Cocker spaniel as first family pet?

beertons

Cavaliers tend to have a great temperament, but lordy... the health issues 😔 Almost all of them succumb to heart problems which take the majority of Cavs by age 10-11, and cause quality of life issues (and expensive medication) for several years before that.

This. ^

11 years we had ours, I'm still not over her loss.

The Red Ace

Like a lot of other people who replied I have had spaniels for the past forty years mostly the brown springer spaniels , great hunting dogs and most with a great temperament towards children, last dog I had was a cross between a springer and a cocker, he was the best of all, kids could pull drag or lay down on him with no retaliation, lasted thirteen years. Replaced him with a 3 month old cocker and is he a handful, he cannot stop chewing everything that comes his way even at 8 months and I reckon he will be at it for another 8 months, he is very affectionate but does he need space to get rid of his energy. One other breed that I have had in the past was a Weimaraner, actually had two, superb temperament look them up, could be quite pricey. Best of luck with whatever dog you buy.

micar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120393173#Comment_120393173

My sister's Cocker who's quite small for the breed is 10 or 11 and still looks like a puppy.

griffin100

We have a 'red' cocker and he's a great family pet. He came from a non working line. Affectionate, can walk all day without a problem and no aggression towards strangers. However he needed a bit of work when younger to manage a tendency to snap if upset. He also barks - a lot!! He's also not that great with other dogs, he's not aggressive he just doesn't like them despite lots of socialization. That said it only took about 10 days to get him used to our new dog when our other dog died. As a pup he was an energetic destructive bundle of joy, but lots of pups are. Now he's happy with a 45 minute walk every day and gets on great with our second dog (we have an acre of a garden so they can run around all day if they want).

Our friends have a similar dog that came from a working line. He's extremely friendly but jesus at two years old now he's still unbelievable hyper - unmanageable I'd say. He never stops running and jumping.

Interestingly a friend who's a vet recommended not getting a cocker due to the spaniel rage issue but not sure how common that is.

tritriagain

im nearly 50 and have dogs all my life. I got a black cocker spaniel about 7 years ago and I can honestly say he is the best dog I ever had. I love them all but he is just fantastic. sitting on my lap now but would run the fields all day as well. just perfect. I also have a 1 1/2 year old golden retriever who is a high energy loveable rogue. the cocker more or less trained him for me. if the GR gets out of hand in the house one growl from the cocker quietens him down. if you're prepared to put in the time a cocker is a great pet. I can't comment on the red rage but I have certainly heard it exists and my sister was bitten by a GC when younger so maybe something in it

Gael23

Had a cocker spaniel for 15 amazing years.

can’t recommend enough. We got him from a reputable breeder, rescue wasn’t the right choice for a number of reasons.

He was fine with children, the only thing was he could jump on a child out of pure friendliness and knock them over with his weight, but no aggression of any kind.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410268#Comment_120410268

Interestingly a friend who's a vet recommended not getting a cocker due to the spaniel rage issue but not sure how common that is.

Rage syndrome is rare, but it does exist, and not just in cockers. It also affects some other breeds, including Golden Retrievers! 😮

One of my fosters had rage syndrome. Male, golden cocker, about 10 months old when I fostered him. From a VERY reputable breeder, came with all his pedigrees and IKC registration.

The first time he attacked, it was absolutely terrifying. One minute he was fine, the next he was staring and snarling and biting. This happened a couple more times. He was totally unpredictable. My own cocker became terrified of him.

Unfortunately the family that surrendered him did not tell the rescue the whole truth of why they were giving him up (they claimed it was due to lack of time to exercise him). But when I reported back to the rescue what was going on, they contacted the former owners who then admitted he'd been biting and attacking them too. They thought the rescue would be able to "sort him out" and find him a new home.

He was genuinely too unpredictable to rehome so the rescue consulted with their vet who agreed the best thing to do was to humanely euthanise him. Very sad to see, as otherwise, he was a beautiful dog.

The DayDream

I worked in an animal shelter for 3 years where 75% of the dogs we had in were pit bulls (not in Ireland). But despite their reputation they were almost never surrendered because they bit a person in the family, while I remember it happening with cocker spaniels more than once. I'm not saying get a pit bull (they're restricted here anyway I believe) just for comparison sake as I believe their reputation as snappy is well deserved.,

Of course, I also think most of the bites likely happened because the kids did something to invade the dogs space, especially while it had a toy, treat, or was eating etc.

If your kids are old enough/mature enough/obedient enough to not do things that might cause a dog to snap after it's explained what not to do, chances of a bite go down IMO. But you never know.

I have a collie who is just the sweetest dog and so gentle, she is afraid of kids if they're rambunctious especially, but will only run away, has never growled or bared teeth at all. My 2 year old nephew is visiting and he was petting her nicely as she was lying on her leather chair, but then he decided suddenly to go for a headbutt. Lowering your face into a dog's face is the absolute worst thing you can do to provoke a bite (and since the face is right there, that's what's gonna get bit and scarred). Normally my heart would be in my mouth but I had (almost) no fear at all as I know my dog and she didn't react at all other than to sit up and look at me like, 'What the heck?'

So, I vote for a collie. Shelters are full of them and my girl was 80 euro with all vaccinations and spaying included from the rescue I got her from. She's 11 now (got her at 11 months) and never needed the vet once other than routine checkups and booster shots. They are generally nowhere near as inbred as other breeds so have the healthy attributes of a mongrel. (My sister who's kid is with us this weekend has a lab, great with the kid, but is less than half the age of my dog and already had to have a hip surgery and might need another, and has skin problems.

I have heard the odd story of mean collies but they usually belonged to mean farmers who didn't socialize them enough. They do need a lot of exercise and stimulation though, I give mine 2 walks a day and almost every day a game of fetch with a ball and ball launcher, weather permitting.

dublin49

i have a Cocker border collie cross and she is a dot,I have seen a cocker Spaniel chasing birds on Dollymount strand and I was gobsmacked by the endless energy,never seen the like .