Tell me the good and bad…

[CoralDreamer]

This is going to be longer than I thought! We’ve been talking about getting a dog for a long time, most likely a rescue cocker spaniel. I don’t know anyone with a dog who I can talk money and everything else with. How much would you say your dog costs a month? Insurance, food, the lot. I’ve done quotes in insurance that can range from £30 to over £100 for what looks like the same cover but different providers.
Life style wise, we’re a very active family so I don’t have any concerns regarding walking, exercise, training etc. I work from home, DH is at home until mid afternoon so time won’t be an issue.
Concerns I have:

• we’re financially comfortable so can certainly afford a dog but have I underestimated the costs?
• 9/10 times we’re doing something like a walk/park as a family at the weekend but sometimes we might do a city visit etc. What do you do with your dog in cases such as these? Again, risk is low due to adult DS but there’s occasions when we might all be together.
• how tied do you feel due to your dog? Would you change anything or do the same over?

Is there anything else I might have overlooked? Give it to me straight - I need the absolute truth to make sure we’re going to be the best owners we can be. Thanks!

who would we contact for this, please?

I've no experience of spaniels so can't speak on that. Regarding costs, you sound like someone who is looking to give their everything to dog ownership, so potentially have underestimated the costs but because you'll likely end up smitten and spoiling the dog! However, it sounds like you have the desire and means to make it work (assuming your DH is on the same page). We have basic insurance cover for our dogs and it's paid out more than we've paid in over the 10 years we've had our eldest. We didn't opt for whole of life cover, so we maxed out on certain things like physiotherapy for mobility issues associated with old age. We're topping that up with money from savings, so I would recommend both savings and basic insurance.

I would say I'm very tied to my dogs, but that's also due to other lifestyle factors like us running a business we can't really leave for extended periods, so I just end up spending most of my spare time with them (and because I don't like leaving them). However, it's totally sensible option to use dog walkers or daycare if you want to go away for the day/weekend.

By far the hardest thing is the day you have to say goodbye. No amount of time with them ever feels like long enough 💔

Your local force will be able to point you in the right direction - to adopt one

@EdithStourton has given you fantastic advice.

The difference between WORKING and SHOW lines can't be emphasised enough. The behaviourist, Will Atherton, recently put out content saying he's seeing a huge increase in working lines being aggressive and suffering with behavioural issues because people are buying working lines and are unable to meet their needs. (I also blame 'beeeders' who sell them to naive people).

You don't say if it's your first dog - sorry if I've missed this, but tread very carefully with rescue.

Rescues often come with behavioural issues which even the most experienced of us can be struggle with. A good rescue as the poster above outlines, will have assessed the dogs in foster care prior to allowing a family to adopt.

Resource guarding is common in spaniels and a miserable experience for an inexperienced family to deal with. (this is particularly common in foreign rescues too, as many have had to resource guard to survive. (taking them to coffee shops and the like, can also be an impossible dream as many are overwhelmed and never adapt).

Wishing you the best of luck!

I’m truly thankful for all the great advice I’ve had so far. The experiences you’ve all had are so useful. We would be first time dog owners and I absolutely don’t want to get this wrong for the sake of the dog. I wasn’t successful in my first application, he was a show cocker, but it’s made me wonder if we might not be experienced enough for a charity like spaniel aid. However there hasn’t been anything so far which has put me off so we’ll keep researching and see what happens!

@CoralDreamer have you spoken to English Springer Spaniel Welfare? A friend of mine fosters for them and sometimes has a dog which she knows will be rehomed very quickly, because it's an absolute doddle - no major issues, decent recall, being rehomed because of divorce/ new landlord won't accept a dog/ owner has fallen ill etc. They end up with all sorts of spaniels, not just springers.

@CoralDreamer you say you're not put off by what you've read, but I would strongly, strongly advise you to reconsider getting any kind of cocker spaniel as your first dog.

Even the show lines can be tricky - they're prone to resource guarding, still need a lot of exercise, need to be groomed and often still have that drive to work. They're really not suitable for owners with no experience.

I work with dogs every day of my life and have my own "tricky" breed (beagle) and I would never get a cocker spaniel!

@biscuitsandbooks i wasn’t particularly clear in the last update, regarding not being put off, it was more the financial and time side of things which don’t concern me. Regarding the breed, it certainly gives us a lot to think about. We really wanted to rescue rather than buy a puppy but in our local RSPCA/dogs trust it’s mainly massive dogs such as huskys, boxers etc which we wouldn’t be interested in taking on. That took me to spaniel aid but obviously the comments on here from experienced owners have given us things to think about.

@CoralDreamer ah, that's fair enough.

I personally love spaniels as a breed but I also love handing them back to their owners - I'd never want to live with one 🤣 they're a lot of dog in a very small package and can very easily go wrong if you don't know what you're doing.

What is it you find appealing about spaniels? Maybe someone could suggest something a bit more sedate?

@biscuitsandbooks they’re compact but active - we walk a lot so it would be nice to have a dog able to walk some distance with ease. Friendly - I work from home so a dog happy to spend time with me. Happy to play - I’ve got an 8 year old who would spend hours playing with a dog. Trainable. A good all round family dog really.
We have a lot of time to give a dog - we are at home the majority of the day and have a lot of time for training etc.

You'll find a lot of support on here for rescuing a dog but I would caution that there are very few rescues who don't come with issues.

That might be fine for an experienced dog owner but can be extremely limiting for a first time owner who doesn't know what those issues might be never mind have any idea whether they can accept them or be able to deal with them.

I rescued (from a breed I already have and know well) a 7 month old boy with no known issues apart from a bit of separation anxiety. My existing dog already has SA but as I WFH, it's never been an issue. It took 4 months for the resource guarding to really show up, then his dog reactivity kicked in and even with ongoing care and training he has to be muzzled for walks, we walk in the early/late hours to minimise his stress and I can no longer visit family with dogs unless a friend takes him or he stays in the car. It's been really limiting and we're facing a further 10 years or so with issues. If I had been a first time dog owner I think it's fair to say that I would consider that he had a huge negative impact on my life. As it happens, we're able to deal with his issues and we love him but it's difficult. Really difficult.

There are breeds much less likely to have these issues at a breed level but sadly spaniels aren't one of them.

Sorry to sound so negative about rescue dogs but whilst I think there absolutely is a time and place for it, spaniels and first time owners aren't it.

Is there something specific about comers that appeals as you'll get plenty of suggestions on here if you list what attributes you're looking for ?There may even be some breeds that would likely be fine as a rescue

There is nothing wrong with having a puppy as a first dog if you take care to research breed and breeder. Rescues are full of dogs with ingrained or learned issues and well behaved dogs with known histories and reluctant rehoming stories are few and far between.

@CoralDreamer I would look at something like a mini poodle (don't be put off by the hairstyle, they don't need to look like that!), a cairn or border terrier, or even a bigger breed like a labrador. All much more suitable for first time owners with a relatively young child in the house.

I would also go with a puppy from a reputable breeder rather than a rescue, especially as none of you have ever lived with dogs before and you have non-dog savvy 8 year old to consider as well.

I agree with @biscuitsandbooks

Rescuing is great and it's a lovely thing to do. But far too many people get a rescue dog without considering the fact that, in many ways, the dogs 'book' is already written. The deciding factors that have made it who it is have been met and no amount of love or care or training will ultimately change a dogs personality. You cannot get a rescue dog and expect it to fit into your family and meet your needs - and that 'patience' (as you described it in a previous post, OP) will be enough. Instead, you have to meet the dogs needs. The two are very different.

As I said, my mum rescued from Spaniel Aid - and yes her bitch was/is incredibly problemed, and has come on leaps and bounds - but my mum would never rescue again, even if it was a dog that didn't have all the issues that came with her first rescue. Why? Because the dog isn't a blank slate and actually accepting that and being able to live with that is a lot easier said than done - even for an experienced owner.

My Border terrier would tick all those boxes. Buy from good health tested traditional lines and invest in good training and they’re fabulous dogs. A terrier would be worth a look.

Mine has just won her first obedience title at 2. Obedience! They’re at the top levels of all the sports. You do just need to understand what makes them tick.

I agree with all your breed suggestions. Would also throw in A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, too.

I think that is fair advice. I would still say that a fully assessed dog who has been fostered might not be a bad shout. I suppose I have skin in this game: I grew up with two dogs, both private rehomes (this was long ago and far away, where there were no dog shelters), one of whom had had a terrible time in her previous home, who were both sensible, stable family dogs - no SA, no RG, fine round other dogs; one was a bit cautious of unknown DC, but never aggressive. Neither of my parents had much knowledge of dogs, but those two both worked out just fine for us as a family.

Border terriers can be great little dogs, but they do need something to do - two of the three currently around locally are bloody nightmares in their different ways, because their owners do nothing with them. Don't start me...

Have you considered something like a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (if you can get past the outrageous name)? The ones I have met have all been very lovely dogs, very chilled, very social. They weigh about 20kg, so not enormous and have a very pretty fluffy coat.