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<blockquote data-quote="KDM" data-source="post: 146145" data-attributes="member: 314"><p>Greetings Big C and Welcome!!&nbsp; If you look closely at the pics from my thread &quot;Bragging about Herc&quot; or some such, you can see he has the usual snow balls on his hair.&nbsp; He was absolutely covered in them, but after each walk, I do my best to clear up the ones that affect his movement.&nbsp; Mostly in the arm pits, throat, and groin area.&nbsp; I bring a stiff comb to help break'em up.&nbsp; He usually clears his feet on his own and when he stops to pull the ice off his feet, I wait until HE is ready to go again.&nbsp; Sometimes that takes a few minutes, but when he's ready, off he goes.&nbsp; &nbsp; When we get home, he usually goes in a warm shower to melt the ice off and warm him up.&nbsp; He doesn't seem to mind much.&nbsp; LOL!!&nbsp; I don't put anything on him like oils and I don't trim his feet.&nbsp; He doesn't seem to need it as far as I can tell.&nbsp; I don't like to shave him as his hair is his only armor against the wire fences, sticks, and other hazards in the field.&nbsp; As far as a breeder, Herc is from Absolute Gun Dogs in Bismarck and he is quick when it comes to training.&nbsp; I wish I could claim that I trained him to be such a great hunting companion, but the truth is, HE trained himself.&nbsp; He's whistle trained and hand signal trained and it took him about an hour to get both of those down.&nbsp; I figure he got his brains from his pedigree as he sure didn't get it from me.&nbsp; He's smarter than I am and his instincts are amazing.&nbsp; Herc is my first English Cocker, so my opinions are based on a single dog and not of any particular note.&nbsp; However, I can tell you that Herc has enriched my outdoor experience beyond my wildest expectations and I will probably have one for as long as I chase pheasants.&nbsp; I chose an English Cocker after I was privileged to hunt over a fantastic pair of them a few times by a fellow NDA'er so I know Herc's traits aren't unique among his breed.&nbsp; As much as I hate to bad mouth my pup, he's NOT without his limitations.&nbsp; With this deep snow and iced up cover, he has some difficulty getting through the thicker stuff.&nbsp; He's just not big enough to &quot;power&quot; his way through some of the heavier stuff and when he gets wet from the snow falling on his back, he gets cold so I watch'em real close when we're out.&nbsp; He also has some trouble when he falls through the snow cover as he kind of gets stuck sometimes in the hole he makes in the cattails.&nbsp; Hope that helps a bit and Good Luck with your search for a gun dog!!!</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="KDM, post: 146145, member: 314"] Greetings Big C and Welcome!! If you look closely at the pics from my thread "Bragging about Herc" or some such, you can see he has the usual snow balls on his hair. He was absolutely covered in them, but after each walk, I do my best to clear up the ones that affect his movement. Mostly in the arm pits, throat, and groin area. I bring a stiff comb to help break'em up. He usually clears his feet on his own and when he stops to pull the ice off his feet, I wait until HE is ready to go again. Sometimes that takes a few minutes, but when he's ready, off he goes. When we get home, he usually goes in a warm shower to melt the ice off and warm him up. He doesn't seem to mind much. LOL!! I don't put anything on him like oils and I don't trim his feet. He doesn't seem to need it as far as I can tell. I don't like to shave him as his hair is his only armor against the wire fences, sticks, and other hazards in the field. As far as a breeder, Herc is from Absolute Gun Dogs in Bismarck and he is quick when it comes to training. I wish I could claim that I trained him to be such a great hunting companion, but the truth is, HE trained himself. He's whistle trained and hand signal trained and it took him about an hour to get both of those down. I figure he got his brains from his pedigree as he sure didn't get it from me. He's smarter than I am and his instincts are amazing. Herc is my first English Cocker, so my opinions are based on a single dog and not of any particular note. However, I can tell you that Herc has enriched my outdoor experience beyond my wildest expectations and I will probably have one for as long as I chase pheasants. I chose an English Cocker after I was privileged to hunt over a fantastic pair of them a few times by a fellow NDA'er so I know Herc's traits aren't unique among his breed. As much as I hate to bad mouth my pup, he's NOT without his limitations. With this deep snow and iced up cover, he has some difficulty getting through the thicker stuff. He's just not big enough to "power" his way through some of the heavier stuff and when he gets wet from the snow falling on his back, he gets cold so I watch'em real close when we're out. He also has some trouble when he falls through the snow cover as he kind of gets stuck sometimes in the hole he makes in the cattails. Hope that helps a bit and Good Luck with your search for a gun dog!!! [/QUOTE]

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