Author Topic: is a cocker the right breed for us? Thoughts & experiances please!  (Read 1655 times)

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Offline Cactus99

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Hello

Myself & my partner (32 & 35 yo) have been working toward a time in our lives where we can have our own dog for the past few years, we've both reached a point in our careers where owning a dog and all that comes with it wont be a financial strain and due to Covid are now WFH more and generally at home more - I completely appreciate though, the current situation we are all in is hopefully going to be easing in the next year!

We have decided on a show cocker and have done loads of research, we like the show cocker as its a medium dog, suited to city living and a loving & affectionate breed that we can take for a run once old enough as well as cuddle up with.

We are both freelance my partner does odd days and I do longer contracts, which are 5 days a week, with contract breaks, my job has now moved to be WFH rather than in an office which is not anticipated to change, to best case more than a few days in the office per week in 2021. For the odd days, that we are both out of the house (once the pup is 6+ months old) we have found a number of doggy day care & dog walking options in our area, we would hope to be able to do a dog walker visit on days such as this rather than doggy day care once the pup is older, we've done up a budget including this along with insurance, food and all the other expenditure that a pup will cost, we have many friends in the area who we could call on, dependable family who live on a farm (though they are not local) who could take the dog if we are required to be away for work for any substantial time and we hope to meet lots of other dog pals through the local community.

We have both grown up with a variety of the dogs (Labs, Jack Russels, Pointers), we love exercising and are not at all adverse to rainy walks and training a puppy, brining it up as our own is something we look forward to rather than class as a chore!

Our living situation is good, we have a reasonably sized ground floor terrace flat in London, with a medium fenced in garden that looks back onto our local park. The only negative is being in a terrace ground level we have an upstairs flat with 2 occupants who you can hear walking, talking etc.. at times and you get distant noise from neighbours eitherside and some street noise, though we are on a residential street.

My main concern with a show cocker is barking and destuction! Of course any pup will bark at a knock on the door and cause some damage, but I have concerns with the cocker breed being more of a barker than others for our neighbours, especially if we get into a situation where we can never leave the dog at home by itself for a few hours - so it would be great to hear experiances from others living in a similar terraced situation.

I feel prepared to take on the challenge and all things that considered have done a mass of research and am very aware this is a 10+ year commitment not a year or two but just have some small anxieties and reservations over whether this is in reality the right breed for us.

Any experiances and thoughts welcome!

Thank you


Offline Emilyoliver

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Re: is a cocker the right breed for us? Thoughts & experiances please!
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2021, 03:23:20 PM »
Hello and welcome  :D

Firstly - a huge well done on thinking this through carefully.  You and your partner sound like the perfect family for a cocker  :luv:.  You don't often read posts that show a lot of thinking (including negatives/ how to deal with the difficult times plus budgeting and longer term possibilities).  Really impressive.

As for the noise - yes they can be noisy.  However, I had one who never uttered a sound until she was two, and was never a yappy dog.  I've also had one that was properly gobby!  But he was also highly strung - bonkers really and I've never had another like him.  He was my heart dog  :luv:.  I currently have a 'screaming' working type cocker, and live in a terraced house, but luckily i have lovely neighbours!

As a breed i suppose they may generally be noisier than some others, but it also depends on the temperament of the dog itself and its upbringing/ training.  If you're not in a hurry to get a puppy right now, do loads of research into reputable breeders and choose your breeder really carefully, they would likely be able to help you pick a puppy in the litter that is quieter/ less hyper that would suit your situation.  My gobby one was always noisy - the day i picked him up at 8 weeks he screamed and yapped in the car all the 6 hour derive home!  His auntie - the quiet one - was quiet on the trip home.  The other thing to be careful of is not leaving your puppy alone enough. Sounds like a contradiction.  but puppies (especially velcro breeds like cockers) need to learn to be on their own, and if owners never give them that time, they become overly dependent on having people around all the time and then develop issues with separation anxiety and barking when alone.  I don't know how well you know your neighbours, but it never hurts to let them know you have a young puppy who is learning and may make a bit of noise.  Most people are accommodating - surely it's like having a new baby - they cry sometimes.

My nutty gobby one was a bit destructive as a young dog - emptied a bookcase and chomped on the books, and damaged a few other things.  But not horrendously so, and only when he was under a year.  After that he was quite fine being left free in the house with his auntie.  (She was never destructive).  So i don't think that should be a huge problem - and you can crate train him/ her or confine him/her to the kitchen when you're out if needs be.

I would speak to as many breeders as possible.  Good ones will be happy to answer any questions and give advice on the breed.  Personally you sound like a perfect home for a cocker.  They are lovely versatile little dogs happy to mooch about the house when required, and ready for a run, swim, whatever - whenever their family wants that.  They are sweet, funny, playful, intelligent and incredibly affectionate - so if you like the sound of that - then go for it.

All the best and good luck!
Michelle, Emily and Ollie

Offline IonaD

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Re: is a cocker the right breed for us? Thoughts & experiances please!
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2021, 05:00:02 PM »
Welcome to the wonderful world of cockers!!

We lived in an apartment when we first got Bella with upstairs and downstairs neighbours. I pre warned them both that we were getting a puppy in case there was an increase in noise.

During crate training I was worried about the noise she made when we left her...I text the neighbours and they said they heard nothing!! Not sure if they were just being polite though!! In general Bella would sit on the balcony and bark and strange people and dogs who walked past...not for long and I always made a point of calling her back inside. When we were indoors she barked if there were any loud thumps or crashes from the neighbours but that was few and far between.

I think like Emilyoliver has said...it is totally dependent on the dog.

I agree that if you are that worried about your neighbours I would maybe just give them a heads up when the puppy is due to arrive that there might be some noise as you get him/her settled.

You may not even need to worry about the noise!! We now live in a terraced house and Bella barks when the door goes or if there is a squirrel in the garden, a particularly loud plane and the odd firework. The new neighbours haven’t complained...yet!!

In all seriousness....enjoy the search!! Cockers are amazing and you will have a lot of fun...mixed in with some stress at times too!!


Offline Finvarra

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Re: is a cocker the right breed for us? Thoughts & experiances please!
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2021, 07:38:18 PM »
Sell done for all your research and hope you find the perfect dog. Re barking, you might find this video helpful, I did! Teaching the dog to bark on cue, and then on the opposite cue to be quiet, works really well.
https://youtu.be/0vtn8NhofOw

Cheers
Lesley
Remembering All the dogs of my life, especially Milo

Offline AndyB

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Re: is a cocker the right breed for us? Thoughts & experiances please!
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2021, 09:19:28 PM »
Cockers are the most WONDERFUL, loving dogs.  :luv: :luv: I have been privelidged to own 5 show cockers in my lifetime.  I now have Maisie, a two year old blue roan rescue, who just happens to be deaf.  She makes me laugh every day without fail.   They are Velcro dogs and just want to be with their owner all the time.  They will happily snooze on the sofa, (if allowed), or walk miles with their owner.  A fantastic breed and I personally would not entertain any other.  I would point out Cockers do need a lot of grooming to keep their coats in top condition and free from knots.  You must be prepared for this but if you get your puppy used to being groomed at an early age it will be fine and it's a lovely way of bonding with your dog.  None of my dogs have been particularly noisy, but all dogs do bark at times.  Good luck with your search.

Offline Cactus99

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Re: is a cocker the right breed for us? Thoughts & experiances please!
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2021, 09:05:14 PM »
Thank you for all the responses everyone, you have really put my mind more at ease and I'm also now completely sold that a cocker is right for us.

Thank you again :)