American cocker: discovering the charms of this beloved race
The American cocker It is one of those races that have now become perfect pets, but that for many years they have accompanied the hunters in the field, specifically hunting quail and partridges.
- Weight: Around 11 kilos
- Hair type: Silky and smooth
- Character: cheerful and balanced
- Health: strong
- Life expectancy: 12-14 years
Origins
As with the majority of the races of the new continent, American cocker has its origin in old Europe. Specifically, it comes from the United Kingdom. Several came from this country Cocker Spaniel around 1800.
The race was extended throughout the continent and at the end of the century, in 1881, the first club of the race was created, which was already called American Cocker Spaniel Club.
During those 80 years, American specimens from the English began to be distinguished, since American breeders began working immediately in other lines that moved this animal away from their main mission, hunting.
It seems somewhat linked to the Americans, who have already done this with several races until they separate them from the main trunk, generating new breeding lines.
There was a lot of controversy at the time
This decision, that of taking out a cocker line for the exhibitions, was not exempt from disputes since its origin, because there were people who wanted the race to remain a perfect hunting dog.
In fact, the result of this controversy already begins to differentiate both variants in a definitive way, and this is something that was seen in the phenotype of the dogs being the Americans from a smaller size and with a more abundant hair.
Already in 1935 the crossing between both races was prohibited And in 1946 the American Kennel Club surrendered to the evidence, recognizing that the American cocker and the English were two different races.
It is in those years that Cocker reached the greatest popularity, being now in decline, but not in danger of extinction.
Main characteristics
The breed is within the group of “sports hunting dogs” of the FCI, although many years ago he does not step on the field. In this group, with a weight ranging from 10 to 15 kilos and with a height from 33 to 39 cm, it is the smallest.
Your head is very characteristic, since it is very round And it is accompanied by a wide and elongated snout, more flat than that of English cocker, which is one of its differences.
The fur is longer than the one with the breed that gives rise to it. It can be smooth or wavy, with an inner layer that protects it from cold and humidity, which is the result of its days as a hunter.
It has fringes on the legs, ears and in the chest area, which contributes to a friendly appearance, far away from aggressiveness.
On the tone of the mantle, solid black is accepted, with fire marks or white spots, cream, dark red, brown and brown with fire marks. In turn, it can have two solid colors, provided that one is white.
We cannot forget their ears, which seem inserted far back into the head and that hangs it in a visible way. They give the appearance of being huge, but the truth is that this is an optical illusion fruit of hair, and especially the fringes.
Character
We are facing a very affectionate and friendly dog, as it seems when we first see it. It is one of the best pets we can have, because it is very sweet and loyal with yours.
The appearance of stuffed animals helps us always want to caress him, something that he will not reject. In addition, he gets along very well with the children, which he treats very delicately so as not to harm them.
Something similar happens with other animals, so it is the ideal dog if we live with more pets such as cats.
Unlike its English relative, which has a result of a little responsible parenting, the American cocker is very balanced and calm.
That does not mean that the day sleeps, since it is active and loves to play. He is also happy exercising, especially if hunting is simulated.
They like to move, which does not mean that they have problems when adapting to life at home, and hence the success they had from the beginning acting as pets.
American cocker care
Like any dog with this fur, What will give us the most work will be the hair. Thus, in order to look in all its splendor, you have to brush it once a day.
The bathrooms have to be regular, because that assures us a clean mantle and with which we will be able to work better. In addition, if we want it to have the appearance of the race, we must take it to the hairdresser.
Frequent visits will have to be scheduled in order to unleash your hair, cut it, shape it, etc., but this should not be done every month.
We should not see this as an expense, since in addition to our pet will look better, we will prevent parasites from developing. These find a perfect place in hair knots, so you have to avoid them at all costs.
The ears will also sue much attention, both on the outside, as well as internally, because due to the type of ear it has, ear infections are not uncommon.
How do we clean your ears?
You have to check your ears regularly, better if we do it every day to come from the street.
We start with the outside, where dirt tends to be stuck. There can be entangled all kinds of vegetation, which we will remove in order not to create knots or dirt nuclei.
We also avoid wounds on the outside, which can occur if the spikes are stuck well in the hair and touch the skin.
After looking at the external part we go to the internal, to the most important. Again, we verify that you do not have spikes or foreign bodies, because if they are present and do not take them off otitis.
When preventing it, it helps a lot that we eliminate excess wax. It can be done with a saline gauze or serum, although in the market there are already specific products for dogs that we can use.
If we have doubts, we will always consult the veterinarian, which will explain how to clean our ears to our American cocker in the best possible way, without causing any damage.
It is better to do it daily, so it should be used to the animal since childhood, manipulating its ears, cleaning the internal area of the ear, etc.
Feeding
As for the food of the American cocker, the first thing we should know is that we are facing a rather glottone race. Eat very quickly and if we leave you will do it in much higher amounts than necessary.
This means that we must be careful how much I think we put in the bowl, while we avoid giving it extras in the form of chucheías or homemade food, because that will only help to fat more.
So, The main thing is to choose a quality feed, more when the American cocker is a quite active dog that needs food that provides a good amount of energy, but without spending.
Therefore, what we are going to do is buy a quality feed, of those called as a premium. The main feature of this type of dog food is its composition.
It highlights proteins, almost always in the form of meat, although there are also fish. The normal thing is that the main protein source is chicken or lamb and there are already duck feed, cow, etc.
In turn, and more knowing that it tends to gain weight, what we will look for will be a feed without grains of any kind. That means that it is better not to have wheat or barley, which contribute too many carbohydrates.
It may seem that choosing a feed will be very complicated, but nothing is further from reality. We will look for those you announce in the sack that are "Grain Free”And among those, we will choose those who have a greater proportion of protein in their composition.
If despite this we notice that our American cocker fattens, we can always talk to the veterinarian, in order to see if a I think light, with less fat and carbohydrates.
Health
The American cocker is not a delicate dog, of those with whom you have to go to the veterinarian every week, but like all pure races they have their associated health problems.
One of the main ones is deafness. In fact, about 7 % of the dogs in this breed are born deaf, something that they can live with and we also, provided we follow a series of guidelines in order to adapt to it.
In addition, deafness can acquire it throughout your life if we are not careful. Like every dog with long ears and falls, otitis are not uncommon and if these are not treated they can cause the ear damage.
Therefore, we must be attentive and check the inside of the auditory pavilion frequently, especially after the walks.
The eyes are another of its weak points
You also have to be careful with your eyes, because the race is prone to suffering problems such as cataracts or glaucoma. Therefore, it is good that the veterinarian look at his eyes every so often.
These reviews must be more frequent as the animal becomes greater, because that is when the most risk of these pathologies.
There are more diseases of the race
If we talk about American cockers Do not forget autoimmune hemolytic anemia, since it affects the race.
It is a liver disease that comes for several causes, and that luckily has treatment in the vast majority of cases, with solutions such as blood transfusion, antiparasitics or corticosteroids.
Seen thus it seems that American cocker is a delicate animal, but nothing is further from reality. Deafness is a disease that affects them more and the rest may suffer, but it is not very common.
However, glaucoma or cataracts are something that any dog suffers, just like anemia. It occurs more in this race than in another, but we should not obsess ourselves. Of course, we must not stop buying a copy of this race if we like it.
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