Need advice on weight of cocker spaniel

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chris122049

New Member
Hi, I'm new to this forum. My name is Chris and my cocker spaniel is named Cooper. Cooper was abandoned when I found him but neighbors told me that he escaped from a breeder who didn't want him. Every time he was returned, he would run away again so the neighbor gave him to me. He never runs away now so I'm not sure why he ran away from the breeder. I don't live around there and haven't been able to locate the breeder who had him.

Anyway I would appreciate any information that people could share with me about the size of cocker spaniels. Cooper is 35 to 38 pounds and is 16 inches tall from floor to the top of his shoulder. He is a liver and white parti color but I've never seen such a big cocker spaniel.

In a pet store, one guy thought he was a Clumber but I thought maybe he was a cockapoo.....a big one. Could his size be a reason why the breeder didn't want him back? He's a sweetheart! He was 3 when I got him and I had him fixed but I'm confused about why he is so big........I always thought cockers were small dogs.

At first I put him on diet food but once I had him groomed, the vet said he wasn't that overweight......for his frame, he's just solid. His fur grows very long just like I see on show cockers ...... but do cockers get as big as he is?
 
Hello Chris and Cooper :wave:
It is so awesome that you took Cooper and give him a wonderful home. If you vet felt he was a good weight and solid he is fine at that weight. I have owned quite a few cockers and had them range from 18 to around 35 pounds. Some can be large bodied and boned like your Cooper and some can be fine boned and petite. Would love to see a photo of your boy.
 
Welcome. I had a cocker who was at his perfect weight at 36.6 lbs. Generally speaking, you should be able to feel but not see the ribs. And when you look down, you should see a definite 'waist'.

I would also love to see a pic sounds like a handsome boy. I happen to like the bigger boned dogs.
 
Our cockers weigh 18 to 31 pounds. Our old guy, Barkley, weighed 41 pounds. He was very tall and big boned. Like others have said, it depends on the bone structure. Cockers come in various sizes. People often think Blondie (18 pounds) is a puppy because of her size.
 
Cocker weights do vary but he is on the bigger side. Do post a picture if you can. It will be easier to give you an opinion if we can see him. Did your vet suggest running a thyroid panel? If you think you are feeding Cooper well and his weight is concerning you, you could check to see if his thyroid is low. That can cause overweight in cocker spaniels. Chances are he's just a solid boy.
 
You want to be able to feel ribs but not see them, and have a fat covering over the hipbones, not protruding. They should have a "waistline", a tuck-up. =)
 
Thanks everyone for reassuring me about his size. I've only seen small cockers and so I was a little concerned about why he seems so big. He is solid and especially when I shaved him down, he didn't look fat.
I did post a picture of him in my blog I will try to do it here. I'm new so I don't even know how to reply to these posts really!
 

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I have a female and she weights around 35 lbs. She is tall and has lots of hair so it makes her look even bigger. People always ask me if she is pregnant, chubby or if she is a boy. Even if she is wearing pink bows. :)
 
chris122049 said:
I keep trying to reply and the web site doesn't respond?
Click to expand...
You're posts are moderated since you're new so they won't show up but you should see some kind of message saying so when you post. Don't worry too much about comparing weights especially if he looks fit and trim.
 
chris122049 said:
I keep trying to reply and the web site doesn't respond?
Click to expand...

Chris...it kept telling me that on Explorer and would not post (I guess my blockers are set to high) and would say "site not responding"....I switched over to Foxfire for this forum and have not had any problems with posting or freezing up.
 
Thanks everyone! I've been pressing the quick reply and I have to click the Go Advanced so they can moderate me. LOL.

I feel so much better knowing there are big Cockers out there. The first vet I took him to said that he needed to weigh 20 pounds instead of 35. For a year I had him on diet food and he didn't lose ANY weight. I took him to a different vet and he had actually gained 2 pounds to 37 (it was probably fur!!!!) and that vet said that he may be big but he's solid ....... he didn't think he was too overweight.

I was frantic about his weight because I saw my mother's dog, Mindy, suffer with diabetes because my mother fed her too much and I didn't want Cooper to have to go through that. But as long as I know that there are some big cockers out there who get to 35 pounds and are big, I'm fine with it. I just have never seen another big Cocker like him.

He's a real sporting dog..........He's so busy smelling that he's walked into the sides of cars and even buildings...........and he loves jumping into bushes and flushing things out of the bushes.

I had dressed him up for Halloween in striped PJ's that said BAD DOG on the back and put plastic chains and a painted nerf ball around his neck and took him trick or treating. He Loved it! Treats!!!

Anyway, thank you, everyone, and I'm looking forward to connecting with other owners of cocker spaniels. They are such a wonderful breed!
The next big step is to try to groom him myself..........right now I have him groomed in a puppy cut but I'm hoping this summer I can get real clippers and try to do him myself.
 
Thanks for mentioning the reply/moderation problem. I'll take a look. At least you have one vet saying your cocker's weight is okay but the other one saying he needed to lose 15 pounds - quite a difference in opinion there. :huh:

You can post now without approval.
 
Thank you! I just wanted to let you know that Cooper went for his 3rd vet visit and the vet read me the riot act. He's 41 pounds. He gained 2 pounds last year and 4 pounds this year and so the vet does think he needs to cut back on his food intake.

He's not obese and it's not terrible at this point but she didn't want him gaining any more and he seems to be gaining too much. So I am halfing his food and treats. He's not happy.........My neighbor used to give him 2 dog biscuits and this morning she gave him one and even though she broke it into 2 pieces, he wasn't fooled. He kept looking for the second one!!! LOL

Oh, well........hopefully he will adjust..........Thanks everyone!
 
Don't forget that you can use fruit & vegetables as treats - my guys love almost everything, so instead of cookies they get bananas, apples., cucumbers and more. This way they still get goodies without the big calorie count.
 
If you need to cut back on food, you can substitute no salt green beans for the missing food. They have very few calories but lots of volume and nutrition too. I've also steamed fresh green beans for the dog also, but I'm a little crazy. Baby carrots or apple slices work for treats. Mine even love ice cubes but I think they might be a little crazy also.
 
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