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Original poster

Please tell me about your working cocker spaniel

32 replies

Letmedowneasy · 04/10/2020 16:22

Hi, we've been looking at getting a family dog for a couple of years and a friend of my brothers has a litter of working cocker spaniel pups, I'd love to give one a home!

It is one of the breeds that we have researched and I think it would work well for our family but please tell me why you love your cocker....and the things you don't love!

OP posts:

vanillandhoney · 04/10/2020 16:31

I don't own one, but as a walker, I do walk several.

They are all very, very energetic. One is eight and she has more energy than my 3yo beagle! As well as walks, they do need a "job" of some sort - two do cani-cross with their owner and can easily cover 10-15 miles in a day.

They all have lovely personalities, no aggression whatsoever (although do read up on cocker rage and resource guarding) and they're all great with people. One does have quite bad separation anxiety as well, but I'm not sure how common that is to the breed.

They are fantastic dogs and one of my favourite breeds but they can be quite intense if you're not used to it! I would be prepared to give them a good two hours of exercise a day when they're fully grown, rain or shine.

@BiteyShark has a working cocker so she might be able to help you too.

PollyRoulson · 04/10/2020 16:49

I have working cockers and collies. The working cockers have more energy than my collies.

Mine are working scent detection dogs and will work for hours and hours and hours.

Busy funny (can be a bit neurotic so check the breeding carefully) lively dogs who get every bit of forest caught in their ears so you need to like grooming

BeanFreak · 04/10/2020 16:55

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request

smilingthroughgrittedteeth · 04/10/2020 17:04

I have a 6mth old working Cocker. He is lovely tempered and brilliant with my children (2yrs, 3yrs and 5yrs) especially my eldest who has asd. He is very very energetic and likes to be involved in everything. Im a SAHM and have 3 days a week where all the children are at school/preschoolso have lots of time to walk, train and play games that encourage his scent drive. When he is older i plan on doing agility with him.

I did lots of research as id never had a spaniel before (grew up and owned collies and beagles) and 1 thing that kept popping up was that they are breed prone to seperation anxiety and id say its definitely true, he hates being left even for a few minutes if i go to a different room and will bark and howl. Hes very easy to train and picks things up quickly.

BiteyShark · 04/10/2020 17:07

As vanillandhoney said I have one and got one as a first time dog owner.

He is now 4 years old but the first year was very full on and I was a frequent poster on the puppy survival threads

When we researched the breed a farmer who bred and worked them warned us about the hunting instinct so I was prepared for it but still didn't realise how strong that could be. It bought me to tears many times when he was a difficult teenager.

We walk in forests and I spent the first year constantly training recall. It was only when I went to a gun dog trainer that I started to understand the breed and turned the recall around so my recommendation is to go straight to trainers that work dogs rather than the general obedience dog trainer.

The key is to work with their instincts rather than against. When I walk I engage with him all the time otherwise he will go off hunting on his own (and that can be bad if recall isn't mastered). So we play hunt and chase balls all the time.

I did gun dog training, agility and scentwork and of all of them scentwork was the most rewarding for him as he loves to use his nose to hunt. Although we don't do them anymore we use some of all of the training to 'work' him at home on top of exercising him.

They are lovely dogs but do be prepared for their strong hunting instinct and need to engage their brain.

WouldBeGood · 04/10/2020 17:07

We had one when I was a young adult. He was gorgeous and devoted to us, but VERY protective, to the point he could be aggressive to strangers. I loved him dearly but chose not to get one when I came to choose a dog for my own family.

WouldBeGood · 04/10/2020 17:08

We got an Irish Setter btw, best natured dog ever

Scoobidoo · 04/10/2020 17:11

2 year old working cocker here. She is very energetic and needs a lot of stimulation. It is like having another DC as she wants to be with me all the time. She was a hopeless gun dog but is amazing at agility.

She has a very high prey drive and after intense training she will not hunt down and nip my son, but she is not safe around other DC and I never leave them alone together. To put this into perspective, we have spent over £6,000 on training to get her to this stage.

Plus side, she is the most beautiful and affectionate dog and her manners and recall on walks are amazing. If she could stop hunting DC, she’d be perfect!

Glendaruel · 04/10/2020 17:22

I have an 8 year old and she is so faithful. She always wants to please and is great family dog. My only slight negative is that she is obsessed with food and balls. On upside throwing balls on gels when she was younger was great way to exercise her.

Original poster

Letmedowneasy · 04/10/2020 18:05

Thanks for all your replies, so much to think about. I grew up with border collies so think I can handle a spaniel but maybe I haven't thought enough about their hunting instinct.

The litter is from a friend of my brothers, the mum is a family dog and the dad is a working gun dog so I'd imagine the hunter in the dog will be strong!

OP posts:

Ylfa · 04/10/2020 18:12

There are two in my life (or were pre-pandemic when I was a dog walker - they’re still in my life but distanced for now). Both very different! One is extremely intelligent and indefatigable and can be quite sharp around other dogs (even young puppies, she will properly bite them hard without warning) - she does scent tracking, agility and is extra super fit, like ten mile walks at the weekends fit. She has multiple dog walkers because she genuinely wouldn’t cope without much hard physical and mental work. She’s a super dog and I love her to bits but I wouldn’t recommend her to many people. Luckily she’s with an experienced couple. When she’s less fit she’s happy with two one hour off lead walks a day which is about 6 human miles and totally doable but she would suffer with anything less.

The other is so different, doesn’t much like walks which is plain weird, content to be alone at home, very submissive around other dogs, very sweet nature, easy for anyone to care for. I’ve never known a less spaniely spaniel. The first one is my not so secret favourite. I don’t understand what’s gone wrong with the second one 😂

BiteyShark · 04/10/2020 18:29

Thanks for all your replies, so much to think about. I grew up with border collies so think I can handle a spaniel but maybe I haven't thought enough about their hunting instinct.

The mistake I made was looking at all the general information which said they needed a lot of exercise a day to tire them out.

When I met a working dog trainer they said you can walk a spaniel but they just get fitter and fitter but if you 'work it' they will be happier. I think a lot of people try and walk them to try and tire them out when that can be counter productive.

PollyRoulson · 04/10/2020 19:13

I grew up with border collies so think I can handle a spaniel that was my thought too but give me a collie anyday Love my spaniels but they are crazy beasts

cakeforbreakfast1 · 04/10/2020 19:17

Unless you plan on working the dog don't get it.

Working dogs are bred for just that ...... working.....

cakeforbreakfast1 · 04/10/2020 19:19

Before anyone asks yes I have two English springers, a cocker and a Clumber spaniel, all active working dogs, they're a handful lol

BiteyShark · 04/10/2020 19:22

Despite all my warnings I would get another WCS but only because I am now fully prepared . They are lovely loyal dogs and mine is currently on his back with his legs in the air lying next to me.

aceofbase1 · 04/10/2020 19:22

My post is going to sound completely against the grain but this is our experience. We have a working cocker he's 4 and a half now. He's so lazy! He loves his walks but also loves snoozing next to me on the sofa

The first two years he was bouncy energetic and always chewing things he shouldn't be like socks and the like

The last two years (particularly since we got him neutered) he's much much calmer and very lazy

He loves the kids and they love him and I haven't done any gun dog training (we got him from a. Gun dog breeder)

I'm sure he thinks he's human to be honest. He's so well behaved and we often forget he's a dog

So our experience of getting a working breed is that he's become our family pet and doesn't do any stimulation training or anything and we wouldn't be without him!

cakeforbreakfast1 · 04/10/2020 19:25

Look for a show type Clumber spaniel they're great family pets and different from the norm

GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 05/10/2020 07:33

I have working-line gundogs and I would agree with Bitey that you would need a gundog trainer. I wasted hours with our first one going to standard dog training where the dog and I learned next to nothing.

A gundog trainer will understand the breed and its drives and will help you teach an 'off' switch.

Tournesol · 10/10/2020 18:08

I have a 10 month WCS and he is just the best family dog! We live fairly rurally so he has two good off lead walks a day and he just runs and runs (but thankfully is very devoted so always stay close).

Then he spends the rest of the day snoozing and pootling around the house. We do both wfh though so he always has company.

m0therofdragons · 12/10/2020 07:48

We have a wcs who is only 3.5 months. He’s fab, very intelligent and loving. Just be careful re working trainers. We tried a highly recommended one and were very unimpressed. Many working dogs are kept in kennels and use very traditional means to train.

leafeater · 12/10/2020 07:57

Our lovely girl is 13.5 now and has been a fantastic dog. Also bred from a working set of parents, but we've never worked her. Maybe we were just lucky, but we didn't have the crazy experience other posters talk about.
Yes, she is mad about pheasants, but her recall has been good. We spent a lot of time playing hide and seek with her as a puppy, so she was always looking for us (rather than us looking for her ).

She's old, deaf, quite senile now and had a stroke recently, but still happily pottering around and snoozing.

Best dog ever!

KenDodd · 12/10/2020 08:08

I've got a wcs, never had one before and got her in exactly the way you're told NOT to get a dog. No research, wasn't even looking for a dog, just met somebody who asked me if I wanted her, I said 'ok'. She's so lovely, a cuddly dream come true and really obedient. Can't fault her as a dog really, she's perfect. Not sure if my experience really counts though because my dog was 11 when we got her, she's 15 now and still in very good health. As you might expect at her age she's not needed that much exercise while with us. Maybe a retired wcs would be better?

Anyway, I know my experience probably isn't particularly helpful but I just came on to talk about my lovely dog really.

KenDodd · 12/10/2020 08:13

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Please tell me about your working cocker spaniel

CherryPavlova · 12/10/2020 08:19

Our daughter has a working cocker, we have a working setter. The cocker is beautiful but crazily excitable. They are bright and high energy. They need discipline and thinking activities as well as exercise.
He is walked about two hours a day but is running for that time (and swimming if there’s water within a mile).
He’s on gold standard gundog training a loves it. He enjoys retrieving enormously.
He’s friendly, sociable, pub trained but they don’t leave him unattended.

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