as a first tine puppy owner would you choose a Cav or a cocker?

[2T2T]

I am a single stay at home Mum with a teenager daughter and a son of 5. I have been looking at rescue dogs but had no success thus far following this route. I am now considering puppy ownership and love the two above breeds. We are a reasonably active family but we don't go on 'treks' for 'trek's sake iyswim but are always out and about. We live really near the sea, really near two big dog friendly parks and it is very unlikely that I shall return to work.

What do you think? I value your views

Both breeds are fab.
You would need to research carefully as both breeds are prone to health problems.

I personally would recommend cockers as they seem to remain active longer than cavs do.

Good luck whatever you decide

You need to do a lot more research. Contact the breed clubs for both breeds. I am not an expert on wither breed (i am a lab person!) but those dogs were bred for very different purposes- a companion dog, and a working dog with a lot of drive. It is kind of like chosing between a land rover and a fiesta!

I would speak to the the breed clubs and explain what you want from your dog, and make sure you get all the info on the required health tests- there are lots of specific health tests needed before knowing if the parents carry inherrited conditions which could be passed on to your pup. The breed club will also have a list of breeeders with puppies at the min who have all agreed to the clubs code of ethics

Thankyou Macdog - They both sound so lovely temperament wise. Tough isn;t it!

I have a working cocker who I adore, but they do need a lot of walking- she likes at least 2 hours a day. However she is adorable, lively, loves to see me and sleeps on my lap. Cavs are smaller I think and need less walking, but are more prone to inbreeding problems.

Cockers are gorgeous but amazingly hard work. My friend has one and he never sits still. They ca take hours and hours and hours of exercise. She can't wear him out and she walks him 3 times every day. 2 of these walks are longer than an hour out in the sticks.

I would hesitate to recommend a cocker. Mine is extremely hard work. But he is adorable, utterly adorable. I grew up with a cocker and it was still a shock.

Personally I think Cavs are ugly.

I'm with Soupy. Cavs are ugly. All bulging eyes.......

Oh I love them - they are such cheery little souls, all smiles & wagging tails

I would hesitate to recommend a cocker. Mine is extremely hard work. But he is adorable, utterly adorable. I grew up with a cocker and it was still a shock.

Personally I think Cavs are ugly.

Alright Soupy we heard ya the first time

thanks all - very useful first hand knowledge. Talkingnonsense - is that 2 hours spread over two of three walks or in one hit? Not sure I could do a two hour walk in one go!

Not sure why that has posted twice - once when I wasn't even in the room :o Bloody cats.

bulging eyes and run-into-a-wall faces :o

Dill could walk for hours and hours and hours. He can have less (he's a show type rather than working) but he is like the Duracell bunny TBH.

Soupdragon - Cavs are beautiful! Mind you, Cocker's really appeal to me looks wise far more and they seem more 'solid' iyswim. but having read up a fair bit I am undecided as both have such positive points. maybe a cocker is taking on too much .hmmmm

Cavs with bulging eyes are ugly. The ones without are OK, but still don't do much for me, looks-wise.

wow - 3 hours per day of walks for a cocker! I was envisaging a good hour in the morning and then a shorter walk with ds in the afternoon (30-45 min dependent on ds's tiredness) and poss a brief round block after dinner (6-7pm) jsut me for 20mins of so. Maybe a Cav would be better.....

Just make sure you go through responsible channels when you buy your pup.... so many byb and puppy farmers for both breeds, you can end up with a lot of heart ache and huge vet bills...

CAVCAVCAVCAVCAVCAVCAVCAVCAVCAV!

Principality - i trawl the threads on here and am clued up about byb and puppy farms etc. But thank you

leBOF - expand on this!!!

Pickle has NOT got boggly eyes, she is BEAUTIFUL. So there.

leBOF - she is gorgeous beyond belief!!! How old is she in the pic? How have you found training (house, obedience etc.) I want HER!!!!

And she doesn't need a lot of walking- 20 minutes off-lead is fine because she walks about four miles a day following me round the bloody house

I would go for a cav. My aunt has had several and my grandma had one too. They are all round fab little dogs. My grandma's had a lot of the typical breed problems but his full brother from the same litter was an exceptionally healthy dog and lived to 14 or 15 - fab age for a Cav.

Lebof - she is scrummy. Is she a ruby with tiny white patches or a very brown blenheim?