Working Cocker Spaniel?

[Moon30]

Hi, posting here for traffic.

we've recently taken in an 8 month old dog, he's supposed to be a full pedigree Working Cocker Spaniel, however I'm not convinced that he is and now I'm thinking he's going to grow much bigger 🙈 he's seems quite big already and his ears look shorter then other working cocker spaniels I know. What do you all think, aibu to think he's mixed with another breed? We love him either way, I'd just like a heads up if he's going to get much bigger.

Oh i love that pic, he's fab!

He does occasionally, but most of the time he just plonks himself down in any old position, even if it's obviously not very comfy. He plays with his toys and blanket on his back sometimes too, he has the funniest personality 🥰

He has actually just been to the groomer at the weekend, I'm not sure if he's had his fur clipped though, his previous owner said he'd been bathed and his nails had been clipped, which I'm very thankful for because he has a terrible habit of jumping up and my legs are covered in many many bruises, he has improved so much though since arriving with us on Monday and we have a 1to1 training session booked in next week to help. He is the sweetest dog but yes can be a bit of of knob too 🤣

Cockador springs to mind for me (lab/cocker cross). You’d train both in the same way.

Yes, he has the craziest energy, he doesn't stop! We have a frenchie and she's so chilled in comparison haha

@Moon30 we have always had working cockers due to hubby's shooting pursuits. they used to be a lot taller and have only in the past few years have shorter legs! we have bred two litters of the bigger dogs. they were always still smaller than springers. If they are pedigree, then you will know that the owner of the bitch would not allow just any dog to mate!! they should really only call them working cockers if they do work. I know for a fact that if I went to a dog show like crufts, their so called working cockers would shit a brick if someone fired a starting pistol!! our dogs are the only dogs in our area who are able to go out for a walk on guy fawkes night. every time they hear a rocket or banger they look up to see where the bird is going to fall.

@Moon30 I notice that his tail has not been docked. I presume then that the breeders do not use their dogs for purpose

Aww he's a cutie! He has shorter ears too, but he has the curls, my dog doesn't 🤔 he weighs 17.7kg but he's only 8months old, so I would assume he would still have some growing to do? Yours does look smaller, but difficult to judge on photos.

He's very nervous of anything loud, even the tumble dryer, but I'm assuming this may be due to how he lived previously, he hadn't been on a walk before and had never had any training, he lived in flat but he did spend alot of time on a long line lead on the grassed area outside the flats.

He's very cute his coat is very smooth although some are . Here's mine

Unfortunately I don't know anything about the breeders, I only know that the previous owner said he's a full pedigree Working cocker spaniel and that he has papers. He's fairly elderly and was already struggling with his dog, then he had a fall at the weekend, so he asked if we could take him so it was all very spontaneous, I'll get my dh to collect his papers over weekend, hopefully those will give us a better idea of where he's from.

I mean they are mad as a box of frogs, and he is also a teenager so you know hormones ! They need lots of enrichment and brain stimulas.

he weighs 17.7kg but he's only 8months old

Unless that's a typo, he's nearly twice the size of mine at that age.

My working cocker x

He looks like a cocker to me, long ears on a working cocker, or springer, are mostly hair, which takes time to grow, the body hair can vary tremendously too, my springer has never needed clipping, and is now 7 years old. I trim his feathers on his legs, and the ends of his ears, and I have known a working cocker with very short smooth body hair.
Yours has a very muscular strong looking physique. They are extremely intelligent, and quick to learn, but that means they can quickly learn the wrong thing! Mine as a new pup, would jump on my knee and bite my hair and ears, so I used to take him outside to distract him in the garden, after 2 days I realised he was doing this to be taken out into the garden. I still have to change tactics often, to keep one step ahead of him. He is gorgeous, good luck🤣

The working cockers do vary alot. Some are bred more for speed , some for larger/smaller size. They are not restricted by 'looks' as much as other breeds eg show cockers. They are bred to do a job.

We've had several & DH competes them at scurries. He likes small but fast.& current one is a pocket rocket.

As long as it was a reputable breeder I wouldn't worry about it not being a working cocker. Have you seen mum & Dad? That will give best indication .

Who was the breeder? If you're England it's a small world & can prob give you an idea what they will be like as a grown working dog.

To anyone reading this DO NOT & I cannot stress that enough buy a working cocker as a pet. They are worse than owning guns & bullets. Completely nuts 😂

He is lovely. I have a working cocker just turned 1 year old. He was around 14kg when last weighed. His Mum is fairly petite and Dad was a bit chunkier. Mine has slightly longer ears than yours. Enjoy him. They are utterly bonkers but love mine to bits

It’s hard to tell, he’s a wee chunk but some of my girl’s brothers are built the same, she’s full pedigree registered etc. I do think your boy’s face isn’t quite the same as WCS that I’ve seen. He’s lovely however!

Mine is quite small some of the litter are chunkier! O

It is not a typo 🙈 we did have to weigh him on some scales from home though and had to weigh ourselves first then pick him up and weigh us both together so the weight may be a little off. He's also never been walked and was fed quite large amounts so I'm not sure if he's maybe a little over weight too, but still I do think he's quite big for his age if he's a working cocker 🤔

My working cocker looks like a little Labrador when her ears have been clipped. However yours is much bigger than mine if he weighs 17kg! Mine is nearly 9 and she only weighs 13kg. I’d love to say they calm down but she really hasn’t much. They’re beautiful dogs but I wouldn’t get another

He doesn’t look fat though, just bigger. My girl was about 10kg at that age.

He is beautiful! He has a similar shaped face to mine 🥰

He could be a sprocker (springer/cocker) like mine? Absolutely nuts, but like others have said, easily trained (especially with tennis balls as rewards!).

He'll give you lots of love and daftness with the added bonus if keeping you fit due to the walks!

Ah thanks for this info. We've no idea on the breeder currently, we ended up taking him in at short notice on Monday due to his previous owner having a fall, he just said that he's a full pedigree Working cocker spaniel, as I did question his breed due to his size. He has papers but we didn't have time to wait for him to find them on Monday, dh went today to take him for a visit but forgot to ask for his papers and vaccination record, so I'll get him to pop round over weekend for them. I'm very curious to see these papers now. I'm assuming if they're genuine we would be able to find out information about the breeders from them?

Oh, interesting! He does have a very similar shape to yours, how much does yours weigh? Haha! ours is 8 months and is already 17.7 kg (if we've weighed correctly on the home scales 🙈) I'm beginning to think he's going to be huge if he still has time to grow lol