Would you recommend spaniels as first dogs?

[spockerlife]

Family with children (will probably be ages about 8/9 and 5/6.) Sprocker specifically?

If not, are there any other recommended breeds? I do love Labradors but they are quite big.

Yes! We have one, he’s now 13 and our DCs are 5 and 7. He’s a springer and he’s gorgeous ❤️ however when he was a puppy he was hard work, but like others, from about the age of 2 or 3, he’s settled right down, and he is honestly SO loving. I’m also hands down his favourite human (closely followed by my dad, then everyone else 😂) and he follows me everywhere aaaand I love it

No

I'd recommend a spaniel yes, specifically a working springer. They're the only breed I've had, so they were my first dog. I'm on my fourth now. They are full of energy so you need to have time for them, they're great with children, they're cuddly and they are easy to train because they're intelligent. I suppose it helped that DH grew up with springers so he knew what he was doing, but I'd only had cats before so had to figure it out. I wouldn't have any dog with small children; my youngest was four when our first springer came into the family.

I grew up with spaniels as working dogs. They are wonderful dogs - very active and intelligent. Do you have time for long walks and lots of play time and training ?

We have a Sprocker…..
He's our 3rd dog, and by far the most unruly and needy we've had! (other two were Border Terriers)
Yes, he steals socks and shoes, yes he runs off following a scent, yes he's a mud and sticky-bud magnet, and yes he has no concept of personal space.
He's great!

Not if you are going to leave them, they need a lot of training are quite hyper and like a lot of attention and company.

Unless you are a really active and outdoor family......no!!!

My 7 month old cocker spaniel is our 7th dog. We also have 3 other breed of dogs and a toddler! I wouldn't recommend as a first dog if im honest. Its a lot of work but our girl is honestly so lovely, especially with our child. I think if you have teens its better than if you had young children. They need alot of training and exercise otherwise they just dont settle and go crazy at home. We all honest love our girl and she was so worth getting.

The one thing that gets overlooked is, that Coker Spaniels are very sensitive souls. Plus they end up in rescue because their needs aren't met.
There are better mor placid breeds for a first dog.

Depends. Our Springers were all fabulous. I’ll never have another cocker.

Do you have any recommendations? We had a basset as children and I love them but they are rather stubborn (and large!)

We did. Our cocker was a lunatic but we loved him so much.

We had a male Welsh springer, who was adorable. But also hyperactive with a very strong prey drive. They need a lot of physical and mental exercise (scent work etc) but will still be bouncing off the walls. If it’s going to be shut up all day then it’s not a good idea (no dog is).

This. They’re extremely energetic, needy, have a high prey drive and are very attracted to water.

Springers and cockers are my favourite breeds. Highly intelligent hunting machines. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend them for first time dog owners or families with young children. They are fun, loving and joyful little souls but many of their breed specific characteristics are not desirable for a busy young family. If you want a leisurely walk, that is very unlikely to happen and I wouldn’t expect a spaniel to “walk” in the classic sense until they are fully trained (2+ years old). They are an interactive breed and need their brains to be tested and challenged.

Spaniels who are bred poorly and/or raised incorrectly can resource guard which can lead to aggression around food/ toys/ space etc.

The dog was bred to find things and hold on to them so you can imagine, puppy grabs socks, human constantly taking them off them and eventually, the dog gets aggressive to protect his prize.

Do some research and look at the number of dogs in rescue centres as a rough idea of what you are dealing with. Spaniels make up around 22% of dogs taken into rescue by dogs trust alone. If you look at spaniel aid, spaniel assist rescue or any of the other specific spaniel charities/ rescues, it’s a huge problem.

We have a gorgeous girl WCS. She was our first dog and we got her when I had a toddler and a 6 year old. She is great with kids. Absolutely wouldn’t change her for the world. She is incredibly high energy but she is the most loving, tolerant, loyal companion. Her recall is amazing and off lead walks with her are a joy. She runs with us too. However, walking on a lead is somewhat a problem. She pulls like a train. That’s our only issue with her. We live rurally. I would t have her if I didn’t have access to fields and woodland on my doorstep. She is a busy girl but that works for our family.

Edited to add:
She has never resource guarded and you could take the food bowl from beneath her while she was eating and she wouldn’t even grumble. She is a sock and glove thief and is obsessed with tennis balls. She could find mud in a desert and cover herself in it. When she wags her tail, it’s a whole body wiggle. She was our first dog and I would definitely do it all again.

We have a working Cocker from working stock. She was our first dog and a real learning curve for us. I will say she's absolutely fantastic and it was us who had to learn how to meet her breed. Specific needs. Now that we've done that she's completely brilliant and very easy dog. But it wasn't easy when she was a puppy and my kids were older. I wouldn't not recommend them because there are a lot where we live - in the countryside- and they are all fantastic dogs. But you do have to go in with your eyes open and be prepared to put the work in. There is some brilliant advice and guidance on Instagram of all places.

@spockerlife You have to think about what you can offer a dog . Time, commitment to training, money for vet, food & training, companionship, space .... You need to think about the dogs welfare and with that comes the knowledge of what purpose were they bred for.

I think it depends on the actual breed. We've had 2 show cockers and I would 100% recommend them as first time pup. (but there are also working cockers, springers and probably others which probably require more stimulation). Our dogs have trained easily and adapt to the flow/pace of the house. I know hearing dogs use them as they make good family pets and are easy to train.

They do benefit from mental stimulation, but it's quite easy to do at home and get the family involved. Our current cocker loves learning new commands/tricks and we've never had any issues with him being destructive or hyper.

Look up Maher and Hound dog training on Instagram, she has two spaniels and talks a lot about training and making sure their breed needs are met.

I love spaniels and had a working cocker as my first dog. And my 2nd, 4th and 5th. 3rd was a sprocker and I wouldn't have another one.

What I would say is it's not a good idea to choose a breed based on the proximity of the breeder.

You say you know it won't come from a puppy farm, but how ethical is the breeder?
Do they own both parents? Have the dogs had all of the relevant health tests for their breeds? How many dogs do they have and how many litters have they produced? Do they work their dogs or are they greeders, breeding their pets purely for money?

But since you say the breeder is a friend, you possibly won't care about any of that.

I would say spaniels can absolutely be first time dogs. But, not with young children. Cockers are incredibly sensitive (I don't know much about springers) and young children are...loud. Too many cockers/sprockers/springers end up being re-homed because well-meaning naive families with young children bought them and didn't realise the sheer amount of work it would be.

I also wouldn't recommend getting a puppy based off proximity (health and rationale for breeding should always be the number one reason) or indeed from a friend. Too much can go wrong when buying a pet, and if there is anything wrong with the dog or indeed you spot any red flags in their breeding practices (as Spaniels says above), will you be able to really handle that in the right way?

Also, I would say, any breeder who would sell a puppy to a family with a child as young as yours...isn't someone I would really recommend or want to buy from.

Two of my sisters loved spaniels. One had Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, lovely dogs but as a type they often need their anal gland sorting out quite often. She had two, one after the other and they both lived a long time for small dogs. One of them was in my opinion was the best dog that ever graced this earth.

The other sister had a springer and its was quite frankly a bit mental. They are traditionally a gun dog used to flush out birds so the sort of exercise and stimulation they need is off the scale, he was a lovely dog but she never had another of that type because he was exhausting. She lived a ten minute walk from a beach as well so plenty of space to run about.

I would like to think this would be true of any breed, to be honest. Obviously some people don’t but it isn’t limited to spaniels.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks really? I know loads of spaniels in families with young children. We do live very rurally though so lots of farming families.

@SpanielsGalore i think when posts like that start sneaking in it’s probably not going to be a helpful thread, which is a shame because if people cared about dogs’ welfare and not just being rude they would post helpful things about finding good breeders (and I’m not looking to show, I just want a family pet!) and suggestions for breeds that would work.

What I do know is the dogs (the mother anyway) are very loved and well cared for, have health tests, are used to children and good family pets, which is what I’m looking for.

Spaniels along with some other breeds have a higher than average tendency towards resource guarding. In the right home, handled right this is not an issue. But young children do not always act appropriately as we all know and the majority of spaniels in rescue appear to be there due to a bite. Perhaps that’s what @TheHungryHungryLandsharks was alluding to?
What sort of spaniel is it you are considering?