Show cocker or staffie?

[bushproblems]

DH and I are looking at getting a puppy in the spring but we’re really torn on which breed to go for.

I have always had staffies and most people in my family have a staffie too, but I feel a pull towards getting an all black show cocker, but I don’t really know much about their temperaments.

We both WFH, are fairly active but also love a lazy Afternoon on the sofa. What should we be thinking about, pros and cons, for either breed?

I wouldn't get a staffie on the basis that they aren't usually good around other dogs. I have known several owners who started taking their pups to the park, but ended up having to walk them round the streets on a lead as they got into so much trouble as they developed. Their play is just to full on for most owners of other breeds. Thing is, it depends on whether you want a sociable dog or not. If you don't plan on regular walks in dog parks, then it won't be a problem. It would be a problem for me as I want my dog to go off lead among other dogs. But if you aren't bothered about that, I would get the staff.

I would not get a cocker under any circumstances.

I have bernese mountain dogs. They are big but easy. They don't run around all the time like a cocker. It's much harder to trip over one than a smaller dog. Not promoting bernese - just saying that in my experience bigger dogs are easier than you might think (but not a lab - labs are so high energy)

Clearly your experience is different from mine then. I saw one rip apart an elderly dog out for a walk. There was no provocation from the victim dog. The victim dog was walking with its back to the Stafford. The Stafford was being walked away from the victim dog. There was no greeting between the dogs. The Stafford ran at the elderly dog and seized it by the neck. The poor dog didn’t even know the Stafford was there until it was screaming in pain. The only way the Stafford released the dog was because a bystander strangled it with a slip lead until it let go. It would not let go otherwise. The damage caused to the poor victim dog was extremely extensive. The Stafford was a family dog living with kids being walked by its owner off lead. But it still killed an elderly dog for no reason at all. It was a proper KC registered Stafford too, not a bully type.

I will never go near one again after that experience I’m afraid, regardless of what the owners say. This one was ‘brilliant’ until it snapped too. I’ve been around dogs for decades and have known many dogs to have scraps. It happens. They are dogs. But a predatory attack with zero provocation? That was a first (the victim dog wasn’t a small dog either)

Cocker all day long. I don’t like Staffies - they don’t have nice faces (sorry sorry)

Definitely a staffie, I lost my treasured boy back in July and I'm still broken - but not enough that I won't sing staffie praise from the rooftops!

Beautiful natured, loyal, loving and as another poster said - the best dog when you're upset. Mine adored my daughter and they were utterly inseparable. RIP Nen, the best boy there ever was.

Photo posted with DD14s permission

My old staff was attacked completely unprovoked by a yorkshire terrier. She came away with significant injuries because she was such a big softie she wouldn't attack back.

My Staffs have been attacked unprovoked on multiple occasions by smaller breeds, never once has any of them even made a grumble in return.

Do you let them off lead to play with other digs? I go to our local reception, which is full of dogs - there will easily be a few hundred in the course of the day. And no staffs. When there have been staffs, everyone has been scared by the way they play - getting other dogs by the neck - and the staff owners just don't come back. They just walk them round the streets instead.

My staffs rarely play rough but they do make a lot of noise which I can see would sound aggressive to people who don't know it to be a play sound.

I do let my dogs off lead to play with other dogs. I am a firm believer that dogs don't need to greet and play with every dog they see though. Mine are trained to ignore other dogs unless they are told they can play.

Staffie. No contest. Loving, low maintenance, characterful, cuddly, snoring, farting, happy dogs. Miss mine still.

Ohhhh no, they are so beautiful though. Staffies give me the biggest cuteness aggression, with their chunky faces and barrel bodies 💕

Same with mine, but attacker was a Jack Russell. Tore his face, needed vet treatment.

A show cocker spaniel from a good breeder is an amazing dog that will steal your heart. You do have to do your research though…their breeding and the breeder are extremely important in my opinion.