Considering a Sprocker Spaniel for our first dog.

[lostguider]

Can I please have your views of whether this is a crazy idea or your tips to help please?

I have been researching but would like other views please.

I wouldn’t recommend it. I have a (working) cocker spaniel and I love him a lot think everything he does is wonderful but he is quite hard work! And I say that as someone who is experienced with dogs and has a very outdoorsy lifestyle.

A show cocker might be OK, but springer spaniels are working breeds and I know of a few who have bitten or tried to bite children, if you have them or plan to have them. I’m sure there are some out there who make lovely family pets, but I wouldn’t say that was their forte.

What attracted you to the idea of a spocker in the first place?

Springers, the first part of the cross, I can’t stand!
I haven’t met many nice ones at all, the vast, vast majority have been extremely territorial and reactive/aggressive.

Cockers, I like the working type.
I’m not keen on the show type.
I don’t think they are as attractive to look at and bar one or two who have had lovely sweet temperaments again, most of the show types I’ve met have had unpleasant temperaments.

What is it that you like about sprockers?

I have a pet working cocker and it has been a very steep learning curve as my first dog.

@HalfTermHalfTerm A friend of our got one today and the breeders have one left. So we are considering it as the history is known, thought this was a good idea.

I just have to say that I have a working breed springer and he is an absolute darling. Hugely hard work yes in that he needs lots of games/exercise, but not an ounce of aggression in him. He’s the only springer I know so I can’t generalise but just had to speak up for them

Don’t know anything about sprockers though, sorry OP

The above is a really good question. Why this particular breed OP?
What are your habits like? Are you an outdoorsy type who walks a lot and has access to lots of open space? If so, then I can't see why it would be a problem. If you have the energy and dedication, go for it. My neighbours have two and they require a lot of walking, like loads! I have a dog that needs a lot of exercise so I run into them all the time. I do an hour and a half to two hours of walking a day with the dog. They're out there for about 3 hours a day, sometimes more, breaking it up into two walks per day.
They're a breed that must be out and about in all weather. If that's a big change from the habits you're used to, I wouldn't get this breed. And don't convince yourself that you'll adapt. That's putting pressure on yourself. Be honest and realistic before you take the leap.
As your very first dog ever, in my opinion, I'd give this breed the swerve, gorgeous as it is. But like I said, if you're outdoors all the time anyway and you can wholly dedicate the time to them, go for it. This breed will be a high-needs breed.

Springers and cockers come in show and working lines. The working lines look different from the show lines and they behave differently too. The show lines, on the whole, are more chilled and less energetic. The working lines are very trainable, but they can go all day. They are very driven to get their noses down and hunt for scent, and follow it when they find it, so you need to train them if you don't want them buggering off beyond the far horizon in search of rabbits. And you don't want them buggering off, because that is how dogs get into trouble, cause accidents and so on.

Sprockers are usually (IME) produced from working lines. If you are happy to get a very full-on dog as your first (and I'm not saying you shouldn't, only you can make that call), they're worth thinking about as in the right hands they can be really good dogs. However, if you have zero experience of owning or living with a dog, you might want to think about this quite hard. Personally, a sprocker is the sort of dog I'd take to gundog classes and spend 15-30 minutes training almost every day of its life from 8 week to about two years.

You'd also want to consider what health tests you'd like to see the results of for sire and/or dam, and what the breeder is trying to do. Is he or she producing a litter to keep one as a beating dog with the intention that the others should mostly go to working homes?

I'm not trying to put you off getting a dog. I'm just trying to alert you to the pitfalls for getting a working-line dog as your first.

Unless your friend knows the breeder then you don’t really know any more about it than you would any other puppy that you’d buy, and even less if you found a breed you liked and picked a puppy early.

Were you thinking of getting a dog before you knew they had a puppy left?

I have a sprocker, got him at 9 weeks from a farming friend who bred him from their springer bitch and working cocker dog.

He is a joy he's 10 now! Friendliest and most loving dog I've ever known. Had previously had terriers and rescue dogs and this is a different experience altogether.

I probably won't have another dog after him because he is so easy and good natured we are spoilt

We have a Sprocker. She is the softest dog imaginable. But crazy too. She is very much my DPs dog. He beats with her. She is brilliantly behaved for him. She is naughty for me- pulls like a train on the lead.
She is clever and has worked out I'm soft! She does like to cuddle with me and if I get up it's me she follows.
She is 7-the same age as DD. They are so bonded.
But she (DDog ) has terrible separation anxiety. She is rarely at home alone. My DP works nights and I work p/t. The separation anxiety is common in spaniels.
She requires a looooong walk every day and is easily bored. She likes to play.
We love her immensely but have had dogs before. DP-springer. Me- labs.

How long have you been planning/wanting to get a dog?

Puppies are little furry bastards for about 18 months - are you prepared for all that?

Gorgeous dogs but don't think you will ever get a day off! Our boy slowed down the week he died! Amazing temperament though. We have a show cocker now who is much less effort but I would definitely have another Sprocker

IMO no working breed is a good idea for a first dog

They can be lovely they are massive hard work springers never grow up they think they are puppies till they die

One thing I constantly repeat in my head is ‘you can’t tire a springer out, you just make them fitter’

You definitely need the time to exercise, train and play with them. Mine hates being left alone too - I couldn’t have him if I didn’t work from home.

Not a great choice for a first dog .DS has a sprocker/ didn’t work or train it/ it chewed through walks and cables- can’t ever go off lead and never calms down.poor thing is crated at meal times and is generally hard work.very friendly but you need to exercise any sort of springer or cross breed or give it a job.

Well a good breeder (there aren’t many who breed crosses) wouldn’t have a spare puppy from a litter and wouldn’t sell to someone buying on a whim.

I'm a serial Cavalier King Charles Spaniel owner. I seriously considered a cocker as my second/ third dog.

The thing that got me was whilst I was reading a good old fashioned book out the library on cockers it was lashing with rain outside and my little cavalier was snuggled up on the sofa next to me, fire crackling away. A cocker spaniel, the book said, needs several long walks a day come rain or shine. My little cavalier was content with nipping in the back garden if it had been raining for 24 hours straight, less than that and she'd hold it in rather than get soggy. On a dry day she'll walk miles, loves the beach and long rambles through woods with lots of smells and leaves to jump through.

My third cavalier is an elderly girl now and I look around at bigger spaniel breeds and love the personality but I also know that whilst i love a crisp winter walk, I'd hate to have been out this past winter which has been endlessly wet trudging the pavements in the dark at each end of the day for an hour as our local large park was closed as it turned into flood overspill.

Another thing is my little cavaliers have been easier to get people to take for the holidays as they'll potter in a garden and be a companion not requiring much physical activity.

Cavaliers have their faults, I'm not trying to sell the breed to you. Just explaining why much as I think the larger working spaniel breeds are gorgeous, intelligent and great bundles of joy I think they're a serious daily commitment - every day, every year for fifteen or so years.

Why not get a properly bred springer or a properly bred cocker?

Regardless either or a mix are a terrible idea for a first dog. Super-high energy, very needy, require a lot of mental stimulation, prone to separation anxiety...

What do you want from a dog OP?

What kind of pet are you looking for?

As long as you can give them a couple of decent, off lead walks a day they're amazing dogs. We had our first sprocker for 13 years and were devastated when we had to have her put down. A year later and we've had another. Incredibly loving and loyal. Follow you everywhere around the house though! We had our first when the children were very small and never had a problem but we've always managed to wear them out with walks each day. Highly recommended as long as you can commit to walks.

What attracts you to the idea of a sprocker?

They're a cross specifically bred to work.

A friend of our got one today and the breeders have one left. So we are considering it as the history is known, thought this was a good idea.

Just seen this. It's about the worst reason for getting a dog I can think of.

Good breeders don't have 'leftovers' so there's a problem with the dog or it's breeding. Have the parents been health tested? What are the parents temperaments like? What socialisation has been done?

Do you have a lifestyle suitable for a high energy working breed that doesn't cope well with being left alone?

Please please do some deeper thinking OP - this is a 15 year commitment that could seriously disrupt your life, not just a cute puppy.

@RippleEffects they are gorgeous, aren’t they? My grandparents had one, and my dog before my cocker had a cavalier King Charles dad and a cocker mum... she was beautiful and pretty much the most low maintenance dog you can imagine!

My cousin has a sprocker and she a nutter. On the go constantly.

We have working dogs in the house including a English springer spaniel who's a drugs detection dog.

He's a lovely temperament and is affectionate but he's also absolutely batshit crazy and is like a hurricane tearing through the house,

Unless you lead a very active lifestyle and don't mind take your dog for very long walks or have a way of channeling their energy then just don't do it.