When my children were very young (ages 2 and 6) , we made the decision to get a family dog. We looked at several breeds before deciding upon a cocker spaniel. A cocker spaniel is an ideal family pet: tolerant and nurturing towards children, alert to intrusions, but quiet, as a rule. They are easy to train and eager to please. True, they require a little more maintenance than many dogs: their hair grows quickly and must be groomed regularly, and their ears and eyes are prone to infections. But with the proper care, these dogs are incredibly loyal and devoted. They are amazing swimmers and retrievers. And sometimes, they might even be responsible for saving a life.
My youngest daughter, Melissa, named the new puppy Sally. She was a bundle of energy and mischief, as are all puppies. We discovered that she loved to swim with us in an inground pool on our patio, and when we had a pool party everyone laughed to watch her leap with abandon into the pool in order to retrieve a tossed pool toy. Sally was not a barker; other dogs in our neighborhood yipped and yapped and she calmly ignored them; but if someone walked up to the front door, she barked like Timmy was in the well until my husband or I finally patted her calm and answered the door.
When my youngest daughter was four years old, she learned how to unlock and open the sliding glass doors to the patio and pool by herself. Soon after we learned that she could go out on the patio, we installed a child safety fence that separated the pool from the patio. But one day, she learned how to climb over the fence.
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