WELCOME T0 M's COCKERS
We are a cageless hobby kennel specializing in happy, healthy, beautiful American Cockers with wonderful temperatments in a variety of unusual colors, including sables. We only have a few litters a year, but puppy inquiries are always welcome.
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WHERE?
M's Cockers is located in Kershaw County, South Carolina. We feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful area that has plenty of room for all necessary Cocker romping! Though the dogs have plenty of room to exercise, rest assured our dogs are all pets, first and foremost. They may go outside to play, but they live inside year round. We wouldn't have it any other way.
WHY DO WE RAISE AMERICAN COCKERS?
In the AKC standard for American Cocker Spaniels, it is stated that "above all a cocker should be merry." Indeed, cockers are merry, heart-warming dogs. They make us laugh, and they constantly lighten our lives. When the world is falling apart, and the daily news report looks grim, our Cockers prance about with their squeaky toys just happy to be alive and loved. Their joy is contagious, and we couldn't manage without them. We never tire of hearing how much joy our Cocker pups have brought people, and most of our adoptive families never loose touch with us. We get cards containing pictures all of the time, and it is very satisfying to know that we have presented these families with healthy puppies, so full of love. My husband has a full-time career, so we do not rely on our Cockers for an income, but they do pay off in countless spiritual ways.
HOW ARE OUR PUPS RAISED?
Our puppies are born in our home and raised under foot, and are cuddled and fussed over from day one. When you adopt one of our pups, you will NOT be adopting a pup raised in a cage or in a stinky dirty pen in the backyard. Our puppies are handled daily, and kept extremely clean. My veterinarian, a truly wonderful women who even makes house calls (imagine that in this day and age), sees all of our pups regularly and monitors their progress just as closely as she monitors the health of all of our adults. She always says how impressed she is by how healthy and happy our Cockers are.
WHY IS EARLY SOCIALIZATION SO IMPORTANT?
Even if both parents have good temperaments, and the puppy itself is genetically prone to be even-tempered, when a puppy isn't well-socialized he or she is much harder to train. Our puppies are raised inside, and, as a result, they become accustomed to household noises, such as the washer, the dryer and so on. They are handled and loved on, so they grow up loving their human parents and learning how to please them. Our pups are not shy and scared, but happy, tail-wagging, and merry.
We also begin housebreaking our puppies at four weeks of age. This involves taking them out "to potty" about every two hours, and it is a lot of work, but boy oh boy is it worth it! Our puppies know exactly what to do "outside" before they ever go home with their adoptive families. Although they won't have the control they need to truly be deemed housebroken for many months, of course, our's housebreak very easily and very early. Our past adoptive families are always commenting on this fact. We are especially proud of this, as Cockers are notoriously difficult to housebreak. It makes us feel as though all of our hard work truly pays off, and it does! Our pups are also quite easy to obedience train, and most of our adoptive families never even take their pups to obedience school. We attribute this success to the fact that we take the time to introduce our pups to basic commands, thus getting them ready for real training.
WHICH PUP IS THE RIGHT PUP FOR ME?
Though many people have the misunderstanding that females make better pets than males, most cocker enthusiasts will tell you that this is just not the case at all. When a male is neutered before 6 months of age, he will not develop any of those "male dog habits." Most neutered male Cockers will never even lift their legs. Though we will be the first ones to tell you that all puppies are different, in our experience, it is the males that actually make better dogs for families with children. Females tend to choose favorites and seem to be more likely to devote themselves to individuals. This is a less desirable trait when a family has multiple children, lest sibling rivalry become an issue. The neutered males also seem to be a bit more laid back and easy going. Don't misunderstand us, we have seen the exact seem behavior from our females as well. But it is not accurate to say that they make better pets than the neutered males.
The great benefit from being a "small" hobby breeder is that we truly and dearly know all of our dogs very, very well. As we have only a few litters a year and never spread ourselves too thin, we also know our puppies very well. We see a pup's personality begin to come out by three weeks of age, and we then have a good idea about the kind of adult that pup will become. Some pups love to bounce and play; others prefer to pose adorably in the corner and take it all in. If you contact us early on, before our litters are placed, we will be happy to match you up to a puppy who seems to suit you best.
LITTER NEWS
Please follow this link to a page about any available puppies.
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