weight

Question

  QUESTION: my male cocker spaniel is closing in on 10months now and is already 30lbs i was wondering just how much bigger hes going to get as i thought 30lbs was the maximum for this breed, hes definitely not overfed by any means he gets plenty of exercise and is in good shape hes just bigger than other cockers i have seen, we love him either way im just very curious as to how long he will continue to grow and how big he could get

ANSWER: Well he may just be a really big boy...but 30 lbs at 10 months is very unusual.  I'm wondering how he passes the "weight test".  Can you easily (with light pressure) feel his ribs?
When you look down on him - does he have a tuck (that's a waist)?

Males are bigger and I've seen 38 lb. cockers who were not at all fat.  Between 6 months and a year they'll nearly double in weight - the growth spurt is pretty fast.

How much bigger will he get?  He's pretty close to finishing his growth spurt and things will begin to slow down somewhat in a couple of months.  You can't pay too much attention to "maximum weight" as a hard & fast rule so as long as he's fit and not overweight I'd take an educated guess that he could get to 35 lbs...maybe more.

Hopefully you're feeding a good premium food with no grains?  I like Innova EVO or Orijen for cockers since they don't do well on a big carb load.  Better still, the new "raw, dehydrated" foods with no grains.  Happy to discuss diet with you if you'd like.

This was a nice question since I usually get "HELP...huge problem" :)
Delores

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for responding so quickly.

He is currently eating canidae dry food as well as some pedigree canned food, is there something better i  should be feeding him? I try to steer clear of the super market food as my vet warned me about how harmful they can be

Answer
I used to like & recommend Canidae UNTIL they changed their manufacturing process and a whole lot of dogs got sick.  Pedigreed is total crap.  So yes, there are far, far better foods out there.  It's a shame this small company (Canidae) sacrificed quality for profit.

Cockers are prone to ear/skin issues so do better on a grain free diet.  What I am using for my own boys right now is Addiction.  It's a raw, dehydrated food and I like the Brushtail or Fig'licious formulas.  But there are plenty of foods I'd highly recommend.  Innova EVO or Orijen are kibbles.  Addiction also makes a kibble that just got "top food of 2009" from The Whole Dog Journal called Vive Le Venison (I use small amounts of that too).

In the last year or two there's been a bit of a needed revolution in dog food.  Sojo's Complete is also a raw, dehydrated food.  The bliss of this is that there's no concerns about bacteria, etc. when feeding a so-called "real" raw diet.  It's just the best of all worlds.  You add water to rehydrate - wait a bit - and serve.

As you're probably getting - nutrition is a passion of mine.  It's key to maintaining health and avoiding the vet.

If this is your first cocker, you should also know about the Zymox line of ear products.
Genius!  Vet Dermatologists are crazy for it because it deals with "everything".  No vet visit required and you can order it online.  Happy to direct you to that.  I wouldn't be without it.
My own vet uses nothing else.  It will save you so much money in vet bills.  One routine ear issue can rack up a $100 bill easily.  And trust me, you WILL deal with ears :)

Do not feed "one food or one formula" endlessly.  Dogs (like us) need a variety..the calcium in chicken - the iron in beef - the zinc in lamb to be healthy.

I'm very happy to chat about this Ann - if budget is a concern, we can gear down a bit or do some "mix and match" to up his nutritional profile and still not spend too much.  But do remember - with high quality foods you feed less.

Of course your "big boy" will need a bit more than an average sized cocker :) but a good diet is well worth it.  And especially now when he's in this giant "spurt".
Delores