My Spanador - An Adorable Cocker Spaniel/Labrador Mix

We've had our Spanador since he was a 10 week old puppy and got him for my son's ninth birthday. It was the first time I had owned a dog and I have to admit that the first couple of weeks were very overwhelming for me. Puppy school was a life saver and I quickly fell in love with him but not until he stopped eating the couches.

Our pooch has a nice temperament. His personality is more like that of a lab than a cocker spaniel. His cocker spaniel side shows through whenever anyone comes to the door of our house. He gets very excited and sometimes piddles on the floor. Alot of puppies and young dogs have a tendency to piddle when they get excited though.

He is very smart and did pick up on the training fairly quickly. He'll do anything for a treat. Within two weeks of coming to live with us, he stopped peeing in the house and he never did poop in the house - he knew from day one that he had to go outside for that.

He weighs about 50 lbs., is medium sized and he is all black with a white chest and a white tip on the end of his tail. Although he is fully grown now, I am often asked if he is a puppy because of his small size. He looks like a black labrador puppy but with bigger and floppier ears.

Now, to give you a bit of genetic history on my pooch, his father was a black lab and his mother was a cocker spaniel. So, if you get a spanador puppy that is the other way around (lab mother and cocker spaniel father), then you may wind up with a larger dog than mine but I wouldn't think your dog would grow any bigger than 70 lbs. People are kind of amazed that my dog's Mom was a cocker spaniel because they can't imagine a small dog like that carrying potentially large puppies to term. But she was a bigger cocker spaniel than I've seen before - she may have been a mix with a springer spaniel - I don't know. And, my dog's Mom had 3 or 4 other puppies - I can't remember now how many there were.

My little poochie's name is Blackie - please don't be offended by his name. My son named him and has had the tendency to name all of his pets by their colour - he had hamster he named Brownie and a red fish he named Redie!

Puppy school is an absolute must if you are a new dog owner or haven't trained a dog in a while. Hitting your puppy or shouting at him does not work. They need to learn to respect you and that will only happen with calm and confidence and love. You will learn how at Puppy School.

We solved the couch chewing problem by filling a clean empty spray bottle with water and spritzing the dog lightly when anytime he went for the couch. This tip came from our Puppy School trainer because none of the other tips worked. We had tried spraying the bitter apple on the couches but he liked the taste!

When cleaning up potty accidents, don't use carpet cleaner. Many carpet cleaners contain ammonia and so, your puppy will continue to go in the same spot. Instead, fill an empty spray bottle with vinegar and water and spritz the carpeted area after an accident. It will kill the odour and it's non-toxic. Also, whenever your pup goes potty outside like he is supposed to - give him a treat and pat him on the head with some encouraging words.

It's hard to get him to stay still for photos - he turned his head just as I snapped the photo.

Here's another tip that you may find useful. Last year, while my dog was still a puppy and going through the teething stage, he had a wicked bout of diarrhea. We took him to the vet and had some tests done and $350 later, we could not find a cause for his problem (although in retrospect, I now think it was because he was teething). I had heard that you can feed them a couple of teaspoons (or tablespoons depending on the size of your dog) of plain pureed canned pumpkin (without the sugar and other additives) to cure them of digestive ailments, such as diarrhea or constipation. Well the next time he had diarrhea, I tried feeding him a couple of tablespoons of pumpkin with his food and it cleared the problem right up! So, since then I have tried this remedy a few times when he has had problems and it has always worked like a charm and saved me a $350 vet bill!! Please keep in mind that I am not a vet so what has worked for my dog, may not work for yours or yours may have some kind of allergy to it. But, it's a remedy much like the chicken soup remedy your Gradma used to swear by!

Update: You might also try cooked rice mixed with plain yogurt if your dog has diarrhea. The last time my dog had diarrhea - he had gotten into another dog's food at a house we were visiting. It was not his regular brand of dog food and so he had liquid poos for several days afterwards. This time the pumpkin didn't work - much to my dismay - so I tried the rice and yogurt thing instead. For the first day - he was fed only rice and yogurt and water. Then for each consecutive day and until the problem cleared up, I mixed the rice and yogurt with his regular food. After about 4 days - he was back to normal - yipee!

Yes, they do - at least mine does. Being that he is half Cocker Spaniel and half Labrador Retriever and both of those breeds shed then I would imagine that if you have a cocker/lab mix then you have a dog that sheds. And, that's one part that I've found very frustrating about owning a dog. I have to vacuum every week to keep the house from becoming one big fur ball. But, I'll tell you what really helps is getting a Dyson Pet Hair Vacuum cleaner.

I feel for you - my dog needed training badly and I was just about ready to put an ad in the paper so he wouldn't be our problem anymore. Thank goodness I didn't because I'm in love with him now. But, not until he was trained not to pee on the carpet, not to chew the couches and most of all - trained not to chew on me!

If you feel you need help with training your dog, then check out this great resource I found called Easy Dog Obedience Training. You'll get:
*A Training Manual (ebook)
*A Training Audio
*Vetenarian Dog Health Secret Tips
*A Potty Training Bonus (ebook and audio)
*Healthy Homemade Dog Recipes
And more!

This program will help you with all kinds of behaviour problems from aggression to jumping on people and from barking to leash walking.

My Spanador does shed and it seems to go for most of the year! So, you'll need one of these if you want to cut down on the amount of vaccuuming you'll need to do.

FURminator Large Yellow deShedding Tool with 4-Inch Edge

This is the perfect sized crate for a full-grown Spanador. And, it's got an adjustable divider panel so that it you can expand the crate size as your puppy grows to his or her full size. We crate trained our dog and it really helped with the potty training. Blackie loves his crate - it's his private getaway at bedtime.

Midwest Life Stages Double-Door Folding Metal Dog Crate, 36"L x 24"W x 27"H

This is the perfect sized bed to fit in the above crate. Or, you can put it on the floor in the family room to prevent your dog from wanting to be on the couches with you!

Precision Pet SnooZZy Sleeper Bed, Medium/Large 4000, 35" x 23", Black

This is a great toy for a Spanador. Remember, they are half lab and so have pretty strong jaws. The KONG is durable and so it is virtually impossible for your dog to chew pieces off of it. Just fill the KONG with peanut butter or liverwurst and stick it in the freezer for a few hours. You'll keep your dog busy for hours with this toy!

KONG Classic Kong, Large Red

Nylabones are great for powerful chewers! They are made of durable nylon and safely satisfies the chewing instinct and well as helps to clean teeth and reduce tartar buildup. It's the only chew toy that I buy for my dog because he quickly destroys anything else you give him for a toy. For example, when he was a puppy, I gave him little stuffed animals to play with but within a week, he would have them ripped and the stuffing pulled out of them - what a waste of money.

tan NYLABONE LIVER-SOUPER
Large

You might want to consider getting a harness for your Spanador. Mine is very strong despite his small size and he does have a tendency to pull and so we got him one of these. The SENSE-ible Harness is a front-leash attachment harness - very different from the "sled dog" style of most harnesses on the market. The leash attaches to a ring on the chest, so you can provide more accurate cues to your dog as to the direction that you want to go. It reduces pulling and often enables a smoother, more enjoyable walk for both dog and human. The medium is the perfect size for a Spanador.

SENSE-ible No-Pull Dog Harness
Black Medium