getting a cocker spaniel

[leemanc]

Hi and welcome.

Like you we lost our beloved beagle (Kimmy) and the house was so quiet without her.  We got an 8 week old puppy cocker (Penny) then 2 weeks later got another cocker puppy (Dylan).  Whilst we do not have any small children in the house, my sisters young granddaughter comes to visit and both puppies loved her, I think it was because she has as much energy as they do.  I love to see puppies and children being brought up together they become best friends.

My cockers are 1 yr old now and we have just got an 8 week old beagle puppy, she is gorgeous and adores the cockers and they adore her. 

[monk]

Thanks again everyone who has given me lots of helpful advice 

Jools I had started to think that gold cockers might be my favourite colour -  I'm not sure now!

I suppose my next problem is to find a reputable breeder who breeds in a home with children and cats - any ideas?

Last question for now (for someone just learning about cockers) is do I need a high fence - do they jump and are they good at escaping?

And can anyone tell me how to get a smiley icon etc to come up in messages?

Theresa

[Nicola]

The cocker spaniel club is your best port of call for finding a list of reputable breeders so you can start to make enquiries.

Regarding fencing, it's always a good idea to have secure fencing no matter what breed of dog you have. For cockers it doesn't have to be particularly high, a good sturdy 3 and a half or 4 foot fence would be fine. 

To get the icons, look just above the text box when you're typing a post and you should see a row of smiley icons, just click on the one you want and it should appear in the text 

Good luck in your search! 

[monk]

Thanks Nicola

Do you mind if I test these icons out on you - it may not work

Theresa

[PennyB]

Good luck with finding your cocker! 

I collected Ben from his holiday kennel at the local RSPCA at the weekend - there was a lady there discussing rescuing a dog but had no luck as she had young children.  She argued her point very well and really wanted to rescue a dog from kennels but couldn't.  Apparently they sometimes get dogs with a good history of being with young children but they aren't that common at my local centre.

and have heard of a number of pups bouncing back to rescue as they were supposedly 'aggressive' towards their young children (when actually the behaviour was normal for a pup) so even the most enlightened of rescues is concerned they may have to restrict homing of their pups to families with the over-5s (nippy/bitey pups were just being too much for some of the under-5s).

You're more likely to get a young rescue  cocker of an age when they've hit adolescence and have turned into a 'wild thing' and have become too much for their current owners to handle. Recently the cockers I've helped rehome/find rescue places for have been at this stage and they're hard work --- needing lots of training and patience

[Nicola]

Thanks Nicola

Do you mind if I test these icons out on you - it may not work

Theresa

Looks like you've got the hang of it! 

[debbie321]

Returning to the fencing - I have to add that Ben jumps very high, is very determined and would get over a 4ft one    I'd go for the highest fence you can afford just in case 

As I said before though - Ben is an extreme character 

[leemanc]

I agree with the high fence idea, my working cocker can certainly jump, and both of them must have been to the Houdini school of escapology.

[Jan/Billy]

Returning to the fencing - I have to add that Ben jumps very high, is very determined and would get over a 4ft one    I'd go for the highest fence you can afford just in case 

I agree. Billy would clear a 4ft fence is he was determined to, hence my 8ft wall