cocker spaniel true stories opinions please!

messygirl

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone out there has experience of cocker spaniels what they are like etc? Woould love a black or blue roan cocker but I heard the pure colours tend to be a little crankier? Anyone know if this is true? Was looking to get a cavalier but I cant seem to locate a breeder that has full cardio certs and all the relevant health checks etc so dont want to go down the road of buying a dog that doesnt have its full health certs.

fend

Have a golden cocker and can honestly say I couldnt ask for a better behaved dog. Very intelligent... [sometimes tooo intelligent!] Never had ANY problems with temper or other disobedience issues. I suppose a lot of it has to do with how you bring them up aswell.

ghost_ie

I've heard that about solid-coloured cockers. I looked after a golden cocker in her own home (went up to her twice a day and fed her each time) once and she was really nasty to other dogs, especially smaller ones. Every time she saw my Jack Russell she went for her throat. Whether this was cocker "rage" or the fact that not only was she spoilt rotten but was rarely taken for walks (I was forbidden to walk her) is anyone's guess.

Having said that, I've also known cockers of all colours who are really gentle and obedient. I think a lot of their behaviour is down to the way they're treated and trained

spurscormac

ghost_ie wrote: »

I've heard that about solid-coloured cockers. I looked after a golden cocker in her own home (went up to her twice a day and fed her each time) once and she was really nasty to other dogs, especially smaller ones. Every time she saw my Jack Russell she went for her throat. Whether this was cocker "rage" or the fact that not only was she spoilt rotten but was rarely taken for walks (I was forbidden to walk her) is anyone's guess.

Having said that, I've also known cockers of all colours who are really gentle and obedient. I think a lot of their behaviour is down to the way they're treated and trained

Sounds to me to be much more like a case of lack of socialisation and boredom. If a cocker isn't getting brought on regular walks they will soon get frustrated as they are a very energetic breed.

I have a golden cocker, he's adorable. He will play all day long and is extremely intelligent - like a previous poster said, almost too intelligent at times.
Haven't had any problems with him, we taught him from the start not to bite and he won't - though he'll still have a nibble on our shoes without using any force.

I'll be honest though, if you don't want to cut the fur short, they do take quite a lot of grooming, and if left undone, can get matted quite quickly.

They are great to train, and he loves the challenge and learned loads of tricks very quickly.
The only training issue we've had is the recall, he just doesn't get it, so is on a lead at all times when out - not that that's a bad thing, just that if he would obey a recall, we could let him free to burn off some more energy in the park.

Wouldn't swap him for the world, and once you start as you mean to go on you shouldn't have any problems.

lrushe

messygirl wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone out there has experience of cocker spaniels what they are like etc? Woould love a black or blue roan cocker but I heard the pure colours tend to be a little crankier? Anyone know if this is true? Was looking to get a cavalier but I cant seem to locate a breeder that has full cardio certs and all the relevant health checks etc so dont want to go down the road of buying a dog that doesnt have its full health certs.

The temperment of a dog is made up of genetics and socialization. Any association with coat colour would be purely coincidental.:)

Satyr_The_Great

ghost_ie wrote: »

I've heard that about solid-coloured cockers. I looked after a golden cocker in her own home (went up to her twice a day and fed her each time) once and she was really nasty to other dogs, especially smaller ones. Every time she saw my Jack Russell she went for her throat. Whether this was cocker "rage" or the fact that not only was she spoilt rotten but was rarely taken for walks (I was forbidden to walk her) is anyone's guess.

Having said that, I've also known cockers of all colours who are really gentle and obedient. I think a lot of their behaviour is down to the way they're treated and trained

I doubt it was cocker "rage" as you put it. Spaniels , especially cocker and springers can suffer from a form of epilepsy called " rage syndrome " but luclkilly it is treatable if and when caught early.
As for the original question, I personally have never noticed a temperment difference in solid colour cockers and "I have seen quite a few. Recently at my dogs training classes, there was a little black cocker and he was one of the most well behaved dogs I have seen. Try www.irishdogs.ie for a list of breeders, all are ikc registered and alot of them have strict rules of who they sell to. Ask to see the papers of both parents and ask have the parents or other members of the bloodline got any illnesses cockers are prone to.

junkyard

I'm on my fifth Blue Roan and they are my favorite breed of dog, very smart, great fun and a great pet all round. The single coloured ones, especially the black ones do suffer from Cocker rage but a lot depends on where you get your dog from. Personally I would go to the UK for a dog as some of the breeders here are a bit dubious to say the least, even the ones involved in the Cocker Spaniel club. My advice is but the best you won't regret it.

McNulty

I have two blue roan cocker brothers. One is classic show look, but not smart - one is more stocky but clever as you like. Previously I've had Irish Setter, JRT, Collie and Springer and these two are the best by far - in reality first i've 'owned' as an adult. Great, great fun and have been very good with my young family - two daughters of 15 months and 2 weeks! (never leave them alone together obviously).

They like their running on the beach and swimming on the sea and really enjoy the companionship of each other, but us as well. Our two are great with everyone - adults and kids alike - but we did loads of socialising with them as we have an open door policy in our house (Large family). They love long walks in the woods as well and sniff everywhere.
Any downsides? They need a lot of groooming which I'm not the best at - luckily we take them to a v.good groomer every three months and they get a good haircut. Would recommend them - not too big, not too small!

Jim

lorebringer

messygirl wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone out there has experience of cocker spaniels what they are like etc? Woould love a black or blue roan cocker but I heard the pure colours tend to be a little crankier? Anyone know if this is true? Was looking to get a cavalier but I cant seem to locate a breeder that has full cardio certs and all the relevant health checks etc so dont want to go down the road of buying a dog that doesnt have its full health certs.

If you go onto www.cavaliertalk.com and pm either Karlin or Margaret C, they will be able to give you info on good Cavalier breeder who do health checks.

I have a Working Cocker, red, who is totally neurotic. He is a rescue and was very badly treated in his former life so quite a bit is down to this but certinally not all. He is very intelligent and needs a lot of mental stimulation, not to mention the massive amount of excersise he needs. I foster for a dog rescue group, have had a few Cockers throught he door and most are a little insane. They tend to be barkers and chewers, but this can be trained out of them (pain in the ass to come down in the morning to chunks taken out fo the kitchen chairs and skirting boards though!). Grooming is a must, daily brushing and a good clip every so often, and they do shed a good lot of hair (esp. at the start of spring). I wouldn't recommend them for a home with young children (under8/10) because they can be unpredictable and a bit snappy. They are very loving dogs, smart and responsive but do require a lot of work (esp. if you are getting a pup)

sn00ps

I think Cockers get branded with this "rage" thing a bit unfairly! All dogs can have dodgy tendencies if not trained properly. I'm on number 2 and my folks also had one. They are very very bouncy dogs and need a very firm hand but in return you get the most loving affectionate dogs I've ever come across.

None of the 3 I've had close encounters with have any problems with kids, even young kids, and the problems with other dogs are definitely socialisation issues. My last guys best mate was a black lab from when he was a tiny puppy but my recent guy has only just starting hanging out with a buddy and I certainly notice the difference.

Last guy was useless on the lead, a bit thick! This guy is very very smart and I sometimes think he's smarter than us at times;0) That can be hit and miss.

I'm surprised your first choice was a Cavalier as I would have said they are very different dogs. First and foremost Cockers are working dogs and require lots and lots of excercise. A 3 mile walk with my lad and he's still looking for more! Certainly keeps me fit.

Be careful not to overfeed them, they will run rings around you for scraps, and with those gorgeous eyes, it's hard to say no! You must be strong!

I got my guy in the UK, only because I was living there for my last one and I found a really good breeder. If you are going there, I can get you her details. She's near Cambridge. There are lots of breeders in Ireland but be careful. Go on recommendations if you can. They are overbred so make sure you go on recommendation.

HTH
Sn00ps

messygirl

sn00ps wrote: »

I'm surprised your first choice was a Cavalier as I would have said they are very different dogs. First and foremost Cockers are working dogs and require lots and lots of excercise. A 3 mile walk with my lad and he's still looking for more! Certainly keeps me fit.

Haha yeah bit of a difference, I love cavaliers but my other half prefers cockers (actually he likes big golden retrievers and big dogs) so cocker spaniel is a happy medium, small and gorgeous but still manly enough for himself to take it walkies Im more interested in personality than looks really and dont mind abou the grooming maintenance. Haven't decided anything yet so want to collate as much info as possible! Thanks for all the advice guys keep them coming! Was hoping you could let me know how much ye exercise the dogs for every day (ie how much they need and the type of exercise they get?) thanks!

ncmc

I have a golden Cocker and she is the most loveable dog you could imagine. All she wants are cuddles and hugs.

I find that she is very territorial and can get odd with people she doesn't know, especially if they come in to the house or on to her 'patch'. I do have to watch her with kids as she is so cute, they come right up to her and she gets very nervous if she is cornered. She snapped at my nephew once when he cornered her under the table. To be honest, this is more my fault than hers, as she wasn't introduced to many people when she was young and it's just me and my hubby at home. In recent times, I have made much more of an effort to introduce her to people expecially kids and she has improved so much. I think the fact that I am less nervous helps as she was picking up how nervous I was when there were kids around. She is ok with other dogs, but isn't massively fond of hyper puppies and actually prefers large dogs for some reason.

She loves her walks and sniffs everything. I try and bring her places were she can go off the lead, as she loves to burrow into undergrowth and sniff things out. As previous posters have said, they do need a lot of grooming and I am quite lazy about this, so I invest in a groomer every 3 months and keep her hair shorter than would be the show standard.

I love her to pieces and would find it hard to have any other breed in the future. I would especially love a blue roan as they are beautiful and apparently have a better temperment than the red heads! Mine loves anything she can eat off our plate and like the previous poster said, it's very hard to resist those big brown eyes, so she has got a bit chubby of late! I am putting her on a strict diet as she loves sausages, ham, cheese, butter and basically everything else that is bad for her!

I walk her for about 20-30 mins in the morning and 30-40 mins in the evening. Twice a week in the evening she goes for a jog with me which involves her running at full pelt for 30-40 mins. On a Saturday, she comes for a longer jog with me (50-60 mins) and then a good long walk on a Sunday. I try and walk her off the lead as much as possible as she gets much more exercise that way. If she is off lead, she just runs round like mad so 30 mins of that is worth much more than 30 mins walking beside me on the lead.

wolfpawnat

I had a Red Cocker. He was too intelligent and was an absolute sweetheart. He was the Omega in my house and was governed by my 2 Yorkshire Terriers!!!!!!! Hardly a savage beast if allowed himself to be pushed around by 2 pipsqueeks!

The only thing is the need ALOT of exercise and can become destructive if this need is not met (my fella tore up the lino in our kitchen one day because we were away overnight)

I usually gave my fella approximately a 3km walk and a 20min swim! But he would easily go alot further

hardtrainer

lrushe wrote: »

The temperment of a dog is made up of genetics and socialization. Any association with coat colour would be purely coincidental.:)

Coat colour is determined by genetics and there has been shown to be a link in some animals (including cockers) between temperament and coat colour. But genetics are not as determinist as people always think and just because the tendancy is there doesn't mean it will ever come to anything. If a dog is well socialized it should be fine. The golden cocker gets a bad rep but I have seen some absolutely adoreable golden cockers. I have a soft spot for blue roan because my mum breeds them and we've had them for 5 generations and they've always been an absolute pleasure. All of ours have been fine with kids from 6months to 10 and they are also great with other dogs and our cats. Of all the spaniels the cockers are my favourite.

iguana

I'm sorry OP, but if you wanted a cavelier DO NOT GET A COCKER!!!

A huge amount of cockers and springers get abandoned by owners who wanted a KC or Cav and decided a cocker or springer would do. They might all be spaniels, which means of Spanish origin, but having the same ancestral home is no indication of common temperament.

KCs and Cavs are lap dogs, cockers are working dogs who need a lot of exercise and stimulation to be happy and content. Block colour cockers tend to be bred for show rather than work so they don't need quite as much stimulation, but dogs who have been bred for show can very often be inbred which does lead to genetic problems, including rage. But more often working dogs who do not get the exercise and stimulation they need end up frustrated and that frustration leads to bad temper and angry outbursts.

Cockers are active dogs who should have at least an hour a day or off-lead running. Preferably they should also have lots of access to areas they can go swimming. They should also have games played with them to stimulate their mind, "hide and seek" with favourite toys and treats, they should work for their food - maybe through a puzzle ball. They need a very firm hand as they are athletic and intelligent and can get up to a serious amount of mischief when they are under-stimulated. They are a lovely, lovely dog, but they are an awful lot of work.

Caveliers are lapdogs. They are happy with short lead walks. They don't need their owners to work as hard stimulating them as working breed dogs. I'm sorry if I'm being harsh but this is my number one pet hate. My dog Toby is a springer who was given up by his first family when he started getting more boisterous as they didn't exercise him enough. They replaced him with the KC they obviously wanted in the first place.

Nobody would decide a Bichon Frise is the right dog for them and then opt for a Border Collie if they had problems finding a Bichon, as that would obviously be nuts. But a lot of people do just that with regard to spaniels.

golden

Hi There a ckc and cocker are two totally different types of dog as iguana mentioned.

I had a orange roan (golden and white combination). my cocker loved his walks twice a day loved water even dived yep including head down under the water. Never a growl came out of him even when we took up his dinner on occassions.

They do need regular grooming otherwise they will matt easily which Taffie never was since he was groomed all the time dosnt take too long to groom if done on a regular basis.

He hated the vets but did not need to be muzzled and always tried to jump off the vets table. The only time he did not jump off the table was nearing the end then i knew the time had come. Still miss him as we had loads of fun with him.


I tend to go for working gun dog types as they are healther they are breed for their agility and not for looks, the down side on that is that they need stimulation and lots of excercise as my dogs are not hunting dogs but that suits my lifestyle. Choose wisely and good luck.

lorebringer

iguana wrote: »

Nobody would decide a Bichon Frise is the right dog for them and then opt for a Border Collie if they had problems finding a Bichon, as that would obviously be nuts. But a lot of people do just that with regard to spaniels.

This is the best analogy I have seen to discribe Cockers and Cavaliers - I have both and they could not be more polar opposite. Cavs are generally very different from the other, bigger spaniels. They do need excersise and stimulation but (speaking from experience) my Working Cocker could go all day while my Cavaliers will say enough is enough when they get tired.

OP - if you are looking for a Cav, perhaps research other small, house suited breeds. You could find one that you think is suited to you!

messygirl

iguana wrote: »

I'm sorry OP, but if you wanted a cavelier DO NOT GET A COCKER!!!
Nobody would decide a Bichon Frise is the right dog for them and then opt for a Border Collie if they had problems finding a Bichon, as that would obviously be nuts. But a lot of people do just that with regard to spaniels.

You calling me nuts?! I understand what you are saying but this is why I am asking for advice. My boyf is pushing for a cocker so that is why I am considering the breed. My oh is very active and we would have a good size garden so Im trying to find a dog that suits both of us which is rather difficult (he really doesnt like cavs but I do so I might have to work him a little more! ) Thanks for all the advice really do appreciate it.

iguana

messygirl wrote: »

You calling me nuts?! I understand what you are saying but this is why I am asking for advice.

Sorry if I come across very strong on this. My dog Toby was in a really bad state when he came to us. Very overweight and with the pads of his paws still pink. He didn't know how to run, the first time he tried he fell over. He wasn't neglected, he just had been chosen by people who had wanted a different type of spaniel. As a result he was never exercised anywhere near how much he needed and he was very hyper-active indoors. He didn't follow any commands and was aggressive with our other dog when it came to food.

For the first month or so we had to walk a very fine line between exercising him enough to help him lose weight and not letting him damage his paws as he was much too heavy to have soft paws. After our walks he would lick his paws for an hour crying. Each of our vets have told us how common this is with this dog type.

They are a great dog, really lovely but an awful lot of work. I grew up with border collies and ime springers are just as active and almost every bit as smart. (My dogs are springers but cockers and springers are very, very similar dogs - up until about 150/200 years ago they were the same breed). But while most people are very aware of just how much work collies are, they don't see working spaniels in the same way and associate them with smaller spaniels instead.

cargo

GF has a black cocker. As above posters say they love getting out and about and messing about. Lovely dog but need exercise and a trim every 3 months or so to keep the coat neat.

On another note, this guy is fairly welll trained after inital hyper puppy period but the one thing he still does is pull on the lead when out walking. We've tried all different types of leads and collars but he still just pulls and pulls when he's out and about. Anyone have any suggestions? He's approx 2 and 1/2 now.

messygirl

Not all you are dead right to have those opinions, I was just trying to clarify my position. I know someone who got a dog based on looks and it has not worked out so i want to make sure I don't make the same mistake. My train of thought would be if you aren't sure wait until you get all the info and then make up your mind, no point getting a dog because you are kind of sure...

Yer comments have been very helpful i think I will have to think a little bit more....Thanks to everyone who posted!

Satyr_The_Great

cargo wrote: »

GF has a black cocker. As above posters say they love getting out and about and messing about. Lovely dog but need exercise and a trim every 3 months or so to keep the coat neat.

On another note, this guy is fairly welll trained after inital hyper puppy period but the one thing he still does is pull on the lead when out walking. We've tried all different types of leads and collars but he still just pulls and pulls when he's out and about. Anyone have any suggestions? He's approx 2 and 1/2 now.

Get a halti,, they work great. At first your dog might object to it and try paw it off but have plenty of treats ready and soon he will get used to it. The halti did wonders for my springer spaniel.

iguana

messygirl wrote: »

Yer comments have been very helpful i think I will have to think a little bit more....Thanks to everyone who posted!

Some decent basic info here; http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/englishcocker.htm

One other thing I'd suggest keeping in mind when you do get a dog. Even if it's the last thing on your mind right now, if you think you and your oh may have children in the next 10-15 years keep this in mind from the first day you bring your dog home. Let them get used to being around children as much as you can, maybe by letting children you meet pet your dog under your supervision. And do little things like whenever someone new comes into the house all the humans should greet each other before acknowledging the dog, so the dog learns that people come first from early on so it won't be jealous if you do bring a baby home.

lorebringer

cargo wrote: »

GF has a black cocker. As above posters say they love getting out and about and messing about. Lovely dog but need exercise and a trim every 3 months or so to keep the coat neat.

On another note, this guy is fairly welll trained after inital hyper puppy period but the one thing he still does is pull on the lead when out walking. We've tried all different types of leads and collars but he still just pulls and pulls when he's out and about. Anyone have any suggestions? He's approx 2 and 1/2 now.

Sens-ible or Sens-ation harnesses are very good at curbing the pulling. you'll need to do some training yourself with it but it really helps. www.dogtrainingireland.ie sell them and I have seen them in a few large pet stores. Definately recommend one!