My 9 month old cocker spaniel bitch is 15.5" at the withers and about 9kg. She seems to have a good covering over her ribs but sometimes not sure how much of it is coat!! She does a fair bit of walking and gets a good run off lead at least once a week so I feed her more of her complete dry food than it suggests on the pack but still not sure if she should be a bit plumper?! Any advice? What should she be weighing in at for her age?

Hi Mr Darcy :)

You should be able to feel her ribs through a layer of muscle/fat on her ribs ...ribs should not be standing out or too obvious , nor should you have to push through the fat :)

HTH

Melody

thanks for the reply, I know what you mean and they don't stick out but she has so much hair sometimes it's hard to tell! Was just wondering what weight she should be at this age

Im not particularly au fait with Cocker Spaniels ;) You really need Dessie here ......but the breed standard says for a FULL grown Cocker :

Height approximately: dogs: 39-41 cms (151/2-16 ins); bitches: 38-39 cms (15-151/2 ins). Weight approximately: 13-14.5 kgs (28-32 lbs).

HTH

Melody - Hoping Dessie appears soon! :D

She sounds on the tall and light side. Like many species thoygh, she's going through one of those ganagly stages where she's acheived her height but perhaps not her weight. I think from what you've said she could be getting too much exercise for her age. You might want to cut it down a little bit - building up to the time she is 12 months old. Too much exercise too soon can affect the growth plates and give rise to long term problems.

What are you actually feeding her? Some have a high protein level that increases activity levels and affects weight. Having said this the main thing is that she is happy and healthy. Dogs are no different to humans in that although you have a breed standard, all that says is what a good example of the breed should be looking to acheive. The vast majority of dogs do not meet the breed standard in many areas and none reach it in total. The perfect dog does not exist. Well actually the do and they're both mine:D In Cockers like any other you get small, large, short, tall, fat, thin. None of them mean your dog is unhealthy, just not a perfect show specimin:D

Pam n the boys

Thanks for the info! She didn't get much exercise before 6 months of age so it's only fairly recently she's been out and about but like most cockers she's bounding with energy and bounces off the walls if she hasn't been out! On a daily basis she gets between 20 -40 mins walk on lead and occasionally enjoys a bit more freedom and amazingly still never seems tired.
I feed her pedigree complete and she's still on the puppy stuff at the moment.
She's quite petit in general and doesn't seem over 15", probably my measuring technique and the fact that she's a fidgit!!
But as you say she's a pet first and foremost and happy she certainly is!! Well, she started her first season yesterday so at the moment she's a bit subdued but just as loving!!
Out of curiosity, someone once told me that solid cockers only cycle once a year rather than twice. Any truth in this do you happen to know?
Thanks again.

No, Solid cockers are the same as roans or partis - they all come into season roughly twice a year. :)

That exercise sounds fine. I would look to change her food. She is old enough to move to adult food now. Some do find that Pedigree causes their dogs to be hyper. I had this with one of my boys and Eukanuba(now Iams) I put him onto Nutro and he calmed straightaway. He's still a fidget bum and a live wire - but no longer climbs the walls. So a change of food could help. Do it gradually over a period of a week to ten days and she'll be OK

Pam n the boys

Thanks for the tip, might look into that. Mind you, think it may be a miracle if I knocked the beans out a young cocker!! Is that the breed your boys are?

yup:D