Kavik Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Any Working Cocker Spaniel people here or know much about them? How do they differ from show Cockers in type, temperament, coat type? Drive levels, trainability, biddability? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airedaler Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 No personal experience with them but was told by a trainer (Steve Austin) recently that they have no off switch! Physically they are longer and lower in the body than the ordinary Cockers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 They are really busy little dogs! Quite different from the Working ESS as well. Real variation in type and I am told they were originally bred not to be quite as persistent as the ESS. Very fun little dogs but they don't grab me quite as much for a reason I can't put my finger on! Some of the best dogs I saw at a Spaniel Field Trial in Ohio were the Working Cockers - live wires!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) They look and sound quite fun! I watched the Crufts gundog demo and the Cocker was so funny! Looked like such a character with loads of personality! No off switch is a worry though! Edited November 28, 2014 by Kavik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 They look and sound quite fun! I watched the Crufts gundog demo and the Cocker was so funny! No off switch is a worry though! Yes - funny they definitely are! Did you see the one in H360 video? Was hard to get a good look but SG called it a Working Cocker. I reckon you'd need a good sense of humour. And there aren't many breeders in Australia so you'd need to really do your homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 They look and sound quite fun! I watched the Crufts gundog demo and the Cocker was so funny! No off switch is a worry though! Yes - funny they definitely are! Did you see the one in H360 video? Was hard to get a good look but SG called it a Working Cocker. I reckon you'd need a good sense of humour. And there aren't many breeders in Australia so you'd need to really do your homework. There used to be some NZ lines exported to WA. That was a few years ago. I've 'meet' these dogs on the Teesside in the UK. Crazy and full of stamina about sums them up, for me. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 They look and sound quite fun! I watched the Crufts gundog demo and the Cocker was so funny! No off switch is a worry though! Yes - funny they definitely are! Did you see the one in H360 video? Was hard to get a good look but SG called it a Working Cocker. I reckon you'd need a good sense of humour. And there aren't many breeders in Australia so you'd need to really do your homework. I saw the one in the H360 video, but it was difficult to get a good look at. Yes, sounds like you'd need a good sense of humour, certainly got that impression from the Crufts video too :laugh: I guess I seem to be attracted to crazy dogs which you need a good sense of humour to train :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Yes that's right VM - there are some in WA still. Nailed the temp :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 There are some competing in WA in agility currently - the owners immigrated from the UK with their dogs and breed them also. They also do retrieving. They are lovely little things and at training I often hear people say how tempting they are :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Great for people who actually want to work them but a nightmare for pet owners who take them on not fully understanding there needs,coat is way less & one of the reason many pets owners consider them but they forget that less coat comes with other factors . I agree that there off switch is very different to other working dogs . We have over the years via Gundog rescue had a number off owners contact wanting to rehome or asking for assistance in being able to live with a working cocker . We have boarded a few & i wouldn't consider a sense of humour to own them but a true passion to give them a fulfilled daily life because they can be very frustrating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 There was a lady who moved to Canberra from WA with her working cocker just before we moved away from the area so we only saw it at training for a few months. Seemed like a great little dog and had a lovely temperament and quite drivey. The longer body would probably put me off them for a performance dog, although being a smaller breed the longer back might not impact on them as much as it would in a big dog. They are obviously built for retrieving and gundog work, not jumping and twisting in the air repeatedly for their entire life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workcocker1983 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 (edited) I have 12 of them and their off switch works fine for me. They are all resting in the warm sun. They have to have an "off switch" because they will not be getting worked until the snakes have disappeared. It doesn't matter what the breed is, it needs to be trained to switch off. I've seen show-bred Labradors without an "off switch". Generally people training dogs (spaniel or other breeds) for detection work don't want an "off switch" Edited November 29, 2014 by workcocker1983 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 Thanks for the replies, I am learning a lot I had wondered about their longer backs DeltaCharlie, in the pics I have seen, but haven't met one yet in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airedaler Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 From what I've seen the longer back is not what I would call a long back. Just longer than the other CS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workcocker1983 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 There was a lady who moved to Canberra from WA with her working cocker just before we moved away from the area so we only saw it at training for a few months. Seemed like a great little dog and had a lovely temperament and quite drivey. The longer body would probably put me off them for a performance dog, although being a smaller breed the longer back might not impact on them as much as it would in a big dog. They are obviously built for retrieving and gundog work, not jumping and twisting in the air repeatedly for their entire life. Retrieving and Gundog work is done in an environment where they are required to jump and twist. There are no rabbits on flat open spaces like ovals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 (edited) There was a lady who moved to Canberra from WA with her working cocker just before we moved away from the area so we only saw it at training for a few months. Seemed like a great little dog and had a lovely temperament and quite drivey. The longer body would probably put me off them for a performance dog, although being a smaller breed the longer back might not impact on them as much as it would in a big dog. They are obviously built for retrieving and gundog work, not jumping and twisting in the air repeatedly for their entire life. Retrieving and Gundog work is done in an environment where they are required to jump and twist. There are no rabbits on flat open spaces like ovals. Off topic but my Springer always manages to find one :laugh: There's a pet bunny near my dog club that is a bit of a risk taker Yes the Working Cockers that I've seen move incredibly well over all sorts of environs. If you wanted one for agility I'd consider one that is "balanced" structurally - helps with tight wraps around uprights etc. Edited November 29, 2014 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 Any photos or videos of your guys workcocker? Thank you so much for the information! Thanks TSD - yes structure is so important! I have a lot more to learn in that regard! Plenty of rabbits my way as well :laugh: Boy, that could present some challenges with a Cocker Spaniel in terms of training! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 There was a lady who moved to Canberra from WA with her working cocker just before we moved away from the area so we only saw it at training for a few months. Seemed like a great little dog and had a lovely temperament and quite drivey. The longer body would probably put me off them for a performance dog, although being a smaller breed the longer back might not impact on them as much as it would in a big dog. They are obviously built for retrieving and gundog work, not jumping and twisting in the air repeatedly for their entire life. Retrieving and Gundog work is done in an environment where they are required to jump and twist. There are no rabbits on flat open spaces like ovals. Fully aware of that :laugh: I shared a property with a working lab owner for many years and saw the work her dogs did. Some were built to do agility too, some were not. What I meant is that the demands of an agility course are a little different to the demands of a hunting ground. It is no different to the demands of a sheepdog differing to those of an agility dog, we are careful with the structure we seek to ensure it is compatible with both. Many working dogs are not structurally ideal for agility either. I know of many people who see the word "working" (be it kelpie, border collie, Labrador, cocker spaniel or ess) and just assume that it is the golden key to success in agility. They don't take into account whether the dog is bred for it, is structurally suited to it, or even physically capable of it. Then it is the poor dogs that suffer. I am talking about the people that are then training agility a few times a week, competing on weekends, and expecting their dog to still be structurally sound at 15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workcocker1983 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Any photos or videos of your guys workcocker? Thank you so much for the information! Thanks TSD - yes structure is so important! I have a lot more to learn in that regard! Plenty of rabbits my way as well :laugh: Boy, that could present some challenges with a Cocker Spaniel in terms of training! I have no idea how to upload them here. I send people wanting information and decent photos to google. I have three UK imports here sired by maesydderwen cockers and a couple sired by one of Will Clulee's. He has Poolgreen Gundogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCresties Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 I had a working type cocker back in the UK and he was a gorgeous dog! He was from field trial champion lines but certainly had an off switch. They seem to come in two 'models' - small little pocket rockets and the larger, stockier ones - Fargo was the later. He had a brilliant temperament and could go all day in the forest or at the beach. They are a lot more common in the UK, especially in Scotland where I was when we had him. I'd like to think I'll have another one at some point :) Loads of pics here - http://s189.photobucket.com/user/screamingswifts/Fargo/story :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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