CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Activities => Working => Topic started by: Toni-UK on September 18, 2015, 05:20:47 PM
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Whilst reading a discussion on another forum about crossbreeds i noticed someone comment that Sprockers were bred for a more "all round working dog" and that they were a preference over a Working cocker or a Springer as they do both jobs better???
Can someone who works their dogs elaborate on this in any way. Are Sprockers better at performing multi tasks, what would be the reasons for choosing one over a WCS or ESS?
Any opinions welcome :)
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I was sent this today funnily enough
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/gundogs/gundog-breeds/the-rise-of-the-sprocker-spaniel-45280 (http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/gundogs/gundog-breeds/the-rise-of-the-sprocker-spaniel-45280)
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Springer's and cockers both do the same job, but in entirely different ways, sprockers normally take after one or the other you do not get a dog that works half and half.
One of the advantages of sprockers as far as I am concerned is the mixing of the gene pool for the health benefits.
I am sure if you bred a few generations of sprockers from FTW springer / cocker parents you would end up with good working dogs that were either very springer like or very cocker like so you might just as well stick with the original breeds.
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Frankly I don't see the point of mixing the breeds ph34r
Both breeds have health issues so I don't see that interbreeding will always provide healthier stock - the likelihood is that conditions like IOHC will become more prevalent - and I don't like seeing cocker sized dogs with large springer heads and v.v. Conformation wise they're not for me.
A good working cocker or working springer can do the jobs they're intended to do very well indeed.
Hedley Millington will be saying "I told you so..." (after all he bemoaned the fact that some triallers were already mixing the breeds and passing them off as working cockers...)
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Cockers and springers are from the same original stock. It was only in the 19th century that the bigger ones became springers and the smaller ones cockers.
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The issue of working aside, a first generation cross (an Fi hybrid) has a greater statistical chance of dodging the genetic bullet. Yes, both cockers and springers and field spaniels originated from the same group around 1900- but since then all breeds have suffered a huge (some people would say catastrophic) loss of genetic diversity. And from my researches, working cockers are in even greater jeopardy than show types.