The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Hi, I have been reading lots of posts from the forum and want to say thank you to everybody for all the useful information I have found here!

I have recently (3days ago) become a mummy to a beautiful little bundle of joy that has a sad story actually :(

I am also owner of two cats and we (me and my husband) have very good relationship with our vet and 3 days ago he gave us a call telling us that he has an american cocker spaniel pup 1.5 months old (6 weeks) who's mom has passed away...the owners of the mom and pup (he was the only pup) abandoned this little soul at the vet saying that they cannot care for him as their time doesn't allow it. So our vet knowing us very well, decided to call and ask if we can adopt him and of course we said yes, as both me and my husband are huge animal lovers.

Now, my issue is that in this state he still need his mum and it's really delicate situation as I am trying to be his mom and his friend in the same time. He is a really adorable pup and his behaviour is soooo good, but I want to tell you all what am I doing for my pup and if I have some mistake, please correct me! My little babies name is Charley :)

First of all the moment he got into our home we have prepared a place for him to potty, and he got the point with little accidents that are still occurring but it's no big deal. After nap time i am immediately taking him there (by calling him to me, he responds to come as he is really clingy and I am using this to call him to me as he follows naturally) - so I am calling him after me and saying "come, potty", on the pads again i am repeating the work "potty", when he starts doing his business I don't say anything and wait until he finishes and then give him huge praise and kisses and love and play time. I am taking him there every2 hours and sometimes he is just squirting little bit to get the praise. Hope I am doing good here...

In play time he is attempting to chew my hand and clothes and when i see he is coming for me, i just place a chew toy in his path and he is biting that, while i am praising him.

When it comes to sleepy time, he has a bed that he loves (when i got the bed i hid tiny treats all over and he was digging and finding them so he adores his bed now) and I am getting the bed everywhere I go, even he sleeps, he sleeps near me so i can monitor his sleep - potty behaviour. He is clingy and I like that and I know he is soo tiny and must have his mum around but slowly I must start crate training him and leaving him some alone time so he will not suffer anxiety. My question is how should i make this passage from mum to teaching him independence? Am I doing anything wrong now? I am very nervous for the transition stage...

Sounds like you're doing great! Is there a place outside(where no others animals go)where he can go to potty? I just think its better if he gets the outside for potty idea as soon as you can. but you don't want to take him where many other dogs and other animals may be or have been until his first shots are complete.
As soon as you can I would try to get him used to going outside. Would love to see pics of your new baby!

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I have sent your post to some very knowledgeable people who have raised litters of puppies from birth and they should be able to help. It sounds like you are doing a good job, but I have a couple of questions:

How often are you feeding Charley - and what are you feeding him? What did his mother die of? I only ask to know if it was anything that could possibly compromise the health of your new baby. You are doing well with bonding and potty training, but know that he is way too young to "get it" yet and it may take several months before he understands where he is to potty on his own (without encouragement). Here in the US we do a series of puppy shots, but I'm not sure you have that available to you. You may want to ask the vet if that is part of puppy protocol there.

Please keep him away from areas where there might have been unvaccinated dogs, because the risk of parvo virus is high with an unvaccinated puppy. If you do take him outside, confine him to your yard or an area where there have been no other dogs or other animals (I would say until he's completed his puppy shots, but not sure about whether you give them).

One of the most important things you can start to do is to expose him to new situations every day - different sounds in the house, different people, other dogs you know have been vaccinated (in your home only), and even grooming. Try to make each experience as positive as possible for him. The cats will help, LOL.

Would love to see pictures of your little bundle. Go to the forum entitled "Important Messages" and there is a tool there that will help re-size pictures so you can post little Charley's picture.

Thanks for your reply!

Unfortunately there is no place I can take him to be safe from any possible illness. There are lots of parks around my building but there is also one street dog that is not healthy that people in my app building are taking care of...so I really don't trust going out until I finish the necessary vaccines. I am planning to invite some friends who have dogs over to our place so they can socialize. He seems very friendly with people and with cats (he keeps chewing their tail and it's really fun to watch their reaction, as he is baby my cats are not hurting him, they are just jumping and they are really curious about him).

His mum was hit by car :(((((.

About feeding him, I am giving the dry food that the vet gave him plus little bits of boiled chicken (my vet said it's ok for now, as he has no vaccine yet his stomach is sensitive). I am feeding him 3-4 times a day the quantities that my vet told me according to his weight(he gave measuring cup) 3 feedings in day time, at 6 am, then 12, then 6 again (aprox times) This programme is made by him actually for I noticed his nappy hours and he is looking for food around those times. the forth time happened once at night he woke and looked for food, so I couldn't help myself from providing his need. I am not using treats, just praising and going positively insane on his good behaviours :) he loves that.


And right after I posted my thread we started crate training as game, trying to teach him inside and outside and he seems to like it!
And the potty for now I am aware it will take some time and accidents are happening but I am trying to watch him like a hawk, when he is looking for place to do sth, we immediately take him to the pads and then go crazy praising him as he is the smartest little fella' in the world! :D
He truly stole my heart ! I will try to post some pics.

Thank you all!

oh my goodness!!!!! he is too cute!

Thank you!

He is SO Cute! It sounds like you have a good plan and are taking excellent care of him.

Thank you for taking this baby. Oh my, he is just too cute! I can see how he stole your heart. I would not let him play with your friends dogs, even though they may be vaccinated, they could bring something into your apt on their feet that could contain disease, and he is totally unprotected right now. Keep up the good work with Charlie. You are doing a great job so far!

Thank you everyone for your great advices and kind words! I will keep up reading this forum and I will keep on posting about our progress :).

You are all so kind! Me and Charley want to thank you for the support!

Oh he is a cutee. Thanks for taking him in. I am sure her will be grateful. Can you get like a stuff animal that resembles a dog that he can sleep with for companionship. A clock that ticks is good too as will resemble the moms heart. I am not sure but there are 2 things I came up with: do you have a female cat that can mother him? Is there any Cocker breeders nearby with a recent litter that can adopt him for a few weeks? Good luck and again thanks for rescuing him.

Do NOT invite people with other dogs over to be around him. They could so easily carry something in on their feet. Keep him inside until he has had his vaccines and the vet gives you a go

Darling!!!

Your doing such a good job with the baby thanks for taking good care of the baby more pictures please

They are just simply adorable! I loooooove Charlie's expression, he has a very expressive figure! :D
And Muraco seems incredibly cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the socialization advices. I have one question about bringing other dogs, is it ok if I ask my friends to clean their dog's paws and then let them in? I have dry shampoo...does it work like that? Or is there some other product that i can use for that?

We learned today to sleep in the crate with our door closed!!! He seems really comfortable in there! i am so proud of him!

I plan on bringing other dogs to him after we start the vaccine programme. I asked my vet when is the appropriate age and he said passed two months. Is it the same in your country? It sounds a bit suspicious to me....

What kind of games could I play with my puppy? :D

More pictures coming soon!

you can trow a toy for him to chase and tire him out. also you can begin to teach sit and down using a treat to lure him into position. also get him used to being touched every where as he will need grooming so it helps later on.

Yeah, I am trying the fetch idea but his attention span is too short now, and while he is chasing the toy, he remembers I'm there and comes back trying to climb me...

How can I improve his attention span? We are trying to play "Find it" also, as they are born with digging instinct and hunting, I am holding a treat and then hiding it somewhere in the room and he is going to find it. He is going completely insane when he gets a treat and get over-excited, therefore I am kinda' loosing his attention again...any suggestions on improving in that chapter?

We are going to start the "sit" exercises tomorrow, but really i don't know how to convince him to stay in front of me, he is all over the place :)

I agree, this is one lucky puppy who had a horrible start in life losing his mom, and then finding you. You are doing a wonderful job. But looking at that precious face, I am sure it is easy to do. Looking forward to seeing many pics of him growing up.

I urge you to go to the Caring for your Cocker section and carefully read all the stickied posts, about IMHA, IVDD, cherry eye, food, vaccinations, titers, etc. You won't need this info now(except the vaccination stuff), but if your pup ever gets ill, you may be able to know something is wrong early, like Vickie and Bob did with Annie's IMHA. Had they waited, they may have lost her, but thanks to their knowledge they knew to seek immediete treatment and not wait. Many knowledgable people on the forum posted this info for new owners such as yourself.

I AM REALLY PANICKED! I think I might have done a booboo, I have some lamb treats, it's basically just lamb meat boiled and I cut it into very small peaces to give as treats and last evening before meal I started a bit of training and gave him these treats.

Everything was ok and he loves the treats but today he pooped some mucus, transparent with no smell or anything and he did the same poo session like 3 times, just moving around a bit and then a little drop, then moving a bit and a little drop again then it stopped. He drank little water after this and he went on his nap. Early in the morning, his poo was totally normal, solid as usual.

Is it something to be worried about? I plan on following the next stool and see how it goes...I'm really scared and i feel so guilty!

I had this with my cat before her worms vaccine then everything was ok but with the pup my vet said he can give the first vaccine in about 2-3 weeks as he said he is too small now and he needs to gain some weight.

For now everything is ok, he is drinking water and eating normally and he doesn't seem to have any discomfort or pain...I'm keeping fingers crossed!

Zoey does the walk and poop,walk and poop, she is just to busy sniffing to stay on one spot. She also has mucosy stool (usually after she eats from the cat box) when she is stressed or been fed something new. you can mark on calendar so you have a record to show the vet at his next visit or if he needs to be seen sooner. and with training just remember he is a baby! he will be easily distracted just do a few minutes at a time,as he grows so will the time you can train. for now a few minutes several times a day and you will be suprised at what he learns, you can also teach go to your bed(or rug place...)throw a treat on his bed and when he goes say your command and "good boy" as he eats it. it won't be long before he knows what you mean. good luck! to charley

The thing that worries me the most is about his worms and immune system...at what age should they get their first vaccines?

My vet said 2 months but in my original country (Romania) we give at 6 weeks if they don't have mum to prevent any immune system issues. now in Turkey they do like this, how is it in your countries?