English Cocker Spaniel food ⋆ Online magazine for women

Breed Features

The Cocker Spaniel is a medium-sized dog. Active, playful, agile, energetic with well-developed body muscles, she will require careful attention to her diet.

This breed has a good appetite. They are not picky and are easy to please with food. Raised and trained, she will not beg for food, but will always gladly accept it. The dog is very attached to the owner and family. Strangers cannot always communicate friendly with a four-legged animal, but this does not prevent her from taking food from strangers.

Possessing hunter abilities, spaniels can rummage through garbage heaps in search of food.

A distinctive feature of the breed are low-set ears with long hair, which are constantly trying to get into the bowl and get dirty. It is in this matter that you should carefully consider the organization of the feeding area.

Top 3. Now Fresh Small Breed

Rating (2020): 4.75

288 reviews from resources were taken into account: Yandex.Market, IRecommend, Otzovik, OZON

Nomination
Made from 100% fresh meat One of the few holistic products that is made from 100% fresh turkey, duck and salmon.
Characteristics
Country: Canada
Main ingredients: turkey, duck, salmon
Protein percentage: 27%
Garnish: peas, potatoes
Weight: 2.72 kg

An excellent grain-free holistic product that will appeal to both American and English dogs and even King Charles Spaniels. It is made from 100% fresh meat and provides the optimal amount of protein for health and vitality. Due to pre- and probiotics, the food has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract and normalizes the functioning of the digestive system. According to reviews from breeders, with Now Fresh you will forget about nutrition problems and allergies. Of course, certain difficulties may arise due to the large number of legumes, which provoke increased gas formation. But in general, dog owners recommend this holistic treatment and call it one of the best, even despite the high cost.

Advantages and disadvantages

Does not contain grains
Made from 100% fresh meat
Small clover-shaped granules
Normalizes digestion
Helps get rid of bad breath

Eating legumes can cause increased gas formation
High price

Choosing a place and dishes

Before starting to feed cocker spaniels, they undergo a procedure of “covering” their ears. Being long, they “climb” into a bowl of food, or water if it is nearby and cause unnecessary problems in caring for them.

Owners, when solving this problem, go in two ways:

The hanging ears are tied up (fixed) with a special mesh, wearing it like a collar and tucking the ears;
Equip a place for receiving food and water, taking into account the peculiarities.

While the puppy is small, there are no special requirements for the feeding area. Over time, when the puppy grows up, the owner begins to solve the problem.

This can be done as follows:

set up the feeding area on a hill so that the ears “do not drag along the floor”;

The bowl should not just be placed on a stand, but should be deepened into it so that it does not move from its place. The dishes are selected from food material, durable, heavy;

The bowl should be deep, but not wide. In this case, when eating food, the ears will hang outside the bowl and not get dirty, and they will also not reach the floor;

There is no need to place a bowl of water nearby. Otherwise, when the dog eats, even if the ears do not end up in the food bowl, they will “climb” into the water bowl.

All of the above “wisdom” will not help if the dog gets used to taking food out of the bowl and eating where he wants. However, Cocker Spaniels are very trainable.

When adopting a puppy, you need to teach him to eat food from a bowl from the first day; this will make it easier to care for the dog and the food intake area in the future.

The “canteen” for a dog should be:

with easy to clean surfaces;
in a place where the dog will not disturb household members;
in a place easily accessible to the pet.

Advice: For a cocker spaniel, a special requirement will be distance from the place of play. This dog can easily turn over all the bowls, along with the “pedestals”.

Prohibited Products

Some foods can significantly undermine the health of an animal:

You should not feed your English Cocker Spaniel or American Cocker Spaniel raw fish with sharp bones. It is not allowed to give dogs tubular bones.
River fish is harmful. Corn, legumes, and potatoes are difficult to digest. They also cannot be added.
Fresh cabbage should be heat-treated or fermented, and it is better to avoid broccoli.
Smoked meats and sausage are not healthy.
Homemade canned food, pickled, spicy and too salty food is harmful to the dog.
It is not recommended to feed your American Cocker Spaniel beets. This vegetable is often an allergen.

Ready-made feed

Granules from a bag are becoming more and more common, and this is understandable. The manufacturer is trying in every possible way to “persuade” the owner that the food has the highest performance, and his puppy will not grow up without granules. Meanwhile, independent laboratory testing constantly proves that the feed does not have the properties and composition specified in the recipe and annotation.

The puppy eats the granules with pleasure. However, the number of flavors and flavoring additives is so great that it cannot be otherwise.

Ready-made food is easy to use. By purchasing a large bag with a long shelf life, you can feed your puppy without any problems. There is no need to even wash dishes. Only the question of the dog's health remains open.

Ready-made foods are derivatives with the addition of artificial protein. High temperatures in the extruder kill all biologically active substances and vitamins. When feeding ready-made food, you need to be careful about the puppy’s water balance. The manufacturer warns on the package that there must be water in the drinking bowl at all times, since the feed causes thirst.

Advantages

The food has a number of advantages:

with its help you can feed the puppy quickly;
clean dishes will remain after the meal;
feed is easy to buy and store.

Flaws

When feeding with prepared foods:

inability to control the composition independently;
in a coma there may be allergens that are difficult to identify;
non-compliance of the formulation with the results of laboratory tests (even for expensive samples) casts doubt on its usefulness.

If these arguments are not arguments, then when choosing food you should at least ask:

labeling (manufacturer, address, telephone);
date of manufacture;
deadline for implementation;
read the manufacturer's recommendations.

Mixed diet

This is the type of feeding that many owners prefer. Natural food is fed constantly, and when necessary, ready-made food is fed. Ready-made food is used for:

travel;
inability to purchase food;
Difficulties with preparing food.

Whatever diet the owner chooses, it is necessary to monitor the state of the gastrointestinal tract. At the slightest “failures,” you should reconsider the feeding program and seek help from a specialist.

What type of food to choose for a cocker spaniel

Cocker spaniels are suitable for 2 feeding schemes: natural products or dry food. However, mixing both types of food is highly undesirable.

The Cocker Spaniel's digestive system adapts to a certain type of food and begins to produce the appropriate enzymes. Sudden changes are fraught with disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract.

It will also be difficult for the owner to balance the pet’s diet. Dry food already contains all the necessary substances, and adding “natural” food will lead to an excess of them.

The choice of food type depends on the individual characteristics of the animal and the purposes for which the dog is used. Dog handlers give the following recommendations:

It is better to feed hunting, sporting and show dogs dry food. It is convenient to take on trips, and products for active breeds contain a sufficient amount of protein and provide a lot of energy.
Domestic Cocker Spaniels are often fed a natural diet. In this case, the owner is always confident in the quality of the products and can provide the pet with a varied menu that meets its needs.
It is also advisable to feed puppies natural food. Their gastrointestinal tract gets used to digesting coarse fibers, and their jaw muscles are trained in the process of thorough chewing.

Ready-made dog food

Many owners prefer to feed their English Cocker Spaniel dry food. It is easy to use, and high-quality products contain the optimal amount of useful substances.

Cocker spaniels can only be fed premium, super-premium or holistic food. They contain natural meat, vegetables, a complex of vitamins, macro- and microelements, so they fully satisfy the body’s needs.

Economy class feed causes serious harm to animal health. After all, in order to reduce costs, manufacturers use a minimum of components, add ballast substances and artificial additives.

English Cocker Spaniels are suitable for small, active and long-haired breeds. Puppies, pregnant and lactating females, elderly or sick dogs buy products from specialized lines.

The following brands of food have worked well:

Acana;
PRO PLAN;
Eukanuba;
1st Choice;
Orijen;
Royal Canin;
GO! NATURAL Holistic.

From time to time you can feed your cocker spaniel wet canned food from the same manufacturer as dry food. They do not cause thirst and add variety to the daily menu.

Natural products

Natural foods are a more natural food for English Cocker Spaniels. Dogs are carnivores, accustomed to eating meat. Many owners share this opinion.

Pets are allowed to feed:

Lean meat - beef, chicken, turkey. It accounts for 50-60% of the daily amount of food. A couple of times a week, meat is replaced with offal - liver, lungs, heart, udder. They are less nutritious, so they should have about a third more meat.
About 20% comes from buckwheat, oat and rice porridges. These are sources of carbohydrates that provide the body with energy.
10-15% are fresh herbs and vegetables rich in vitamins and minerals. Cocker spaniels can be fed dill, parsley, pumpkin, carrots, cauliflower, and turnips. They are served in the form of salads, seasoned with vegetable oil or sour cream, or added to porridge.

The rest of the diet includes:

fermented milk products with a fat content of up to 10% (cottage cheese, bifidok, kefir, fermented baked milk, natural yogurt 3 times a week);
sea fish (once a week);
eggs (once a week).

During the day, you can give your dog fruits - apples, pears, peaches, bananas. But due to the high concentration of sugars, which are harmful to animals, their quantity should be limited.

For your information. The diet is varied so that the cocker spaniel does not get tired of the same food.

Sample menu by age

Up to a month

The puppy needs mother's milk. It, unlike cow's milk, is fattier, has more phosphorus, sugar and protein. However, the main thing is that it is a source of immunity. If the puppy is left without a mother, it is better to find a wet nurse. If this is not possible, then you should:

use milk substitutes;
infant formulas (they are enriched with phosphorus and have calcium removed);
prepare food yourself.

Milk replacers should be purchased at a pet store and prepared according to the instructions.

If this is not possible, then chicken egg yolk and sugar are added to cow's milk. The puppy is fed 10-12 times a day, 20-30 g each. A hungry puppy will make sounds and be in search of food.

Natural food

Natural nutrition for cockers should be comprehensive. It is recommended to feed them meat, fish, fermented milk, cereals, vegetables and fruits. It is necessary to balance the dog's diet as much as possible.

Meat should form the basis of natural food and account for two-thirds of the volume. Boiled chicken or beef will do. An adult dog can eat up to 300 g of meat with cartilage and tendons per day. If meat is replaced by offal, the feed portion size increases by 30%. It is not recommended to feed a cocker only meat.
Sea fish is a source of phosphorus and omega 3 fatty acids. It is necessary to feed your American Cocker Spaniel this product 2 times a week.
Fermented milk products and eggs are a source of animal protein for a growing body. This food is very useful.
Vegetables and fruits, cereal products and bread should make up a third of the diet. Carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers are given raw, with vegetable oil or heat-treated.
It is useful to cook porridge in water or milk from rice, buckwheat, or oatmeal.
Apples, pears, and bananas are suitable fruits, but not oranges.

Fish oil is offered as a dietary supplement. In the first days, the optimal dosage is 2-3 drops. Gradually increase the amount to 2 teaspoons if there are no side effects.

Vitamins and supplements

If the diet is balanced and contains all food groups, then there is no need for vitamins and supplements.

Synthetic vitamin preparations are medicines. Their appointment is associated with certain diseases, the diagnosis of which is established after a comprehensive examination.

If the puppy has:

good wool;
clean skin;
mucous membranes are not anemic;
He is active and playful, there is no point in giving him vitamins. In case of problems, you should consult a doctor.

What to feed a Cocker Spaniel puppy

When preparing the diet, the weight, age and health status of the small pet are taken into account.

The serving size must be adjusted depending on the puppy's reaction during meals:

The puppy greedily licks the bowl and “carries” it around the floor - the break between meals was too long or the puppy did not eat enough.
The baby did not eat all the food and after a while returned to the bowl again - the portion was too large.
After eating, the stomach becomes very distended - the puppy is overeating, the amount of food should be reduced.

A balanced diet is evidenced by the puppy's shiny coat, activity and playfulness.

Diet for 1 month

The mother feeds the puppies for the first 30 days after birth. Dog milk is very nutritious, so babies do not need extra food. But if the female does not have enough milk or the litter is large, the puppies are additionally fed milk formula.

Water

Drinking, clean water must be available at all times. Thirst without drinking water, even short-term, leads to metabolic disorders.

Particular attention is paid to water when:

feeding with prepared food;
high physical activity.

You need to monitor your water consumption. Drinking too little or too much water is not a disease, but may be a sign of certain metabolic disorders. In this case, you should consult a doctor.