Please tell me about your working cocker spaniel

[Letmedowneasy]

Hi, we've been looking at getting a family dog for a couple of years and a friend of my brothers has a litter of working cocker spaniel pups, I'd love to give one a home!

It is one of the breeds that we have researched and I think it would work well for our family but please tell me why you love your cocker....and the things you don't love!

I have working cockers and collies. The working cockers have more energy than my collies

I also have a collie, and I look after my friends cocker once a week. The cocker Spaniel has so much more energy than my Collie, he could honestly be on the go all day. My dog will come back from a good long walk and go to sleep for a couple of hours but the spaniel will still be wandering around, looking for something to do!

My WCS is 16 months now. I’m laughing at ‘thinks they’re human’ because that’s mine to a tee! He’s hyper energetic and runs in excited loops when on a walk at the beach/woods/somewhere new, but potters along in our local park or on pavements. Like leafeater we taught him to look for us and keep tabs on where we were (we do this by hiding from him), which means he doesn’t get too far away. He will chase rabbits/squirrels/deer if he has the chance but will come back within a few minutes - his need to check on us has so far been stronger, even when deer have leapt up in front of him. He’s actually more trouble with water - he seems to have some sense of danger with waves/fast water, but I don’t entirely trust that his idea of a dangerous river is the same as mine and he loves the water and will spend a whole riverside walk swimming alongside you instead of walking, and won’t always come out again, which means worrying about him swimming into danger round a bend. He is gradually improving on that though and is starting to come out when called. He was a terror as a puppy for biting, chewing and stealing things (still a menace with underwear/socks) but is very food oriented (more so after being neutered) so will give them up for treats. He gets three or four walks a day - a typical work day is 40 mins in morning, 40 at lunch, up to an hour at 5.30ish, and 15-20 mins last thing at night. A weekend is usually 30 mins late morning (he likes to sleep in!), 1 to 2 hours nice country walk, then 30 mins at night. We wouldn’t bother with the night time walk if we had a garden he could be let out into - but we have to go downstairs with him anyway so might as well go for a little walk. In between he sleeps at my feet for up to four hours at a time when I’m working, or follows me around - he is the nosiest dog and has to see everything that’s happening! He loves my niece and nephew but is scared of strange toddlers, and tends to only be really friendly with people who’ve come to the house, for some reason - I took him to work a lot and he’s never got very cuddly with anyone there despite many attempting to play with him, but he loves and leaps all over a few neighbours/friends/family. Anyway, I just wanted to say that he isn’t a menace for attention during the working day now he’s grown up (he was as a puppy though) but could go forever on walks! He does get tired after the walk but never during it.

We have a 3 month old wcs. My word she is energetic!! She is so enthusiastic about everything and will get into everything - the bed, the dishwasher, the gap behind the toilet, and she ears cat poo then tries to kiss you.

She is also the best thing we have ever done . She is very smart but very stubborn, she snuggles up when she snoozes and is the most gorgeous thing ever.

Just to add to the above - he’s not great at being left alone, but that’s partly our fault for getting lazy in lockdown. He was awful as a puppy, but he was up to being safely left for an hour and a half before lockdown. Then we haven’t really done more than half an hour since. We can now shut him in the kitchen to dry off/at night though - he used to be worse left in another room than if you left the house due to FOMO, but will now go to his bed. But none of these stages came easily and we get people to look after him if we want to go out.

We have one, he's a dream at home, great with kids, really easy to train!
He's crazy on a walk (not in a bad way), loves running about but brilliant recall! Would always have a working cocker now!

Think ours has just about calmed down - he's 14!
Lovely dog but as a youngster really crazy despite training and a big garden.

Thank you for all your replies, so we are going ahead and she's coming to us in November! We really have done our research and because of a combination of shift work and my DS who will be home in the afternoon from school someone will be at home most of the time.

We have a gun dog trainer lined up to help us with training and are reading everything about the breed! She is a much wanted and much researched puppy!

I'll post a photo once she arrives!