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This web site has been created to help promote the Spaniels Chat Forum which was set up with the specific aim of providing a meeting place for owners and lovers of Spaniels and to organise rallys and meetings for forum members.  The rallys and meetings are about bringing members dogs together for socialisation, exercise & perhaps a little training and some fun events.  To learn from each other's experiences and help us all to be better owners and give our Spaniels (and other breeds) something back for all the pleasure and happiness that they bring to us.  On this page you will find stories about the various rescue dogs that our members have.

Foreword         Cally Cocker has lots of issues; he has very obviously been allowed to dominate the household he previously belonged to, to the point of biting to get his way!  On the verge of making a final trip to the vet’s, NESSR rescue offered him his only option, re-homing any dog is not easy, one like this needs tolerance, time, patience, understanding, as well as heaps of attention and love.  He had his boy op only last Wednesday at rescue, so I know his hormones will be all over the place and his behaviour will not be “normal” for a week or so.

Day 1.              Sunday.  Although great with us and full of fun at Cynthia’s, he “air snapped” at daughter in the car on the way home - wondered if he suffered from motion sickness – or if the journey is reminding him of a week ago, maybe he thinks he’s being taken back.  When we arrived he didn’t want to get out of the car and snapped at OH.  However, he quickly made friends with Briar and Jack cockers, the grandkids and things are looking up, as he seems to have made a real friend in Briar.  He definitely needs canine company.  No problems overnight.

Day 2.              Monday.  Took him down to the old village site a.m. on his own, lots of trees and bunnies, for free exercise, he came back well.  Well I hid and called him, he thought he’d lost me and came racing back!! Had lots of games in the back yard, he loves tennis balls!

                        noon  Didn’t see who started it – he and Jack had a very nasty  “set-to”, quick decision & a jug of water stopped it instantly (Boy! did Jack look shocked, he flew up stairs to cool off, but was back down 2 minutes later looking for his Mum’s forgiveness!) Cally was neither up nor down by all the commotion, weird.  Hour or so later, Cally’s resting next to me on the settee, phone goes, answer it, talking away, dogs start barking at vehicles outside, tell them “quiet”, everything settles down ok, a while later I moved my arm – HE BIT – quick as a flash, no warning growl, no nothing, he just bit my arm (no harm done - I was wearing a very thick jumper & fleece) but a classic dog bite – no warning and fast.

                        I deliberately did not move, give him any attention or speak to him, he started “rumbling” AFTER the bite, I ignored him, when he stopped I gave it a full minute then stood up, looked out the window first – still talking on the phone – looked at him and he was still watching me and had the strangest look in his eyes.  A mixture of fear, aggression, challenge, hate, can’t really describe it properly. I only ever saw this once before in a Doberman with serious behavioural issues - it’s a sort of “weighing you up” look.  Very deliberately (and slowly!) - I sit back down in the same spot, he rumbles a little then gets down on the floor, challenge over – I win (and so does Cally eventually!!).

                        This is one seriously mixed up, very confused little dog!

                        1 hour later everything’s cooled down, outside for more games.  Ok until 5.30pm, then he attacked Briar full on, again jug of water stopped it instantly, but this time Cally slunk into the bathroom, rumbling away.  (Jug of water now a resident fixture somewhere to hand and need an extra mop!) I figured he needed some “time out”, as our house is probably a lot noisier and more crowded with (now) 3 cockers than his previous home, so left him there to cool off.  He’s just doing the teenage thing of testing the boundaries - only this is no pup, he’s an adult and he will have to learn quickly.

                        OH’s got flu - so after Tea he’s off to bed, I didn’t realise Cally had sneaked upstairs and onto the bed, OH tried to get him down and Cally turned into a snarling, growling spitfire, one bite and he flew downstairs to the bathroom again.  One look at the gash on OH’s finger I decided upstairs is “out of bounds” for now!!  Peroxide and plaster later - peace reigns.  Cally sleeps quietly overnight in the kitchen.  What a day - my “unbitten” record broken after 50 odd years – ah! well you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs!! So glad this happened with us and not less experienced re-homers!!

Day 3.              Tuesday - After yesterday’s trauma, must have a serious look at what he’s eating - previous food binned (too high in protein at 30% for a dog this age (22 months) & already on a “hair trigger”) - down to lower protein Trophy Working Maintenance, chicken & rice, this will probably put weight on, but I can adjust the amount or change to another type later.  Garden exercise a.m. with the other two (they’ve already had an hour off lead exercise) - watching him like a hawk now, for signs of dominance or for submissiveness in the other 2.  Any face to face challenges to either Jack or Briar tackled straight away BEFORE the growling starts, a strong “NO” and trickle of water over his back from the jug stops them (just a couple of “face offs”, much less than yesterday).  Stopped him from jumping up for attention too – just a simple no, if he doesn’t respond repeat no, then move away, must not use hands to push down.  I will not put myself in the position where he could bite - I will not allow him to dominate me!

                        Decide to take him out again to the old village and let him off lead, again one to one as don’t want any distractions.  On lead to field, starts barking at the field gate looks up at me – remembers he got off lead yesterday? – off he goes like a bullet! He’s everywhere, all round me – then nowhere to be seen! – keep walking - spot him about ¼ mile away, heading home – whistle like a banshee (older brother always envied me the ability to do the “shepherd’s” whistle!!), he turns looking, I wave arms, get his attention, he’s heading back, stops about 30 yards away, he doesn’t know what to do, lots of “good boys”, slapping of thighs, drop to knees – help! there’s a wee black rocket hurtling at me - and I forgot my camera!!!  Home nicely on lead.  Made decision to stay at gate to have a smoke-break while he runs (Cynthia would appreciate that!), just until I’m more sure of his recall.

                        More garden exercise, he’s a very intelligent wee chap, recognises the word “bone” when applied to hard rubber toy bone which I threw for him earlier and goes off to find it.  Can’t change his name in the present situation, tho’ would love to - to give him the fresh start he needs. Might double barrel another name onto the ‘Cally’ till it “takes”.  Late afternoon, left all three alone together while on pc – they’re fine.

                        No real “events” today, everything much more settled.  He stays off the furniture all day by his own choice. Very quiet round OH when he comes home and opts to pretend he’s asleep, not surprised really as the noise OH emitted when he was bitten was something else! Must get OH to work on repairing that relationship when he’s home for the weekend.  No attempt by me today to “pet” Cally - he has to earn his petting - he has to want to come to me - he finally does, but is just stroked, told “good boy” and kept on the floor.  Overall, I’m pleased with today, Cally’s made some progress, and even more pleased with Jack, who has only been here 8/9 weeks and is turning into a very happy, contented dog.

Day 4.              Wednesday - He’s now calliBerry and will be till I can drop the ‘calli’.  Lovely day.  Watching from the window, and Briar & calliBerry playing happily in the garden, lots of play fighting, digging holes, chasing “bone”, barking at birds, etc. no aggression.  Briar is a very forgiving creature.  Jack - lazy blighter - is fast asleep on my bed! 

                        Great day!   Lots of lovely Cocker kisses from calliBerry.  Back to the village site for free exercise - this time he just looks up at me at the gate.  Lead off - he trots off merrily not like the manic racing of yesterday, stay at the gate – he only goes about 20 yards! Drat!  Walk him down the track a bit, he goes off sniffing about in the long grass, then heads off.  I turn and go back to the gate – just in case!  He disappears down the dip, after 20 minutes I’m beginning to panic, but stick it out.  Then a wee black head pops up over the horizon.  Call him and he charges back again stopping 20 yards away.  This time I don’t drop down to call him and he starts to trot towards me - lots of “good boys” and he comes up to get his lead back on.  Lots of ball games in the garden p.m. with the other 2 and all 3 fall fast asleep while I make the dinner.  He stays off the settee all day – his own choice!

                        All I say is “where’s your Dad” and OH is greeted at the back gate by a cacophony of cocker barks from all 3 tonight – although calliBerry hangs back from the other two, his tail is wagging – after tea and walks, OH gets a chance to play with the boys individually and calliBerry can’t wait to join in!  He’s not at a stage where you could roll him over and tickle his tum yet, but nevertheless much progress has been made today, and I am very pleased with his improvement.

                        I suspect this dog has been excluded from family life latterly – perhaps avoided or ignored because of the biting – a very sad little dog.  Treats are something alien to him too, or at least he’s very wary of them, maybe they were used as part of a regime to get him “out of the room” when they had problems and/or visitors?

Day 5               Thursday – Raining heavily, terrible conditions.  Nobody wants to move, me or dogs!  Still - wellies on, must keep up the good work with calliBerry off-lead.  Didn’t get far, the rain was horrendous so the walk was no pleasure for either of us. 

                        Later, he gets up on the settee and curls up at the back of me – leave him to just get used to me at close proximity, without me acknowledging his presence – I get down to some paperwork.

                        OH is “rained-off” at work, so gets home about 2.30p.m., mad cocker greetings at the back gate, calliBerry joins in!  We decide it’s dry enough now for a decent walk as it’s our first opportunity to walk all 3 together off-lead.  Great fun for all, huge puddles for Briar and Jack to wallow in, calliBerry tries to avoid them but gets side-swiped in anyway, if not by Briar then by me!!  Notice the bond growing between Briar and calliBerry, he follows Briar everywhere, including coming back to my feet at recall!  Wow!

                        We, OH and me, probably only covered a couple of miles but the boys easily got 10 miles exercise.  Back home OH plays games with them, Berry opting for “tug of war” with a long boot sock then they all settle down for a dry off, groom and well deserved sleep. 

                        Take my socks off (must smell like Chanel No5 to dogs!!) and calliBerry grabs them – he guards them with his life, growling ferociously.  I ignore him and he gets fed up after an hour, while he’s outside, I grab socks and stuff them in the washing machine out of sight – no confrontation!  Have noted he is VERY possessive, the other 2 are great and leave him alone with his “things” until he gets bored.  Decide to make a “rope pull” for him and Briar.

                        It’s the vet for calliBerry tomorrow, to get his stitches out. 

Day 6.              OH takes them out all together for exercise (off lead from the house door) at 4.30 am, calliBerry runs off a bit but stops, changes his mind, and dashes back to join the boys – they’ve bonded really well.

                        9am Going to the vets.  Wonder if I can risk NOT putting the muzzle on – muzzling really goes against everything I believe in - but maybe on this occasion it would be plain stupid not to, I’m not willing to risk another set back.  This muzzle has sat unused in my cupboard for over 12 years, given to me as part of the “baggage” with the first rescue cocker I took in – neither he nor I ever needed to use it!  Opt in favour of using the muzzle, just in case.

                        Just as well as it turns out, he didn’t like being rolled over to have his stitches out!

                        Back home, he’s a bit miffed and giving me “the look”, so give him some treats, after his treats he curled up to have a sleep– snoring loudly – today must have stressed him out!

                        He’s back to normal by teatime, but his table manners are appalling, not only will he put his paws on your knee and the table while you eat – he would put his head in your plate and eat your dinner too!!  This behaviour has to stop – I’ve been standing up to knock him down with my leg so far and including a “NO - DOWN” – now I’m risking it by gently pushing him down and saying “NO - DOWN – where’s your bowl” – it has meant putting a little dried crunchy food out for him, but I think his present behaviour would be totally unacceptable in most households, maybe if he realises he gets a treat in his bowl while we eat, he will go to the bowl!

                        The fridge door also has to be shut immediately after use, as he would help himself!

                        Accidentally dropped the “calli” today and he’s answering to Berry, so I will stick to Berry from now on.  Late on, the boys have disappeared upstairs to their beds, Berry is still banned from upstairs so is lying on his bed in the lounge.  Watched my favourite programme and suddenly noticed he had rolled over on his back and was fully stretched out!  Wow, that’s the sign of a relaxed dog, we’re making progress!

Day 7               Saturday. They’ve been out for free exercise at 4.30am, and are all very peaceful at 7am so I decide to sneak out to the shops.  Haven’t I got well behaved boys - not a thing out of place when I return at 9.30am!  No “murders” committed while I was out - and they all want to help empty the bags of shopping!

                        The boys found a dead rabbit on their walk this morning – worry slightly, we don’t have many rabbits round here, more hares – well about 1pm Berry decides to throw up.  Wonder if it was a “bait” rabbit they found, we have peregrines nesting nearby, and there are a good few pigeon fanciers locally – will keep an eye on the wee fellow.  He looks normal enough, just now.  Good reason for him to learn not to eat anything and everything he finds.  I only say “leave it” to the other 2 and they know it’s “bad”.  Jack was off colour yesterday, he slept almost all day, but he’s back to normal today.  Briar is obscenely healthy and never under the weather – he’s my barometer – if he was sick I’d really worry!

                        Mum’s 86^th birthday so I’m off to the nursing home for the birthday tea.  They are perfect angels while I’m out.

                        No more sickness by bedtime, so it looks like a false alarm.

                        Everything is settling down nicely now, the boys are getting on well and Berry is fitting in with the household.  This will allow me to do more one-to-one with him and see what this guy is good at.  It’s important for him to find one “special” thing he gets praise for, and the others don’t do, or do so well.  The change of food seems to have quietened him down a bit.

Day 8               Sunday and a week to the day since he arrived.  Berry has fun and games with the boys and a “tug of war” with Briar over a soft toy, tails wagging furiously.

                        It strikes me that this dog has never had a puppyhood.  The normal experiences and socialisation of puppyhood prepare a pup to be a well rounded and well behaved adult dog – yet another poor dog that doesn’t know how to play – so sad – how many more are there!! 

                        The jug of water has long since been emptied and gone back to the kitchen – we don’t need that anymore.  There have been no more fights, and today Berry licks Jack’s ear (he’s brave – even Briar won’t do that).  Try to get them all in the car – Jack goes mental – Briar wants to know why he’s having this intruder dumped in HIS car beside him, but doesn’t rumble.  I decide not to, as I don’t want any setbacks and will try again later by putting Berry in first – I do and it works.

                        Bob plays with the dogs pm and they are all having a carry on, Berry is enjoying it, he’s been playfully rubbed, ears tugged, turned round, tail pulled – mouthing in response as all young dogs do - but no bites, a huge improvement!

The end of week one now, I’m very pleased with his improvement.  There have been no more biting incidents, he has met our visitors (nicely), learnt our walks and to return with the other 2, can play with humans and canines alike and slowly but surely is, I hope, forgetting his past.  He still sees everything as a challenge but responds well to voice commands.

I will have to groom him soon, and will take my time with it over several days, so he sees it as a pleasurable experience and not a punishment or something to be avoided.  Still needs work on table manners & stealing from the fridge but more importantly needs heaps of socialisation.