The Cockalier is a reasonably low-maintenance pup that will shed a moderate amount. The coat can vary between the Cavalier’s fine, soft fur, or the Cocker’s curlier version. If it’s the latter, brush it more regularly to avoid matting and clumping, which can happen if your dog gets wet when out and about.
Otherwise, a good brush at least once a week should suffice. Make sure you stay on top of its tooth-brushing in order to stave off tartar and decay. About once a month, make sure you give its nails a little trim.
As the Cockalier is a little dog with a big load of energy, it will need around one hour’s worth of exercise every day. And it’s a flexible pup: you don’t need to live in a huge house to give the Cockalier a happy life, you will find that it’s perfectly happy to live alongside you in a city apartment.
Cockalier health risks
Looked after well, a typical Cockalier can live to around 14 or 15 years. We hope that your pup never has any serious health complications but some conditions are more likely to crop up than others. The issues to which Cockaliers are a little more vulnerable are the following:
Syringomyelia
A painful condition to afflict your dog, syringomyelia occurs when your dog’s brain is too big for its skull. As a result, the opening at the base of the skull is blocked, preventing the flow of spinal fluid. Pockets (syrinxes) therefore form in the dog’s spinal cord, affecting the head, chest, neck and shoulders.
Graded in severity from 0 to 2, syringomyelia can make itself known in a number of ways. Some symptoms are extreme sensitivity to the areas mentioned above; an inability to walk or play; seizures; and scratching the air a couple of inches away from the head.
In terms of treatment, cranial decompression surgery can be effective (removal of part of the bone blocking the spinal column) but some of the time the problem simply reoccurs. Medications like NSAIDs, steroids and opioids can help with various unpleasant effects like pain and swelling. Physical therapy is also useful. And, in coping with the condition rather than trying to solve it outright, you can make adjustments that will make your dog’s life less painful — replacing a neck collar with a body harness, for example.
Canine glaucoma
If you notice that your pup has a cloudy cornea, a bulging swollen eye, is avoiding the light, or is rubbing its eye with its paw, it may be affected by glaucoma. A particularly unforgiving condition, glaucoma needs to be treated that day — ideally in a few hours — if a dog is to avoid going blind because of it.
The condition, which frequently causes both animals and humans to lose their sight entirely, occurs when the eye drains either too much or too little fluid, causing the pressure in the eye to shoot up, damaging the optic nerve and the retina.
Without surgery, most dogs don’t take long to lose vision in one or two eyes. Drops and ointments can help to lower the pressure in the eye, and various other medications help to lower or increase fluid production, control inflammation, or dehydrate the eye.
If your dog has secondary glaucoma — the same as primary glaucoma but deemed to be the result not of genetics but something like inflammation or a tumor — a vet will want to identify and treat the cause of the glaucoma.
Three of the surgeries designed to combat glaucoma are cyclophotocoagulation (laser surgery), enucleation (the removal of the eyeball), and gonioimplantation (the use of a shunt to help drain fluid).
Progressive retinal atrophy
Another eye condition to which the Cockalier is vulnerable — you might be noticing a pattern here — is progressive retinal atrophy. A condition that, sadly, will slowly get worse until your dog loses its sight, progressive retinal atrophy is defined by damage to the eye’s retinal cells over time. Contact your vet if you notice your dog bumping into things or seeming more timid than usual; its eyesight may be deteriorating, something it might find a little scary and disorientating. Other symptoms include cataracts forming on the retina, dilated pupils, or the eyes taking on a sort of gray color.
The good news about progressive retinal atrophy is that it isn’t painful and that, because it creeps up on your dog so slowly, they can gradually adapt to life, using their other senses more than they would if they had perfect vision.
This is a condition that you manage, not treat. The rate of the disease may be able to be slowed with antioxidants but this isn’t 100% conclusive. So be there for your pet as it adapts to its slightly poorer vision; keep things the same around the house, for example, so that there aren’t any nasty surprises to bump into.
Feeding a Cockalier — what’s the best diet?
Always give your lovely Cockalier puppy or full grown Cockalier high-quality food, just as you would any other breed. Make sure you’re giving it dog food containing as many natural ingredients as possible. Avoid giving it human food whenever possible.
Do your research and avoid harmful ingredients and things like fillers; if you can afford it, favor brands that are transparent about how they source their ingredients and what goes into each packet. Our guide to the best dog food for one of the Cockalier’s parent breeds, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, has some great recommendations.
One thing that you ought to be aware of with a lovely Cockalier is that it can become overweight if you overfeed it slightly.
Also, since cardiomyopathy (a weakening of the heart) is a potential concern for the Cockalier, you may want to consider a legume-free dog food that gets rid of peas and lentils, ingredients that may contribute to canine heart problems.
And, if you want comprehensive information about the best dog foods available, check out our friends at Dog Food Advisor — they have in-depth brand reviews that include ingredient analysis, so you know exactly what you’re feeding your pet.
