@CheersBoris
Lots to think about.
People with poodles and cocker spaniels how much exercise do they need? My garden is tiny so count that out. All exercise will be walks.
Non of my cockers have more than an hour day. I have had all different types.
longer at weekends. But not always.
Cockers don't need huge amounts of walking, like a lot of people think. They obviously can walk for hours. But it's not a must everyday. And until they are one, you need to be careful you don't walk them too much and it can damage their joints.
They need alot of brain work. Games, training, working on walks etc by working on walks, my working cocker isn't a trained gun dog. But on walks I make sure she is always focused on me, call her back alot, send the kids off and then get her to go find them, hide the ball etc.
The main issue with cockers, especially as puppies, is that an over tired cocker and a bored cocker generally act the same. You need to get the balance of plenty of sleep but also plenty of entertainment for them. But not too much as chewing and viting gets worse and they need a nap.
They can be terrible biters as puppies. But as long as you pick one training method and are consistent and your kids do exactly the same, it's usually solved within a few weeks.
Start recall training early. I, personally, think they are great dogs. Though not always easy if you don't have a lot of experience. There's some great fb groups for cockers.
One other thing to point out, is that lots of people who don't know about the breed will have heard of cocker rage and probably point that out. Cocker rage is actually rage syndrome and at one point was impacting cockers more than other breeds. But, decent breeders spent alot of time breeding it out and it occurs in many breeds. Its a neurological condition. The dog, what's often described as an absence siezure. There's no personality in their eyes, but instead of just being still they become extremely aggressive. With no trigger. When it's over they seem disorientated and seemingly unaware of what's happened.
If there is a trigger to a cockers aggression is not rage syndrome. Unfortunately, even now, some older vets, vetinary nurses and even some owners still believe cocker rage is a thing. I have know 3 dogs been out to sleep when, in actual fact it was clearly resource guarding. The dogs had a trigger.
Spaniel rescues often rescues dogs that were going to be put down due to rage, who have gone on to be trained out of resource guarding and never been aggressive again.
Also grumpy spaniels often get labelled as 'having rage'.
I am only telling you this because I know alot of people have been put off by listening to people talking rubbish about rage syndrome. Its actually not very common in cockers at all anymore.
Genuinely fab dogs, but you really do need to do your research when it comes to the breeder AND the breed.
Show cockers are more chilled than working. But both tend to like digging up a garden 