Chilled-out Working cockers?

[LilyPup]

Hi everyone. I'm curious to hear about the personalities of your working type cocker spaniels. More specifically, I'm wondering if anyone here has a working cocker who's a bit of a lap dog at home, or just generally pretty chilled out.

Lily is nearly a year old now and she is a non-working, working type cocker (if that makes sense). She is very chilled out and cuddly at home, and I refer to her as my little lap dog  Don't get me wrong... she needs a decent walk every day, and she has crazy manic energy when we're out in the fields and woods. But when we're at home she mostly just wants to snuggle up on the sofa and cuddle with me.

Is anyone else's working cocker like this? I guess I'm trying to figure out if this is related to her young age, or whether she's likely to stay this way (which would be nice lol).

I look forward to hearing about your cockers

[Emilyoliver]

Hi, some are more chilled than others and have a definite 'off switch'.  some don't  I have one of each.  Both work and the eldest does agility as well, so they're not lazy by any means.  however, my youngest (14 months) is wired and prone to pacing.  He has to be told to relax and will generally do it as part of a routine, but otherwise is on high alert and responds to the slightest movement as a cue to leap up and start pacing...  my older one is more chilled in the house, and less prone to any ocd type behavior - he's just a more sensible, relaxed type of character in general and in the house.  I think if yours was one of the wired sort you would have seen this already - particularly as a puppy. I think yours will probably stay much as she is 

[bmthmark]

Mine requires a couple of decent walks a day, then from 6pm he is completely chilled out.
When he wakes up at 6.45 he is completely crazy until the evening. He is pretty good now and we can generally see when he is looking tired so we tell him to 'settle' and he does calm down.
However he is always on alert and will get up if he hears strange noises.
When he finally goes to bed at 10pm (Crated) he is as good as gold.

[Leo0106]

Well as many of the lovely people on here will know mine has always been a complete livewire. He would run around the house from 6am -10pm if I gave him chance when he was younger. Leo defiantly needs to be encouraged to settle down BUT if I didn't wake him up, He would happily sleep from 10pm till 10am every night. On the very rare occasion I sleep in till 8am and go downstairs, Leo looks at me as if I've woken him up in the middle of a night!
Mine has 3 walks a day and completed scentwork and he still loves to be on the go. .. shattering 
I'd say you have one amazing dog but that's my personal opinion haha

[TirelessTitch]

Titch, 20 months now, has a decent walk in the morning and plays ball. then really just follows the action in the house and garden - not so much being demanding of attention, but more wanting to be where we are so that he can help if we need it. As others on here have said, they do seem to enjoy pre=washing the dishes in the dishwasher, helping you put on socks and shoes, sorting laundry and sticking their noses into any DIY tasks that are going on. He has particularly enjoyed "helping" with the Xmas decorations. This domestic work seems to be enough activity for him. He then has a shorter on-lead walk in the evening around 7 pm and then chills out in front of the fire til bed-time.
He started quieting down and getting into this routine from about 6 months old, just before we went completely doolally. I see him as pretty chilled now and never thought I'd say that when he was a pup.
Having said the above, he will also walk for miles, enjoy bouts of training when out and about, and put his whole heart into any games we play with him.

[Alwaysupforawalk]

It's funny we were just talking about this the other day. We too have a non working working cocker!
She is nearly 6 months old now and is the sleepiest puppy I have ever known!! She loves her walks and goes mad running around like a lunatic but when at home looks for the comfiest place and sleeps!

She goes to bed at 10pm and sleeps until 6 when my husband gets up. She has her breakfast and a wee and goes straight back to sleep again!!
I remember her breeder telling me that her mother was 'like a cat' because she liked to sleep so much! I think Beany may have inherited it from her!

[LilyPup]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I love hearing about other people's cockers. It's so interesting all the differences and similarities.

@TirelessTitch - they do like to be involved in everything don't they Although Lily is generally happy to chill out, whenever I'm doing chores she always likes to watch and assist me assembling the artificial Christmas tree was very amusing as she insisted on inspecting every branch before it was placed on the tree!

[ips]

Eze is now 3 1/2 yr old and its only the last six months that she has found an off switch. She is now quite happy to relax / sleep whenever there is nothing happening, I have no idea how the switch was found or indeed were it is but I am happy that she found it 😁

[hoover]

Ollie is half working half show and when younger he was on the go constantly but after neutering it seemed that he was not so demanding of constant action and able to sleep and relax more. He is also extremely cuddly and will do whatever he can to contort himself into positions where he has as much body contact with you as possible!

That said he can take whatever you throw at him and goes on regular 10k runs with my partner about 3 times a week and has at least an hour and a half of walks per day sometimes a lot more when we are doing hill walking. 

[Gazrob]

My Marley is a nutter when he's out he never stops. When indoors he will have his mad half hours a couple of times a day but after 7pm he generally settles down on his bed or getting petted from me on the sofa. I've taught him the place command so when I want him to settle down I will say place and he goes on his bed. Cockers in general are very affectionate mine loves his cuddles.

[TheAdventuresofBarnaby]

Barnaby had his first birthday just before Christmas.

He's very bi-polar:  Completely laid back and inactive when there's nothing happening,  and then completely full-on focussed when any action involving him begins.

This translates to a fairly quiet home life,  unless our cats get bored and decide to bait him.  In the car he's completely placid,  we can even leave him in there alone while we go shopping (before I'm told off for this we only leave him in this way when outside temperature and sunshine permits)

His only real vice at home is his continued need to chew things,  but we've pretty much 100% redirected this towards a huge deer's foreleg bone which he gnaws happily.