Hi there.
I am in talks to buy a puppy which is a mix between a show type cocker spaniel and a working cocker spaniel. The mum is a working cocker who has been bred with a show type cocker stud. Has anyone had an experience or can give me advice on the mix breeds?
Hello Caitlin, just popping in my thoughts for what they are worth.
In December we brought home what we were told was a show cocker -
But as the puppy grew we began to see similarities in look and behaviours as a working, and so we are pretty sure we have a cross.
During my time of wondering about wether he was a cross - I did a lot of research about cross breeding and what I can gather is it’s really not advised. As others have mentioned, the breeds are really entirely different -
From their coat down to their energy levels and prey drive.
Of course you may find some breeds with vice versus extremes.
Our pup is extremely prey driven. He cannot be left with the cats. He is also very nose driven and is constant nose to ground -
Making training , especially recall very difficult. He is very high energy.
He has some aptitude’s that I think are from the show cocker strain such as the low sitting ears and longer face ... but I don’t think he has the personality of a show.
Anyway, I have had to unfortunately rehome him to my mother in law at the moment (long story which can be found on another thread) , so I feel like I have no right to tell others what they should or shouldn’t do - but I would say to read about each breed separately- decide which one is for you - and wether you could manage if you ended up with a puppy who had stronger behaviours from the other ‘side’ . I would also think that you should pay less for a mix , £1000 or less. We did pay £1000 despite thinking he was a KC show cocker.