Are Cocker Spaniels Good Dogs?

[RocketMan]

SWMBO wants to get a dog for companionship. She is a homemaker, and of course I am away at work for 11-12 hours a day, so having a pooch around would be helpful.
Her first choice would be a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but one of those is likely out of our reach at the moment.  Her second choice would be a cocker spaniel.  Can anyone offer opinions as to what kind of dog they are for an adult household?
Temperament, behaviors, general health issues, good companions, etc?  Do they do well in fenced yards?  Do they tend to bark at silly stuff?
I've had dogs over the years, and so has my wife, but neither of us has any experience with cocker spanielo s.

[Azrael256]

Good dogs, IMO.

You have to keep their ears clean, more so than a lot of other breeds, but it's not that hard to do.  There's an ear wash that you can get to use once a month.  Grooming will be an expense, but you can DIY it if you don't need the dog to look like a show dog.

Energetic, but not crazy, and they don't take too much effort to wear out.

[vaskidmark]

All dogs are good dogs - just listen to the folks saying "Good dog" any time the beast does something other than crap on the rug.

Why are you not looking at a "rescue dog" from the local shelter?  With some decent guidance and taking the time to assess your choices you can find great companions for a lot less than a purebred.  See if the place has a room where you & wife can be with the dog for a decent length of time (no, 10 minutes is not anywhere near long enough) and will also let you take the dog out for a walk.

But before you go looking for dogs, sit down and figure out exactly why you want a dog and exactly what you want it to do/not do and how much maintenance you are willing to put into the beast.  Then compare those traits against breed characteristics - not the other way around.  Remember, a half-hour walk for the dog also means a half-hour walk for the human.  It also means carrying a bag full of dog poo for some portion of the walk  Brushing a dog once a day also usually means dealing with several cubic feet of hair - great if you knit but otherwise not so wonderful.  Have you ever given a dog a bath?  In your bathroom?  (That's why doggy bathhouses are so popular - they get to deal with hair-clogged drains as well as having all those drying and grooming tables, not to mention tubs that do not require you to bend over and break your back when scrubbing Feideau.)

Seriously, a goldfish is a lot less work.  Consider starting there.

stay safe.

[RocketMan]

Thanks for the information and advice, skid.  Both my wife and I have had dogs over the years, so we're not new to this.  My wife has had her heart set on a CKCS for many years, but one of those is just out of our reach at the moment.  The cocker spaniel is her second choice.
We have looked at rescue dogs several times recently, but the ones available locally are pretty much Chihuahua mixes or pit bull mixes, neither of which is of interest to us for various reasons.  If there were a better selection available we would go for a rescue.
Fish ain't happenin'.

[zxcvbob]

Bath?  Why can't the dog just take a "dust bath" like a chicken?  That's what mine does.  (don't know where that dog finds such stinky dust to roll around in...)

[Azrael256]

Bath?  Why can't the dog just take a "dust bath" like a chicken?  That's what mine does.  (don't know where that dog finds such stinky dust to roll around in...)

Mine somehow come in reeking of "outside" every time they go out to pee.  It can be right after a bath, too.  They go out smelling like baby shampoo (what you have to use on Pugs) and they come in reeking anyway.

[RoadKingLarry]

When my Lab needs a bath we just go down to the pond, then we come back to the house and I rinse her off with the hose.







Then we give her a bath in the tub with dog shampoo and stuff.

[mtnbkr]

With Cocker Spaniels, you need to be very careful with regard to breeding, bloodline, etc.  There was a LOT of bad breeding in years past and many cockers are, well, crazy. 

Another breed to consider, if you're open to suggestions, is a Havanese.  They're complete and total companion animals.  Their ancestry is purely as a companion (and not in the Firefly sort of way).  However, unlike many smaller breeds bred as companions, they're not fragile, nor are they nippy.  We've had one for a couple years.  He tolerates the abuse my kids dish out (unlike many cockers) and enjoys playing rough himself.  However, he's just as willing to cuddle up with you on the couch to watch a movie.  They love to be with their people.  Mine greets me every day when I come home as if I had been gone for weeks.  When I'm at home, he's always nearby (laying by my feet as I type this).  When I work from home, he curls up under my chair or against my feet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havanese

Chris

[Jamisjockey]

Cockers always seem a little off to me, and that's the well behaved ones.  Not a fan, they seem to have a nippy temperament.
If she's home alone, why not a loyal dog with some meat like a lab? 
I'm not a fan of picking dogs on their looks alone.

[geronimotwo]

don't cockers pee when you pet them as an act of submission?  a friend of mine had one, and maybe it was just his, but everytime i would come in the house it would pee when you greeted it.  (maybe i'm just that scary?)

[Boomhauer]

don't cockers pee when you pet them as an act of submission?  a friend of mine had one, and maybe it was just his, but everytime i would come in the house it would pee when you greeted it.  (maybe i'm just that scary?)

Sounds like that dog had issues.

[grampster]

All the cockers I have known were snippy and they FART...their FARTS are epic.

[Lee]

I had a female cocker as a kid. She was a great dog. My buddy had a male and that dog could be aggressive and snippy at times. I always wondered if they contributed to that. Ours was always friendly and well behaved.
I have two Cavashons right now (mix of Cavalier and Bichon). I may be biased, but I've never had better dogs.
They have the best characteristics of both breeds. I'd hold out for what you really want. It's a 12-15 year commitment/relationship.

[castle key]

If a CKCS is what you really want but maybe the freight is a bit steep, consider breed specific rescue groups.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
ACKCS Rescue Trust, Inc.
Renee Bruns, National Director, cavalierrescue@cox.net

http://cavalierrescuetrust.org/

Info gathered from the AKC website.

[RoadKingLarry]

don't cockers pee when you pet them as an act of submission?  a friend of mine had one, and maybe it was just his, but everytime i would come in the house it would pee when you greeted it.  (maybe i'm just that scary?)

I thought that was Chris Matthews...

[BlueStarLizzard]

Health: in addition to massive ear infections they are prone to nasty skin issues. Grooming is not optional. It's a must. You can learn to do it yourself, but letting it go will lead to skin issues even if the dog has healthy skin.

The American Cocker is basically a bird dog dumbed down because some idiot wanted a pretty house dog. If you know about bird dogs, you will understand that they don't really have all that much smarts to begin with (and before someone gets all out of wack about that. I HAVE a bird dog. She's smart for what she is, but even I can admit she's not the most brilliant dog in the world)
Now, if you can find an English Cocker (what the American evolved from) that's a diffrent story. Solid, healthy little dogs, good for feild and home.

Personally, I'd wait and spend for the CKC you really want or try the CKC rescue.

[Blakenzy]

I personally have met two Cocker Spaniels. One was the neighbors dog (black and white) and was completely haywire crazy. Crazy as in they had to keep it on a leash when there were people over. Not necessarily dangerous but hyperactively impolite and somewhat noisy. The second one (a beige) belonged to my aunt and cousins and was the sweetest livingroom dog you could imagine. She would go around greeting all the guests with laces on her ears. Real cute and well behaved. At most she would rest her head on your leg to get petted.

I can't speak about their pedigree, but I am pretty sure the environments they grew up in and the human interaction they received were instrumental in their outcome. Their attitudes roughly reflected that of their human families. Both had large yards to exercise in.

One thing to note though, they both seemed to have a tendency of killing pets that were smaller than themselves, particularly those of another species. I have heard of hamsters, kittens. I know my aunt lost a cherished blue crested amazon parrot to her dog.

[Neemi]

I have some close friends that rescued a cavalier - seems like a great dog.

What we did was make a list of dog traits we wanted and kept an eye out at shelters and in our local ads online. We ended up meeting and getting our dog from an online ad - just another venue for dog-searching.

If I may suggest: getting a pre-trained adult dog is fantastic. No accidents and the kids love seeing him do tricks. 

[RocketMan]

Looks like we may go with the cocker spaniel.  The owner is stopping by shortly with the pup, as she is in town on business and has the dog with her.  Eight week old male, current on shots and other important stuff.
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice, everyone.  If this deal falls through for some reason I will go back through the thread and use some of the advice when we renew our search.

And welcome to new member Neemi.  Thank you for your advice, as well.

[Neemi]

Thanks - been reading the forum here and there for a while, finally got around to making my own profile.

Good luck with the cocker spaniel.

[41magsnub]

I've been around several with different owners and didn't care for any of the dog's personalities.  Nippy, bark at everything, and very territorial.

[roo_ster]

Are not Brittany's the same size as Cockers?  Might be a good alternative.  I don't think they have gotten too popular to have been enstupidated by over-breeding, yet.

We love our 10YO female German Shorthaired Pointer.  She is small for a GSP, about 45lbs.  She has proved herself trustworthy with the kids and a protector of the kids, too.  She might not kill a bad guy, but she sure as shinola will get a DNA sample, as one half-wit illegal alien found out*.



* Note: when you have backed up against a fence a doggie and the 4YO little girl she adores more than anything on this Earth...and the normally mild & quiet doggie is barking demonically at you as you approach, back the #&!@ off.  She WILL protect her pup.

[41magsnub]

Brittany is bigger (though small for a hunting dog), smarter, and more friendly.

[French G.]

I grew up in a house of Brittanys, wonderful family dogs.

[RocketMan]

Here is Rocket playing with fistful.



Yes, "Rocket" is his name.  He was running around exploring like a little rocket when the breeder stopped by with him.  The subject of names came up and I jokingly suggested "Rocket" not really expecting my wife to go for it as he is really her dog.  She liked it and said that was his name.
And he is bonding to me more than her at this point.  A very affectionate little guy.
Paper trained already, but we have started the outdoor potty training.