As a first-time Cocker Spaniel owner, there are a lot of things to remember and keep track of. You have probably read a ton of books, received good advice from friends and family, and listened to the clever words from your breeder. Most likely, you will forget half of it and figure it out along the way. But there is one person we would all like to trust: our veterinarian. They must know best when it comes to the health of your little wonder dog… But is that so?
Finding a vet you trust
Finding a good and trustworthy vet is honestly not easy. First of all, because vets also need to make money, and some are looking for “easy money” on small extra examinations. You should especially be aware of vets that are part of larger companies or groups, such as Evidensia or AniCura. Not that they are not good vets, but be aware there is a larger company behind your local vet, whose mission is to increase revenue. Our own local vet is part of AniCura, so don’t take this as I wouldn’t recommend them, but more that you should be aware of prices and smaller add-ons on your invoice. If you feel your vet is only there for money, it can be difficult to trust whether they advise you on what is best for your dog or what is best for their economy.
Secondly, it can be difficult to find a vet who knows something about different breeds. You might think a dog is a dog, and does it matter what breed it is when the vet is examining your dog? But it actually does matter. Many illnesses can quickly be determined if the vet knows the difference between breeds and what kind of breed-specific issues they should look for.
A vet who is pragmatic, knows your breed, and where you don’t feel overcharged is difficult to find, but when you do, they are gold! If you find that vet, never let go.
Personally, we use two different vets, as one part of our “dog family” lives in another area of Denmark: the aforementioned vet, who is part of AniCura, whom we have used for decades, and my local vet, who is a Cocker Spaniel breeder himself, so he naturally knows everything about the breed. We feel lucky to have vets we trust with our dogs.
What vets will say to you about your Cocker Spaniel
When you bring your new Cocker Spaniel puppy home, you naturally need to take the puppy to the vet as they will need one or two vaccinations (recommended by vets that puppies are vaccinated at the age of 8, 12, and 16 weeks). At these first visits, it is important to make sure your puppy has a good experience and feels comfortable. Normally, the vet will also do a quick health check of your puppy, which is great and generally you should listen to what the vet has to say. But you should aware of these three topics, when it is a Cocker Spaniel puppy you bring to the vet.
- “Your puppy is too fat” – this is the no. 1 comment, and it is in every country. The thing is, the standard Cocker Spaniel is bred and meant to be robust (not fat). They are bred to have a good bone structure, a strong front chest, and a robust and steady body. If they are to develop that, they need to have some energy to work with. I guess it’s like human babies. You would rather have a chubby baby than a slim baby. A puppy shouldn’t be overweight and too round, but they should have some extra puppy fat, and trust me, it will disappear later in life. This is especially for the standard Cocker, as they have a heavier structure, than the field trail spaniel. I can assure you, breeder around the world, will advise you the same. When it is a puppy, they should have some puppy fat. When your dog gets older, a good way of seeing if the dog is overweight is by feeling your dog’s ribs. You shouldn’t be able to see the ribs, but you should be able to feel them. If you are in doubt, ask your breeder what they think about the shape of your Cocker Spaniel puppy before cutting away food. Who to ask for advise? On this matter I would contact the breeder or someone who knows the breed really well an get their opinion
- “Cocker Spaniels always have ear problems” – and right away, they will give you medication and treatment to clean the ears with. But what you should do instead is to make sure you have removed all hair on the inside and upper part on the outside of the ear, so the ear can “breathe.” That is often where the issue starts. Instead of starting to clean the ear with treatments that will kill the natural environment of the ear, start by clipping the hair. If the dog truly has an issue, most often they will show by scratching their ears often. Who to ask for advise? On this matter I would ask either the breeder or get a second opinion from another vet, depending on how bad it is.
- “We need to remove some of the baby teeth” – and it has to be done with surgery right away! This is probably something that is seen in all breeds and seems to be very common lately. But we hear more and more vets saying especially the canine teeth need to be removed, as they are damaging the puppy’s palate. If your vet tells you this, you should get a second opinion. It is a big thing to put your puppy in narcosis to remove some teeth that will soon fall out anyway.
A little story from our own life… We have had puppy buyers where the first vet wanted to remove some puppy teeth by surgery – they luckily got a second opinion, and this second vet simply felt the teeth and wupsi, it was so loose that the vet could simply pull it out by hand. No need for surgery at all. It would only have been a costly affair as well as a risk of damaging the puppy.
A good rule of thumb: if the puppy can chew on a chewing stick like nothing is wrong, they are probably not in pain. Who to ask for advise? I would inform the breeder followed by a second opinion from another vet. If there is a lasting issue with the bite, you should have a dialogue with the breeder.
With that, we wish you the best of luck finding your life time vet. We hope you will succeed in finding one that you trust!
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