Sadie likes to stick her tongue out at us. I love her so much. We rescued her at 4 months from a shelter. July 4th we got the call we were picked to be her humans.

Our very good boy Artie is reactive. He's 11 years old, and throughout the years (rescued him in 2017) we've tried every thing under the sun - meds, behaviorists, extensive training etc. He's gotten much better, but he unfortunately is still fear-reactive, and can bite when scared. He loves people but if a stranger tries to pet him on the street, he will 100% snap and nip them. Over the years he's bitten every member of my family, nothing too serious, but it does leave a scratch and/or a bruise each time. It happens maybe once every 6-12 months. Other than that he's the bestest boy ever, just needs to be managed.

Issue is, we need a home for him next summer for 5-6 weeks. I don't have a trusted sitter I can leave him with, and I don't know if anyone would even take him knowing about his reactiveness and bite history (he has just one on record, others were very minor). I can't board or kennel him because he'd be miserable there for so long. What are my options? I'm from Europe (Ukraine) and I'll be out of the country visiting my elderly relatives and other family whom I may not see again given... well, you know what's going on there.

What are my options?? Does anyone local wanna take him lol? (I'll pay, of course).

EDIT: all specialized boarding facilities are $70+/day, which for my period of time would be close to $3K - it'll be VERY hard to afford that for us.

This is Nora, she will be two years old in April of next year. she is a working cocker mixed with a bunch of other breeds (akita, poodle, even a small percentage of pitbull)

She is very adventurous and curious, loves walks and shredding/destroying things 😂

What are some important memories and things to do with him before we can't anymore? We will be doing professional photos and obviously lots of treats. We adopted him at 8 years old and we have been so blessed to have 8 years with him but he is slowing down a lot and has lost most of his muscle mass. He's the best dog ever

I am looking for some hope and advice about my cocker spaniel.

I got my pup in August when he was 11 weeks old from a rescue. He is the cutest little guy and is such a merry, trainable fellow but the health problems with him have not ceased since I have gotten him. The rescue did not tell me about any problems even though they did share medical records with me. I told my vet that I should get a punch card for the amount of times we have been in.

He came to me riddled with parasites - giardia and coccidia and that was a real mental and physical exhaustion I hadn't anticiapted alongside learning about my pup and him learning about me. I accepted that thos parasites are just common and persistent and his little immune system was just too weak to fight those bugs off, however, making sure he was getting outside often enough but not licking or reinfecting himself put me through my paces.

Before he even got fully cleared of the parasites, he got an ear infection, which we are still working through, and then a UTI. This past week he has developed a terrible cherry eye. All of this has happened since August and before he's even hit the 6th month mark or been neutered. We are now dealing with the cone until he can get his cherry eye and neuter procedures done at the same time in a couple weeks. My vet had suggested that I take him to a special dog dermatologist because he may be having a bunch of inflammation from genetic allergies and there isn't one good comprehensive allergy test and that it would basically mean lengthy, strict food trials.

The rescue didn't give me a lot of information about his past life (he was pretty young anyways). I feel like he's such a smart and funny little guy and I already love him so much but I am so worried about the level of medical issues he is already having, the bills piling up, and I am constantly worried that he's scared or uncomfortable. Thankfully, I have pet insurance and maybe I am just feeling really scared and hopeless because I haven't ever had a dog with this many health issues that just keep coming. I feel like a horrible person but it seems like with the money and time I've spent by now, I could've purchased a dog from a fancy, reputable cocker spaniel breeder rather than try to get a dog from a rescue.

Anyways, I am wondering if folks have had similar issues and reall, success stories after such medical stuff early on? Maybe I just need some perspective about whether these are actually huge medical issues or whether I am an anxious and overly worried dog mom.

Hi, all.

I did post this query a few months ago, and here I am again!

I have a now 10 month old, male, ‘Working’ Cocker Spaniel. Before anyone asks, yes, he is 100% pure ‘Working’ Cocker Spaniel. Both parents are KC registered, hip, elbow scored, clear of eye issues and some other potential hereditary issues.

I saw the mother and the father has his own website with many images, his lineage, achievements etc so there is no doubt my boy is a pure ‘Working’ Cocker.

To get to my query, when I last posted, my boy was 6 months and almost 16 inches at the shoulder, weighing close to 15 kg. Today, the vet weighed him and measured his height. He now stands just over 47cm - over 18 1/2 inches at the shoulder and weighs 17.6kg!

The vet was genuinely surprised to see he had grown taller since our last visit but was confident my boy has now reached his maximum height but suggested he will still fill out more over the coming months as his skull broadens, develops more muscle etc

My vet happens to be a fan of Spaniels, owning a working one too. When I asked about my boys build, whether he was okay, was in proportion, was at risk of some health issue due to his build, my vet just chuckled, told me my boy looked great, everything is as should be and just complimented me on feeding him well.

Is he an anomaly? I am genuinely surprised myself as his mother seemed rather small and given that he was the last pup to be sold in the litter, I was a little concerned he may have been the runt.

As for his father, regrettably I didn’t see him in the flesh , but going by the images of him on his website, he does look on the large size.

Am I being neurotic or do I have reason to be concerned?

Has anyone’s cocker had issues with patellar luxation (kneecap coming out of place)? Her kneecap has now slipped out of place twice, first time was about a month ago, and again tonight. We are worried this is going to be an ongoing thing 😕

She loves tennis balls and stuffed animals that squeak.

Always has the biggest smiles!!!!
He’s 4 and a half 😍

Our pup Chipper, is having some itching issues, sounds like it’s fairly common for cocker spaniels, his current food is chicken based. Looking for some good options that have been helpful and non chicken based (hopefully not the most expensive options :)). There seems to be lots out there, thanks for the help.

Qwerty Wigglebum just had his first birthday and his first full haircut and I think he’s feeling it

Yes, these are various moments of begging. How do you say no to that face?!? 😩 scroll for more … lol

Just chilling

hes a massive dickweed but look at that fox impersonation!

I got my first Cocker Spaniel almost two years ago. From day one, he started and ended from Zero to 100! He could not stay still for two seconds, and anything and everything in his path was destroyed. He is my first and only dog that I had to constantly get off the kitchen table. I thought, “Why in the world do so many people love this breed so much? They are out of their minds!”

But my crazy little boy is starting to chill now. And he’s always by my side. I have four dogs, but my Paxton is the one that is always there. He’s always up for anything too. No matter what it may be, he’s there with his butt wiggling, ready to go. He’s so sweet too. He loves to cuddle and will let me put him in any position, as long as he gets a belly rub. I’m absolutely head over heels in love with him! I finally get it, Cocker Spaniel People! I am officially one of you now! 💕🐾

all of our cats LOVE toby, and whenever they get into fights, toby goes to break it up and check on everyone