A Cocker is always happy to eat whatever you put in front of it and its eyes have a tendency to melt your heart with it's begging for more. It's important however to learn to tailor its eating habits to ensure it maintains a healthy weight, rather than constantly succumbing to its solicitations. The alternative is an overweight dog!
To ensure you don't fall into the trap of giving in every time your dog begs for food, you should always keep these facts at the top of your mind: an overweight dog finds physical effort harder, is more susceptible to joint problems, is more likely to develop disease, is at greater risk during surgery and has a significantly shorter life expectancy (Kealy et al, 2002).
Cockers have a natural tendency to put on weight (Edney & Smith, 1986), so it is important to be especially vigilant if the dog: has a sedentary lifestyle, has been neutered, which triples the risk of weight gain especially amongst bitches (Jeusette et al, 2004), has reached the age of maturity, which is 6-7 years in Cockers, is competing with other animals (the dominant ones tend to eat more than they need).
Dogs are prisoners to the behaviour of owners: Overweight dogs are most often because of bad dietary habits: they are allowed to eat when they want or they are given table leftovers on top of their regular ration.
The puppy's education starts with dietary behaviour. The best thing you can do is restrict your puppy's access to food around 10 - 15 minutes each time. He should get his meals at regular intervals following the manufacturers guidelines. The puppy should not get into the habit of grazing from his bowl the whole day long, this is okay in the winter but in the summer the food is subject to fly's and other un-savoury creatures.
We here at Clavaire HQ recommend Simpsons Dog Food