I think as has been said it really does depend on the dog.
Out of my dogs two work, two dont and one (Seth) better had
Flynns not a full worker and certainaly would never of worked, I dont know if thats his breeding or the fact he spent years in a puppy farm
He does enjoy retreiving his dummys and I do gundog style training with him which he enjoys but I dont do much other training because hes just not into it.
Flynn would much rather be curled up with me on the sofa than out working and hes too stupid to train up. But as I said he isnt a full working cocker and he was treated horrendously before i got him so he really isnt a good example of a pet working cocker.
Amber would of been my best working dog if i had got my hands on her when she was younger, shes so biddable and quick to learn. Shes a joy to train with and her work training isnt far behind Jack and Bries. Shes got the best quatering pattern and is a better retreiver than Brie. I cant work her though because shes so stressy. Amber was a mess when i got her who barked, cowered and paniced at everything and just couldnt handle the real world. She would never, ever cope with a shoot her head would explode.
It really upsets me that because Amber wasnt allowed to do what she was bred for it left her such a mess. Of course again there are mitigating factors and if Amber had been in a good pet home who were meeting her needs maybe she wouldnt of been so screwed up and I think thats the key to workers in pet homes.
Amber gets the same training to the same level as jack and Brie, the only difference between the three is Amber does not actually go out on shoots during the season. Amber would of absolutly loved working if I had her from a pup, she adores the training and because so much of it is about self control its really helped her learn to relax. I honestly think she is missing out by not going working, its depriving her of not only what she was bred to do but also of a activity she would enjoy so much. Ok she doesnt know shes missing out but I do and it upsets me that we do an activity she would love so much but I cant let her be part of it because someone screwed her up before i got her.
Im not against workers in pet homes per say, people who are utterly commited to meeting their dogs needs and know what they are taking on and will do gun dog training to let them have that outlet can have happy dogs. I am absolutly against pet workers being bred and the breed being diluted down so they are easier to handle in a pet home. Nothing will ever convince me it is for the good of the breed its for the good of the people who want them and it is completly selfish and damaging to the dogs.
I think thats the big crux really, the amount of workers being bred and the amount that end up in rescue is just heart breaking. The problem is once they are in rescue they can of picked up so many issues that its really difficult to turn them around. Workers who are not having their needs met are a nightmare, they are stressy, unhappy, cant switch off, guardy and not very easy to live with dogs. They can be very, very difficult to rehome as they cant be worked and can take a lot of time to manage. The first six months of owning Amber I think I cried most days.
There just wasnt the amount of workers in rescue that there are now before they were being produced for the pet market, workers also were not in puppy farms before they became popular pets as they are now.
I think its easy to forget that COL members only amount to a very small percentage of cocker owners, people who are on COL are so much more clued up whereas Jo public really arent. There is a massive problem with working cockers at the moment both in terms of those in rescue and in whats being bred. I hate seeing a fifth generation pet bred dog who wouldnt be capable of a days work in its life.
I think working cockers are being ruined from all angles at the moment and its the dogs that are paying the price.
