The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

Oops, yes you are. Misread your post. Sorry about that Brandy.

I need one of those little smilies that turns red or has egg on its face.

Oh you're wonderful! I've done the same thing so many times!

Hello! Claire in Fort Wayne, Indiana joining the fray. I am still new to dog ownership in general, and Cocker Spaniel ownership specifically. I fell in love with my first dog, Theo (short for Theodolite), when he was about 7 weeks old. That was about 18 months ago. He is an all-black Cocker with a quarter-sized white patch on his chest and just enough white in his beard to put him under akc standards but over cuteness (gives him the appearance of being a little old man). He's a bit runty, weighing in at only 25 lbs, but he's got a big personality and a very expressive face. Bruce (short for Brewster), my second Cocker, came to me as a rescue of a rescue (the woman had him running around her house with a Golden Retriever, Pitbull, and Pit/Lab mix... not allowed more than 3 dogs in the city and the poor guy was just fading away with all that competition), about 4 months ago. All I know is that he was locked in a garage for a full year with a Jack Russell Terrier and that the terrier eventually starved to death. Even though the woman I got him from had him for about 4 months, he was still malnourished (probably from competing with the big dogs for food!) and totally devoid of personality. I'm happy to say that in my care he's gained 6 lbs (now weighing in at a healthy 33) and is now the bubbliest dog I've ever met. Seriously, he loves everyone. All you have to do is say his name and he starts wagging his tail. Bruce is 93% white (which I hear is rare) with red ears, ring around one eye, and a healthy dose of ticking that makes him look freckled. So through a quirk of fate I now have 2 Cocker Spaniels, both between 1.5 and 2 years, and ironically both from the same breeder (which I found out with a little digging). Both dogs enjoy visiting my parents' cats, sleeping on the back of my couch, long walks, and cuddling with me in the morning when I wake up. Theo is more into playing fetch, Bruce loves the rawhides. I'm so blessed to have discovered Cocker Spaniels when I did, because they really make it a pleasure to come home from Grad School every day. We are renting a big Victorian cottage, and the boys couldn't be happier about the room to run and the double lot backyard with the 6 ft privacy fence. I couldn't be happier about the easily cleaned wood floors and enough space for the dogs AND all my art supplies.

HI and welcome to the forum. Your babies sound wonderful ..let me be the first to say,,,(chanting here) pictures,pictures and more pictures we love pictures here. I am Susan and I live in NC with my two furbabies,,Sam,blk and tan,,and Chase Sable/white parti. This is a great place to be, to learn just about everything you need to know about our chosen breed.

Being a photographer by trade, it's funny how few pictures I actually take/have of things in my own life. Thanks for asking to see photos, because I actually didn't have a single photo of the new addition, Bruce, that wasn't just on my phone. The boys got groomed today, and we had a major triumph. When I rescued him, Bruce wasn't able to be Cocker cut due to a really dorky cut by the previous owner. He had actually been cut to have a MOHAWK! Can you believe someone would DO that to such a gorgeous canine? Seriously. Anyway, his fur had grown out enough to cut it the usual Cocker way, and now he looks even MORE handsome. Theo, as usual, looks like a proper prancer after being groomed, but I already knew that would be the case. Just sending out a to my groomer, who I adore. She's definitely a champ. I love that she lets my boys run free in her house while they are there and that they get social time with her pups. She's so reasonable, too! It was only $70 to get the pair cut (I gave $80 because she's awesome). That just seems so low to me, especially considering they get to stay there all day while I actually get something done. Anyway, I'll shut up and let you look at my babies. The black is Theo, the red/white parti is Bruce. You can see his cherry eye in the photo, but after and unsuccessful surgery we're leaving that be. The boys are shown in their very favorite spot, the back of my couch looking out the window.

Claire, you have a good looking pair!

Claire: They are handsome, handsome, handsome! LOVE Bruce's face. They're both lucky to have found you.

I'm Kim and I have visited this forum occasionally for the last couple of years. I learn so much from everyone here! I started using the Zim ear cleaner and swear by it! I live in Dallas, Oregon, just ourside Salem, so MaryK we are neighbors!

I have two rescue cockers, Indy, who is 6 year old buff, and Polly, just-turned-7 who is chocolate and tan. Polly is quite the acrobat, If I had time I would try to teach her agility as she is also very smart. Indy is just a loveable teddy bear! Which is good as he has been being naughty lately chewing on leather things - like our shoes. Not quite sure what is going on, he is always hungry and looking for something to eat. At 32 lbs., he is not overweight, but at the top of what the vet says he should weigh so I don't want to increase his food. Any advice?

Hi Kim: Welcome to you, Indy and Polly - they're so cute!

As to your food question, have you tried baby carrots and/or green beans to supplement his diet? It fills them up, not so much OUT.

Glad you joined our crazy crew and we look forward to getting to know you all better.

Hi and welcome,,,I'm Susan and I have two furbabies ,,yours your beauitful and handsome. again welcome

Hello Everyone! I'm Heather, I live in Vancouver Wa and I have wanted a cocker spaniel for the longest time.

I just recently got my first cocker Gabriela (Gabi) earlier this month. She is currently 12.5 weeks old and oh boy such a handful! I love her to death. I have wanted a dog for a while, but kept putting it off. I finally bit the bullet when my transplant team said getting a dog might help take my mind off waiting for a donor and get me out of the house more. I haven't had a dog since I was a teenager and we had labs then. So it has been a while (about 13 years!) and ooooh do I need a refresher. I am so glad I found this forum, reading everyone's advice reminds me there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can can make it through together!

I look forward to learning more and getting to know other cocker lovers!

Welcome Heather and Gabi - I'm just up the road in Puyallup. You have a beautiful furbaby. Enjoy the forum - and we love pictures!

ahhh what a pretty baby I love black and tans . Hi I am susan and I am from NC, I have two cockers,,,Sam and Chase. Welcome

Gabi is beautiful. The first few months are really difficult. My dogs are both between 1.5 and 2 years and they are the first 2 dogs I've ever owned. I got Theo when he was 8 weeks and wondered what in the world I was thinking. Being where we are now (bigger house, able to leave the dogs with the run of the house without them getting into mischief, me single again) I wouldn't trade those awful couple of months for anything . Just a good light at the end of the tunnel testimonial for you. If you're like me, you'll find that some of Gabi's "quirks" are a Cocker thing, not a Gabi thing, by reading on this forum. I was surprised to find that so many things are universal Cocker peculiarities and that very few of them are Theo and Bruce's own inventions.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Things have been a little rough, we're working on biting and being aggressive towards the cats.

Potty training is coming along ok, as long as I don't let her out of my sight, heh. Currently I spend most of my day in the dining room/kitchen doing things at the computer, so I have her blocked in here with me. It seems to be working well she doesn't like to go on the linoleum so she either waits for me to take her out (about every hour) or paws at the sliding glass door. If I let her into the living room though, she has no problem going potty al over the place! I pay attention to her sniffing around and now it's like I'm always on edge waiting for her to squat, lol. I know it just takes time.

Thanks so much for the light at the end of the tunnel commiseration, it really helps! :)

Welcome Kim, Heanther and Claire. Your kids are gorgeous, I am glad you joined the forum. This is not only about Cockers, but about a tight bunch of crazy Cocker lovers that also can lift your spirit and help through the good and through the bad times.

Hello! My name is Michele and I am from Des Moines! Last Wednesday we brought our first Cocker home. He is a nine week old love bug we named Jinks. We have a Border Collie named Abiquiu and a Border Collie/Aussie mix named Quandary. My husband Steve and I also have two daughters who are 5 and 2.

I will try to add a photo of Jinks soon. I am not quite sure how to do so just yet. He is a love though. Bright, sweet and funny. He makes good eye contact, does great on a leash and loves walking, he is doing great with potty training too. We had to say good bye to our Cocker mix, Maggie, in January. She was 12 and had cancer. We also said good bye to our 16 year old Brittany, Beck, in August. So after much loss this year we are so happy to have added Jinks to our family.

I look forward to participating in the forum and sharing!

Peace and joy to all!

ahhhhhhhh I wanna smooch him he is ,,,well I would say beautiful,,but I will go with handsome,,,gotta love those sable and white's welcome to the forum,,I am Susan from NC,,and I have 2 furbabies,,,Sam blk and tan and Chase sable and white parti...

awww i love sable and whites..he reminds me of my sons cocker Isis when she was a pup

Hugs Sue Q and her crew

Ok. I'm going to try this again. I just timed out and lost my whole post... :(

I am a proud new parent of a beautiful little cocker spaniel boy I named Toby. We drove to Missouri and picked him up over the weekend. It has been a blessing and a gift taking care of him so far. He is amazing. He is learning very quickly and does marvelously for a puppy, I think. I have never owned a cocker before, and was a little concerned after I decided to get one because I heard a lot of negative things about their 'biting habits'. I do have a 6 year old son, so I definately had some reservations. I had been told you can't train a cocker not to bite and one girl I work with has scars all over her arms she says are from her cocker spaniels biting her. However, I have set down rules with my son, and never allow him to interact with Toby when I'm not around to supervise, and aside from normal puppy nibbling Toby has not shown any signs of aggression or excessive biting tendancies, I am happy to say. I have never been so happy with an animal my whole life [don't tell my cat, Roo, because I think she may get jealous. ].

My boyfriend didn't want me to get a dog initially, but he's a real sweetheart. When we got home he kept asking if he could hold him and I caught him sleeping with Toby in his recliner [although they woke up before I could take a evidential picture. ]. My son loves Toby, and I try to acclamate them both to each other as often as possible, usually when Peyton is watching his shows ans Toby is tuckered out from playing. Toby just sleeps on his lap and he holds him while he is asleep. It is beautiful and they look my son gets when he is looking at Toby is *PRICELESS*. I really feel like we have a new member of our family, not just a dog. Toby is the sweetest, softest, smartest, most loving, wonderful, cuddly, beautiful ball of fluff I have ever seen. I do have a harder time with pictures, as he appears to dislike having his taken. Whenever we spend time together he loves to make these adorable poses, but as soon as I get the camera [or my phone] he goes limp and shuts his eyes. It's almost like he is trying to dissuade me from taking his picture by pretending to be asleep. Haha. I'm glad I found this forum, because I am the kind of person who will start freaking out over the smallest thing and thinking that the problem I am having [or think I am having because I don't know better] is the end of the world. It will be nice to have people that have the same breed to help me figure out when I should worry.

I hope my pictures uploaded alright. I will try again if they didn't.

Maggie [and Peyton, Toby, and Adam] in Iowa

welcome to the forum,,,your in the right place for learning about cockers,,,people here really know their stuff about just about anything concerning cocker spaniels. Your skinkid and furkid are both very handsome I am Susan and I am from NC, we have two furbabies Sam, blk,tan and Chase sable/white parti

Welcome Maggie! I am in Iowa too and have a new Cocker boy, Jinks. Your Toby is a cutie!

Greetings from Ginny, Vivi, and Sky.

Some of you may be familiar with Sky's story. I recently up-dated his sad saga of abandonment with his adoption. I also uploaded several photos of the handsome fellow.

We live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vivi ( a gorgeous 18 month old black cocker spaniel) was an only fur-child.

Ginny and Vivi applied to adopt Sky into their happy home. Alas, Sky was in prison ( Hounds of Prison Education) and they wanted to free the prince. Finally, Sky was granted parole for good behavior.

Sky and Vivi are now the best of friends.