cocker spaniel

[bobbersgone]

does anyone use a cocker spaniel for hunting?are they any good hard to train?wife got a new little puppy and i would like to know i it can be train. im new to the hunting with dogs. thanks

[LABS4ME]

American Cocker or English Cocker? Unfortunatley the American Cocker has pretty much been destroyed by the Show People. Most of them do not possess any field work instincts and their physical make-up is not geared for field work any longer. All that being said I'd still give it a go. My first hunting dog at the age of 13 was my Mom's Chiauhau/terrier mix. Darn decent little hunter till I got my 1st Shorthair at 16. I've seen pictures of field bred American Cockers from the 40's and 50's and you'd never guess you were looking at a cocker. The stories I've heard is that they were great little hunters. My neighbor had an American Cocker and it still possessed some of it's hunting instincts... but he really had problems with the "bug" eyes collecting debris and the long "dumbo ears" trapping water in it's ears. It probably picked up some of it's skills hunting with his Brittany, but unfortunatley the cocker has passed on... something to do with a genetic fault that damaged it's spinal cord from swelling and paralyzed it's back end. Tough to see a 5 year old dog not be able to get around. As far as I know there is one kennel of field bred American Cockers still around. I think he is in Wisconsin somewhere if memeory serves me right.

I've judged some true field bred (imported from Scotland) English Cockers at NAHRA events and I'll tell you they are the real deal! It's no wonder the gameskeepers in Scotland who run the hunting estates and train the rich peoples labs and goldens, personally own these little dynamos. While I'm still partial to my Labs, there will come a day where I'll import one of these little guys.

Good luck with your little guy!

Ken

[Mille Lacs Guy]

There are good field cockers available in the United States. Check out www.essft.com

This is a Springer Spaniel and Cocker Spaniel Website.

[LABS4ME]

Yep, the field dogs in America are all or for the most part English Cocker Spaniels. I guess my statement wasn't clear, as I made it sound like you had to import one. The ones I judged just happened to be imported. The point I was making is it is rare to find a field bred AMERICAN Cocker Spaniel.

I did a search and found a kennel still breeding them in California, take a look at the pictures of those dogs (all titled Master hunters) vs. what most people think of when hearing the term American Cocker spaniel. They look like the ones I saw in the old photos (they were taken in black and white).

as I stated I would really like to try one of these dogs.

Good luck!

Ken

[Failin'onPhalen]

I have a buddy who has two of these lil' poochs (english cockers). No doubt they are built for the field, but unfortunately he is dumbing them down to 'house-dog' status. I doggie-sat for them the other week and had opportunities to walk them in a local park...they are amazing, even with no field training, these lil' guys were flushing birds, rabbits, and anything else in the tall grass. They ran my golden down...and still had more to give. These two are brother/sister...37 and 30 lbs respectively...Huge ears, tight coat, black and white in color.

Anyways, I mention this because I could get the name of the place he got 'em from...I think in South Dakota...if anyone is interested.

Pete

PS - I am kinda bummed at my buddy for not 'working' these dogs...to each their own, I guess. I'm not sure if he really knows what it takes to raise these dogs - they jump on people constantly, run the house including all chairs/sofas, nip, bark incenstantly etc. I think I will buy him a book on these breed (thanks for the web link above)...then sneak it into his house and leave it on the coffee table...I also have a sneaking suspicion that my buddy (and wife)will give up on these dogs and want to get rid of them....My question to the experts: If after a year or two of not 'working' in the field, will these dogs have a chance to be trained properly... Any opinions on this?

[This message has been edited by Failin'onPhalen (edited 08-11-2004).]