Second breed recommendation? Spaniel?

[Loopyloooooo]

I have an 8 year old golden retriever and we're (very tentatively) thinking about getting a second dog.

My lovely DDOG loves other doggies, I'm not overly worried about how he would react to a new dog in the house but obviously it's something we are considering.

I know we want a smaller breed this time but I don't want something "too" small. I want something that can keep up with my Goldie's legs on walks.

We had been considering a spaniel (leaning towards cockers) but a little concerned about cocker rage and reading that some can be neurotic/snappy. I understand that's more common with solid colours tho, less so with roans?

We have 3 kids ages 12-7 and I'm a SAHM. Can manage a lot of exercise for doggo during term time but less so in school hols due to whining kids on longer walks 🤣.

Can anyone recommend a dog breed that might fit the bill?.

Needs to be friendly,.a good companion, family friendly and be able to keep up with my retriever too. Not as big as a retriever but not a toy breed either.

WcS are working dogs so need appropriate exercise and mental stimulation.
Spaniels are prone to Resource Guarding so you need to train early, consistently and be very vigilant. Funny enough working spaniels don't tend to exhibit RG because their brains are kept busy, it is pet spaniels which are more prone to it. 1000s of spaniels currently in rescue centres due to RG issues.
That's not to say don't get a spaniel, they are the best dogs but be prepared to put the work in. They need more than a 6 week puppy course in a local village hall, their prey drive kicks in at 6 months old and my gundog trainer gets 70% of his business from spaniel owners who haven't bothered to train their dogs and then wonder why it buggers off at 6 months old.
They don't do well with lack of walks, they are bred to work outside all day in all weathers so will go and go. They generally need a job to do and behaviour issues start because they are bored.
They make amazing family dogs if you start training Day 1 and do breed appropriate training ie gundog training. They can be prone to anxiety eg separation anxiety so again this needs training early on.

Resource guarding happens when, as a puppy, you keep taking things from them. You won't need to take things from them as long as you don't leave anything in reach they can't have. As long as the 7 yr old puts shoes and toys away you should be fine!
Don't take anything out of their mouths and if they do pick something up you don't like just wait for them to drop it (hold your nerve!). You can also do swaps but not too much because they'll lose their value.

But that aside, spaniels are a lovely breed and great family pets as long as they are kept busy. The first year is horrible but I can imagine that, given you have a Labrador, you're used to puppies being arseholes!

I added a working type springer puppy to my eight year old Labrador and that was very successful. Adding a new Lab puppy to the spaniel when he was eight, after the old boy was PTS, was a less good thing.

The best way to prevent RG is to teach the retrieve as this also taps in to natural instincts.

A breed you might not have considered - a kelpie crossed with a Labrador, can do miles and miles and is great in the house, mine has never chewed anything , wonderful with kids and unreactive to other dogs . There aren't many of them about thou as most kelpie x's are with border collies .

Springer spaniel.

RG is generally genetic. I work wcs and we research back 5 generations before getting a dog for work checking on separation anxiety and RG.

The spaniel will run circles around the goldie and could be a shock to your system.

Maybe a large terrier instead? Airedales are lovely and the moniker “king of the terriers” is well earned, and soft-coated wheaten terriers are gorgeous and intelligent dogs who do well in a range of stamina roles (agility, herding, and obedience).

We have a great cocker spaniel. Yes cockers are all bitey (horrendously so and jiggling them and kids can be really hard) but I have to stand up for them for the neurotic thing- they’re just happy/ excitable dogs! As an ex retriever owner I can’t put the two of them in the same place- they’re just such different dogs. Would you definitely not get another retriever?

I work and trial both springers and cockers, I'd sell cockers to non working homes but I'd be a bit wary about springers, they are known in the working field to be the harder hunting and more driven of the two, so much so Springer lines were tentatively introduced to WCS to help them hunt harder and quiet their voices while working (big fault)
If I were you I'd go for a working cocker and join a local gundog club to learn more about why your dog behaves the way it does, it surprises me how often people who own these breeds and actually look for FTCH xFTCH don't actually know what these dogs are bred to do! You might really love it, there is nothing nicer than a well trained spaniel.
As PP have said they have an extremely high prey drive because that's what shooting people want, you can channel that into dummies however and if you make sure your WCS never comes across game then it won't know what it's missing.
I own three springers and two cockers, none have ever EVER shown aggression. Cocker Rage is a rare disorder, people bandy it about and label dogs that havnt been brought up to respect their family

I have a show cocker and her favourite breed to interact with on walks are Golden Retrievers. She was very good friends with one in our local park but he wasn't the first other breed that she met and got on with, and she hasn't liked those as much. The first dog she loved was a blue German Shepherd but she doesn't like the breed now.
I think cocker rage has been disproved, maybe by people being a bit more full on with training from a young age, but I old be wrong. My cocker is my first ever dog and I would have another one after her (though I am swayed by a GR but only if we had a bigger house or a whippet) which is hopefully a long time away (she's 11).

@booktime1 yes you're right, there was a big effort to breed out 'cocker rage' and most cases nowadays are actually poorly trained dogs who haven't been set clear boundaries/RG that has gone unchecked.
@Loopyloooooo just to highlight the energy of cockers; our WCS did a full day's shoot on Saturday, out most of the day on the moorland. I went down to let her put of the crate Sunday at 5am and she was bouncing around the kitchen as normal 😄. I love all spaniels but cockers are more prone to anxiety etc than springers. You really have to chose your breeder carefully, ours is a full red pedigree because we wanted to work her, she would have been too much for a purely pet home.

Thanks everyone, lots to think about and consider. I hadn't looked at kelpies but had thought about Airedale terriers....going to have another look.

I have uhmmmed and ahhhed about another retriever (and still am!) but DH really wants a smaller breed this time.

@twistyizzy @booktime1 what are your thoughts on show cockers rather than working for a family pet with a retriever?

Hours of exercise is not a problem during term time but I'm concerned about being able to give enough exercise during school hols for a working spaniel.

@Loopyloooooo show cockers are lower energy than WCS but saying that we have 1 in our gundog training group that can keep up with the WCS. Show cockers are still spaniels and again can be prone to anxiety especially separation anxiety + RG but they do tend to be happier with less exercise. You would need to research pedigree lines carefully.
The key with all spaniels is putting in place clear boundaries from Day 1 and making sure the whole family stick to them ie recall, teaching to settle, separation etc. They are highly trainable and easy to do so once you know how.

What are his reasons for wanting something smaller?

People often mistakenly think smaller = easier to manage or less exercise and it's often not the case.

@Loopyloooooo
My advice rather than a show cocker who's coats are ridiculous to maintain and seem to have more health issues is seek a working strain without too much red in the pedigree.
If you'd like something in between a cocker and a retriever I'd look into a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, we breed them and have four, they all work and have super temperaments. Not as high maintenance as spaniels yet fun loving and more fun to train than a goldie or lab. If I could only have one dog when we retire from trialing it would be a NSDTR!

Would you consider another GR? We've had several Springer spaniels & I can tell you now they're completely nuts. Cockers can be less bouncy but not always (have worked with dogs for many years in grooming salon environment).

What about a cavalier? They're really sweet I've never met a difficult one yet,

Airedales are the largest of the terriers - if you want something that definitely won't be bigger than your goldie, then I'd go for a different terrier.

Maybe Irish (if you like the Airedale look) or a Wheaten

Get a bitch. Whichever breed you choose, a bitch will be less threatening to him.
I would stick with another gundog type - so spaniels, labs, any other retriever ( Duck Tolling are small); I also love pointers, viszlas etc but they may be too large.
My main thought for this is just the way they play and their lovely soft mouths, they have a different way about them than , for example , terriers. One exception would be a Border Terrier, but mainly because I just love them.