Hi everyone. For a while now, we've been visiting breeders with a view to getting a Cocker puppy. We’ve never had a dog before, only cats.
We’ve also been to see some Staffy and Frenchie breeders, so we haven’t quite made our minds up on the breed yet.
However, I do have a question: we’ve found that Cockers, even as puppies, have a very strong smell—much more so than other dogs. The scent seems to cling to your clothes and hands. We also dog-sat a neighbour's Cocker recently and he smelled really strong too, whereas we didn't notice any smell at all with the Staffies.
Is this normal? Are they a breed that's just prone to smelling quite a bit?
Thanks in advance for your replies. We’d really appreciate some more insight into the breed!
Translated from French
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I can definitely confirm that some dogs can have a much stronger smell than others if they aren't groomed very often. A short-haired dog that gets a bath every now and then will smell far less than a dog with a long, woolly coat that requires thorough daily grooming! It’s the same story with ears – a dog with small, pricked ears will have far fewer issues than one with floppy ears that need cleaning out regularly.
Thanks a lot for your post : )
I can definitely confirm that some dogs can have a much stronger smell than others if they aren't groomed often. A short-haired dog that gets a bath every now and then will smell much less than a dog with a long, woolly coat that needs thorough daily grooming! It’s the same for ears – a dog with small, short, pricked ears will have far fewer issues than a dog with floppy ears that need to be cleaned regularly.
I agree – our Boxer doesn't smell much at all, being short-haired... but she does need her ears cleaned frequently.
I can definitely confirm that some dogs can smell a lot stronger than others if they aren't groomed regularly. A short-haired dog that gets a bath every now and then will smell much less than a dog with a long, woolly coat that needs thorough daily grooming! It’s the same with ears—dogs with small, pricked ears have far fewer issues than those with floppy ears that need regular cleaning.
Hi there, personally I’ve bred English Cockers and I’ve never had any issues with smells. The downside with some breeders can be the hygiene levels though, so sometimes the smell gets into their coat. You should also pay close attention to their ears, as breeders don't always have the time to clean them properly, which can lead to a really pungent smell. Most importantly, for the puppies' wellbeing, keep them with their mum until they're 3 months old. My pups went to their new homes at 13 weeks and they never pined for their littermates; they settled in and adapted to everything straight away. You also need to keep an eye on the environment they're living in—see if the mum is socialising them well and if they have plenty to see and do to give them the best possible start. Good luck with your search!
Thanks for the reply, Julie! :)
Some breeders I’ve seen are letting puppies go at 8 weeks, while others wait until 10.
In my opinion, 8 weeks is far too young. They’re still just tiny little things at that age.
