Cocker or Golden Retriever?

[CockerOrRetriever]

Long time lurker on doghouse and previous owner of a retired working border collie and a German/Rottie cross.

DH and I have narrowed down our choice to either a show cocker spaniel or a golden retriever as a new family dog.

I’m keen to know what people have found to be the hardest part of owning those dog breeds. I don’t care about fur or drool or mouthing or stuff like that as it’s just standard pet ownership in my eyes so please save your breath. Research only gets you so far and I want to know about the personalities, training and areas where experienced owners so often see people making mistakes or often see these dogs go ‘wrong’ so I can watch out for it an endeavour not to make those mistakes in whichever I choose to buy.

We know what we want and other dog breeds or rescues are not it, so any recommendations will be ignored.

TIA.

@Powerplant thank you that’s a helpful comparison. And thank you @Hairyfairy01 Ultimately, a dog who can run and run but also switch off and snuggle is what I want.

Having had a proper working dog previously, I don’t want another. To give them what they want and need is something I can no longer do and whilst I know golden retrievers and show cockers still need a lot they don’t need as much.

Totally disagree. It looks like a show cocker that has been neutered to me. That affects their coats and can send them curly. My working cockers have fine, silky fur. My four year old has never needed grooming beyond an ear brush.

Nelson totally looks like a show cocker to me, domed head, curly ears. All the working cockers I know are more feathery than curly.

@Spanma Thank you for that. I have always said when I no longer have the energy for a worker, I will 'down grade ' to a show cocker. Perhaps need to rethink that plan. 😂

@CockerOrRetriever Presumably you are looking at show golden retrievers and not working strain ones. I don't know if there are big differences between the two like there is in cockers.

You are right. I pulled out his passport and birth certificate and he’s a pure bred show cocker (actual name: Vicomte Nelson de Syringa)

He's not been neutered but we do cut his hair very regularly as we live amongst fields and vineyards and he gets all sorts of crap stuck in his fur & ears.

Here’s another one!

All 20 of mine, all girls no boys looked exactly like Lupo to Prince of Wales’s cocker.

My bad not him, the other one.

All ours looked liked this. Maybe it’s all in the grooming and it prevents curls. Don’t know. When I say we spent hours grooming them I mean hours. Well not me personally.

Show line golden retrievers are much more laidback (based on the GR and CS’ I know and have been around).

All of the show cockers I know bark incessantly, are less tolerant/ patient generally and dislike strangers. This of course will not be all show cockers but these are issues with all 7 I spend time with. It’s for these reasons I went with a working cocker spaniel but I don’t think they’d be a good fit for you (as you’ve already mentioned).

The working line GRs I know are a little more like a working line spaniel in that they will hunt as well as retrieve - all have beautiful temperaments but require a high level of mental stimulation and training to be fulfilled (again, you acknowledge this is not something you want or need) so, I would say a show line GR is more suitable. Energetic but also has a good off switch, generally a more laidback easygoing dog.

Make sure you opt for a very good breeder who asks 1000 questions of you and isn’t afraid to answer all of yours - you want temperament as no.1 priority. Be aware of grooming, note the size of mother and father if this is something you need to be mindful of, and ensure they are fully health tested (eyes, hips and elbows etc).

We have had goldens for over 40 years, and my Mil had a pair of show type cockers.
Mil got her dogs (sister, but from successive litters) when the grandkids were about 4. They got plenty of exercise-(at least an hour walk mostly off lead every day) for dogs owned by a retired couple, one of whom had bad arthritis. Small garden, didn’t go to training class.
Although friendly little dogs, they were a nightmare on the lead - they specialized in spinning in circles, one clockwise the other anti clockwise. They were ok with children, but wary. As young dogs they were pretty manic and very yappy. I wouldn’t have one myself.
We have had all female goldens, apart from one. He was huge, and very strong and stubborn. If he didn’t want to do something (like, say, get in the car) then he didn’t. We didn’t give him bones or similar high value treats as he would guard them. This was 40 years ago, I think now I would have known more and had more training but hindsight is always 20-20.
The girls are much more gentle, respond well to training and have fitted well into family life. They all have different personalities, some have adored children, others not so much. They like to be with you, and sulk if you go out without them. They consider themselves people/ part of the family rather than “pets” iyswim. They can be very stubborn- current girl does a “flop and drop” protest if we don’t walk where she wants.
The older girl we lost this spring would do anything you wanted, no complaints, as long as she was with you.

Both breeds have high maintenance coats, btw, but in different ways.

Goldens are , as I know well, very prone to cancer.

Are Goldies prone to cancer? All my family’s show
cocker bitches, all 20 of them and unspayed ended up with cancer, apart from one (she ran away from the vet and was never found again). My mum blamed it on inbreeding despite all being from champion lines. It was another reason for stopping cockers, we could not get away from the inbreeding.

Thanks all.

I’ll probably go for a Golden retriever as I prefer bigger dogs. But the issues with the spaniels mentioned above sound more like lack of training and exercise than inherent breed issues.

And of course will go for a decent breeder given they’ll have put time and effort into raising their puppies and will have done relevant checks.

Good luck OP! If I were to want a GR puppy again I would do the most research I possibly could, and then some more, and I would also hope that my chosen breeder would check me out, again in a lot of detail.

I wouldn’t compromise on the breeding, even if it meant waiting a year or more, travelling a big distance (more than once). I think a good breeder will willingly give you all the answers you need but dont be afraid to walk away either.

Temperament is above everything in my view (in addition to the expected health tests). A badly bred GR could be a nightmare, as with all breeds of course, but these are big strong and tendency to be stubborn dogs. Anyway that’s from my experience as someone who DIDN’T do all this to my now regret.

Look forward to puppy pictures in due course!!!

I teach a GR and show cocker agility. Both are the same age. Both lovely temperaments. Both have had a shed load of input.

The goldie is mad as a box of frogs. We really struggle to get her focus and she tops out quickly. We’re making progress but it’s slow. The cocker totally different. Much easier to train and stays on task. She is more foody than the goldie so that helps.

The goldie resource guards so we have to be careful about others toys and target mats etc. she won’t give it up for anything. I know the owners have put a lot of work in and they still have issues.

Energy wise they are leagues above my border terrier at the same age. Like most terriers you can turn then on and off at will which is the attraction for me. I find then way easier to train than the gun dogs and much easier to live with. I wish more people would consider them. My three year old is currently curled up with her cat after a short walk as we’ve both got Covid! She’s had very little exercise this week but has been no problems.

It would be smell based for me, I grew up with show cockers and have had show cockers as an adult. I love their smell.

I don't like the smell of GR, Labradors, Great Danes - which all smell very similar to me.
So despite thinking GRs are lovely dogs, I wouldn't have one.

I do have a keen sense of smell though.

My mum got a goldie and said she didn’t know she was getting shag carpeting at the same time! Shedding is massive! I find them quite needy in terms of attention.
The show cockers I’ve known have been a bit barky.
I’d go for a goodie for their temperament.

I know I shouldn't take such joy in this, but I'm glad I'm not the only one warning about resource guarding in Goldies (usually I'm the lone voice of sanity). It's such a change to see people actually talking about well-known issues with the breeds on a thread where someone is asking about inherent issues rather than just saying 'they're all lovely.'