working cockers...fun times!

[buntymo]

After lots of research, and I mean years we are finally getting our puppy, a chocolate working cocker. We are rural and have a huge garden, lots of lovely walks to do on our door step so excited! Before I buy too much I plan on a crate, harness and some toys is there any wise words of advice? I grew up with lots of dogs at any one time and did obedience training but that's a bit rusty now, and I'm sure things have moved on. I want to be able to give her such a happy life, share your thoughts please!

[noddingoff]

Yep puppy training classes! Even if you have a fair drive to get there. When she is a bit older teach her to search cover for balls, memory retrieves, water retrieves etc even if you have no intention of working her. Mine loves it- watching her search a patch of cover even for a ball rather than a bird is like watching a lurcher at full gallop...it's what they're for!

[lcj68]

Ooh how exciting for you. We have a chocolate working cocker, he's 8 now and my best friend💕. We did gundog training with him when he was a puppy which he loved and he's so well behaved ( apart from sleeping on my bed, when he knows he's not allowed, but I let him anyway😉)
He was crated until he was about 2 but now only uses the crate when we go camping.
Have lots of fun with your new puppy, I'm very jealous

[lcj68]

Sorry the pic above was that brush strokes thing doing the rounds on Facebook a while ago

[hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman]

Words of wisdom? Yes, say goodbye to your sanity now while you still can .

I agree though, training all the way. They are funny, active, clever dogs who need to be able to use their brains.

Stock up on old towels too, our is like a sponge even on the driest of days he can come back soaking wet and muddy

[buntymo]

Thanks all!

[buntymo]

The breeder has been using Alpha Sporting pro puppy food, anyone know this brand, in past life I have always used science hill for dogs and cats, my pet shop has had to put in a special order for me, I'm so excited it's ridiculous!

[BCBG]

Gorgeous dog but please - no harness. They are very easy to train to walk to heel on a lead, and after that stop, stay, recall etc. As others have said, find a good class but also a trainer who understands working dogs. I have two working cockers and bred a very successful litter. If the training is too dominant they can become very timid and uncertain. They love carrying things around - old teddies, socks or gloves all good. Cockers are very rarely destructive chewers once the teeth are through - they prefer to suck things to death! Of the litter I bred, one lives in a town, two are rural, one is working to gun, and two are very successful agility dogs. w/cockers absolutely LOVE agility classes so if you have a club or group in your area id really recommend checking them out - its also a great family activity/hobby to pursue with children. Agree re old towels, mud, and games like memory retrieves, but go gently when pup is small - don't make it over excitable when small. Also, cockers jump up - even the best trained gun dogs I've known will jump up if they are happy so watch and train for that if you have relatives or visitors who might not love muddy dogs as much as you. My cockers drive me mad daily, but I would never be without them!

[buntymo]

Thanks for your reply! Why no harness? Ta

[puffylovett]

Aww gorgeous pics 😍
I just lost my old field cocker, but she was the best dog ever :(

[noddingoff]

What BCBG said about training - can be tricky as if you give them even a hard stare they can be so utterly, abjectly heartbroken that you almost feel obliged to apologise to them....then two minutes later they are rolling their eyes and doing whatever bold behaviour it was that annoyed you again.

Ours is quite velcroed onto DH - probably because he takes her to work every day. She will settle no problem if on her own in the house or has to sleep downstairs, or if he is quietly working away on the computer etc but if he looks in the direction of the door she will be there in a flash trying to get out ahead of him, just in case he leaves without her. If we let her up to our bed she sleeps at our feet, unless I get up for a pee - by the time I come back she will be in my place cuddled up as tight as she can get to DH looking at me as if to say "See I love him more than you do". It's all OK as just funny and cute and she puts up with being shoved back down the bed again (but deliberately makes herself really heavy or obeys the "move over" command as if she's been asked to fling herself out in a blizzard) and if she's alone with me for the day she is happy enough. It would be less sweet if she was a human- she'd be one of those ultra needy girlfriends texting her man 40 times a day and draping herself all over him in the pub.

[puffylovett]

Aww noddingoff she sounds fab :)

[NigelLikesSalad]

BCBG I did not know that sucking socks was a Cocker thing! I just thought ours was weird. We've lost many socks and the corners of towels to this weird habit.

I'd also recommend training classes, ours is so well behaved he's just lovely. He jumps up and is naturally crazily exuberant and there's nothing we could or would do to change that. He's a nightmare on the lead, really bad but we only have to have him on a lead for about 2 mins either side of our walks while we cross a very quiet road. Lots of people leave their dogs off he lead as it's so quiet but our boy has NO road awareness at all so I'm just not risking it. I try sometimes with the extentable leadable lead and If he runs on the road I shout 'pavement' and he sits down in the road and tilts his head to look at me. :/ he's useless and it's my fault because I'm too soft

He's also a sofa ninja, the second you move he's in your space and doesn't move until you sit practically sit on him. Amazing dogs. I'd never have another breed.

[buntymo]

We are nearly there, just a few more days now, we are too excited, must calm down, two out of my three children don't want to come to collect puppy as they think it's going to be too sad to take her away from mummy and siblings?! Hard as nails 7 year old can't wait!

[fluffypenguinbelly]

Join a forum called Cockersonline. It's a fab resource. Even if you just read and don't post.

[Awks]

We had a lovely field spaniel who died 3 years ago at age of 13. I wept for months. Anyway we decided to get another one and he arrived 2 years ago. Though he kept growing and his legs got longer and longer and no way is he a field spaniel - he's definitely a sprocker.

Both dogs were/are amazing - you will have such a great time x

[Paulat2112]

I currently walk one a few times a week. He is a lovely little chap :) bet the kids will be excited when you bring her home. It broke my heart to take our puppy away and the crying the first fee nights almost made me cry!

[Vinotinto78]

Our lovely boy. He's 2 and a half now. Mad as a hatter for the first 12 months but now very well behaved. I can confirm the sock stealing and I have to share my slippers! Great breed.

[buntymo]

They are just so noble looking! Gorgeous

[Claraoswald36]

Yy to pp that cockers attach quickly and struggle with more than one boss - ours struggles to listen to dp but is very good for me.
We have a show cocker so not as manic but similar though he gets tired.
Cockers are just lovely jOlly non aggressive dogs who are mostly very contented. Best advice I read prob on here was that they need field exercise by the bucket load - a walk on the lead does nothing to wear them out they need off lead every day though it's easy to get their recall working so unlikely to be an issue.

[stayhomeclub]

Mine is my absolute best friend, an unexpected present (I know) but now he is wonderful, the first 18 months were hard but he's settled down wonderfully. Plenty of off lead exercise in fields is needed, he doesn't care for lead walks. Don't think I could have another breed now.

[buntymo]

She's here!!

She is wonderful, hasn't made any noise, very waggy tail and bounding around garden, sleeping for long periods after, one wee one poo in 6 hrs? Is that okay?

[buntymo]

Oh and she had quite a strong smell, not horrid but distinctly doggy? Is that okay

[puffylovett]

Oh I'm so jealous! What a little beauty! Sorry I can't offer any advice, it's been 15 years since I had a pup I'm sure you will get used to the stink in time. My pops had her own particular stench, I loved it

[Lovelydiscusfish]

Oh, she's beautiful!
Ours is a rescue, so came to us fully trained - really very very iron training, to the extent that we had to instruct her to move around the house! Luckily we've untrained her a bit since then. But she is a very, very good, obedient, gentle dog. She doesn't seem to struggle with having more than one owner, she loves us all.
The one thing she struggles with is lead walking - she pulls terribly. I prefer to walk her off lead when I can, as she will then walk to heel, with a bit of effort on my part. This may all just be because she wasn't lead-walked when younger though.
Exercise, exercise, exercise is the way to go. We know quite a few naughty working cockers who aren't walked anything like enough. You see quite a few overweight ones too. Ours is very food driven, and will steal food if she can - we have to carefully watch her intake. It's good to get vet's advice about weight, because when they look and feel just slightly too thin (to me) it transpires they are in fact the perfect weight.
Enjoy!

[sparechange]

Buy a copy of The Pet Gundog, and read it before the pup arrives
Then refer back to it weekly when you are training.

If you are going to do puppy classes, make sure you socialise your pup with older dogs as well - puppy classes on their own are a disaster and just reinforce bouncy, bad puppy behaviour. They need an older dog to teach them proper dog manners unless you want a rude awakening in a park...