Hello,

[juleshuffers]

Hi, we have an 18 month old working Cocker Spaniel called Clara.  We have had her from a puppy, and she is our first Cocker Spaniel, (very different from our previous Cavalier) She is a pet and not used as a gundog.  She is extremely lovable, but rather naughty and very high energy.   We are struggling with her training.  She will come,  from whereever she is in the house to the sound of a whistle, sometimes she will also come in from the garden (if there is nothing more interesting to persue).  However on a long lead in the fields she will not come back so as awful as this sounds we have yet to let her off the lead, hence the high energy.  I will not give up though, and if it comes to it, and as a last resort I will send her to residential obedience training.  Although I worry about that as I do not wish to lose her very loving character or personality.  I do so desperately want her to be able to have a good run in the fields which is what she has been bred for.  

A question I do have though if anyone can help and that is What is the average weight of a working cocker
spaniel?  
All the examples I can find are for show cockers and not for working cockers.  Clara weighs 9.85kg and everyone assumes she is a puppy of about 5/6 months when really she is 18 months.  She is on Royal Canine sensitive dog food from the vets.  They do say she is on the small side, but reckon she is a live wire.  

[hollyd443]

Hi and Welcome!

Clara sounds lovely  I have a dinky working cocker too (Roxy) and a leggy one, Rio. Rox is 8.5kg and Rio is almost 10kg.

Don't worry about the recall training - you WILL get there! Rio used to be terrible for chasing birds - I used a long line on her, when I called her to come, I'd reel her in and reward her with her all time favorite thing - her tennis ball. We saved the tennis ball for training as it was so high value. These days (she's 2yrs), she is great, she plays fetch all walk to maintain her interest and we do recap her training every now and then.

Looking forward to piccies of Clara!

Hx

[Jenna]

Hello and welcome to COL.

I have two goldens, Bailey and Saffron.

I can't really offer much training advice, as ours are only let off lead on our property which is fenced off and huge and I have never really had a problem with them (unless they spot a rabbit/ bird to chase)

Pics are a must.

[Colin]

Hi there and welcome to the board.

As you've found, Cavaliers are a very different breed to Cockers (particularly workers) - your post about recall is likely to get missed here, it might be better to start a thread on the Training & Behaviour section. There's a pinned thread on the top of that board called How To Teach A Reliable Recall which should be of help.

[tigs71]

Hi and welcome to COL.  I also have a working cocker - just a couple of weeks older than Clara. 

I hope the recall training goes well and you find that once she is off her lead that she will return to you so your confidence will build.  Find somewhere secure, bite the bullet and give it a go 

As for the weight issue - there is not average weight for an adult cocker as they all range in size and shape once they grow.  As a comparison Mason is 13kg.

 

[roanangels]

Hi,
Welcome to COL, I too am quite a newbie!
I have a 4 1/2 yr old show cocker, blue roan, Alfie. 
I am so nervous letting off a lead! We live in the country and the birds, rabbits etc etc just totally get his attention and us calling him back for food, treats, toys is just a no go.
We do however go to the beach a lot through the summer and have found we can let him off on there without the panic he will run away.  It is a really good place to start as you can see for miles, he does dip in the sea even when we ask him not to  but the most he chases are the seagulls - he hasn't worked out he won't catch one!
We have a 'special' ball for on the beach which he just adores! he will never go far if we have this trick up our sleeve and will just sit and look at us until it thrown.
Maybe give that a try before the distraction of all the wonderful smells you get in the fields.
  Claire & Alfie