Springer or Cocker?

[vigglewiggle]

I have another thread about springer spaniels which covers a bit of this ground, but I thought I would start a new thread to get a clear comparison.

I am leaning more towards Cockers (not helped by a beautiful photo of a chocolate cocker pup that a breeder has sent to me) but also because of the size. DH has been influenced by our butcher who has one of each and says that Cockers are much more difficult and demanding than springers.

Any thoughts?

We have DD's aged 4 and 6 and lots of time and energy (well DH does ).

How about a field spaniel? Think they're a variation of cocker but without the highly strung tendencies that some can have.

Also have a more "rangy" body shape. A friend has 4 of them and they have lovely tempers, seem easily trained and don't bark much at all.

I am biased so wont offer an opinion, but look on my profile if you wnt more cute pics. ;)

I quite like the smaller size of the cocker and the field spaniel looks bigger, is that the case?

Lovely pics dita - can you comment on temperament in a biased or unbiased way?

Eric is lovely, mad and needs a lot of excercise and if he doesnt get it he drives you mad, but never in a nasty way. he follows me everywhere and sits and crys at the bottom of the stiars when I go to the loo, so gentle and great with the kids but plays like a proper dog wwith the terrier. Would do anything on this earth for a ball.

I think my springer is an exception to the rule that they're crazy. He's just over a year old and we have a 3 year old DD and a newborn. We worked hard on basic obedience, which we have kept up, so he is very well mannered. He is quiet and mostly calm around the house, provided he has bones and kongs to chew. On off lead walks he is brilliant and his recall is reliable. He's not great on the lead - I blame myself for this as didn't work on it enough. I plan to improve this shortly. He doesn't bark, unless on command. He will do anything for a stick or ball chase. I can easily leave him for 4+ hours in a crate and he's perfect in the car.

He's quite big to cuddle on the sofa, loves mud and water and has a sensitive stomach.

My only comparison is to the next door neighbour's cocker. She is the same age and howls from 6.30am when they leave for work till 5.30pm when they return. That, of course, is not the dog's fault...

I have both in one dog . Spaniels tend to be scatty and loving. Mine is a darling, adores me and the DC and is more than happy to be cuddled and fussed. He is a dynamo, though, and has to run every day. Has to. And I'm talking trudging around a field in the howling wind and rain for 30 minutes minimum. As long as he gets what he needs, he is very calm in the house. I have met both cockers and springers that have been neurotic, which on probing tends to come from being left for too long or not being exercised enough. They are both smart dogs and training of some kind is essential. I'd have a cocker for the size, but a springer for the more focused vibe. So I ended up with both.

Or how about one of each? Then they can plaaaaaaaay .

I'm biased so can't properly answer; we have a Springer but our neighbors have a brand new, little black and white-ticked Cocker who is just a doll....

Fields are more like sprinters in size, and their temperament is the best of the three IMO. Plus they're one of the rarest breeds around! So they could do with the support (I grew up with fields).

We have a cocker (DH's choice of breed). There are a lot of lovely cockers out there, but although she is affectionate and snuggly etc, she also Never. Stops. Barking. Ever. :( She's nearly five and after exploring every avenue she's just been put on medication to try and reduce the noise. I'm not optimistic :( and it's had a huge impact on our relationship (me and the dog, that is!).

I would not have a cocker again.

PS, DH or I are nearly always at home (we share care of our DS) and she gets a minimum of 1.5-2 hours of walking a day, so those are not our issues.

I'm doing a lot of reading and asking around and it seems to me that there are no clear lines of differentiation between the two. How they turn out is partly down to genetics and probably mostly to do with how much time and effort you put into them.

Am I right?

Ouch

We have a Springer and he is lovely
Amazing with all kids, he genuinely adores them and follows them around.
He is very obedient and has perfect recall, is fantastic off the lead and on and suprisingly calm around the house (he has spent most of today asleep)

He very rarely barks, and is fine being left. I love our dog

The downsides are a love of rolling in mud and swimming in water, so not for the houseproud and yes he does need a good offlead walk each day or he gets a lot more bouncy.
They are fantastic dogs. Clever, loyal, gentle and very fun.

To be fair, I think Cockers are lovely too

Sorry Termagant - I have re-read my post and realise it looks like I'm having a dig. I wasn't! I meant you will get puppies with pre-determined issues that you can do nothing about. You can put time and effort into other aspects of behaviour and train them accordingly, but some birth traits will remain. nthere doesn't seem any clear difference between Cockers and springers in that respect.

Sorry if I sounded like I was having a dig .

I have a friend with 3 Springers and 2 cockers. His Springers are fab, were easy to train, very obedient but very needy - they are used to seeing 'dad' when they are working, so don't relax if he is out of sight. All 3 are great with kids (ignore them) and are pretty bomb proof. They need a lot of exercise, but are happiest rooting through the woods. Two have really soft mouths, soft hold but the one is a killer.

The cockers took much longer to train and are more 'skittish'. They are nervous around children. Not sure, but to me they don't seem as clever? They are more loving than the Springers and more food centric. They don't retrieve very well (even though they've had the same owner, same training). As a pet their size is probably better for kids, but they aren't great workers.

But it's all academic really. It's down to the dog, not the breed. I have a Mutt, she's probably Sprollie, but there seems to be something else there as well. She is fab with DD, but wary of other kids until properly introduced. She is skittish and growly with strange noises and strangers but soft as hell. She is submissive with other dogs, flat on her back, but hates strange dogs going near DD and is very protective. She was easily trained, is great on a lead, loves to retrieve (balls) but is scared of pheasants!

I suppose what I am saying is that you cannot generalise. Whatever dog you choose there will be good and bad sides to it - I believe dogs are mainly what you make them with a little nature thrown in. Yes Springers are 'known' for being crackers - but my friends 3 aren't.

Don't set your hopes on a certain type of dog, you could be disappointed.

I think belindarose and I share the same dog!

Our cocker is nearly 9 months old. A dream to toilet train, no problems with recall (most of the time), obedience quite good, walks well off a lead, loves 'fetch', very cuddly and says 'hello' to everyone, no barking.

The only bad things with our cocker is that we have found her to be a bit nippy, especially when she's giddy. She's never broken skin or done it maliciously, but nippy at times nonetheless. (we have a 5 year old and 14 mo boys).

Smaller than a springer so better IMO, washes and trims well at the groomers-literally have no problems with her. Very loving, happy temperament dogs. Def recommend.

Ours is called beau and she's black with a white bib.

Sorry, I was feeling a bit touchy . I'll get over myself now :o.

Agree with boysboysboys, toilet training was very easy, her recall is great and she's very eager to please - she just has no volume control. It's very wearing.

I feel fairly battle-weary from (disastrous) potty training of two children, so that seems a positive trait!

We still have a lot of thinking to do, but your experiences are really helpful. Thank you all.

If it makes any difference, beau is crate trained so toilet training was a doddle.

No accidents after she was 13 weeks old. And I believe it was the crate training (and being let out hourly and rewarded for wees)

I thought crates were cruel. But we looked into it and decided to try it and she loves her den. She goes in on her own accord when she wants some peace.

If that helps at all!

Hi,

My Mum has had cockers and sprockers. The ones with springer in seem do much more mental than the cockers! Both have been very dependent and clingy though! I vote cockers (although we have a lab!).

I can't answer this truthfully as am biased. You can see my two cuties on my profile

Awww, Puddin. They're so sweet! Are two Springers 2x the work or do they entertain each other? I'm trying to imagine double the food-swiping, double the bouncing around, but I know our Lucy would love another similarly energetic dog to rough-house with as our Westie seldomly indulges her.

They are very lovely puddin. We are leaning more towards a springer at the moment as I have managed to speak to a local breeder who has no puppies available at the moment, but knows a very reputable breeder who does. She spent ages on the phone talking through the pros and cons of each breed and bitch v's dog etc. I feel in a much better position now to make an informed decision thanks to her and all of you.

I have a (show type) cocker, he is sweet and and gentle, easy to train and easy to live with. He loves his walks and will trot about with us all day, he's also happy to stay at home for the day if I'm too busy to take him out. He gets on well with the cats and loves the DC. He never barks in the house, but if he's out and gets very overexcited playing with another dog he barks constantly and I hate it.

We've had a few people visit who have/had cockers and they have all commented on how incredibly laid back he is, so maybe we've just been lucky?

SrirachaGirl and vigglewiggle thank you very much for your kind comments .

DDog1 is the exception to the rule as far as springers go. He is only 20 months old but acts like he should have a cloth cap, pipe and slippers He was a total dream as a pup and loved the company of other dogs so we decided to get DDog2.

Getting DDog2 was the best decision we ever made . He is now 10.5 months old and is more energetic than DDog1 but they are inseperable. They keep each other company when we go out and play together all the time.

I hope this doesn't sound as if we ignore our dogs but when we only had DDog1 it was up to us to keep him entertained and play with him but now they have each other, we get a bit of time to relax

We have a show cocker ,and I grew up with one , have also had springers . I am a real spaniel fan but knew that as a family the energy levels of a springer would be too much .
Our cocker is very happy to be walked as much as we want and is very sociable with dogs and people alike but is also happy to be left , he just snuggles down in his basket . He is also a big fan of cuddles
He was easy to train and apart from the occasional cloth eared moment , his recall is pretty good .He does bark in the garden at next door's cat and also at the postmanand this and the fact that he sheds for Britain are his major downsides!
I found loads of info on www.cockersine.co.uk and there is lots of advice on the crockerdile stage , when they can be a bit nippy . It's just a puppy characteristic with cockers,interestingly a relative has a cockerpoo and he was the same, they are both gorgeous family dogs now though.

Good luck whichever you choose