English cocker spaniel

[BirdManMike]

I know of a litter of english cockers. They are in Kansas. If you are interested send me a message and Ill give you a contact.

My impression of English cockers are that they are similar to springers. Eager to please, hard hunting, and personable plus good house dogs. As has been mentioned, they are close workers better suited for working cover than running open country.

 

[elkduds]

wirehaired viszlas are not a very big dog.

Feel free to PM if Vizsla is in the hunt. Had them for 20 years, great for field and family.

 

[YoungGun]

Wife did have a corgi. Now wife has a mini Australian Shepard.

We're in the same boat, you and I. We've got a Toy Australian Shepard (~9-10lbs) that bikes, backcountry skis, hikes, and even goes on elk hunts with me, and really sold me on the benefits of having a small dog.

I started a similar thread last year about Field Bred English Cockers- My wife and I wanted a second dog- wife wanted it small and house friendly, and I wanted a bird dog. We came across the Field Bred English Cocker's and haven't looked back. I grew up with GSPs and Weimaraners, and my folks have a Pudelpointer, but after having the little Aussie, smaller=better. Looked at Viszla's, as a friend was prepping to breed theirs, but we ultimately are set on English Cocker's, and are second on a wait list for a litter due at the end of the month. We went and met the breeder a few weeks back- great people with awesome dogs. They previously bred Drahthaars, but switched to Cocker's for the same reason as us- size and personality.

The expectant mom is on the smaller side, which we like. She's a touch over 20lbs, and the dad is a stout but still small 30 lbs. We're looking to get a female if possible. The breeder hunts sage grouse and sharptails, as well as waterfowl, chukar and mountain grouse with their dogs, and they're brought up around their kids from the get go. I'm probably a half-dozen day a year pheasant hunter, with a few more days of grouse and waterfowl mixed in, so the family dog aspect weighs heavier than covering thousands of acres of CRP in a day.

Feel free to PM me if you want photos of the parents and breeder info- they expect the litter to be anywhere from 6-10 pups, and I'm not sure if they're all spoken for or not. Next litter after this one sounds like it would be ~January.

 

[noharleyyet]

Working dogs deserve their own social media so they can show off their working owners.

 

[jejack26]

The answer to any dog question is Blue Heeler.

No ,I'm sorry, border collie

 

[Brandon270]

As a kid my parents always had cockers, they never got used as hunting dogs but were good family dogs. One thing I will say, is they are prone for some serious ear infections. That may be reduced with good genetics but it's something to consider.

 

[noharleyyet]

My son has a Blue Merle, smartest animal I've been around.

 

[brockel]

We are going back and forth between an English cocker spaniel or an American water spaniel. We’ve found breeders for both. This won’t be happening till next year either way.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Find a breeder who does field-style English labs and get a female. They are smart, loving, great with the family, have strong noses, will retreive all day long, some have a natural point, calmer than typical American style and the field-style females only run around 50lbs.

 

[brockel]

Find a breeder who does field-style English labs and get a female. They are smart, loving, great with the family, have strong noses, will retreive all day long, some have a natural point, calmer than typical American style and the field-style females only run around 50lbs.

Have a old smaller lab now and he’s bigger than I want.

 

[jbowlin]

If you're wanting to check out any other breeder's for an english cocker spaniel, field champion lines, I have a family friend that lives close by that has been raising them since the 1960's/1970's. cool dogs, can hunt as hard as hard as you want, small enough to go places.

 

[flatcoat]

Cockers are the cutest fad in Upland Hunting. I'd go Springer since it sounds like you want a flushing dog with an off switch. YMMV and a cocker will get you lots of social media followers.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Cockers are the cutest fad in Upland Hunting. I'd go Springer since it sounds like you want a flushing dog with an off switch. YMMV and a cocker will get you lots of social media followers.

Well, of course Showtime is doing it for “the Gram!”

 

[brockel]

Well, of course Showtime is doing it for “the Gram!”

Showing off my cocker for likes sounds more like an onlyfans thing not the gram

 

[YoungGun]

We picked up Winifred- "Winnie", our Field Bred English Cocker, at the end of September from a breeder in Idaho. Her litter was born the end of July, so she's just hit 6 months.

The first photo below is from her first weekend at home- she came with a strong desire to please and was extremely social, and took to the house, neighbor kids/strangers, and other dogs immediately. Since day 1, her tail has not stopped moving, even wagging while she sleeps at times. After the last 4 months with her, I can say there is not an ounce of "buyers remorse", as she has been far more social than any pointer I grew up with, rivaled only by a lab/pointer mix I had as a kid. She will actively seek out kids, as she knows they will play with her. House issues have been basically non-existent, as she figured out the dog door her first day in the house, so we're probably at a grand total of 10-15 accidents in the time we've had her, with all of those being in the first month or so. And there hasn't been any destructive behavior. We crate trained her, but she's on week three of having full reign of the house while we are at work (10 hours typically), and has earned the right to continue this with no issues to date.

She missed out on hunting season, being a bit young/small in my opinion to really get out, especially with an early winter. She's my first go at training a bird dog on my own, and her enthusiasm to please and intelligence has made my life easier than I expected. Her retrieving instinct has been strong since day 1, and there is zero fear of gunshots/fireworks/noises. We're a noisy household to begin with. Her mouth is probably a bit too soft, so I've been working on having her hold on to objects to build on this, and it's gotten a lot better since losing her puppy teeth. She's extremely birdy, and her nose never stops. Right now it's all positive reinforcement, but eventually I'll need to work on reigning her in a bit so she can complete a neighborhood walk without becoming hyper focused on the smell of the day.

I included photos of her with some greenheads for a size reference. She's ~5 months old in the photo. She didn't hunt them, as 0 degree weather and an icy river were a bit much for what would have been her first hunt, but she sure liked "fetching" them after the hunt. She is currently about 17-18 pounds. Her mom was just over 20lbs, and her dad was about 30lbs. Her athleticism is insane without considering her size. With that as a factor, my wife and I are in always impressed in new ways.

She takes up hardly any space in the back seat of our vehicles, where she typically sits. But after going out and working fields for birds for training, she gets to ride center console, where she keeps an eye out for ducks, magpies, hawks, or planes. Anything in the air fascinates her. In the last couple weeks, she's worked ruffed grouse in a willow bottom during a ski tour, and sharp-tails in a sage/bramble flat on a dedicated 2 hour bird training session, in which she never slowed, quartering the open field in gun range, and hammering some of the thickest cover I've seen a bird dog work (think beagle working rabbit runs). The cold weather hasn't been an issue when she's working. It was -3 when we were working sharp-tails, and she loves going on ski tours. These being her first forays with upland birds, and with as little bird work as I've done with her thus far, I'm extremely happy, and hoping to pick up some quail/huns, or get to a game farm where she can not only find and flush a bird, but also work through the shot.

As a family dog first and always, we couldn't ask for a more loving companion, and honestly, an easier to train/biddable dog. As a future part-time hunting dog, she's on track to exceed my expectations as an upland bird dog and retriever.

@brockel - You asked for pros and cons. I feel like I hit the pro's. The only cons I can come up with through the limited time I've had with our Cocker is that I could see her small size limiting her if you ever decided to get on larger birds, like geese and even some of the bigger ducks on moving water, and a big, wounded rooster would give her a decent fight. But I know that deviates from the majority of pheasants/huns/grouse. Additionally, she is "clingier" than the pointers I've had- not separation anxiety/barking and crying when you leave bad, but given the option, she will lean against you while you do the dishes, sit on your feet while you read, and generally live inside your personal space bubble. The last con is that one sounds a bit pretentious answering "what kind of dog is that?" with "Field Bred English Cocker Spaniel"

 

[TheGrayRider]

Congratulations on your English Cocker Spaniel. Great choice. They are full of energy. We own our third one now. He finished his Grand Championship show status with the handler last Autumn. Happy hunting, TheGrayRider.

 

[brockel]

You guys are killing me

 

[YoungGun]

You guys are killing me

 

[Don Fischer]

I'd be careful about getting anything show bred. Lot's of long hair to collect burr's. I'd also think about what it is your really want. The Britt is a pointing dog, they are bred for that. The Boykin might work, they are retrieveing dogs so might have fairly good raange without being excessive. I had Spriger's years ago, Hunting/show they were called. the breeder hunted theirs a lot but also showed them. Never ran off. Springer's and Cockers are bred as flushing dog's and that is what you should consider looking at. They hunt birds generally within gun range but if not trained will chase off after the birds. Would do the same with rabbits I suspect. Be careful of the pointing breeds especially the field dogs. One of the things trial dogs are bred for in pointing dog's is run and some are really bad about it. A rabbit dog out 900yds won't do you much good! One thing you might consider is teaching a pointing dog to point rabbits. I've had pointing dogs that did point them, to them is just game! I'm surprised you haven't mentioned beagles and bassets! They are generally bred to hunt rabbits, But again stay clear of show bred dogs.

 

[PNWGator]