View attachment 344721 View attachment 344721

Beautiful dog!

 

[BCPKnight]

We've had two rescue cockers, and I doubt that we will ever be without a cocker again. Our first was super sweet, but was in bad health when we adopted her. She had a short life, but it was a happy one for her final years. Our current cocker is a very sweet boy. He loves his family and his groomer. He HATES the vet or any medical action unless it involves a pill in a hot dog. I recommend cockers, either breed, but highly recommend that you socialize them both inside and outside of your home.

 

[jt'smom]

One other thing I'll add about my cocker boys is that you have never known a food motivated dog, till you've met a cocker spaniel. Nothing is safe with them. When they were both alive, we came home once to a steak knife sticking out of the hardwood floor where it landed perfectly on it's sharp tip, with a sparkling clean butter wrapper next to it, and the tin foil wrapping that my husband had left on the kitchen table that HAD contained the bones from 2 full racks of baby back ribs. It was like some weird scene from "Criminal Minds" or something. An emergency trip to the vet, showed that those two little buggers had eaten every bone and I don't know if it was the entire stick of butter or not, but their intestines just processed it all through with no issues whatsoever. Through the years, they consumed everything from lots of people food, those rib bones, an entire container of Cottonelle hiney wipes, a disposable razor, a baby bat, and more things than I can ever list.

 

[sjberg79]

you have never known a food motivated dog, till you've met a cocker spaniel

This is so true and had me laughing out loud! The foods they get in to and the vet visits you will pay for because of it! My first Christmas with a cocker my husband gave me a stocking filled with some Hershey's kisses. I put the stocking on the dining room table and forgot about it and found it on the living room floor the next day empty. I assumed my husband must have gotten snack-y in the night and raided it and thought nothing of it until I was walking the dog and he started pooping out little foil wrappers. That was my 1st lesson in that cockers will steal whatever they can reach.
Another time at a family party a small child started to drop a chicken wing. Before the wing could hit the floor the cocker shot across the room like a buff colored blur and caught the wing in his mouth and swallowed it whole before anyone could stop him. Cockers know to watch kids as they will drop more food than anyone else.
This dogs real glory was Halloween candy though. Two Costco sized bags of Halloween Candy. The first one he used teamwork with the other cocker and the cat to get knocked off a shelf in the pantry and he just went to pound town on that while his teammates tried to but just puked. When I replaced the bag, he did the same stunt again but knew he would get caught again so this time he tried to hide half the candy around the house. He waited until I turned out the light to go to bed and as soon as I did, I head him shuffling with a weird paper noise in the dark so I flipped the light back on and he had an orange Reece's peanut butter cup wrapper in his mouth! He hid them under the bed! For months I would find candy stuffed in weird places, in couch cushions and under beds, in his toy bin, in the bushes out in the yard. I miss that boy, he got in so much trouble but he was such a rascal! Cockers are just the best.

 

[HeatherC]

We have an American Cocker who is five years old. She is our baby! We got her as a puppy and just love her to death.

My parents have had quite a few Cockers over the years so we were very familiar with the breed when we decided to get one.

I will tell you that in our experience, they are very sweet, cute, loyal companions. They are also pretty needy...they follow you everywhere...and I mean everywhere...from room to room. (Mine is lying on my feet now). They are also known to be snippy when there is a lot of commotion or they feel threatened or overwhelmed. They don’t like when you get “in their face”....which is where they get their reputation of not being good with little kids and the elderly.

We tell people to let her come to you. Don’t try to pick her up or put your face right in hers. Don’t bend down and talk right in her face. It makes her feel threatened and she may snip at you. Once people are aware of this, there is not a problem.

My kids are pretty much grown now, and when their friends come over, they know to let her greet them and let her come to them if they are sitting on the couch or whatever.

 

[Kellykins1218]

Thanks to this thread, I've realized that I haven't seen a Cocker Spaniel in years.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I worked at a vet office/kennel for a few years. We only had one problem GSD that would come board with us. The ones we had the most problems with were small breeds, Dalmations and smaller herding dogs like Australian Shepherds.

My aunt had a Cocker... I called him Satan.