Breed Selection Advice

[VizslaMomma]

No, i have no idea where they're from.

Could be breeders, or could be pet shops/BYB type.

Either way, i thought they were meant to be very happy dogs, like the cavs. But all the frequent ones are timid and snappy

I agree that they certainly need training, of which i only know of one owner that comes in that does this with her two cockers. They still prefer to sit together on the bed away from everyone.

I have never understood why they come haha

But i agree with everything you have said about going through a responsible breeder. This helps health issue wise and then you can meet all of their dogs so you know their personalities :)

If they refuse this, go elsewhere.

gosh, that is a worry. Breeder I know calls hers 'merry' cockers. Never known temperament issues.

CKCS would be suitable provided the health checks were carried out. ( & Yes health check are needed for any breed)

English cockers would be fine as well.

Exciting times for you

[sandgrubber]

I'm also a bit shocked at the experiences others have had with cockers...I've never met a nasty one to be honest. All the ones who come to get groomed are so placid and lovely, and we used to live next door to one who was with a family of kids ranging from 1-16. That door never barked, and was such an awesome and gentle playmate for the kids. I have however heard of a workmates mothers (confusing anyone yet?) dog, from a registered breeder breeding for a certain colour, who had severe epilepsy. This turned her off the breed but she has since got a dog from Macdolly who is just gorgeous, and very healthy at that. I know another from that kennel currently being shown in neauter and starting agility, she is a lovely dog too. Sorry for the spiel, but I think if raised right they can be beautiful, easy-going dogs that can be great with children (I say easy-going comparing to my 3 mad dogs :laugh: )

Research done at the University of Barcelona has not helped the Cocker's reputation . . .looks like there have been other studies of the same.

http://www.journalve...e/S1558-7878(08)00140-8/abstract.

...

Sandgrubber your link doesnt work,,,,,, but I do know the paper and it's been around for a while. It actually hit the press under the heading of "the Worlds nastiest dog breed" or something to that effect..... typical of the press and their journalistic hype.

As a scientist, Sandgrubber, I expect that you would know that there are limitations and faults in every research report. This one has several, but of course the main one is that the study was conducted over a small area of Spain and many of the dogs were closely related to each other or came from the same human families. This paper has not attempted to analyse the family relationships ie the pegigrees of the dogs involved nor are they clear about the basic facts of the dogs in the study, originating from a small regional area. It's unfortunate that this piece of information has been excluded form the report. They do note that the majority of cockers with aggression were golden in colour. World-wide this is the colour most frequently bred by puppy farmers and BYB's and sold in retail outlets as it is the colour most in demand from the pet buyer.

I think that the important thing is to remember that temperament in a breed is often different from place to place, region to region and country to country and is often influenced by regional breeding programmes.

Many years ago there was a temperament problem in cockers in the UK. This was dubbed "Rage Syndrome" and there was a lot of research into the problem. UK breeders worked very hard to eliminate this problem and it has largely disappeared from the breed in that country. However, it seems that any cranky cocker spaniel that has a less than desirable temperament is now said to have rage syndrome, simply because people have heard the term used.

Around the time that this isse was first noted in UK there were many cockers exported from UK all over the world and there has been high percentage sent to Spain where they were bred from extensively. The breed is immensley popular in Spain and of course this means that there is also a lot of indiscriminant breeding by those who simply want to supply the pet market.... buyer beware !

Australian breeders have worked really hard to ensure that the temperament of the cockers produced from kennels that are seriously involved in the breed are as the breed standard requires.... and the majority are sweet, gentle, happy and trustworthy.

Perhaps things might be different in the breed in Spain and so I dont think that such a paper as this should be used to colour the opinions of people who are considering a cocker in Australia !

Many years ago, and long before your time in the breed Sandgrubber, there was a line of Labradors in Western Australia that were known to produce less than desirable temperament. The people who bred these dogs were either oblivious to the problems being encountered by the owners or just didnt care and they continued to chug out litter after litter of labs that were dubious in behaviour. The breed began to develop a poor reputation here and its popularity declined among the pet buyers. It made it difficult for those who were doing the right thing and I'm sure that if there was an internet and forums in those days the issues would have been debated heavily and many people would have had their horror stories of yellow labs with bad temperament !!! Thankfully, the kennels concerned are no longer breeding and the labs in this stae have a reputation for sweet and gentle natures..... as they should.

Please read what I wrote. I did not endorse the paper, I merely said the paper has not helped the Cocker's reputation. Ie, the opinion that Cockers are snappy, voiced by someone in the discussion above, may be related to this set of findings which got a bit of publicity five years ago.

As a scientist, it is appropriate to use Occum's razor and assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that breed temperament is the same from one region to another.

You are producing evidence to the contrary. Good.

IF the link doesn't work, the paper is easy to find using Google . . . .just use an author's name and Cocker spaniel. You'll have to pay to read the full text.

[rusty&biscuit]

Sorry if I caused confusion, I said she had epilepsy not that she was snappy :) personally I am yet to meet a cranky cocker and I think they are a wonderful breed :) it's a shame that, as you said, that paper wouldn't help them much

[julesluvscavs]

I have quite a few friends on facebook (that are members on here also) that own Cocker Spaniels. They post regularly about them with lots of photos. Its all been very positive to me seeing and reading about them over the years.

I've met a few in my life and they have all come across as having lovely temperaments.

Every breed of dog produces varying personalities of course,

[Salukifan]

I see your veterinary journal article sandgrubber and raise you a completely biased meme :p

I reckon that's a Yankee cocker

I reckon what most Cockers with "issues" need is more boundariries, more brainwork and more exercise. They were never bred to be a lap dog. The same sort of management that sees poodles labelled "neurotic" results in this I reckon. Someone I respect once called them "a wolf in sheeps clothing". They are smart, can be obstinate and do need to be treated like a "real dog'.

Cockers were also the bulk breeder's dog of choice a few decades back and the breed has paid a price for that.

A well bred Cocker who is given the right training, and the right amount of physical and mental stimulation should make a fine family pet.

Don't blame the breed because people want to treat it like an animated stuffed toy.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Haredown Whippets

[Leah82]

I see your veterinary journal article sandgrubber and raise you a completely biased meme :p

I reckon that's a Yankee cocker

haha, I think it's just a puppy, the american's stop is way more noticable

[ellz]

I see your veterinary journal article sandgrubber and raise you a completely biased meme :p

I reckon that's a Yankee cocker

haha, I think it's just a puppy, the american's stop is way more noticable

It's actually a not very good example of an American Cocker. Quite typical of what is seen in companion homes in the USA where the American Cocker Spaniel is known as the Cocker Spaniel.