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Original poster

Cocker Spaniels

57 replies

Millarkie · 10/04/2008 21:04

We are looking into getting a dog later on this year. I think acocker spaniel would fit the bill but would like to hear from cocker owners - how much walking do they need, are they daft as a brush, do they tend to be good with children (7yrs and 5yrs)..and is there any chance that they will get on ok with cats?

Thank you.

OP posts:
Original poster
Millarkie · 10/04/2008 22:29

100x
Enjoy your coffee.

OP posts:
floaty · 10/04/2008 22:30

We were chatting on another thread a few months ago when someone else was looking for a dog and when you described her it fitted the website I had just found.We are in suffolk so I am looking for a breeder in East Anglia

hippipotami · 10/04/2008 22:30

ahundred, we have left Dill. He is very happy to be left for around 4 hours. But we hardly ever leave him that long, usually no more than 2 3 hours. We once were unavoidably delayed and were out for 6 hours, and other than doing a wee on the mat by the back door he was fine. Pleased to see us, but fine.
I did feel dreadful though.

ahundredtimes · 10/04/2008 22:31

[shakes]

They are v. nice dogs Mill honestly. I think show are thicker but more amiable. We met a working cocker the other day, and she was all sleek but a bit nuts and silly and didn't concentrate. We turned her noses up at her - and he does have an exceptionally nice nose.

hippipotami · 10/04/2008 22:31

Floaty, that's right

She is nice. A bit mad, but nice. And Daft Dill is brilliant. All be it a bit daft. But we love him for it.

Original poster
Millarkie · 10/04/2008 22:38

Floaty - I'm looking for a breeder in East Anglia too - could you give me some pointers to the site you've found - I'm searching through the kennel club site but no luck yet.

Thanks for the info about leaving Dill alone for a short time hippopotami - put my mind at rest a bit.

OP posts:
floaty · 10/04/2008 22:54

Have you tried cockersonline I have been lurking there for some time in fact I have found it quite addictive ,I also got some details from champdogs breeders list.Obviously its just to give you some idea but it has given me a start with costs etc

ingles2 · 11/04/2008 15:05

Can I just add that I leave my cocker alone at home sometimes with no problem. Usually there's an Au Pair around and about but I have left her for 6 hours...and she's never weed in the house.

talkingmongoose · 11/04/2008 15:19

Do look at cockersonline, it's a great resource. And make yourself aware of the difference between show lines and working cocker lines (sometimes called wockers, very very intense and need mahoosive excercise)

Original poster
Millarkie · 11/04/2008 19:10

I've been lurking on cockersonline - thanks for the recommendation..lots of info on there!

Ingles - thanks for putting my mind at rest re: leaving 'dog' alone sometimes. It is something I have been worrying about.

If working cockers are wockers, does that mean show cockers are shockers?

OP posts:
Solitaire · 11/04/2008 19:23

ooh, this is all very useful. We're looking to get a dog in June and are trying to decide between cockers and labs. Any advice

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 19:53

Don't know anything about labs Solitaire, but I can recommend a cocker wholeheartedly

margosbeenplayingwithmynoonoo · 13/04/2008 19:58

I have a cocker spaniel. She's a good natured dog. She is a sneaky food thief though! She loves it when it's the childrens mealtimes!

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 20:04

Oh yes, Daft Dill is a terrible food thief too! He has been known to snatch food out of dd's hands, he has jumped up on the table when I foolishly left it unattended to get some water (no one else home so table containing my jacket potato free for the taking)
He raids the bin given half a chance, hovers around in the kitchen whilst I am cooking (and causing me to trip over him grrrrr) and will sit and stare at you whilst you are sitting on the sofa with a cuppa and a biscuit.

But we love him.

margosbeenplayingwithmynoonoo · 13/04/2008 20:58

Did you ever watch Victoria Stillwell teach a dog to sit still when a morsel of food was placed in front of it? Dh and I chuckled thinking we would never in a thousand years be able to teach our dog such restraint, but we did!

Although our dog loves one particular friend of mine visiting, as she always leaves food at dog height. She ate a whole tray of cream cakes at the last visit . Dh was very sad as he'd earmarked an eclair to eat once he'd made a cuppa!

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 21:22

Now you see, that is the odd thing. I can tell Dill to sit, place any type of food on the floor in front of him, or on his front paws, tell him 'leave', and he will not take it until I say he can.

But the minute my back is turned he turns into food thief extraordinaire!

2GIRLS · 13/04/2008 22:16

I had a golden cocker when I was young and although I loved her, she was a nightmare. Very aggressive, hated all men, hated anyone coming near me, hated anyone coming into our house or even walking past it. But she was so good with my niece and nephew when they were babies she let them pull at her and stand on her and she never did a thing.

Years later a vet mentioned that red dogs can be aggressive by nature, so this might have something to do with it.

Now we have a yellow lab and she's the best dog in the world! She's 4 now but she's so placid and gentle and obedient and brilliant with the dc's, we've never heard anything remotely aggressive from her.
She does shed an awful lot of hair though, all th etime, loads and loads.

So I would say go for a lab!

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 22:39

Golden Cockers unfortunately were a victim of overbreading due to their popularity. Ie breeders were so keen to make money from selling pups that they took no notice of the temperament of the dogs they were breeding from. Thus a large number of pups were born from parents with questionable temperaments, these pups grew up with bad temperaments and then bred from and so on.

That has now been completely eradicated as Cockers have not been as popular as they were 20-30 years ago.

However, chocolate labs are now reportedly starting to suffer the same fate as for a number of years they have been so popular that less scrupulous breeders and puppy farmers have been falling over themselves to breed.

All it means is that you should choose an accredited breeder, one who has a waiting list for the pups, and preferable one who only breeds one specific breed as they have a love and knowledge of that breed.

ingles2 · 13/04/2008 23:15

Aha... See I've got the stupidest cocker then... she'd love to steal our food, but would never dare...just resorts to stealing the cat food
Ours is golden, and the genetic fault is an schizo aggression called "avalanche of rage" this is thought to be a problem in all inbred golden dogs including labs and retrievers. We've never had a problem but I probably wouldn't risk a solid gold again just incase

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 23:21

ingles, it is incredibly rare nowadays in golden cockers, honestly.

Dill steals the catfood too. He is such a piglet!

ingles2 · 13/04/2008 23:24

I know hippi... not unknown though,...my vet mentioned that he'd had a cocker and a retriever with this problem. (don't know the time scale, probably over his entire career )

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 23:35

Yes, that is true, it is possible. Maybe my next dog will be a crossbreed, although I really want to rescue a greyhound.

Met a cockerpoo the other day, and promptly fell in love

ingles2 · 13/04/2008 23:39

I'd LOVE a cockerpoo!
Pippa comes in heat beginning of May and I've got a roan cocker lined up...maybe I should look for a poodle instead

hippipotami · 13/04/2008 23:41

Aw, if you look for a poodle instead, can I go onto your puppy waiting list please??? I have now met two cockerpoos, and they were both just the most delicious, gorgeous, nicest dogs ever.
I was really against this whole labradoodle, springapoo, cockerpoo business when it first started, but now I am a convert.

I want a cockerpoo!

margosbeenplayingwithmynoonoo · 14/04/2008 00:17

I've added my dog to my profile pictures!

Actually my dog is a field - cocker cross.