karen15

Funny my westie is the same. Much happier eating kibble out of the toys than from his bowl. Only problem is the overweight cocker has now realised toys contain food so she hoards them all and won't let him have any. It took her about 12 months to make the connection, but now she has the food toys have to stay empty. If I'm home obviously I can intervene but I was using them for amusement while I was out, so there goes that plan. Same with bones. They were each getting a beef neck bone of a morning. I eventually had to be realistic and admit the cocker was getting 14 bones a week and the westie none. So now they get a bone twice a week, which has cut the cocker down to 4 bones a week..... She is such a sneak. Waits to hear the car leave, then bullies the baby off his bone and lies on it while she eats hers. The westie seems happy to eat pregnawed bones, I suppose that's all he's ever gotten, so they have the cleaned off bones to chew on inbetween fresh bone day. I've found a butcher who does fairly small ones, so that helps even more. Finally weight is coming off the cocker! Wonder why LOL I feed the beef neck bones because they are a little meaty and have limited fat. That was more for the cockers waistline than the westies delicate tum, but kills two birds with one bone....

The westie is a grazer too but is very vocal if bbq chook is on the menu.

My westie can't eat rich food. Gets upset tum. So he's fed human grade chicken and turkey mince. He can have a small amount of liver treats. According to him "no treats, no sleeps". He gets a liver treat on his bed at night so he stops fanging around the yard. If I don't get him one, he waits with his nose poking through the doggy door until I do - I'm well trained LOL. He gets the odd pigs ear after being groomed. He seems to self limit his consumption ie eats it slowly, usually over a day or two. He'll bring me his "treasure" to store so the piggy cocker doesn't pinch it. I think the only option is to limit their consumption of fatty food. He loves bbq chook and that doesn't upset his tum. It's an infrequent treat and definitely no skin.

Showdog THANKYOU!!!!!! After your post I've googled Australian Cocker Spaniel Show and the pictures that have come up are definitely more what I want :) I'll be printing out the ones I like so I've got something to work to next time. I keep bringing up Ginger Nut, so they'll definitely be in the album LOL As I'd said, the breeder who very generously gave me some of their time, had their show dogs much longer, so I had just assumed that was how all show dogs looked. Over the past 12 months, I have googled cocker spaniel grooming, but again, pretty much everything that came up was clip or long. A thought I have had was it would be great if breed clubs had "how to groom your dog" classes for their breed. Would certainly help people new to the breeds, like me. Probably something you'd do once a year, depending on demand / attendance.

I've tried stripping the legs but made her look moth eaten.... Not having owned fluffy dogs before, the hardest thing I've found is finding some way to learn grooming. I've randomly contacted a cocker breeder, who was very lovely and gave me good pointers. But I hate to impose on people and she didn't breed the dog (I believe she's from a BYB as no state has a registered cocker litter on her DOB). So finding a teaching source that isn't just going to take to the dog with clippers is really difficult. My reference to sporting version of show dogs was due to the cocker breeders' dogs having very long feathering, like just clearing the ground. They were beautiful but I want shorter to make it easier to keep tangle free.

It takes time to get past your fluffy shot to how Meg looks now. She was very similar to that when I got her. As her coat has gotten longer, it's gotten straighter. I've had her just over 12 months, which is why she's got feathers and fluffy legs. Honestly, it was my choice to grow her hair out. Her previous owner always fully clipped her, so I could have continued to do that. I've found the mars coat king really great to remove the under coat. I do a full groom every 6 weeks or so. By that I mean clip, strip, nails. In-between she's combed a couple of times a week. As her hair was growing out it was really tangly. Now it is long, there are much fewer tangles, even in her arm pits and other typically knotty areas. After stripping, the hair on her back is as long as the hair on her head in her before shot. That is a couple of mm longer than when I hold it between my fingers, like a hairdresser - so an inch or less. It gets really tight and sits flat. It's coarser hair so not as soft as when there is a build up of under coat. Clipping would probably be faster. Stripping with the tool takes ages and is tiring on the arms. It takes me about 2 1/2 hours to give her a full groom. People do strip by hand, but I don't know how to do that. As I'm after a pet trim, I haven't fussed too much about learning that technique. My ultimate goal is a sporting version of a show look. So shorter feather etc so it doesn't collect debris, but coat trimmed so there's no mistake she's a cocker. Correctly trimmed, I believe her front legs would be clipped back with only the feathers remaining. But I like the teddy legs, so they've stayed :)

I've got wahl km2s which I think can clip horses. I find them good for what I do but I strip the coat, not clip it. My understanding is they are a good brand of clipper. Pre - the sulky face is because she stole the westies' post groom piggy ear and got roused at. Worst of all, she lost the ear...... Post She was fully clipped when I got her and I prefer the coat stripped out with a mars coat king. It took a year for the outer coat to get back to relatively straight and it's much better now IMO

Another option could be nexguard and then spray with permoxin before walks. Permoxin is an insecticide so kills on contact. Moreso used on horses, but onlabel use for dogs. Really economical. I've used permoxin to kill wasps (only thing I had available) so can attest to it's insecticidal ability. I have found the horses may still get a tick or two, hence suggestion to combine with something like nexguard. I use nexguard and don't find any ticks, but do consider spraying as a back up if we go into tick country, vs our usual walks on maintained paths.

I'd suggest changing the occy strap ASAP. If something goes wrong and she pulls and the end slips, she can lose an eye from the recoil....... A better option would be a double ended dog lead. You can get the clips from hardware stores. I've got some leads, one end circle the other a clip, you thread the clip through the circle and can clip onto something. Or you could use a clip to attach the circle end to the bike.

My staffy was better at hide and seek than my niece and nephew LOL

Roova, your last point about theft was why I got my westie pup desexed. I would have hated for him to be stolen by a puppy farmer. I did that at 9 months. On the other hand, my staffy was entire until he got testicular cancer at 11. I never experienced any of the issues Roova has listed. He was an absolutely beautiful dog, loved everyone and everything. Never tried to get out of the yard.

A question on comb + blade combinations. #10 blade cuts longer than a #30. When used with a comb is this still the case? It was noted above the higher blade number gives a better finish, so I'm wondering why that is.

I forgot to say the other thing you probably need is thinning shears. They are great for covering up boo boos...... After some dodgy decision of my own, I have to remind myself it's only hair and will grow back LOL Rereading the length you want to keep, you'd probably be better with a higher number comb. My friend said I'd be wasting my time with a #8 comb, but it is the exact length I wanted. This is the comb number and length from the wahl combs 1#=3mm 2# =6mm 3#=10mm 4# =12mm 5#=16mm 6# =19mm 7#=22mm 8# =25mm

What breed is she? I've got the wahl KM2 clippers. They came with combs 1-4 and I've bought 5-8. I've got blades 7F, 10, 15, 30. My recommendation, having been in your position less than 12 months ago, is to find someone to teach you. I'm very lucky to have a friend who grooms dogs. For the first 3-4 paw trims, she did them while I handled the dogs. She gave pup his first, very minor, clipping on face. After good experiences (and high value treats post grooming) I can do pup by myself with no issues. I would call him stoic when it comes to doing the full grooms LOL I do the less popular stuff first, nails, pads, lightly clip face, then onto the good things. Brushing, stripping with the mars coat king, trimming outline. My friend referred my to a book called Theory of 5. It is really useful when learning what blades, what combs, what direction etc to cut. She also had a huge book with specific instructions by breed. I photocopied the couple of pages for my dogs. I've got a westie and cocker spaniel. I don't want them clipped. My goal is a "sporting" version of a show look. So length and shape but not too long to get full of debris. I like the cockers column legs, but she was getting a mono leg in front, so I've gone for a #8 comb on a #10 blade and that keeps the length but gives a gap LOL The cocker was clipped short when I got her. My experience was that her hair knotted significantly more when it was short than it does now. There seems to be a magic length where her pits stopped trying to ball up. The cocker was good for me to practise on with the clippers as she was comfortable with being clipped. I'd do her then the pup. I brush regularly and do a full groom (clip, strip, nails, trim) every 4-6 weeks. The westie is quick under an hour, the cocker takes about two hours. She has much more clipping, particularly with the legs, but also face, ears etc then stripping out her coat and getting her shaped at the end with scissors. PS I lay them down to do their feet and the cockers legs. Then they stand to strip out their coats, trim tails, do outline.

I wouldn't be walking him in the street until he is fully vaccinated.

You can change microchip details without the noted owner signing anything. I had to do it for the cocker spaniel I rehomed from work. All it needed was a statutory declaration. I documented the dogs' history as it had been told to me as part of the stat dec (not a requirement), so the registry was aware and it's documented for future reference. I paid nothing for the dog, she was a giveaway. I had no issues updating her details. I didn't need to provide proof of purchase etc As a rehome, the son missed the cocker a bit, but it had been discussed and agreed that they could only handle one dog and the cocker had come to them after baby sitting for a neighbour who never picked her up and told the guy I got her from that he could have her. Potential to be messy if prior owner ever wanted her back, hence documenting the history on the stat Dec. At least the facts, as I know them, are now recorded. I work with the person I got her from and show him pics etc regularly. He's happy she has a good home.

I don't pussy foot around with certain things. If I accidentally tug and hurt the dog, I'll give the spot a rub, the same as you would when you snag your own hair, but brush it immediately again. To me that does two things. The dog does not learn that a reaction means you stop / stop grooming an uncomfortable area. It also stops the dog associating discomfort with the area as it hurt briefly but then subsequent brushing did not. If it's a knot that needs to be worked out, I'd still brush immediately but move off to brush something that doesn't hurt, then come back to work on again.

Cara, sometimes things just happen. My westie was itchy when he came home but the vet gave us antihistamines and after we'd used the bottle he's been great ever since. I was paranoid too as I know westies can be prone to skin conditions. I'd say treat and clear it up and then be mindful and vigilant, which it sounds like you are already.

As a person who dislikes the majority of people, I'm an animal magnet. That sort of goes against the premise of the article. Personally I haven't seen too many gregarious people who are popular with animals. It's the quieter (volume and physically) people who tend to have more of an affinity in my observations.

My staffy I didn't lock up, but supervised very closely. He was extremely obedient. We had a Telstra guy come by once to fix phone problem. I was in the shower when he arrived (he was early) and apparently Sam lifted a lip at him and he wasn't game to come in. Fair enough. Phone guy wasn't too keen on dog when he came in, but by the end of his visit he was well and truly charmed and thought he was an amazing dog. Which of course he was :D The current dogs have separate routines. Westie pup gets a harness and restrained until he calms down and stops jumping. Cocker is obedient. If need be, she goes in her crate and I close the door, but generally she'll stay where I put her. With all dogs, if people are going in and out, I put them where they can "supervise" but not get out or interact. I don't want my animals on the road. I had a friend who was petrified of dogs and she loved my staffy. She knew him from a pup and thought no dog ever compared to him.

For tablets, I make mince balls, sort of rum ball size with the tablet in the middle. I find they tend to pick up and pretty much swallow as they are bite size. I just toss them before meals, when dogs are expecting food. My westie will eat around anything in his dish, so I had to find something that got them down the hatch. As a last resort I just put them in, but he gets wary as well, so I prefer not to.

Mine sleep beside the bed overnight and don't get up to drink at all, so as long as it isn't a long night, or hot,I'd say it's ok not to. When my westie was a bub he'd be in a small crate next to the bed, again no water. He would stir and I'd take him out to the toilet, but he wouldn't go for a drink when he came in. Even now he's 16 months, he'll bark to go to the toilet in the night, go out, then come back straight to bed. As an aside, his way of asking to go out is really cute - a single bark or growl. Just one. Repeated after a short break if I haven't woken up.

An interesting update on this - we had our annual vet visit today and the vet is certain that the cocker is bigger all over. Longer, taller, overall looking more mature. She's heavier than when I got her but trimmer. She's lost the fat pad at the base of her tail. Vet thinks she looks quite fit. So perhaps she has grown a bit.

The reserve was an on-leash area, that doesn't make it a dog park. If your dog is a risk for running up to and severely mauling small children, maybe it doesn't belong out in public. Wow Maddy..... Way to assume there..... I have never owned a vicious dog. My dogs are always complemented for their friendly, bubbly, outgoing natures. My current dogs are being therapy dogs with people in assisted living. That doesn't mean I haven't noticed the great Dane that attacked the bin man in big dog park. The two shepherd breeds that tried to rip a whippet to pieces. Dogs displaying obvious aggression and people ignorantly letting their toddlers wander around. There's even a thread in general where a family dog is struggling with a toddler. If a familiar dog struggles, I think people are being very unrealistic to think strange dogs at dog park are going to be fine with prams and toddlers.

Just be careful if you tie them to the esky with the beers in it....... Never good having to chase the beers down the beach :D My staffy camped with us all the time. Didn't take anything special. Just what we used daily at home. Only time things didn't quite go to plan was when we left him briefly tied to the car while we went to do something. He climbed up onto the roof for a better view of where we were..... Was the then bf's car. He was less than impressed with the claw marks up the bonnet, up the windscreen and on the roof..... He used to love racing down sand dunes. For once I took a beautiful photo of him and same bf racing down a huge dune at rainbow beach. Miss that beautiful dog so much. ETA one really handy thing I have, and use daily, is a canvas water bowl. It clips on to our lead and you don't know it's there.