dog food

Nicole

Nicole

Well-Known Member
Owned by
2 cockers
Ok so I am a little frustrated again. I know we have had this conversation before regarding diets. I dropped off Classy with the handler today. She is going to the Palm Springs show. She calls me at night saying that her coat "doesn't feel right". And that I had to put her on Eukanuba puppy food because apparently that is the "only" food for cockers and it makes their coat grow. She mixes that and pro plan. And then she she says that " everybody " feeds that and I said well there are some other good breeders out there that I am in contact with that feed natural foods and their dogs look great. Then she says well I don't know but I am telling you that that is the "only" food. Ahhhh, I get so frustrated some times. I like the natural foods, for one thing cockers don't do good with grain I have read it time and time again. I bathed her today, I thought she looked good. She has always told me that she looked good before. Them she says that Classy "screamed" when another person went to touch her. She also said that she worked her outside and her tail was down. She had never done that to me, I take her out around public and she is good, I even work her I my front yard with people around and noise and she is fine walks around with her tail up. She just made me fe like I am the worst dog handler. She knows that I did a good job with her, we went to shoreline shows and got Classy pointed, she has 3 points now. I just hope she does well. Getting worried right now, that and frustrated. Maybe I should start handling. I would like to , I have done it a few times. She was saying that she would give me some pointers but of course she tends to forget sometimes. I just worried that the friend who was at her house is going to say things to me like I am doing a bad job. I just needed to vent. I am also sad that lots of big time handlers in our breed like to put down the other handlers, so many people talk bad about one another. I don't like it. Why can't everyone just be happy for one another? She says out breed can't come back and that it is to far gone. I don't think so, I am on a campaign to bring back our great breed . What do you think?
 
The food I am feeding is Orijen, it is grain free. Amelia and Fenway are on the adult, Classy is on the puppy food.
 
I feel for you. Partly why I handle my own mostly. It can b a rough world tho. Put ur thickest skin on and ur earplugs. Take in any advice u feel is beneficial to ur dog and u and run with it. Ignore what u think won't help you.
What exactly about the dogs coat wasn't right, did she say? Too dry? Flyaway? Perhaps as simple as adding a vitamin and fish oil to the diet. There's lots of things u could 'try' without going to the Eukanuba. Good luck.
 
I am no expert in show costs but Ki's coat has been much admired and I don't use Eukanuba. I use a grain free venison food. As for the politics, I have run into that also, especially since my handler, although well known, is not known in the ACS world. I talked to some people here and decided to let the behavior of some handlers slide right off of me. I chose my handler for several reasons, he's very good, he's very caring of the dogs he shows, and he is here in town so I don't have to ship Ki off, he can just go on road trips with Bobby. It works for me and if it takes Ki slightly longer to get his championship, oh well in the long run it matters more that I feel comfortable with my arrangements.
 
First off, I would like to see this coat that she says is not good. It is NOT the food IMHO. If there are coat issues it may be genetic or maybe thyroid, but I am not convinced that that's what is going on. If she had her tail down, it is probably because she is not confident in her surroundings, and if you just dropped her off there, shoot, in a day or two she'll be fine. The breed is not at 100% IMHO again, but there are a lot, a LOT of good dogs out there, stunning dogs. The problem with the decline we are seeing is people truly not knowing what a good dog is, how to breed good dogs, showing bad dogs, judges putting up bad dogs, now the good dogs look like the odd man out. People who have been in the breed for years showing and specialing stuff that shouldn't be even out much less bred. Ohhhh no I can feel a rant coming!!! haha! I'm stopping now because once I get started I get allll ramped up. LOL Send me a pic of your kid let me look at her hair. It may purely be change of coat that is feeling weird to this person.
 
Jen Elwanger said:
First off, I would like to see this coat that she says is not good. It is NOT the food IMHO. If there are coat issues it may be genetic or maybe thyroid, but I am not convinced that that's what is going on. If she had her tail down, it is probably because she is not confident in her surroundings, and if you just dropped her off there, shoot, in a day or two she'll be fine. The breed is not at 100% IMHO again, but there are a lot, a LOT of good dogs out there, stunning dogs. The problem with the decline we are seeing is people truly not knowing what a good dog is, how to breed good dogs, showing bad dogs, judges putting up bad dogs, now the good dogs look like the odd man out. People who have been in the breed for years showing and specialing stuff that shouldn't be even out much less bred. Ohhhh no I can feel a rant coming!!! haha! I'm stopping now because once I get started I get allll ramped up. LOL Send me a pic of your kid let me look at her hair. It may purely be change of coat that is feeling weird to this person.
Click to expand...

I clicked like but I want to add that I LIKE, LIKE, LIKE this post.
 
Also, could Classy be at the stage where she is losing her puppy coat and beginning to get her adult coat? Just a thought.
 
Yes definitely could be change of coat. I missed how old this one is?
 
Nicole, I went and looked at your pics, if the New Year's photos are current (I think they are) the puppy looks like she has plenty of hair, however I don't know how old she is. My brown girls went thru a crazy change of coat, one more than the other. Claire came home to grow hair back, yes, she lost THAT much. The good news is it is coming back. Renae didn't lose as much, but has decided to sit in the ring. LOL She is also entered in Palm Springs this weekend. I think Lisa Pino is going with a couple of buff kids. Other than that I'm not sure who is going. If this is a younger puppy, 6=9? I don't think I'd worry that much, it's probably change of coat.
 
Lots of old-time breeders feel strongly about what works for them. I will continue to do what works for me, and my dogs. If you are not obligated to feed what this person wants you to feed, then do what you think is best.
 
Thank's everyone. Classy is 8 months old. Funny because when we went to shoreline she did not give me an issue with the coat, she said "oh she looks great". She did show great at that show, I was there and I handled her for her first points. I know there are great dogs and those not so great ones. Some politics with judges. Some are ok. I have been around for a while. It's just sad when people like to put one another down. As for the food issue, I am taking what she says with a grain of salt. I will see when I get the update of how Classy did. I know it is a matter of how they are with her. She responds to happy happy happy, sometimes she is not that way when she works with them, also Classy looks to the other dogs, I think she took her alone to work her. Thanks again everyone.
 
Oh Jen I did not know that those were your brown girls. Were they at Las Vegas as well? Glad the coat is back and they are showing again.
 
8 months = change of coat I'm sure. I wouldn't worry about it. Yeah those are my brown kids, yes they were in Vegas. Renae went Best in Sweeps at the one specialty and reserve to the specialty major. Claire had to go in naked as a jaybird to hold the major, which sucked for me, but I didn't want to break the major so let her go in. Renae's hair is looking pretty good apparently, there's still a few spots growing back in, but she never lost the coat that Claire did. Claire came home to grow it back (I can grow it myself for free lol) and will go back to Terrie when I go to Reno to watch nationals. =)
 
Ok Jen, that's probably it. One if your girls is there this weekend right? Glad they are growing their coat again. Thank you. I kind of wished I went to Palm Springs to see what is going on. There are so many products out there to grow coat but whenever I tried them on Classy she had loose stools so I just have her on her kibble which has plenty of protein and fat along with probiotics and prebiotics and I always boil some chicken for the dogs and add it in their food. I will go to Reno as well. I am most likely going to have Amelia in obedience by then. I am not wanting to say who the handler is right now. Maybe I will disclose in the future. She has been around for a long time.
She does have a strong personality and thinks that everyone should feed what she feeds.
 
Oh by the way Jen, thank you so much for not breaking the major in Vegas. That was nice of you. I am glad at least one of your kids got something.
 
Of course you're welcome. lol She didn't get any points, but that's ok, we're thrilled about the Best in Sweeps, and the RWB to the specialty major is not bad considering her second weekend out. It's alllll good. I really don't expect too much out of babies first few shows, I just want them to have FUN. =) It was a tad embarrassing tho LOL my little naked girl. haha!!! Ah well. She's bodied out and looking amazing, now we just gotta finish growing the hair back so she can go rock the ring! Hopefully Renae will start walking again, instead of sitting. <shakes head> if it's not one thing it's another!!!! lol
 
Yes, Renae is at Palm Springs. But really. She doesn't want to walk, she wants to sit there and think about it. haha!!! I think all us breeders find something that works for us and feel pretty strongly about it. Geez I hope I don't do that to people! LOL I think your girl will be just fine, she is only in change of coat.
 
Hopefully she will walk, Classy was like that when I first started working her. Then she got better the more I took her out with Amelia, she looks to the confident dogs and copies them. I am sure her coat will come in very soon and she'll be getting the points. Once they body out they do look good. I am sure it it a coat change for Classy more I think about and read what everyone has written. Hopefully all went well today, I should hear back later. Hope she is off her little rant about the food. She had said that with Amelia that I should change foods that was before she bodied out, I never switched her I was patient and kept feeding what I fed, uped her food a bit. The next show I remarked doesn't Amelia look good and she said yes she really does, she bodied out she could win the variety.
 
So Classy went reserve, that is good , she is showing at least. I guess she wants to keep her as a kennel dog. Go figure, oh well I did my best with her by raising her in the house, my dog are my kids and that includes anybodies dog that I care for. I take care of them and treat them as my own. They are raised in the house, and taken out to public places often, socialized well. I also train. I took classy to handling classes got her to where she was comfortable around people. But she thinks she will do better locked up in a kennel. Oh well, what can I say. I kind of felt like a failure. Yes I will miss that little girl, she was so loving. Now I know when I breed Amelia when she comes of age I am handling the baby myself, I know I can do it. My dogs will be kept in the house and trained and socialized not in a kennel.
 
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