Greetings! Summer has come and as you can tell by the list of dogs up for adoption, we are full. This is good and bad news. The good news is that we have saved many dogs by bringing them into rescue, the bad news is that there are always more dogs out there that need our help. How can you help us, you may ask? We are always in need of foster homes to house dogs until they are adopted. All you have to do is provide your foster dog with the same love and kindness you would provide your own dog with. If you are interested in becoming a foster home, please email Lynette lynette@cockerrescue.com

Deb Kent (who has adopted three dogs from the rescue) has recently begun donating her time to work on the website (in addition to Sue, and Kaz). We applaud Deb for her hard work and dealing with all of the pictures and bios of dogs that we are constantly sending her.

Important, important! The Wigglebutt Walk is Saturday, September 9^th, at BrightonDale Park. Please show your support by attending and bringing your dogs! Even if you don’t have a cocker you are welcome to attend! More information and the sign-up form is available on the website.

We are working on putting out a newsletter more frequently that we have been. If you have any ideas for future articles please email Lynette. Until we get our format all worked out, we will be trying different ideas for this newsletter! Please let us know any ideas you may have! Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Dandy’s Dish

Dandy, who is an alumni of Shorewood (adopted 7/21/00), will answer any questions you would like to send in to him. Please email him at dandy1@charter.net Dandy will be checking his email frequently.

Volunteer Highlight

Jenifer Parisi has been active with SCR for many years now. In 2003 she took on the role of Transport Coordinator and also fosters. She and her husband Jim travel many miles in order to get dogs to their forever homes. Jenifer and Jim have two cockers, Annie and Bailey, and a mix named Beau. All three dogs were adopted from SCR. Jenifer and Jim also have two grown children. Jenifer works for a large company in Madison.

Helpful Housebreaking Ideas

By Cara Miller

Fostering a rescued cocker is a job that I love. It is can be a huge undertaking, especially if our little furry friend is not house trained! This can be because of many reasons, most of the time our foster dogs just need a "refresher" because they have either been in a shelter, on the run, or in a less than ideal situation of some sort. All of these can lead to a dogs stress level, which in turn leads to housebreaking accidents.

There are tools that we as foster homes have come to rely on. Since most of foster dogs are in need of some remedial work on house training, we needed a "secret weapon" against accidents!

I learned of these "house training aids" from my groomer. She occasionally fosters and said that these "save her sanity!" For males, a Belly Band or Male Doggie Wrap is a must. It is a band of fabric with elastic around the edges that goes around the male dogs tummy. If they try to lift their leg it goes in the band and not on the furniture! For females Hot Pants do the trick They are basically a diaper for dogs. You can find these items in most pet care catalogs and some pet stores.

These training tools, frequent trips outside, and positive reinforcement for a job well done helps. Also just staying outside with your dog while they take care of business can help tremendously. Cockers love to be with their people and don't always want to take the time to do what they are supposed to be doing. Making sure they go potty will help in knowing what sort of schedule they are on.

Cockers of Many Colors

By Kathy Carter

Our beloved breed comes in so many colors that the American Kennel Club breaks the colors down into three groups when they are shown. The Standard, set by the America Spaniel Club, determines which colors can be shown. Cockers come in more colors than are allowed in the show ring. Did you know that a sable cocker does not meet the standard and therefore can not earn points towards a Championship? Did you know that for years there has been a group of breeders, one in particular, who breed for the sable color and have tried in vain to have the show standard revised to include the sables?

Here is a listing of cocker colors approved to be shown:

BLACKS-blacks, black and tan

ASCOB (ANY SOLID COLOR OTHER THAN BLACK)

Buffs-including the lightest silver to the blondes and the reds, chocolates-all shades, chocolate and tan

PARTI-COLOR

Black and White

Black and White Tri-Color (tan markings over each eye, both checks, both sides of the muzzle, on the underside of each ear, under the tail and all feet and legs)

Red and White (Red includes the lighter buff colors all the way to the deep reds)

Red and White Tri-Color

Chocolate and White

Chocolate and White Tri-color

Blue Roan (very rare)

Blue Roan and Tan (even more rare)

Did you know that when most people think about cocker spaniels they think of a buff dog? Maybe Lady and the Tramp had something to do with this! However, genetically speaking, black is the dominate color in cockers. This brings to mind a really interesting story about the buff cockers. As recently as the late 1940’s, the black show cockers had full, long coats and the buff cockers had what we now refer to as a “field coat”. For some unknown reason, the buffs just didn’t have the nice coats that the blacks had. And that is where this story begins. A lady in Buffalo, New York was a show breeder, kennel owner and groomer. She would breed her chosen two dogs in hopes of getting her next show prospect from the litter. She sold the pet quality puppies from each litter to help finance the show ring career of the littermate. When this particular litter was born in 1949, the show prospect was chosen and the rest were sold as pets. Back then, neutering was not generally done and the dogs were sold intact. As with all good cocker breeders, the puppies were sold with the agreement that if for some reason, at any time in the dogs life the owner no longer could keep the dog, it must be returned back to the breeder, no questions asked. One of the pups, a silver buff male, was sold to a family who lived a considerable distance from the breeder. This being the case, the new owners did not take the dog back to the breeder to be groomed as they lived too far away. After about a year had passed, the breeder got a call from these owners. They told her that they could no longer keep the dog as he had so much hair they could not deal with it! The breeder knew that this could not possibly be the case as buffs were all field coated, but she agreed to buy the dog back from them. They met and the dog was given back to the breeder. She said nothing about the dog’s coat when she took him back but could hardly believe her eyes! This dog had a coat that was as nice and full as any black coat! When she got him home, she groomed him and noticed that his skin was a dark color. Since DNA was unheard of back then, she did her own experiments by breeding this boy to some of her females. She knew what to expect from the litters of these females as they had all been bred before. Some of the pups from these litters had the dark pigment in their skin but had a silver buff coat. This genetic trait is now referred to as “dilute black“. It is thought that this was indeed a “black” dog that somehow had a buff coat. One can only guess that this was somehow a genetic “fault”. However, this one dog changed the coat on the buffs from that point on. One can only wonder what the buffs would look like today if the people who bought this dog had kept him and said nothing to the breeder about his huge coat.

So now you need to know who this dog was. He was bred and loved by Madeline Peuquet, His call name was Tommy and she registered his as “Maddie’s Vagabond Return”. Very fitting, under the circumstances. And you can add “Champion” in front of his name as he did indeed get his championship title. He went Best in Show at the 1952 Capital City Cocker Club specialty show and won 14 other Best in Show titles. Two of his pups won the American Spaniel Club Best in Futurity (1952 and 1956). He sired 60 Championship cockers!

If you own a silver buff cocker, have a close look at the skin under that beautiful coat. Is it dark in color? If so, you have a cocker who carries the genes from Tommy.