Cocker spaniel puppy

[Sunny06]

This will be my first dog-I WFH with a garden and have plenty of love to give to my new puppy. I have done lots of research but I do still feel nervous! Do you have any tips to offer me?

People will say it will calm down after 2. It won't, it'll be more like 12 and even then pretty lively!

Workers are amazing. Mine was a whirlwind outside but placid inside. Suited our family but we all have ADHD so perhaps why!

This thread popped up just at exactly the right time.

We've been thinking of getting a family dog for a couple of years. Done lots of dog sitting for long stints and work patterns now mean it could be possible. Kids also a bit older and could be cajoled into dog walking.

Visited a pal whose working cocker bitch is scheduled to be having pups later this year and we could go on the list for one. I'd been thinking Border Terrier but we're now seriously thinking a cocker.

I have a 9 month old working cocker, I’ll be honest he was harder work than I thought, easy to train but just super energetic. Wasn’t particularly bitey but went through a phase of jumping up at people and biting at clothes. Doesn’t do it anymore and never did it to children.

He’s been very easy to train, understands things like sit, lie down within half an hour, walks nicely after some training, super friendly with other dogs and is brilliant with kids and even my elderly nan who is housebound, he’s very gentle when he visits her.

Mental stimulation is more important than walks, I walk for between 45 min to an hour each day, maybe longer at weekends. We play fetch in the garden and he has toys like kong wobbler which he loves, loves a horn/hoof to chew on and sleeps for a few hours in the afternoon and from about 7 in the evening.

Cockers are brilliant. I have a 'whoopsie' litter show working cross (escapee stud dog!) and he's been testing but he's nearly two and definitely calming down.

The sweetest, most loving furry buddy. Loyalty and cuddles all the way. Mad as a hatter sometimes, hilarious and just a sweetheart.

Spaniels will test you (you will want to re-home it, at least 10 times!) but they will totally win your heart.

Remember puppies need to sleep a lot. Spaniels can be quite prone to separation anxiety so build your time away carefully. Do the flitting game from day 1. Ditto resource guarding so loads of swapping toys/chews for treats and adding extra yummies to food bowls. Ours has never remotely guarded anything but we worked on it from the off.

We have a 5 month old show cocker and I'm not going to lie, it has been hard work but it has been ever so rewarding. He's starting to get past the bitey stage (they're not not as cockerdiles for nothing) and he's learning how to settle. We both work from home so it was important that we had a dog that could learn how to settle on his own. He'll happily just snooze on the sofa and watch TV! Definitely recommend puppy classes and lots of frozen carrots/celery for when he's teething! Teething gel also works wonders too.

Yeah we have a working puppy. 5 months. The min she got home we did training with her and still do. Crate train them for their safe space and was letting her out every 15mins then build it up. They are very food focused and ovb a lot of puppy nibble and bite so swapping tjay for a toy when they do and lots of praises. Definitely give them nap times as they can get over stimulated and start running around like mad pups. Buy things like puzzles and lick mats for them with some peanut butter and treats and a good bedtime routine

Have fun with your pup

We have a lovely show cocker and tbh unless I’m going mad she was pretty easy as a puppy.

She was quite bitey with her sharp little puppy teeth though, but never to my children and only really to my legs (I made the mistake of wearing a long skirt once and she literally clung to it with her teeth!).

She is two now and while she can walk for hours and hours she doesn’t need to. She does need a good 45-60 mins a day though.

Either my husband or I are at home every day (wfh) so she’s never been left all day. We can leave her for 4-5 hours if necessary, otherwise she goes to FIL for the day.

When we’re at home with her she’s just asleep or lying around looking adoringly at us (it’s great for our self esteems!).

I think workers are higher energy but all the shows I know are like ours.

I think workers are higher energy but all the shows I know are like ours

Not always...we have a springer from working lines and she sounds similar to yours when at home.

When we're out and she's off lead (1-2 hours daily) she's 100 mph. In the mud, swimming in the river, climbing up and down sheer drops in the woods, jumping over things whilst racing like a first class hurdler, nose constantly down. People see her on walks and go 'OMG she's WIRED, she's got so much energy, I don't know how you cope 😱'

At home, she's totally different though. She can be left when needed but the vast majority of the time she's with us and she just wanders around watching what we're all doing in various rooms, chewing her toys or napping. If we have a visitor she'll make sure she's in the same room and sits and watches for the duration, looking like she's listening to the conversation intently 😂 She just wants to be near us, that's it, but she's very very low maintenance.

She just wants to be near us, that's it, but she's very very low maintenance.

Thats exactly how I’d describe ours too. Such lovely dogs.

Yes they never bloody stop and run off with everything but so loving and fun.
I love my workingcocker (hes 11mth now)
I will always have a cocker from now on,I've previously always had labs...and m y are they boring in comparison haha.

@MrsWhites 9 months is the tough bit. Stick with training and high value treats and by 12 months they’re better. Mine is now 3.5 years and a total dream. Fits around us - even joining our lay ins until 10am on occasions. Bonkers when running free (great recall but runs like a mad thing in circles like he’s herding us up). Spends the day bumbling around the house and sleeping in different locations when we wfh. The bunnies also own him - he’s a total softie.

Don’t do it! 😂

Can I jump in? I brought my 8 week old home today and I’m terrified I’ve made an awful mistake! I know I haven’t really, we’ve always had dogs but our last died two years ago and I’ve got used to my freedom. Im also really scared of not getting any sleep for the next few weeks and of not being able to leave her, I panic at the thought of being ‘trapped’ inside, even though I know it’s only a short time and will be worth it when Ive got a dog I can take out in the hills. My children are completely in love with him but it’s overwhelming.

@Wineandrun I've been there! I remember thinking oh my god, what on earth have we done. It's hard work but so rewarding, he's now a year old and the sweetest boy. The lack of sleep was a killer for me I have to admit, but he started sleeping through the night pretty quickly, I'd probably say at around 12 weeks. Do you live with anyone where you could take it in turns taking him out for wees/poos during the night?

Yes my husband but he was a bit unsure about getting another dog so Im desperately trying to do it all myself. Having said that, he wants another child and that is definitely not happening 😂 how often did you take yours out during the night? I’m reading so much conflicting advise about whether to set an alarm or whether to wait until he whines!

Got my working cocker as a rescue and she's just brilliant, but didn't go through the pup stage. My tip would be find a force free training class with someone who specialises in gun dogs and can help you harness the clever spaniel brain. It's a myth that they need to walk for hours, they CAN, but they don't NEED to. You can't wear out a spaniel with walks, they need brain stimulation. Things like "fun gun dog", nose work and trick training - fun for you, fun for them and then they'll be a cuddly sleepy delight at home.

Also, consider an equafleece. They are fluffy and low to the ground, they soak up mud like mops.

@Wineandrun so we set an alarm for every 2 hours - we crate trained him and slept on the sofa next to him downstairs. We found this was easier as we weren't always waking up to his whines, and sometimes bless him, we would get there too late and he would have wet the bedding. I would definitely recommend having set alarms for sure. If you haven't already done so, invest in a heartbeat teddy! Worked amazingly in getting him to settle in his crate :)

Show or working strain?

Amazing dogs, the best in my opinion ❤️

Congratulations - best dogs ever!
The best advice I was given for the puppy stage was make sure the puppy gets enough rest. Overtired puppies are even worse than overtired toddlers. They need 18-20 hours sleep a day but can struggle to switch off in a busy family house - major FOMO! - so make sure your puppy has a calm space or corner to rest, and encourage settling for sleep.
The other best bit of advice I was given, was to get Jane Ardern's book "Mission Control:Training the High Drive dog". She's a positive reinforcement trainer with cocker spaniels of her own.

Understatement 😂

Training classes is my tip, puppy socialisation and then maybe working dog training (even if a ‘show’ type), it’s brain work for the dog and essential.

Good luck! 🐶🐶🐶

Well, we’re awake, playing ‘don’t chew your bed, have a toy instead’ after spending the night cuddled on the sofa because he wouldn’t settle anywhere else 😭 toilet training is going fine but someone please tell me I will sleep again, in my own bed, with him in his crate! He’s fine in the crate in the day! I know it’s only been a day and he’s missing his siblings, I’m just tired and grumpy and it’s my birthday today!

He’s a working cocker and will be worked to the gun, classes are lined up for when he’s fully jabbed

Show or working OP?