Solid or part coloured / roan

[DonnaH]

Hi all - new to the forum and really confused over colour of bitch to get.

Have had one breeder say she wouldn't be keen to sell a red bitch to us as we have a family (boys 6 and 4 month), but heard from other breeders who say they are fine just need good training like any dog.

I am however confused as we are finding breeders with only solids available At the moment ... Should I take a roan / part colour instead if one becomes available - or are some folk being over cautious these days?

Oh should add know the breed well from past family pets and had 2 roan girls myself previously who were darlings. .... Thanks for any input

Donna

[minimoo]

Hi and welome to the forum, this is a very friendly site but you may get reactions from people with solid reds as it can be a bit of a touchy subject . i have both and find no difference to be honest but my orange roan is 8 months old and totally fearless or just crazy  , I would be looking for a good breeder who health tests their dogs which is very important rather than a certain colour . i have had a light blue roan ,dark blue roan and now have chocolate, dark blue roan and an orange roan and they have all been wonderful dogs with their own personalities as for children i think its important for them to respect a dog from a very early age regardless of the colour of dog 

[bajoleth]

Quite surprised to hear of the breeder suggesting that you may have 'problems' with a Red and children The Cocker Rage thing is very very rare and if you search on here you will find many threads explaining it all. I have a Red male and I have to say in all honesty that he is the gentlest soul, I also have a solid black female who is also an absolute sweety, they are by nature very loveable dogs. I am going to give your breeder the benefit of the doubt and suggest that it was the age of your children that was causing them concern.
I have 2 cockers Belle who is nearly 3 and Monty who is 2 and I have 5 children aged from 13 mths to 15yrs so I am not against pups and children but 4 mths is very young to introduce a pup into the mix, mainly because the pup will be soo demanding of your time It can be quite stressfull owning a new pup , add that in with looking after a new baby and managing training the pup and your 6 yr old, pups tend to playbite a fair bit especially their little humans.
Please don't think that I am anti dogs and children , nothing could be further from the truth but because of the difficulties I have explained above you may have trouble finding a good breeder that will sell one of their pups to a household with such a young baby.
When we got Belle my youngest was 3 and her breeder was very dubious about selling her and it took a lot to convince her that the kids were responsible enough, we had just lost our 10 yr old cavie so they were used to canine company
I was just pregnant with my youngest when we got Monty, if I had known then that I was pregnant I would have postponed getting a pup in all honesty.Good luck with whatever you decide

[Sharon]

Was it a red bitch of her own she wouldn't let you have?  Maybe that should tell you something about her breeding 

[Joules]

Was it a red bitch of her own she wouldn't let you have?  Maybe that should tell you something about her breeding 

Quite possibly. 

I would certainly steer clear of a breeder who spouted this sort of old fashioned view 

[DonnaH]

Thanks everyone for your advice, have been reading up on this rage syndrome and now feel I have little to worry about.

Understand comments regarding small babies and dogs and having the time (and energy) to look after both, we aren't going into this with our eyes closed.  We had 2 young spaniels before when our first son arrived and they got on brilliantly - he was gentle and we made sure the dogs didnt get hassled.

We are also looking now at puppies just born so my little one will be a bit bigger which will be good.

Thanks everyone for your help
D

[bajoleth]

Thanks everyone for your advice, have been reading up on this rage syndrome and now feel I have little to worry about.

Understand comments regarding small babies and dogs and having the time (and energy) to look after both, we aren't going into this with our eyes closed.  We had 2 young spaniels before when our first son arrived and they got on brilliantly - he was gentle and we made sure the dogs didnt get hassled.

We are also looking now at puppies just born so my little one will be a bit bigger which will be good.

Thanks everyone for your help
D

Glad you feel better about the 'rage' issue Please don't think I was patronising you about babies and dogs I am sure you are fully aware of how hard it will be just really pointing out that there will be a fair few good breeders who will be verry cautious about placing a pup with you because of the babies age so be prepared for that, thats all

[Maria n Dennis]

Was it a red bitch of her own she wouldn't let you have?  Maybe that should tell you something about her breeding  

Quite possibly.  

I would certainly steer clear of a breeder who spouted this sort of old fashioned view  

Totally agree with the above. A good breeder with health tested pups would be my first priority.

As for children and pups , I have 5 children my eldest is 8 and my youngest is nearly 15 months.
When I got Dennis, Chloe now 3 was just 3 months old. Of course it's hard work but I found that because I spent most of my time feeding her I didn't really go out much which worked well for me.

Tbh I found the older ones and a puppy the most hard work because they always wanted to play. I think it's important that children learn from an early age to respect animals.

Also agree with bajoleth about the breeders being cautious , but think being honest about things is best.

[Patp]

Hi, my daughter has a 7 year old working red cocker and he is the most gentle dog with her children (now 6 and 10). All puppies play bite and when Jinley was little she would go into her crate for some peace if there was too much child activity.  As long as your children are old enough to respect that a puppy needs to sleep and have time out, it can be a great time to introduce a dog to them. 

I am not sure what impact a colour has on temperament, I can remember a number of years ago being told not to buy a chestnut mare as a pony for my daughter!

Pat

[karen488]

If the breeder feels there are difficulties with red cockers why is she breeding them 

[DonnaH]

Yeah bajo .... I honestly didnt take your comments badly i know some kids can be hard on puppies and fully understand and respect any breeder who suggests we don't get a pup from them. 

The goOd news for us is that We have this morning contacted a lovely breeder (reputable kennels and dogs) and we should get a pup from her.  Really excited again after previous wobbles 

Thanks all, hope to be posting soon on our own pup

D

[Cayley]

What might be the problem is that a new owner would take a gold puppy and then someone tells them about rage which makes them paranoid about every bite or scratch being a sign, she may be limiting the chance of it being returned  .