Talk to me about cocker spaniels as a first family dog

[NarniaBanarnia]

DH in fairness grew up with dogs (Labs) so he knows his way round a dog but this would be our first as a family.

There are 3 of us, me, DH and DD aged 7 (dog mad BUT not a big fan of the outdoors/exercise; part of the plan in getting a dog WHEN THIS COVID HELL IS OVER) is to encourage her to walk a bit more!!

I am home all day every day, not just thanks to Covid but I work from home.

Access to big commons etc and we have a garden but it is small.

Terraced house so we cannot have much barking.

Prepared to train indeed NEED to train as we have family who dislike dogs and won’t visit if we have a jumping-up dog (hmm, might be an advantage...!!)

I realistically couldn’t commit to walking more than 1 hour in the morning, Maybe 45 mins in the afternoon. Is 1h45 average per day enough for a cocker or would they be going crazy/destroying the house!?

We all adore spaniels in general. They are DH’s ‘compromise’ dog because he really wants a Lab but I feel we don’t have the space or lifestyle/time to walk a larger dog.

Do they shed A LOT??!

Good with kids? DD is very good, adores dogs and desperately wants one (only child) but isn’t ever going to be that child tirelessly throwing a ball for hours for DDog in the garden (DH will be doing that instead) DD likes idea of sitting and reading with snuggled-up dog!!

We love Cavvies but fear health issues.

Cockerpoos seem a bit crazy? But are Cockers too?

Any Cocker opinions welcomed!

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

I’m sure many are lovely!
Terriers really vary with DC. Ours was great. The IL's was a little bastard.

[AdoreTheBeach]

I have had two, both male. Originally, I went to our vet (we had cats prior this this as my DH grew up with cats) and asked about dog breeds given the ages of our children, realistic likelihood of daily walks and that we both worked full time. Cocker spaniel was be of the breeds recommended. (Show, not working). The vet referred me to the kennel club website, specifically some things to look for and things to look out for.

We found our first make from a lady in Kent (we’re Surrey based) who showed her one dog, bred her once and we bought one of her puppies. We saw the mum and brother. Our dog had his injections and could already walk on a lead (13 weeks). Amazing dog, so well behaved (we did puppy classes) and had him groomed regularly. My husband has allergies but not triggered by cockers fur (yes to the cat though!). We got our second a few years later. With both, well behaved, no shedding, no health problems either (all parents had DNA testing). Sadly, after many years, we now only have one who is considered elderly at 11 years, but still very healthy and such a good boy. You can’t go wrong with a cocker (properly bred).

[TeacupRex]

I have two show-type English cocker spaniels. The chocolate roan and tan boy was the first dog I've ever had, I would say they are a good breed for new owners - I must stress the show types, and not the workers.

Whilst the working ones I've met have been very sweet (if not a little scatty) they need a lot of exercise and mental stimulation to keep them happy and tend to have higher drives. The show types tend to be a little more chilled out (still quite an active breed though) and they probably won't be as likely to be bouncing off the walls if you miss a walk. The workers are smarter than the shows, which is a good thing if you're always one step ahead of them and willing to channel that intelligence into tricks and commands, not so good if they are using those brains to entertain themselves.

My two are lovely little dogs. The chocolate roan bitch (younger one) was a lot harder work than the male (he was a breeze - maybe dogs are easier than bitches?), she is very vocal and will make herself heard whenever she's not happy about anything. They both can be quite needy, in general cockers tend to love being around people and they can be prone to separation anxiety because of this, there is always someone at home here though. It helps if you can teach a 'quiet' command as cockers will happily alert you to any sight or sound they think is suspicious. They can also be trained not to jump up (same as with any breed) but you must start this from day one - they must learn they won't get any attention unless 4 paws are on the floor.

My boy is extremely friendly, even with strangers, but the girl is a little more aloof, but that may just be down to their individual personalities. Very gentle with children and they're amicable with other dogs at the park. They are both extremely greedy, which is a good thing and a bad thing - they will do anything for a treat which makes training easier and they're not picky eaters, but you have to be careful not to leave food lying around where they can reach, and have a very secure bin!

Mine are happy with a 20 minute walk round the block, or 1-2 hours offlead at the park. They also don't go mad if they miss a day. Which is very helpful at a time like this where we're having to limit how much we can go outdoors. As long as they get to sniff around - they don't really tear around the field like loonies, they like to have a nice scenic pottering around to smell everything! The bitch has a higher prey drive (despite being a show type) and is obsessed with squirrels. Recall can be a challenge but 9/10 times it's pretty solid. The male couldn't care less about small furry creatures. They were very naughty as puppies (chewing stuff, shredding toilet rolls etc) but this has calmed down a lot now they are older and they're not very destructive.

Grooming - they are less hard work than cockapoos but still need to be clipped at the groomers every 2 months or so as well as being brushed and bathed at home in between to keep their coats free of mats and knots. Cockers are traditionally handstripped but once they are neutered, the coat tends to change texture so it has to be clipped. Their coat tends to pick up bits of nature (especially as they love running through tall grass and undergrowth) - you need to be especially careful with grass seeds as they're easy to miss with long hair and can migrate inside the body and cause issues. Mine actually don't shed a lot which is surprising. I never find dog hair on my clothes. Cockers are very partial to a muddy puddle or a roll in fox poo/bird poo/dead animal so definitely be prepared for bathing them!
You should also try to keep their ears clean and dry as they can be prone to ear infections (although in my 5 years of having them, they've only had ear issues once or twice so maybe I'm lucky). Some of them have saggy lip folds that can trap bacteria and start to stink, so those should be cleaned out as well regularly.

Cockapoos are a mixed bag as people will use any old poodle and any old cocker to create this cross, they are extremely popular right now which encourages a lot of dodgy breeders to hop on. I've seen a lot of breeders using working cockers (which I don't understand as cockapoos are primarily marketed to people that want a sedate pet) so some of them can end up absolutely bonkers because they need a job to do. Plus their coats are a pain in the ass to maintain (unless you have them clipped super short), they almost always end up at groomers with huge mats if the owners don't stick to a regular brushing routine at home. I am quite biased but I am yet to meet a cockapoo that I loved more than a cocker.

Cockers are definitely healthier than Cavaliers (god bless them they are such sweet little dogs but I couldn't deal with the health problems), make sure the breeder you choose is health testing their breeding stock. Show-types should be genetically clear of progressive retinal atrophy, familial nephropathy and adult onset neuropathy. Should also be hip scored and eye tested.

[Dreamersandwishers]

There’s a saying a dog walker told me - Labs are born half trained; spaniels die half trained.
Committed lab owner, have fostered a cocker - lovely dog, very messy, a bit smelly, extremely busy.
Lab puppies, especially males, are hard work , but if they are trained they grow up to be calm - there’s a reason they are assistance dogs.
Truth is you get out what you put in.

[SutterCane]

I would recommend steering well clear of CKCSs and their crosses. It really can't be overstated just how bad a situation the breed is in health-wise and some of the biggest issues (in terms of both severity and prevalence) can't be reliably avoided with a single first cross to another breed. There is a huge amount of denial within the breed community, despite there being health tests/screening schemes/recommended breeding protocols available very few breeders bother utilising them correctly. Even the breed club still insists the breed is "generally healthy" despite the vast amount of evidence to the contrary.

There are some breeders attempting to produce a genuinely healthy CKCS, either via an outcrossing programme or completely recreating the breed from the ground up, but these are vanishingly rare.

Like a previous poster I'd suggest having a look at whippets. Nice size, super easy care coats, really flexible when it comes to exercise (they'll go all day given the opportunity but are also more than happy with shorter bursts or high intensity exercise), playful and trainable without being hugely demanding plus there's not much they love more than just snuggling with their people on the sofa. The main downside of the breed is their prey drive which can be extremely high, even in show bred individuals. It's entirely manageable though with training, appropriate outlets for their instincts and just being sensible about when and where you let them off lead.

[Snoopdogowner]

@maisiemoolou my male cockapoo is 10 months old and kinda driving me round the bend at the moment, it does eventually get easier right? Lockdown obviously not helping!!!

[lotsofdogshere]

I had my first blue roan show type 40 years ago. I currently have an almost two year old blue roan cocker.Beautiful, gentle, kind, good with children, always happy and friendly. Needy, ditzy, giddy, distractible, bright but with the concentration span of a gnat. As someone already said, people who have working labs and cockers tell you, a lab is born half trained, a spaniel dies half trained.
If you spay, their silly show coat often becomes fluffy, it mats and knots easily. Needs a brush and comb through daily and groom six weekly. Yes, they shed, most dogs do.
They adore water and mud, even show types seem to have deep in their DNA the urge to flush any birds and to leap into any water to swim.
Cockerpoo's- as with spaniels, I'd avoid single colour coats.In truth, I'd avoid cockerpoo's. You don't always get the best of both breeds. Get a spaniel or a miniature poodle
Yes, whippets are lovely dogs.Nice temperament, easy coats and not complicated
Labradors -come in various sizes, you can get smaller labs but they're still labs, not small dogs and of course they shed.
No to lurchers, yes they run once a day and sleep but, high prey urge. I know a number of serial killer lurchers - cats, small furry animals.

Get a dog, can't imagine life without one (or two, or three or occasionally four)

[MaryLennoxsScowl]

I’ve got a 9-month working cocker and he’s my first dog though DH and I both grew up with dogs and my family have lots of dogs. As a tiny puppy he was lots of work - OMG the biting! - but he’s much better now and learns things really fast. We did puppy classes right up to the pandemic outbreak, which were a great help with keeping on track with training, and we researched and were prepared to do lots of training. He sleeps for four hours at a time during the day and we walk around 2 hours a day - used to be 30 mins before work, 45 at lunchtime and 45 in the evening but things are a bit weird now! He gets bored towards the end of the work day and starts bringing you toys and ramps up to bringing laundry he’s nicked if you don’t get up, but he’ll also sit and chew on a chewstick/bone/toy for ages. We love him to bits and love playing with him, and he’s very affectionate and adores children (we don’t have kids but he loves family children). He’s recently started to bark at people in our stairwell (we live in a flat) which I think is the start of territorial adolescence (can’t get him snipped now!) so trying to keep an eye on that - he used to be very quiet. All puppies are a handful and you should be prepared to spend six months intensely training them but they are so worth it! I originally wanted a show cocker but ended up with a working one, but he comes from pet stock rather than from dogs that worked themselves and no field trials champs in his pedigree or anything - he does have a pedigree. I think that contributes to him being calmer. My mum wants a spaniel now and she’s had golden retrievers for years.

[maisiemoolou]

Hi @Snoopdogowner. Ours has always been a lazy monkey. He's 18 months old now. He is pestering more at the minute, due to lockdown and his routine being all thrown out. I never wanted a puppy, we've always had rescue adult dogs, but with my job and having the time I gave in. There was times when I thought what have we done, but he's lovely and very chilled out. You'll get there with your little one.
I second the Bichon and Bichon crosses, I've a couple of those too that I walk and they're fab! More chilled than the cockers and Cockapoos.

[twinnywinny14]

We have a working cocker spaniel whose parents were game keepers dog so we were expecting high maintenance and active dog and she is so calm and placid, a real people pleaser of a dog. I think the spaniel in her has formed strong relationships with us as her ‘masters’ and she was so easy to train. We were clear from the beginning what we did and didn’t want from our dog eg no jumping, not on the sofa etc and stuck to it and she learnt so quickly. She was energetic for the first year or so and then calms down. She is 7 now and can take it or leave it when offered a walk, but when out has bundles of energy but has never pestered for walks. We have a 2yr old cockapoo (smooth coat- looks like a spaniel) and she is totally different- much harder to train and always pushing the boundaries. If I have another dog I would go for a cocker spaniel every time, easy to train but needs training otherwise they can be very hard work as they need the focus and stimulation training gives them

[TheFutureMrsHardy]

I've got 2 spaniels - a working cocker and a sprocker (half springer half cocker).

The cocker is adorable - he's calm and quiet around the house, never barks, and doesn't shed much as I regularly groom him/clip around his legs. However, on a walk, he's a little bastard. He's obsessed with birds of any kind, and he has to have a bell on his collar so I can hear him as he's constantly out of side. He gets around 2 hours of exercise in summer, 1 hour in winter and it's a constant "where is he" on a walk. He can find stagnant water in a heartbeat, and has a bath daily as he's found fox poo, or a rank pond/ditch. Even DH has said although he adores him, he's a lot of work. I would never advise a worker (especially not gamekeeper bred) unless you're really prepared to put the work in.

Our sprocker is so so different. She's quite lazy in comparison, happy to sleep for hours as long as she's on someones lap. Again rarely barks, and she's clipped all over as she's like a woolly mammoth. She sheds a lot more hair than our cocker. On a walk? Like a dream. Never goes out of sight, and just bounds around sniffing but then coming back to check we are there. However she is a chewer, and has eaten the skirting boards and kick boards in the kitchen, about 20 pairs of shoes and several hats......

Having said all of that, after having had tibetan terriers and labradors, we will only ever have spaniels from now on. They're a great size, great characters and fab at keeping your lap warm

[MaryLennoxsScowl]

Oh, just to add, we looked at what we wanted from a dog before looking at which breeds, and we wanted one that would happily go running with my husband who tends to be training for a marathon or an ultra, hence picking one that would go all day. We also wanted small enough for a flat and not yappy, and friendly with people and other dogs so I could take him to work - all of which pretty much worked out. He’s not at all bothered about the people at work (pre-CV) but I wasn’t prepared for puppy curiosity and inclination to chew things found on shelves! That’s a work in progress. He doesn’t like being left alone though, he’s delighted we’re home all day now, and he would start crying after an hour - we were working on that but are a bit stuck now as don’t have anywhere to go!

[sausagefingersH]

We were inexperienced dog owners and got a working cocker 4 years ago as a puppy. He is loved to bits and is actually very lazy he loves nothing more than cozying you and sleeping!

Of course he has his lively moments but it very obedient and will listen when he's told off or told to calm down.

I love him like he's one of the kids and he is truly a part of our family. I would say the first 2 puppy years are not really a reflection of how they turn out as he's calmed down loads over the last year.

We walk him once a day for about 45 min-1hour and he is happy with that and usually drags us home for his dinner

I'd say go for it but do lots of training at the start to ensure you are able to be the "pack leader" and that the puppy knows who the boss is

[sausagefingersH]

Oh forgot to mention he never barks unless someone knocks at the door, even when he's in the garden and the neighbours dog laps at him through the fence he just sniffs and never barks back!

[moveandmove]

We've got a working sprocker. She does actually work on shoots with dp in the winters. She's proper full on. However hard we try we cannot wear her out. We'll run 10 miles with her and she'll still want more.

She chewed our kitchen up as a puppy. She's very vocal, whines and barks a lot. She's awful to walk on the lead, constantly pulls and zig zags as she's always trying to hunt.

I wouldn't say she is a great first dog.

[frostedviolets]

I quite like working cockers, I like the lively, joyous attitude they have bouncing about the place and all the ones I’ve met have been friendly but I am not a fan of show type cockers or Springer spaniels at all.

And to be honest, I don’t particularly like labradors either!

I have met many ‘show type’ spaniels, particularly Springer spaniels, with horrible, horrible temperaments.
Hyper, barky, guardy, human + dog aggressive.
I have met the odd sweet, gentle show cocker but I’ve met more poor examples than good.
I also personally don’t think they look as attractive as the working type.

Labradors I find over the top generally speaking, excessively bouncy and jumpy and ‘in your face’ and I have to say I have met a sizeable proportion with dodgy temperament as well.

[Fiftiesfresh]

We have a 4 year old working cocker. Previously, when the kids were young, had a golden retriever.
Personally I am glad we didnt have the cocker when the kids were little. We simply wouldnt have had the time to put into him, and we have definitely found that you get out what you put in. He is everything everyone has said above...i.e. bonkers, lively, reasonable prey drive (but only for pigeons), extremely intelligent and hard to physically tire out. But also extremely loving, loyal and funny. My favourite expression is ''we have just embraced the bonkers''

However, we found him very easy to train, as he wants to please US, not himself as the retriever did. He thrives on routine, and provided he gets what he expects/deserves we find him very easy to handle. He knows when its time for action, but equally when its time to chill out. He gets roughly 2hrs exercise a day, pre CV split into 3, as much as possible off lead. He is not the best socially with some other dogs, but great with others. Definitely seems to prefer other spaniels, and does not take kindly to other dogs rushing at him and 'getting in his face'.
He is my perfect dog, at this stage in our lives (kids grown up, me at home all day, hubby semi retired) but no I would not imagine saying that with small children/other commitments.

[VetOnCall]

I've had working Cockers for over 20 years, since my teens. I work and compete (field trials) with them. A well-bred working Cocker is by definition, bred to work, they should have a strong innate hunting drive but this makes them not good pet dogs for the average home. They are very high-energy dogs with huge amounts of stamina, they're bred to go all day. They're great dogs and I adore mine but I don't recommend them to most pet homes, and not to first-time/inexperienced homes. They are quite needy and in your face dogs as a rule.

Well-bred show Cockers from reputable breeders who breed for good health and temperament as well as good breed type are a better pet dog, but they can still be stubborn and vocal, and they are often very bitey puppies - 'cockerdiles'!

Breeds to consider that make good family pets might be: Whippet, Havanese, Miniature Poodle, Miniature Schnauzer, Border Terrier.

If you like retriever types but a Lab is too big, had you considered a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever? Physically they're sort of halfway between a Cocker and a Lab. They're fairly unusual in the UK but the breed club should be able to give you information on breeders. The breed club describes them as 'Kind, confident, intelligent, easy to train. Playful.'. Tollers are still active dogs but not quite as full on and high-drive as working spaniels can be. They're very bright and trainable and lovely to look at too. They can sometimes get a bit of a yowl going if they get really worked up but generally they're not barky dogs, I live in Canada now and know quite a few Tollers (they're popular pets here) and they're lovely.

www.toller-club.co.uk/

[CockerShark]

We have a 6 month old orange roan cocker. She’s not our first dog, we lost our 11 year old collie last summer, but it’s been a long time since I had a puppy in the house! She’s been hard word - don’t underestimate the biting! But, she’s a lovely little dog who just loves life. She’s happy with 1 walk a day at the moment (due to lockdown) but we do still get the zoomies in an evening. She’s been really easy to train and we’ve done puppy classes every week until lockdown. We’ve got a 5 year old Dd and she’s brilliant with her, practically her shadow. All in all, she’s been hard work but completely worth it.

[catwithflowers]

I know most people will be biased towards their own breed but we have a golden retriever who is just perfect! Clever, affectionate, can walk for miles and miles if we are out walking for the day or happy with a couple of 30 minute walks if necessary, fabulous with kids, easy to train, and lives to please.

Ours is on the smaller side (her mother was small and slim) the only downside is the shedding We love our old girl to bits. She 10 now.

[catwithflowers]

*shes's

[Dreamersandwishers]

@catwithflowers
Your girl is beautiful. Her face has such a kind, loving expression. Obviously well treated 😍

[myfav]

We have working ones. Yes they like exercise, especially through woodlands etc where there are plenty of smells. They are amazing with children, both ones in the home and ones out in the public. Family member has a cockerpoo, it's a lovely little dog but it is bonkers.

[NarniaBanarnia]

Huge huge thanks everyone for all the info and advice!! It’s good in a way that we have months ahead to consider this as it’s a huge decision!
I’m hopeful that if we do our research and put in the time with our dog, whichever we choose, we will get this right... some of the less-good experiences on here can be a bit off putting but I think we are going ahead with our eyes open!

Huge thanks to you all!