Differences in temperament show & Workers

[aljeana]

Not sure this topic is in the correct place but here goes.

I have no knowledge of genetics but I am curious I have always had show cockers range in colour but mostly roans over the years I noticed that my orange roans were always very bold & quite hyper I do agility with my cockers.  It was mentioned to me by a well known show breeder the difference in colour dominance on how it effects character & temprement for example he explained over the orange roans that you will find you ask them to do something & they will ignore you until you tell them.  My Amy my orange roan has lived to those words  she is & has been very excitable & willful but oh so willing to work for you all the time & all day if you wanted to but a bold little dog.

Now for various reasons I choose an orange & white working cocker puppy as our next family member Jaz is now 2 but her temprement is so different very laid back, easy to train, but very sensitive always rolls over on meeting other dogs very submissive.  I do agility with her but she is not confident at the beginning of a run then builds confidence during her run.

On speaking to other worker owners that I know via agility the orange roans/ whites seem to be very similar to Jaz .

So I was just wondering why so different between the 2 types show & worker if as it was explained to me that colour takes a big part in temprement.  I know the lines are so different now between show & workers but does colour play a part or not ? & why do workers seem more sensitive than show ?

[Helen]

I think, if you check with Top Barks who did his dissertation on cocker colours and temperaments, that he found that temperament and colour to be completely unrelated     Not sure who explained it to you but it definitely is just opinion and not fact 

[its.sme]

When I was looking into the Breed I went to a Cocker Show ( I was looking for a show type), I sat and watched to see what was going on and I could see a difference in the room.

Blue Roans where mainly to the left and orange's , Black and white and a try Colour was on the right, the noise coming from the left was very noticeable 

I do think we as owners have a lot to do with how our dogs turn out, Bea is very much the dog I allow her to be (in some ways), but she is also a excellent trainer of Humans  

[Ben's mum]

I think it's to do with personality type and upbringing more than colour. I have two boys both show, both black, but they are as different as chalk and cheese.
Ben is noisy, stroppy, bossy, adored agility and dislikes people and dogs. He is a complete cuddle monster and will sit on your knee for hours.

Harry is quiet and polite in comparison. He loves everyone, and think all dogs are there to play with. He couldn't see the point of agility and used to try to go under the jumps 

They actually are quite close in breeding lines as well, but so very different.

[aljeana]

i have had show cockers for over 30 years & the 3 we have at the moment take us to 10 in total 9 show & Jazzie my lovely worker.

With my show cockers I have followed similar lines & gone from solid colours to parti colours & on the whole have all had the same up bringing my last 4 I trained in agility & always have had at least 2 together but I can honestly say that my orange roans have always been more hyper against my blue roans.

I suppose I just really was curious as to why some of the working lines appear more sensitive & again can relate to orange roans/ whites that I have met during my activities seem as my Jaz more sensitive.
Jaz has had the same upbringing as all my others & lives with 2 other show cockers

[Jane S]

We have an orange and white show type girl who has always been laid back & very gentle in character - it's not her colour that determines those traits but her breeding lines. Her mother was also very gentle and calm & her grandmother too - not all the same colour but all had the same personality traits which have been passed down the generations.

[Helen]

I think it is as Jane has said - more breeding lines than colour 

I have seen a fair few working cocker bitches that are highly strung and a little nervy - more so it seems than the males.   I have 2 sensitive boys - my oldest Jarvis carries his stress in his tummy and does not outwardly appear stressed but if he is it will show up fairly quickly with a stomach upset.  Jago is more bomb proof but hates the voice of doom and hates being told off on the rare occasions he is - they are both very eager to please us.

It would be interesting to track back the lines where these traits occur and see where it's coming from but that would be pretty impossible to do 

[6thSense]

I have 3 gold/red show type from the same litter, so same colour, exact same blood lines, but even though they all have the typical cocker character they are otherwise all quite different. My boy is the big mummies boy who would move heaven or earth to please me and is extremely affectionate. My smallest girl is very cuddly, but on her own terms, shes the cutie and has little dog syndrome so can be quite full of herself. Lol My other girl is the cheeky one, always into mischief and I think actually enjoys being naughty. She also likes a cuddle, but very much on her terms. She does things when she wants to for sure. Lol So like i say same colour, same bloodlines. Although similar in some ways also very different. I think they all have their own personalities regardless of anything else.

[Murphys Law]

I have seen spaniel rescue describe golden cockers as being typically headstrong and stubborn many times in their descriptions of dogs up for adoption. That pretty much sums up my Murphy.

[minimoo]

I think it is as Jane has said - more breeding lines than colour 

I have seen a fair few working cocker bitches that are highly strung and a little nervy - someone in my area seems to be breeding small skinny workers there are a lot of nervy bitches saying that they are all black. my chocolate boy is like Jarvis you see very quickly if he is upset through his tummy   and my orange roan boy is def the gobbiest cocker I have ever had he actually thinks he can talk.So maybe it is a bit of both .Sorry Helen I was trying to quote the highly strung bit don't know what happened

[aljeana]

Thanks everyone seems I have had a difference experience maybe it's the agility training I do 😋

[PennyB]

Mind you I used to have 2 blue roans - both related (half brother/half sister) both very different, like chalk and cheese

[Jane S]

Mind you I used to have 2 blue roans - both related (half brother/half sister) both very different, like chalk and cheese

Yes that's the case with many of our blues over the years - some have similar traits & some completely different (same with human siblings of course as one might take after one parent/grandparent and another will take after a different relative) But that again shows it's not colour deciding what temperament our dogs have as we can have the same colour with different temperaments (as Sarah describes) or the same colour with similar temperaments or anything in between

[Emilyoliver]

 I think with working type cockers it would be much more difficult to link colour to temperament as colour is never specifically selected for.  With show types 'perhaps' colour could be linked to some temperament types - perhaps some traits related to solids, others with partis (if they're not mixed).  As in the link between rage and solids being stronger than that to partis.  However that is more linked to genetics resulting in a health condition rather than temperament (I believe).  I have found, though that my workers are very very soft and sensitive.  More so than my show types.  Pip, worker, who behaves like a bull in a china shop most of the time because he is so enthusiastic about life, can be stopped dead in his tracks with the 'wrong' tone.  And then he just gets so worried about repeating a mistake, he won't do anything until told it's all ok.  I think a lot of working types are like that as they are bred for biddability, and (should) have a great desire to please.

[Murphys Law]

Millie, my worker, is incredibly sensitive too. A father/son dispute can see her hiding in a corner until told that it is okay.

Murphy, on the other hand, couldn't care less if WW3 was going on in the house.