Hi, after a previous post discussing which breed might suit us best we have decided that an english cocker might be the best choice. We were wondering if any owners out there wanted to give us some advice on the breed? First of all male or female? I would like a female but is there any difference in temperament and if we had her spayed how would that affect her? Also has anyone had problems with training, in particular toilet training? We know people who have a 5 year old male and he still has the odd accident and wasn`t toilet trained until 18 months old. Is this normal or could we hope for slightly speedier toilet training? Also how much hair do they shed, not that it particularly bothers me providing my hoover works!! Do they get really smelly or just average doggy smells? Any little pearls of wisdom would be appreciated!

English Cocker Spaniel come in two catagories, you have the:

Show Cocker and the Working Cocker, don't be fooled by the title both types of Cockers come under the title of English Cocker, both different strains with different looks and characters.

Do you know which you are interested in?

Probably the show type although we prefer the look of the working type!

I don't have Cockers now but I used to. I don't personally think there is any difference in the personality of males and females it's all down to each individual dog. Our male Cocker was very slow to be housetrained, I used to walk him for ages waiting for him to do a wee and he wouldn't go but would wee on the floor as soon as we got in the house! That may have just been him and not a breed thing lol. I didn't find that mine shed an awful lot but I used to keep them clipped so that probably helped. As for being smelly they are no worse than any other dog except for the end's of their ears which can get really stinky! They are so long that they drag along the ground and get wet and horrible and pick up all sorts of dirt lol. I used spaniel bowls to keep their ears out of the food and water as much as possible and I used to give the ends of their ears a wash every couple of days.
They really are lovely dogs and are great fun to have around.

There are quite a few Cocker owners on here (both types) so I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback. I currently have 8 Cockers (show-type) and have never found them difficult to house train as long as you put the effort in from the beginning, the same as for any puppy. Yes they shed hair on a fairly regular basis but not massive amounts. Regular, thorough grooming is a must as there is nothing worse than a Cocker whose coat has been allowed to become matted up and you'll also need to either learn how to trim your dog yourself or take him/her to a professional groomer every 8 weeks or so when adult. Once a Cocker is neutered (male or female), the coat can become thicker and woollier and need regular clipping and there can also be a tendency for weight gain if diet and exercise isn't carefully managed. The decision as to whether to go for a male or female comes down to personal preference - there is not a big divide in temperament between the sexes as there may be in some breeds & you can't make generalisations like Cocker bitches are calmer and easier as they are all have their own individual personalities. I've personally found our boys to be just as affectionate and willing to please as any of our girls. As to whether they are smelly, no not generally unless they have rolled in something unmentionable when out on a walk (as ours frequently do!) but a neglected coat will become smelly so we're back to the necessity for regular grooming again.

I have Working Cockers, two dogs and a bitch. I don't see a major difference in the personalities of the sexes so I'd say go with whichever appeals to you most. The bitch is smarter than the dogs but I think that's more down to her individual character than her gender. They're all equally playful and loving and equally energetic and headstrong as well! They do shed a fair bit but not what I'd call excessively, my light blue roan dog in particular leaves white hairs pretty much everywhere and food doesn't taste right to me any more if it doesn't come with a garnish of Cocker hair but they're not as bad as some dogs I've met. One of mine is a rescue so was house trained when I got her but I didn't find the other two particularly hard to toilet train, perseverance and patience is the key same as with any puppy. They don't smell as such but they are quite dirty dogs, because mine are constantly on the go they don't let anything stand in their way and they adore water, it's impossible to keep them out of it and often the muddier the better so I would say that they are fairly 'dirty', certainly far more so than my GSD who I had prior to them. One of my bitch's nicknames is 'the warthog' so that might tell you something about her mud wallowing habits   and they do like to roll, the smellier the better!

As stated before though there are big differences in Working Cockers and Show Cockers; Working Cockers are as the name suggests, bred to work and they need an outlet for their considerable energy. They are dogs that thrive when they have a job to do. Mine are working dogs as well as pets and they live for it, they are extremely athletic and active and if they don't get enough exercise and stimulation then they definitely let me know about it. My lot get 2-3 hours of off lead exercise and training every day, usually one walk of about 45 minutes, another one of 1 1/2 to 2 hours and a 15 minute individual training session and they can do a lot more than that, they have huge amounts of stamina. In general for most family situations a show type Cocker is going to be a better option as a pet than a working type. I utterly adore Working Cockers and can't imagine having anything else (except a Field Spaniel! ) but they do not make ideal pets for most average family situations. I know plenty of Show Cockers though, we meet up and walk with a lot of them and I think they're gorgeous, fab dogs, I've yet to meet one that can keep up with the workers but I know a few who'll have a go at it!

If you're looking for a Cocker make sure you go to a reputable breeder who breeds for health and temperament and who is clear on which type they are breeding, unfortunately there are all too many unscrupulous types around who fail to tell people they're buying a Worker or Worker cross pup and the people then wonder why their pup is so active and doesn't look like a typical Cocker, often these people are also breeding more unusual colours like tris, livers (chocolate) and 'and tans'. There should really be no reason at all to cross the two types and I would always steer well clear of anyone doing this, no reputable breeder of either type will do it.

Over the years, I've had lots of experience of Show and Working Cockers and am surrounded by both types daily.  Usually courtesty of my visiting mother.

Never, ever had a problem with either type for house training, you just have to train them properly and consistantly as with any other dog, but they are not known to be difficult and believe me I've trained a lot of them, the Show obviously take up much more time with grooming and pampering especially if you should be interested in showing, but even if not they do need a good brush through and trim quite regularly. Unless you have all their feathering trimmed off and then not so much to worry about. The Working breed just a quick brush, not anywhere near as much attention, some lines don't even grow that much at all.

IMO, (well actually it's a fact) Shows are slightly more vocal than the Working Cocker, even though both types love to swim, once dry I've never noticed any smell, but feet and under belly have always been washed, whether that makes a huge difference I don't  know, but I've always had comments that you can't smell dog in my house, even though I can daily have 8 visiting at one time. So I would not say that either types of Cocker are smelly.

The exercise thing is what you need to concentrate on though, Working need much more as already said on the other post.

There isn't too much difference when Cockers are mature, bitches do mature faster though, my mum's males are always willing to please, tail always wagging, whereas the bitches although enjoy sitting on your lap and having the odd pamper tend to enjoy independance too. some of the Working Cocker bitches (not Show) can get a bit of a stubborn streak though, and when you ask them to do something they look at you as if to say "You do it!"  But neither are difficult to train at all, as a breed they love to please and I've always found them very easy.

All in all, they are a pleasure, not really any dog on dog problems as they are not dog aggressive, or large enough for other dogs to want to show authority over, very friendly with people and other animals.

The Working as long as from a good breeder you will be ok, the Show which you will have much more breeder choice of be extra careful to get the best temperaments.

All in all, it comes down to exercise, and grooming.  Personally having a young family the Show lines would be better suited to yourself, the Working pups are more full on than the Show so I think that would be your best bet.

I am just saying well done on making a choice and now you are doing research, if it only all those wishing to get a puppy would do the same. Please do not think I am being patronising when I say well done it is a refreshing change to find some one who is prepared to wait and not rush out the moment the decision to have a pup is made.

No advice on the purchase of the cocker or for which type as it is over 60 years since I owned them and the dogs of today do not resemble those I owned, they were family pets but of a working strain and were as tall as the springer if not taller.

Good luck, hope you find the perfect friend for you and your children.

they were family pets but of a working strain and were as tall as the springer if not taller.


That's funny, my mother had a big girl approx 25 years ago, she loved her as she worked well in deep water, big solid girl, she used to call her the water wader.

The ones she has now and for many years are much smaller, you don't see too many of the big ones now, I know someone with one and people are always saying she must be a cross with a lab.   The workers as we know don't have a standard size, but I loved my mum's big girl.

If they are like the American cockers on my forum they might have a slight tendency to excitable or submissive weeing as puppies, but that is usually something they grow out of. Other than that the ones I know are cheerful merry happy dogs, very wiggly and friendly with everyone - typical spaniels!

In reply to Carrington, the dogs we had were from a kennels with the affix Treetops, well I think it was that. One of the dogs we bred would have stood at least as tall as a GSD but would not cover as much ground, he was very powerful and determined but a very soft mouth would bring the eggs in with never so much as a crack

Mind you, think GSDs were smaller then

I have three show types, the two girls were both house trained by 5 months and the boy by 6 months.  They are all very affectionate, but the girls seem to need to be closer to me all the time.  They don't get smelly as I bath them as soon as there is a whiff, I don't 'do' smelly dogs. Regular grooming is essential to keep matts at bay.  We used to have working springers and they will walk as much as they did, (read *all day*) however they are just as happy with a good run round the park if I am short on time.  Well done on researching the breed before committing to a puppy.

That's funny, my mother had a big girl approx 25 years ago, she loved her as she worked well in deep water, big solid girl, she used to call her the water wader.

The ones she has now and for many years are much smaller, you don't see too many of the big ones now, I know someone with one and people are always saying she must be a cross with a lab.   The workers as we know don't have a standard size, but I loved my mum's big girl.

I have one like that, my 3 and a half year old rescue Tilly is the biggest Working Cocker bitch I've seen. She's 19" at the shoulder and weighs about 18.5kg, she's very fit and muscular with a really broad chest and ribcage and she's so powerful, she'll go through any cover like a bulldozer. She's solid liver but if she was l&w she'd easily pass for a Springer, as it is Joe Public usually think that's what she is and even some slightly more 'doggy' people often think she's a Field Spaniel. I like the big workers too, my boys aren't as big as Tilly but they're still a lot taller and rangier than the pocket rocket types you tend to see now.

Sorry for taking this OT!!

Thankyou everyone! Have been recommended a breeder so will start there. She actually has some puppies ready for their new homes in May. Not sure that we`d want to rush and get one of them but we will be going to see them to get a good idea whether she`d be the right breeder and the temparemants of mum and pups (and other relatives!!) We`re willing to wait til her next litter if needs be! Also having read the comments will not worry so much about sex but just the individual puppies character! Thanks.