Cockers???

[Guest Buck]

av always fancied a wee choclate coloured cocker bitch for the line, but am not to sure how good they r. how do you lot rate em for trainability????????????

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

Not a beginners gun dog, some days they work brilliantly and the next time they just do your head in.

[Guest Bodach]

A few on my shoot, a joy to watch, only thing about them is they are knacked by lunch time as they work so hard, so the guy have a brace run one in the morning and other in afternoon. One thing I dislike about them is they seem to have a habit of jumping up at you when you least expect it and the lenght of them means its two paws on the nuts! Not ideal first gun dogfor the novice trainer.

 

B

[lampinglurcher 36]

if you haven't owned a working gundog before, i'd stay away from cockers, they seem to love hunting one day, and the next they dont want anything to do with it! i would disagree with bodach though, they only get tired when they are unfit - much the same as any other dog! :11: brilliant nose and style of hunting though.

[v-max 2]

Hello these dog's are every whare now in my area.Great wee dog's if fit will work all day like any dog but i think iv only seen 1 or 2 out of hundred's that were steady but the rest the potentual was there.Iv just got 1 pick it up 2-3 week's black-white chest dog.

[bobby 3]

spend a bit of time with them and they are the best...dont try to compare them with springers...mine would work 7 days a week...springers will enter cover just for the sake of it a cocker will use its brain and its nose.

[Guest scraget05]

not a beginners dog i dont think!! they are hard work to train so i have been told!! ive seen one or 2 working and the one,s i have seen dont no when to stop!! but dont get me wrong they are not all like it!! but they are still a spaniel and they are all crazy

[COMPO 54]

i agree with the statement about springers entering all cover but cockers using there brains and nose, mine will only enter cover if she gets a scent, she is not as hard a hunting dog as i have seen and can infuriate me a bit, she is also a non-retriever (blame my training) however as a beater's dog i would say she is nearly perfect, you dont want a dog putting its head down, and hunting on too far (a fault i have seen loads on beating lines) you dont need a beaters dog to retrieve thats a peg dog or a picker ups dog job,

 

i wouldn't say they are not a beginners dog, they just have a different attitude and manner, get one if you like them, we all learn from our mistakes, mine is a great ferreting dog :11: you do need to be firm with them though as a keeper i knew said (he used to keep cockers) "let em take an inch and you wont see them again" he also used to say they needed a 10mile run before they started work, i have noticed that with mine let her do one thing wrong and it is an error that will be very hard to correct

 

here's mine on the last day she came ferreting with me, marking holes and bushing rabbits

Edited October 22, 2006 by COMPO