# No FUR on Cocker Spaniel?



## Rohbiv (Feb 22, 2011)

Hi,
I stay in New Delhi, India. 
I have a 5 month old male Cocker Spaniel named Maui, who's supposedly an English Cocker. I bought him from a vet for Rs 10,000 i.e 221$. What is bothering me is the fact that Maui has absolutely no fur or hair on his body unlike other Cocker Spaniels that I have seen. He only has wavy hair on his ears and that's pretty much it.

I'm not sure what his parents looked like.

What could be the reason for him not having any body fur? Could he be a mixed?


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## Jare (Aug 12, 2009)

I'm not good with dog genetics, nor am I sure if a medical problem could cause that, but could you by any chance show us a picture?


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## Rohbiv (Feb 22, 2011)

Yup, here he is!

http://www.twitpic.com/42ixig


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

From that picture, it looks like he does have fur*, it's just short -- is that what you meant? Some cockers I've seen do have shorter hair as puppies and seem to grow into their coats. 



*or hair, I always confuse them, sorry groomers!


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

English cockers don't have that much fur to begin with, compared to american cockers that is. 

Your dog does have fur, just short. He is only 5 months old, he isn't going to have his full adult coat right away. But then again it does all depend on genetics, if the parents didn't have a lot of fur it's not likely yours will. 

Do you have a picture of him standing to the side? So we can see a side profile?


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## spanielorbust (Jan 3, 2009)

You certainly do have a Cocker Spaniel there, and a lovely one as well.

English Cockers have less coat that American Cockers. On top of that there are working or field bred lines of English Cocker Spaniels (and a few very rare American Working Cockers) which even have less coat than their show bred counterparts.

On any of the varieties of Cocker Spaniels the coat is very skimpy as pups, and slowly fills in. Often, in American Cockers, the coat continues to fill in until well past their third birthday.

I have a spaniel mix here, with obvious ties to Am. Cocker in her background on both sides, and her coat was quite skimpy until she was two . . . and I loved it. She has now filled in her coat (spay influence I believe) and it is much more difficult to maintain - it is still no where near what a show Am. Cocker gets. I'd never wish for the show coat on any spaniel, myself.

I'm going to post some images below of the different varieties.

This is a working or field type Cocker Spaniel (English):









This is a Cocker Spaniel - English show type:









This is a Cocker Spaniel - American Show type:









. . . and these Cocker Spaniel images demonstrates what that coat can become if not maintained by a lot of grooming (these are before and after images of the same dog)

















SOB


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## Rohbiv (Feb 22, 2011)

Here is Maui's side profile.

http://www.twitpic.com/42m8t6

I guess eventually I just have to wait and watch. Primarily because he's only 5 months old and only time can tell how his coat will look like!


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Heheh, after your first post I was imagining a bald puppy!


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Working-bred spaniels have less fur, it's normal.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

You have a Lovely Lovely looking dog. Don't worry about how much hair he has.. as noted they all do not have so much. 

He is very cute and looks very interested in the camera. What a nice dog!


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

He is definitely pure. I agree his parents were probably working line ECSs, and therefor he won't have the amount of coat that you see in show bred lines.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

Now I'm at work and I miss my cocker spaniel.  

The OPs is a cutie.


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## Rays89 (Jun 29, 2011)

I was cruising the internet and see "No fur on Cocker Spaniel" My first thoughts. "Not good" Well seeing a fine looking Cocker puppy was a relief. Like everyone has Posted he is ok  and will be a fine looking Cocker indeed. I was very lucky to have had a "rare" field bred American Cocker Spaniel So I figure I would share a picture


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## luvntzus (Mar 16, 2007)

He's really big for a 5 month old Cocker. I guess I'm the only one that sees a Cocker Spaniel/Golden Retriever.


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## Polywoggy (Mar 7, 2011)

So cute! 
I see Golden in a lot of Spaniel pups too, if the colour is similar. I suppose it may be because spaniels were in the mix that eventually became the Golden Retriever breed.
I'd love a Cocker as my next dog, (back issues, smaller than a Golden), but cannot afford one from a reputable breeder (I won't dip into that vet emergency fund!). I am wary of the cocker rescues in this area since a lot of them are Quebec puppy mill dogs and reportedly there are too many health issues.
Perhaps Maui would like to come live with me?


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## Rays89 (Jun 29, 2011)

There are a lot of nice Cockers in Rescues. A good thing about Rescues is the dog usually has been already been evaluated. So you would know what you are getting.


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## Polywoggy (Mar 7, 2011)

I've seen a couple of Rescues in my area have a Cocker up for adoption and say that they usually don't take them in from this area due to health issues in mills in the area, but that THIS one is a good dog. Them being wary, makes me a little wary until I have more info. Something I want to research more- because a lovely Cocker is a dream.


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## Rays89 (Jun 29, 2011)

Its a serious shame how a puppy mill can ruin a breed of dog. If I was to be looking for a certain breed of dog today. Besides researching the breed. I would be researching Breed specific rescues with a foster network and not a "warehouse" These are the ones not just trying to find dogs homes. But find loving forever homes. These are the ones you can ask 100s of questions about a certain dog and get honest detailed answers. they also will be asking 100s of questions about yourself. 1 reason is to make sure you are a match to the dog The application is usually 4+ pages long with a contract stating if you have to let the dog go for any reason. The dog must be returned to the rescue. there are plenty rescues like that. With plenty of "dream" Cockers or other breeds people are interested in.


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## kmdg2426 (Jun 18, 2012)

I have googled American Cockers and it says that they shed but not sure how true that is because I used to own one and he never shed and when he was a puppy he didn't have a lot of hair, as he got older the hair grew but I used to groom him so his hair was always short....My dog passed away 2yrs ago and recently we rescued another dog that looks like she's mixed american cocker and king charles spaniel...With owning a pure bred cocker that never shed I wonder if the king charles sheds because this dog we now have sheds a lot and now I'm concerned because I'm allergic to other types of dogs but was never allergic to the dog that has passed away...Is it possible to be allergic to the one I have now because of her shedding? Also I think she is suffering from separation anxiety because whenever I leave she cries a lot...What should I do?


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## ChaosIsAWeim (Feb 12, 2011)

kmdg2426 said:


> I have googled American Cockers and it says that they shed but not sure how true that is because I used to own one and he never shed and when he was a puppy he didn't have a lot of hair, as he got older the hair grew but I used to groom him so his hair was always short....My dog passed away 2yrs ago and recently we rescued another dog that looks like she's mixed american cocker and king charles spaniel...With owning a pure bred cocker that never shed I wonder if the king charles sheds because this dog we now have sheds a lot and now I'm concerned because I'm allergic to other types of dogs but was never allergic to the dog that has passed away...Is it possible to be allergic to the one I have now because of her shedding? Also I think she is suffering from separation anxiety because whenever I leave she cries a lot...What should I do?


This thread is a year old, might be better for you to start one of your own rather than hijacking this old one.


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## kmdg2426 (Jun 18, 2012)

I didn't hijack and I didn't realize the date and there's no need to be rude.


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## spanielorbust (Jan 3, 2009)

If you open another thread I'll reply there as well, but here is my reply here too.

I find that with dogs that have a medium or long coat, when they are groomed (washed and clipped) regularly they tend to shed very little. This is because the shedding is taken care of by the regular grooming routine (for the most part).

I find that Cockers tend to have a woolly coat - especially if they are neutered, and it gets 'caught up' as it sheds in the rest of the coat quite easily - that is why it also matts quite easily. Because of this they are a breed that is most often groomed and clipped regularly and some therefore tout that they are non-shedding. 

I find that Cavaliers, while they have a single coat, have an incredibly DENSE coat. It is just a top coat but if it is left unclipped (as most leave it) I find it sheds a decent amount (owning a Husky previously it does not even compare though). IF you take that same Cavalier to the groomers every two months, as you would a Cocker, and have it washed and clipped I believe you would find the shedding minimal as well. You would also have a lot of Cavalier fanciers upset with what you have done. 

With regard to allergies, I have two in my home that suffer asthma. Neither are allergic to dog hair or fur, however my son has a slight reaction to dog saliva. For the most part their allergies are not breed or type dependent - but individual animal dependent. My OH can have such a reaction that he can stop breathing after 10 minutes in a room with one cat, while he can easily tolerate others for hours on end.

SOB


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