Working Cocker Spaniels

k.o.d

Can you imagine these 2 on a shoot!!! :rotfl:


We have Akitas, Japanese Shiba Inu's an Irish Water Spaniel and these 2 reprobates

The Cockers are possibly the best family dog we have had, and they are a mixture of exhuberance and affection.
They have more energy than all the others put together, but when bedtime comes, they follow MrsK to bed and will not leave her side til morning, they are totally devoted and love all the family. They are great with our cats too (though we did have to buy enclosed litters as they have a penchant for cat poo )

If you have the room and the time, I can wholly recommend them, but we spent a lot of time looking for the pup (The black cocker called Poppy) as she is from championship stock The other cocker Tigger (originally called Petal of the Orient, but soooo much more like Tigger) just came out of the blue and we were just there at the right place and time

suki1964

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Have the breeders said why they are reluctant to let you have a pup? - I can understand their reluctance if you work full time, or do not have a lot of spare time for training, exercise and stimulation.

ETA - someone on here was really struggling with a working cocker pup recently, as he needed so much attention - even though they work from home they were finding it very hard going - all pups are a full time job at first, and will poo and wee on your carpets, and chew things they can get hold of, but a working breed like a cocker is extra-demanding!

Its very common amongst reputable breeders of working cockers not to be willing to let them go to homes where they wont be worked

When you are looking a good well bred dog, you are going to be getting one that has a very strong working instinct bred into them. Reputable working cocker breeders breed specifically for those traits,

suki1964

berks wrote: »

Hello.
I'm looking to get a working cocker spaniel in the new year.
I have a wealth of experience looking after this breed having looked after one part time for the last year, and having known him from a puppy.
I don't under estimate the exercise and involvement they require, however they seem to be very hard to find. Inparticular the breeders I have found online seem to be very biased towards their use as working dogs and not very keen on their use as pets.
Does anyone know of any pet friendly breeders, especially in the south?

thanks

Duncan

Difficult I know - esp as the breed club secretary has a way of putting you down straight away for even thinking of wanting a working cocker when you have no intention of working it

The breed club is the way to go though, if looking for a good dog.But then if the breed club sec in the areas you are looking isnt being forth coming then its very hard to get to be put in touch with breeders who can help

However there is the most fantastic resource on-line all things cocker

https://www.cockersonline.co.uk

Now thats a site thats run by breeders - both show and working. Everyone knows everyone there so go join the forums and go post your request there. There are a few breeder who do let their dogs go to non working homes and hopefully you will get some names to try. Do expect to run the gauntlet of the ways and wherefores of you wanting a worker - they are ( as they should be) very protective of their pups

As for the colour thing? Total bull.

There was a worry for a while that red and gold show cockers had RAGE, and there were indeed some recorded cases of it. However thise was found to be in puppyfarmed dogs not running rife through all lines

But whatever, colour should come secondry to finding a well bred pup

All the best of luck

Missy xx

Londonwriter

Have you tried visiting an agricultural show and asking someone where they got their working Cocker? That's how we found ours.

He really isn't that bad - I wouldn't swap him for the world (he's currently lying on his back between my legs waving his feet in the air). He's amazingly easy to train (he's already going to the loo on command in new places) and I love his energy. He's incredibly friendly and loves meeting new people.

We knew what we were getting into. The problem is simply he hasn't got much space to race around in until he gets his second set of vaccinations. Furthermore, I'm hyperactive and excitable too, which was making training hard initially. There was a lot of whooping, leaping about and rugby tackles - and that was just me. He was as good as gold with the dog trainer we had visit so training is now conducted in a quiet and orderly fashion.

He also was fine yesterday at a friend's huge farmhouse because there was tonnes of space indoors, and numerous other animals to flee from. Luckily, he's having his second vaccinations on Thursday.

That said, he does need a part-time entertainment committee. We've spent a small fortune on toys and I must spend hours thinking up new games. He is very clever and gets bored extremely easily. He gets all his meals in a Kong, hidden in stuff for him to root out or parcelled out into puzzles. Most dog toys aren't really challenging enough for him - they assume the dog isn't very bright, can't concentrate, and needs leading by the hand.

For someone whose husband works long hours, who works mainly from home, and who enjoys outdoor activity (e.g. six-mile runs in the rain), he's a wonderful companion. I'd hate a doggy doorstop that moped about the place!

Out of curiosity - why do you fancy one?

berks

I've got to know this one boy i've been looking after for the much of the last year, now he's going back to his mum and I can't bare to be left alone!
They appear to be a breed above all others. I've never known a dog with so much personality.

lostinrates

berks wrote: »

I've got to know this one boy i've been looking after for the much of the last year, now he's going back to his mum and I can't bare to be left alone!
They appear to be a breed above all others. I've never known a dog with so much personality.

Its super that you have found your breed. Consider though, that while another will look simialr and have similar traits he will not be this dog. I know it sounds obvious, but people do make this mistake.

Breed club, breed club, breed club.

I like hintza'a suggestion of considering working it. Actually I know one person who both shows and works her gun dogs. Showing is there main career and working is for fun and o keep them true to wrking type. She's actually considering putting a show girl to a working dog too.

berks

aha! yes.. i've also looked after his sister a couple of times and she's a completely different kettle of fish! I know they are all very individuals, but the traits seem to carry through.

I will persevere will the breeders club!

(as I can link yet, remove the gap)
www .riversidetv.co.uk/pictures/duncstuff/nelson_sleepy.jpg

Kimitatsu

Not sure where you are in the South but this is quite a good website:

http://classifieds.country-classifieds.com/hsx/classifieds.hsx?db=cockers;website=;language=;session_key=

This is where I got one of my girls from but you have to check regularly, pups come and go quite quickly. I was looking for a black girl and happened to be in the right place at the right time after several failed attempts.

If possible visit the breeder before they have any pups - people tend to let dogs go to people they like (I always did!!) and working cockers tend to all have waiting lists. For many breeders New Year is the wrong time of year to be having puppies, the dogs are all inside, muddy footprints are multiplied by the number of puppies etc etc. You are more likely to find litters being born in the spring so you may neeed to wait a little while.

Good luck on your search

WolfSong2000

I've had limited contact with working cockers, and while they were very attractive, I never (personally) saw the appeal...each to their own, though! If it is a working breed, though, why not work it? As others have mentioned, it'll give you a new hobby and the dog will no doubt be thrilled...we did this with our dogs (a golden retriever and his son who's half lab). They did agility and gun dog training in their youth and loved it.