Anyone have a Cocker Spaniel?

[MickeysMommy]

I am looking at different breeds of dogs and have come upon this one. While I think they are adorable - what can you tell me about them? People friendly? Other animals friendly? Lap dog? Aggressive?

Thanks so much!

 

[MouseEars4us]

I have a Cocker Spaniel...she is my "velcro dog"...

Her temperment is very friendly and gentle with family and close friends (people she sees often) She is a little nervous around strangers. She usually sticks to me untill they've vistited for awhile and she feels better.

When she was younger (she's 4) she had a "nervous pee" problem...she has mostly outgrown that, but, I mention it because we had another Cocker and he did the same thing.

She loves to fetch, gets along well with our adopted sheltie, never bites.
She's hard headed and doesn't always come when I call, and loves to chase birds and squirrels. She loves to get dirty...

The other Cocker I mentioned before was a total opposite. He was domineering, and a biter. Obedience training and neutering did nothing to make things better. He eventually bit my DD in the face, in an unprovoked attack and we had him put to sleep. The vet assured us, some dogs whether due to breeding or heredity are just mean. We got him at a pet store, and our girl came from a breeder.

I've pointed out the good and the bad, I'm not sure I could have another. But I love the one I have! Anything in particular you want to know?

 

[MickeysMommy]

Thanks, Jenn, for all that info. I wan't looking for anything in particular, I guess, just anything random. I have a cat, Mickey, who is the king of the castle and possibly the most spoiled cat alive. Truly.

I guess I am more worried about how the cat will react but I need a dog who will get along with the cat. I'd like a "lap dog" but I could buy a "lap dog" and have it turn out to not be so it really doesn't matter.

Thanks again

 

[Allie322]

We had a cocker spaniel for 16 years. She lived a good, long life. She was not a "good" dog. She loved us and we loved her but that's where the love ended! She was very aggressive toward other animals (dogs, cats, anything with 4 legs). She was not aggressive toward other people but she really had no use for them. It was near impossible to take her anywhere with us because she was unpredictable. She was also very difficult to potty train (keep in mind, this was before crate training came into vogue).
Adopting any animal can be a gamble, regardless of the breed. If you have your heart set on getting a cocker, do your homework by reading up on the breed so you know what to expect and be sure to choose a reputable breeder. Good luck.

By the way, we opted for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel this time around.

 

[MickeysMommy]

I'd love a Cavalier King Charles but all the breeders around here cost $$$$!

 

[live4christp1]

Cocker Spaniels are my favorite dog. We have had two in the past (not one presently). The first one we had was a buff male that we got from a friend when he was just a pup, he was the runt. He was very intelligent, trained himself to go outside, played fetch, etc. He was very people friendly, but would alert you when a stranger was outside. He was also very high energy and unless you keep the completely indoors or shaved, their coats can be a bit time consuming (that why we don't have one now, allergies don't allow for dog to stay indoors all the time and with two small children don't have the time to dedicate to one right now). The second we had was a black female that we bought. She was friendly but as far as doing anything the previous one did, she was dumber than a box of rocks. The only thing she knew how to do was climb the fence to get out of the yard. We ended up giving her away when I had DS because she liked to run in front of you and around your feet when you were walking and we were afraid she would make me fall with DS. She wasn't very obedient at all, although we tried to teach her. Our first one ended up with stomach cancer and had to be put down.

Good luck on your decision, I think you find different temperments in any breed of dog. My mom and dad bought me a border collie when I was a teen and he was great. When we went to the breeder to pick him out, she seperated all the males into the room as that was what we wanted. She said that the one that warms up to you and is friendly to you is usually your best pick. Border collies are herders though and Todd tried to herd the lawnmower, the car, etc. He was good to keep my little nephew and niece corraled in the yard too.

 

[malibuconlee]

There was one in the apartment complex we used to live in. She was very aggressive with the other dogs. Too bad really, because we got a pug puppy when we lived there, and our dog loved to play with the others and didn't understand why we had to heep her away from this one.

As for our dog. We have a 4 year old pug, and my only complaint about her is the shedding. She's fun, friendly (may be overly so). Good with kids, dogs, other animals. She even likes to go to my in-laws farm and let the horse sniff her!!

She loves to play, and when she's tired loves to cuddle.

 

[preb]

We currently have two cockers and also had one that died two years ago.

The one that died was a buff female, very friendly and very smart. She was easy to train and definately a lap dog. She was our princess!

The older one that we have now is a buff male, 7 years old, sweet as can be and dumber than dirt. He is very shy and cuddly, but can't follow a command or walk on a leash to save his soul. He is also agressive with other animals, but very friendly with people and children.

The younger one that we have now is a black male, 2 years old, and very active and smart. He is not a lap dog or very snuggly, but loves to run and play fetch. He has lots of funny quirks and cracks us up every day! He can get snippy and growly with children, but has never bit anyone. He just gets "nervous" and needs to be seperated when we have lots of kids or activity going on in the house.

One thing to consider with cockers is their health. Make sure to get yours from a good breeder, as they have many medical conditions that have been inbred.

Good luck with whatever your decide!

 

[luvmy2sams]

We've got two black cockers that are 11 and 10 years old. The 11 year old boy, Riley, can be the sweetest guy around, but he's also very tempermental. When he was lots younger, he used to flip out if I'd rearrange a room. For weeks he wouldn't come into the room unless he was forced, and then he would run through it as quickly as possible. He's not a big fan of kids, so he spends most of his time sleeping in his bed.

Our 10 year old girl, Daisy, is my lap dog. She follows me around everywhere and barely lets me sit down before she's splayed across my lap. She has a very sweet disposition...very loving towards everyone, but she definitely has her favorite person. She's very sensitive, too. One cross word or look and she heads under the bed to pout.

Both dogs are very protective of their family and neither are too fond of DD's lab puppy. We did have a cat for several years, though, and the dogs loved him! I'm not sure the feeling was mutual, however.

 

[TwinMom7]

We adopted our cocker spaniel 3 years ago from a local shelter. He was 11 months old at the time - so I don't know what kind of a life he led before we got him.

He's a black male and we love him dearly!!!

As for the pros and cons:

Cons - He's a dribbler. He gets so excited when someone comes to our house and we've learned to just tell people to ignore him for the first few minutes until he calms down. If you bend right down to pet him while he's excited, he'll squat and pee.

He's possessive. If he has a favorite toy or a snack, he'll usually take it and hide under the dining room table. If you walk past the table, he'll growl - like he's afraid we're going to take it away from him. We just ignore him. Everyone knows better than to mess with him if he's under the dining room table.

If he happens to get outside - he RUNS!!!! If he sees a bird or a rabbit, or a squirrel - lookout!!!!! That's the spaniel (hunter) in them.

Cocker Spaniels need to be groomed regularly. He goes to the doggy spa about every three months for a bath and a haircut.

Pros - He sheds very little, and has a beautiful soft, fluffy coat.

His maximum weight is 25-26 pounds, which is a nice sized dog.

He's very loving and protective of all of us. He likes to climb up on the couch and lay right beside me - just as close as he can get. At night, he sleeps right at my feet.

He spends most of his day, laying in the sunshine sleeping.

He's not hyper or yippy, but he does bark if he sees another dog walk past our house or when he hears one of us come home.

He's like one of my children and I wouldn't hesitate to get another cocker spaniel. Good luck with your decision!!

 

[suzannen]

We had one (male) growing up and my BIL currently has two (one male, one female). The three I've known were all extremely nervous dogs and very high maintenance. They were all scared of the rain and the snow and to get them to go outside for a walk in that kind of weather was a battle. They also had frequent bathroom accidents and/or threw up whenever anything upset them. One of the males was also aggressive and a biter. I do think they are very cute, but if I was ever going to get another dog, I'd get a calmer breed.

 

[tar heel]

My bil/sil have one and also had one previously. She's a beautiful dog, but she pees/poops whenever she's excited (which seems like most of the time to me) and chews everything she can get her teeth on. Both of their cockers have had some health problems, too. The first one had a hip ailment and this one had something with an eye.

 

[eeyore74]

Duncan (pictured below) is an overgrown cocker @40 lbs. He's very smart and sweet - loves other animals, loves people, was even the best dog around my 3 month old nephew. He does have separation anxiety, but that is most likely from being a rescue dog. He has also developed a leakage, as I call it. He pees in his sleep. That is a recent thing and the drugs the vet gave him are working great. It's kind of what some female dogs (and humans lol) get.

My last cocker was very protective of me. Did not like many other people, but was ok with animals, with the exception of the neighbors cat. (But no one liked the neighbor's cat.)

I would not hesitate to get another cocker. There's just something about them. I think with any dog, temperment and other issues can't always be blamed on the breed. Get a rescue if you can.

 

[eeyore74]

Duncan (pictured below) is an overgrown cocker @40 lbs. He's very smart and sweet - loves other animals, loves people, was even the best dog around my 3 month old nephew. He does have separation anxiety, but that is most likely from being a rescue dog. He has also developed a leakage, as I call it. He pees in his sleep. That is a recent thing and the drugs the vet gave him are working great. It's kind of what some female dogs (and humans lol) get.

My last cocker was very protective of me. Did not like many other people, but was ok with animals, with the exception of the neighbors cat. (But no one liked the neighbor's cat.)

I would not hesitate to get another cocker. There's just something about them. I think with any dog, temperment and other issues can't always be blamed on the breed. Get a rescue if you can.

 

[SRUAlmn]

We got a Cocker in 1992 (Bradie) and when she passed away last year my mom got another one (Bailee) who just turned 1 year old last month. We LOVE Cockers. They are sooooo loving and playful, they will play fetch for hours or lay by you and cuddle! Both of ours were black and white females and yes, they do have a little dribble problem. We always make sure we take her out right before we have company so that when they go to pet her she is empty Cockers are the only dog that my family will ever get. We love their temperament.

As for the question about how they relate to cats, my mom was babysitting my sisters cat for a month while she moved, and now Bailee thinks she is a cat. The cat was black and white like her and I think she thought it was her baby. They were so cute together!

They are a little territorial as previously mentioned. But that can be a good thing because she is always so protective of us. Not to the point of biting, but she will growl if someone comes near us in a way she doesn't like.

Here is Bailee (she has a bangs issue )

 

[damo]

We have only had cockers. Right now we have a blind and deaf 13 year old male and a cutsie, 6 year old female. Our first baby lived to 15 and was an absolute sweetheart. We absolutely love the breed. You really need to research the breeder well for cockers. They can be very inbreed and nasty. You need to find one that you love, and make sure you love the temperment of the parent dogs.

Here is a good cocker spaniel website for you with lots of information. www.zimfamilycockers.com

 

[Disney Doll]

Like most dogs, if you get one that is inbred a lot or whatever, you can have problems. They can tend to be tempermental.

We have an English Springer Spaniel...bigger than a cocker, but similar in appearnce. High maintenance coat/grooming issues, very lovable, friendly, LOTS of energy when he was younger...now he's 11, so he's a bit gray around the face and much more dignified. They are known to have a less high-strung personality than cockers, less tempermental. Springers are also a hunting dog, so will take off after "prey" if they get the chance!!!! When ours was a pup, he dove into a swamp in the woods near our house to "flush" the ducks...and it worked!!!!! And he was quite impressed with himself!!! Now he chases airplanes!!!

Dogs are great!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nancy]

We had one that was bought bought at a pet store....I would never go that route again, but it was before all the puppy mill stories came out. Our puppy was probable way overbred because anything that can go wrong with cockers went wrong with her. She had horrible ear problems, she developed kidney problems that required her to be on special food purchased from the vets. She had the usual cocker problems like the nervous piddling. She also liked to run and hunt down animals in the yard and caught and killed a few. She was very possesive of her toys. She liked the kids when they were older, but not when they were babies. We had to have her put to sleep when she was 13 due to all the medical issues...she just was so sick and hurting it wasn't fair to keep her alive.

 

[CookieGVB]

When she was younger (she's 4) she had a "nervous pee" problem...she has mostly outgrown that, but, I mention it because we had another Cocker and he did the same thing.

I was just going to mention the nervous pee thing. I've known a few people who had cockers who had the same problem. It's a pain in the butt. You go to pet them and be nice, and they pee. Ugh. I know they're not the only dog with this problem, but it seems to be a common problem.

Our neighbor has a cocker puppy, and he doesn't have this problem. He's very friendly, cute, and rambunctious. Typical puppy!

 

[aprilgail2]

We did a stupid thing and got a cocker spaniel before talking to the vet and trainers about the breed and boy do we regret it. As soon as you mention Cocker Spaniel to a trainer or vet they say they are aggressive dogs and not good for families with kids. We got one for my daughter when she was 3, he is actually good with her but her has bitten my mom so bad I had to take her to the hospital for stitches, he has snapped at my brother and he is very aggressive. The only person he is good with is my daughter! It took 2 years before the stubborn thing would stop goign to the bathroom in the house. He steals anything you leave laying around and shreds it .... if you try to take it from him he would rip your arm off. I would NEVER recommend a cocker spaniel to anyone. Last week when I was at the vet putting my friends dog to sleep some lady walked in with a cocker spaniel and wanted to leave it there, she said she had had it..I said Oh its a cute dog, she asked me if I wanted it and I told her no way, I had one that ripped my moms arm open as it was and she said that hers did the same thing to her young son!