what is the best colour for a good temperment?

[lola B]

OMG i just got HOW TO RAISE THE PERFECT PUPPY by gwen bailey the other day havent finished about half way through but it seems great i was looking at play pens today!!!

[Top Barks]

Colour has nothing to do with health or temperament , not in Cockers anyway (I know there are some issues with colour and health, white boxers, merle to merle in collies etc so colour does have relevence elsewhere with regard to health but I don't know of any link to temperamant) Its good you are asking questions and here is the place to ask anything about Cockers, so in answer to your question
a, No Blacks don't have a better..... or a worse temperament than other colours
b, no they are not more prone to illness (my black girl is 3 and has no health issues whatsoever touching wood so as not to jinx myself )
 I have Golden/Red and a Black and would recommend either any day of the week 
Most important issue is to go to a reputable breeder, ensure Health testing in place and that you see pups with their Mum then you have to keep up socialisation and positive training methods, good diet, to ensure you have a happy , healthy Cocker
Good luck in your search

My studies for my degree dissertation on this subject have found that in some circumstances  coat colour in the show cocker is relevant to elements of temperament. The data I received from amongst others the good folk on this forum revealed that solid show cockers were more likely to show aggression in five out of the ten circumstances in which it was tested for.  Reds I also found were not significantly more fearful than other colours in other situations that were tested.
There are many other factors that go into making up the dogs phenotype  including early experience including good socialization, the dogs lifestyle and the actions of the owner to name a few.
I think though however significant my findings you cannot say that all dogs of one colour or another have better or worse temperaments than another, this is too much of a generalization.

[bajoleth]

Colour has nothing to do with health or temperament , not in Cockers anyway (I know there are some issues with colour and health, white boxers, merle to merle in collies etc so colour does have relevence elsewhere with regard to health but I don't know of any link to temperamant) Its good you are asking questions and here is the place to ask anything about Cockers, so in answer to your question
a, No Blacks don't have a better..... or a worse temperament than other colours
b, no they are not more prone to illness (my black girl is 3 and has no health issues whatsoever touching wood so as not to jinx myself )
 I have Golden/Red and a Black and would recommend either any day of the week 
Most important issue is to go to a reputable breeder, ensure Health testing in place and that you see pups with their Mum then you have to keep up socialisation and positive training methods, good diet, to ensure you have a happy , healthy Cocker
Good luck in your search

My studies for my degree dissertation on this subject have found that in some circumstances  coat colour in the show cocker is relevant to elements of temperament. The data I received from amongst others the good folk on this forum revealed that solid show cockers were more likely to show aggression in five out of the ten circumstances in which it was tested for.  Reds I also found were not significantly more fearful than other colours in other situations that were tested.
There are many other factors that go into making up the dogs phenotype  including early experience including good socialization, the dogs lifestyle and the actions of the owner to name a few.
I think though however significant my findings you cannot say that all dogs of one colour or another have better or worse temperaments than another, this is too much of a generalization.

That saddens me considerably Mark,  all I can say is from my own experience I would recommennd well bred solid Cockers to anyone and I have lots of little ones as you know, I would never have a dog that I thought would put them in danger in any way. I answered your questionaire I remember it well, as a Dog trainer would you say you deal with more solids with aggression problems???

[Helen]

How many respondents did you get in the end Mark?

[Top Barks]

617 in  just 4 days Helen

[kalami]

Out of interest what about working cockers.

[Jane S]

I would suspect this not actually coat colour gene related but breeding line related (if there is any kind of apparent corrolation between coat colour and temperament). After all, solid colour Cockers (show and working) have exactly the same colour genes as any number of other breeds - a black Cocker has exactly the same colour gene as a black Field Spaniel for example or a Black Labrador. I'm sure Mark is well aware of this but am just worried that others will put a different interpretation on his results and will use it as yet another stick to "bash" the solid coloured Cocker.

[Brimbeck(Dyllan)]

I would suspect this not actually coat colour gene related but breeding line related (if there is any kind of apparent corrolation between coat colour and temperament). After all, solid colour Cockers (show and working) have exactly the same colour genes as any number of other breeds - a black Cocker has exactly the same colour gene as a black Field Spaniel for example or a Black Labrador. I'm sure Mark is well aware of this but am just worried that others will put a different interpretation on his results and will use it as yet another stick to "bash" the solid coloured Cocker.

Sadly I worry they will too  I live with 3 solids and 1 parti all different, all lovely

[Top Barks]

I would suspect this not actually coat colour gene related but breeding line related (if there is any kind of apparent corrolation between coat colour and temperament). After all, solid colour Cockers (show and working) have exactly the same colour genes as any number of other breeds - a black Cocker has exactly the same colour gene as a black Field Spaniel for example or a Black Labrador. I'm sure Mark is well aware of this but am just worried that others will put a different interpretation on his results and will use it as yet another stick to "bash" the solid coloured Cocker.

The results would seem to back this up Jane as when tested with working cockers the results were much different. Certainly don't want to start a panic, as I said there could be many reasons why I got the results I did and as the owner of three solid colour spaniels I can vouch for just how wonderful they are to live with

[bajoleth]

I would suspect this not actually coat colour gene related but breeding line related (if there is any kind of apparent corrolation between coat colour and temperament). After all, solid colour Cockers (show and working) have exactly the same colour genes as any number of other breeds - a black Cocker has exactly the same colour gene as a black Field Spaniel for example or a Black Labrador. I'm sure Mark is well aware of this but am just worried that others will put a different interpretation on his results and will use it as yet another stick to "bash" the solid coloured Cocker.

Sadly I worry they will too  I live with 3 solids and 1 parti all different, all lovely

Thats what I found saddenning about Marks post Iwill continue to base my opinion on the Cockers I actually know andno one will ever convince me that Solids are more aggressive than Partis and even though Mark has said there are other factors involved how many prospective owners wil actually take that on board, my fear is that they will see Marks one piece of Research and believe the old hype. No disrespect meant to you and your research Mark but can't help feeling that your post has just reinforced all the 'colour' and 'temperament' posts we have seen over the last few weeks

[Clare B]

Maybe it's just that alot of uninformed impulsive cocker puppy buyers seek out the solid "classic" colours ... The golds seem to be the ones I've seen in pet shops.  And therefore the uneducated, impulsive first dog owners don't socialise, train, exercise or understand that they are not lap dogs, leading to many behavioral problems, ad well as the fact that pet shop bought usually means puppy farm.   Just a thought because the few of the pet shop bought cockers I've met have all been solids.

[Top Barks]

I would suspect this not actually coat colour gene related but breeding line related (if there is any kind of apparent corrolation between coat colour and temperament). After all, solid colour Cockers (show and working) have exactly the same colour genes as any number of other breeds - a black Cocker has exactly the same colour gene as a black Field Spaniel for example or a Black Labrador. I'm sure Mark is well aware of this but am just worried that others will put a different interpretation on his results and will use it as yet another stick to "bash" the solid coloured Cocker.

Sadly I worry they will too   I live with 3 solids and 1 parti all different, all lovely

Thats what I found saddenning about Marks post Iwill continue to base my opinion on the Cockers I actually know andno one will ever convince me that Solids are more aggressive than Partis and even though Mark has said there are other factors involved how many prospective owners wil actually take that on board, my fear is that they will see Marks one piece of Research and believe the old hype. No disrespect meant to you and your research Mark but can't help feeling that your post has just reinforced all the 'colour' and 'temperament' posts we have seen over the last few weeks

have you read my post above that supports Jane's theory? If it were only colour affecting behaviour I would have expected to see the same results in working cockers too and I did not. There is more going on than coat colour here.

[bajoleth]

Yes as i say in my above post
 even though Mark has said there are other factors involved how many prospective owners wil actually take that on board, my fear is that they will see Marks one piece of Research and believe the old hype.

Unfortunately your first post inferred that coat does indeed have a factor in aggression with solids being more affected, you did go on to say there were other factors as I have repeated above
I am just saddened that if people are worried about the colour issue which by some recent posts about the subject it would indeed suggest they are, will they take on board your other comments or will the comment
The data I received from amongst others the good folk on this forum revealed that solid show cockers were more likely to show aggression in five out of the ten circumstances in which it was tested for.
Just reinforce what they have been told by more uninformed sources.  

have you read my post above that supports Jane's theory? If it were only colour affecting behaviour I would have expected to see the same results in working cockers too and I did not. There is more going on than coat colour here.

As you say there is more going on than coat colour, but you chose to post your findings on this thread, which infer there is indeed a problem.
I am sorry if I am coming accross as a pain in the BTM but this is a topic close to my heart and hate to see Solid Colours spoken of as being aggressive etc

[Bella & Poppy]

I read a lot of "rubbish" on this about 2 years ago before we got our 1st.  Read all about gold/reds being prone to rage bla bla bla bla

I have a black one and a golden one and both are amazing, my golden one out of the two is the most chilled.

I think research on the breeder is key for this, we got ours from a breeder in Lincoln and have since referred several friends to her and all are brilliant.

[bracken]

I certainly can't answer which is best of temperment as I have both solids and parti colours. My red is the most laid back and such a softy and I have a tiny black with attitude at times. One thing I would say don't' baby them' whatever the colour... I use to have my little Rosie sleep with me and she became very processive over me .... and on a couple of occassions a few yrs back we had some unwanted behaviour...since then she is treated the same as the others and she is absolutely fine