cocker spaniels hunting

alsace royal

hi all

just looking for your toughts on cockers, iv shot over germen pointers for quite a while now but thinking of a cocker there a breed i really like but how do they hold up in the field?
just looking for your experiance of them, im prob going to go with a cocker anyway but just want your toughts.
im not overly gone on labs or springers its nothing personal just my own preferance, i had a cocker when i was very young and not coming from a shooting family he was never worked but is prob why i have such a like for them

td5

A good hard hunting Cocker will hold its own with any springer. But make sure that you are getting one from a reputable breeder of working/ trialing Cockers and not something bred for the pet market.

wirehairmax

Cockers are great fun to shoot over. For the size of them they are very brave and it seems to me that the thicker the cover the more they like it. We had a cocker that I swear used to be almost smiling after coming out of a ditch or drain.
Unfortunately good working cockers are hard to find these days. If you do get one you will be very lucky.
And if you think springers have selective hearing on a scent, wait till you see a cocker in action. You'll be kept fit anyway if you want to keep up. No such thing as a leisurely stroll when a cocker decides it won't wait for you to catch up. Youll be half trotting most of the time! Great craic though and very exciting to hunt with.

charlie10

had two cockers and wouldnt go back to one , i supoose they can be a bit too small at times , and its hard to beat a springer as opposed to a cocker ,

sheebadog

charlie10 wrote: »

had two cockers and wouldnt go back to one , i supoose they can be a bit too small at times , and its hard to beat a springer as opposed to a cocker ,

Your right. Small noises useless b******s

snipe02

sheebadog wrote: »

Your right. Small noises useless b******s

don't get ya could you explain . Please ... Thanks

allan450

sheebadog wrote: »

Your right. Small noises useless b******s

that is a very brave remark their mate.a good cocker is as good as any springer.im sure you will get alot of response from cocker owners.their coming more common in ireland now so watch this space.:D

charlie10

the one thing i found with the cocker now correct me if its only the one i had but i used to flight with him and when going in and out of the pond and sitting he used to lock up it was like his coat wasnt up to the job , now im open to critism on this ,this cocker was going on seven so

alsace royal

charlie10 wrote: »

the one thing i found with the cocker now correct me if its only the one i had but i used to flight with him and when going in and out of the pond and sitting he used to lock up it was like his coat wasnt up to the job , now im open to critism on this ,this cocker was going on seven so

ya your not the first person that mentioned that but that said the people who said it to me admited that it may be very cold over several hours when they found this, flighting a bay in mid winter for teal/mallard ect,
now to be honest it would be used for some pond flighting but mainly woodcock and snipe with the odd day of pheasent

goss101

i've had one for the last 13 years, retired him last year, still use him for a half hour to pick up pigeons in standing crops and he's deadly at it, have to say he was the most hard working and brave dog i've ever shot over, great nose and lovely to see him on a trail, mostly used on pheasants but retrieved very well off the water from our boat for ducks, often seen him turn hmself upside down going threw barbed wire fences and not a yelp out of him just keep going. he was from a hunting strain though and had no papers, hard enough to get a good hunting strain now though. here's a pic of him with my new recruit. 15 month old pointer.