1 pup or 2 - cockers ?

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minimex2

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We sadly lost our terrier a while back due to kidney failure. He was a full on terrier in every sence and had a very strong character.

We were thinking about 2 cocker pups but all breeders wouldnt give us 2 saying we'd not be able to cope with training 2 at the same time and wont be able to give individual attention.

My thinking is company for each other ( i work p/t and they'd be left max 3hours 3-4 times pw)

Has anyone taken on two pups at the same time and how did it go. Am i complete loon for thinking a brother and sister would appreciate each other but end up at different ends of the park off lead ?

thanks
 
The breeders are right, two spaniel pups is a nightmare. two of ours are the same age but kenneled separately and trained separately, but it can be difficult to get their attention back in the room and when they are together it could be a bit :mad::eek::rolleyes::confused::o

Edit to say we are both very experienced with training working spaniels, its not like they are pets, and 99% of people will only take on one spannel at a time for the very reason the breeders explain.

Go with the one, cockers can do well by themselves, ours are all kenneled and none of them are house destructive, they find the sofa and make the most of it. 3 hours really is nothing, one thing pups are good at is sleeping.

its very tempting to play with a pup and make it really hyper and crazy, but if you keep play on a quiet level and have heaps of toys and stimulation then really they should be fine.

I would reccommend buying from parents with a show backround than from workers, it does affect the temperment.
 
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Ditto this. They sound like responsible breeders if they won't let you have litter mates, it can work out but means a lot of time spent training them separately.
Leaving a pup for 3 or 4 hours won't do it any harm at all.
 
ThePinkPony said:
The breeders are right, two spaniel pups is a nightmare. two of ours are the same age but kenneled separately and trained separately, but it can be difficult to get their attention back in the room and when they are together it could be a bit :mad::eek::rolleyes::confused::o

Edit to say we are both very experienced with training working spaniels, its not like they are pets, and 99% of people will only take on one spannel at a time for the very reason the breeders explain.

Go with the one, cockers can do well by themselves, ours are all kenneled and none of them are house destructive, they find the sofa and make the most of it. 3 hours really is nothing, one thing pups are good at is sleeping.

its very tempting to play with a pup and make it really hyper and crazy, but if you keep play on a quiet level and have heaps of toys and stimulation then really they should be fine.

I would reccommend buying from parents with a show backround than from workers, it does affect the temperment.
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thanks for that. Can i ask why you say "show" type as appose "working" as lead to believe "working" type are generally more intelligent and dont suffer with as many medical issues as the "show" type.

thanks again
 
minimex2 said:
thanks for that. Can i ask why you say "show" type as appose "working" as lead to believe "working" type are generally more intelligent and dont suffer with as many medical issues as the "show" type.

thanks again
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This is always the common misconception. You do need to know the test scores of both parents but working dogs suffer hereditary illness just as commonly as show breeds.

The energy levels of workers differ from show, If you think, Our spaniels will cover 20 miles a day dogging back pheasant poults, this will be an every day job from last month untill december-ish. They need to be able to do the work, not drop condition and maintain it throughout the winter. We arent a big estate, i know dogs that do far more.

Thats an awful lot of stamina in one little dog, Working breeds have to take this nto account and are bred so a dog has the capacity to work consistently. Alot of worker bred cockers have a desire to work and need alot of stimulation because of this.

Show breeds dont have this desire to work as it isnt bred into them, they tend to be much more laid back. there are exceptions but this is usually the trend.

But that doesnt mean that you wouldnt be suitable for a working cocker at all, ive had them living in the house, and their trainability is immense, OHs favourite cocker will stay on command and on occasion OH has forgotten to ease him and the bloody thing has been stood in the same place for hours :rolleyes:, if you put the work in with a pup (i usually have our puppies sitting by signal and sometimes staying, at 8 weeks, just by gentle encouragement a little every day) then you will get rewarded. Cockers are a very loving, loyal breed.

Dont think cockers are geniuses though.. they can be incredibly dumb. :)
 
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Certainly when I got our puppy (GSD) the breeder said she never let's her dogs go more than one from a litter to any home but we could have a second puppy from different litter at a later date. The only exception to this rule was if the puppies were going into the police force. Her reasoning was that the puppies tend to bond to much together and this in turn makes training difficult. You could I guess get two puppies but from different breeders. I certainly do not think I could cope trying to train two at the same time.
 
dwteam said:
Certainly when I got our puppy (GSD) the breeder said she never let's her dogs go more than one from a litter to any home but we could have a second puppy from different litter at a later date. The only exception to this rule was if the puppies were going into the police force. Her reasoning was that the puppies tend to bond to much together and this in turn makes training difficult. You could I guess get two puppies but from different breeders. I certainly do not think I could cope trying to train two at the same time.
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I completley agree, my friend got 2 puppies as it was her brothers bitch that had been 'caught' (English pointer bitch, Japanese Chin dog!!!), they are a nightmare they have to be tied up or in a kennel pretty much all the time because they run away constantly, I do obedience training with them and have been advised they running away is probably because there is 2 of them, they go together, whereas with one they would be more inclined to stay at home. I haven't found the obedience training with both of them difficult, but I do train them separately and have only recently been training them together.
 
I have 2 Jack Russell pups at the moment, they're litter sisters that I bred and couldn't choose between so kept both - I'd say a mental decision lol! They aren't dependent on each other any way.

I kept my HWV when I was at mum's and mum had the litter sister, no problems there either as I trained Bridget and she trained Pea. But mum had kept 2 litter mates before and they were a nightmare lol! They were smashing if out separately but together they'd stick together and ignore us.

Normally I'd advise against having two together but if you have the time to put into two then it can work.

What about a puppy and maybe an older rescue dog? Or a couple of rescue dogs? They still get puppies
 
Im another who think these responsible breeders advice should be heeded.

I have 2 Dobes brother & sister who came from Dobermann Rescue at 18months and were a package. They had no training and were/are very focused on each other, I do train them separately and they are obedient but they have a bond and are inseparable.

I do not recommend it and I would never have done it if Id had a choice, having said that I wouldnt be without them, but I do not have that relationship with them that I have had with other dogs.
 
Yep I had a brother and sister (in my sig) and decided to rehome the female for a variety of reasons, never again!!! Well done to the breeders for being sensible about it.
 
I have 2 ESS pups, 10 months apart in age, same breeder and from the same male line. Def agree with having 1 pup at a time, Chloe was just nicely in tune with us before Alfie arrived, I was worried her training would regress when her little brother arrived but she has been a shining example to him and the age gap has made everything so much easier. I did consider litter mates because I wanted to have 2 at a similar age going forwards, but am very glad I didnt!!
 
To offer a different perspective: we've twice had two litter mates simultaneously and all in all it's been a resounding success. The first time was with two show cockers, sisters and it was a steep learning curve! In comparison to having a single dog, it was much, much harder - more time spent on training (separately and together) and more time at home. We lost an entire carpet to bored puppy teeth before we figured out that keeping each other company, even for a couple of hours, usually meant keeping one another in trouble! And, yes, one of the two has always been better trained than the other - but in fairness to her, she's a hell of a lot smarter!

The second time, working cockers, sister and a brother, has been a breeze. They're much of a muchness in terms of brains - though there the resemblances stop! - and have been very quick learners to become happy obedient dogs.

I now live away from home with one dog from each pair, but regularly visit my folks. In total, that's four daft spangles in one or other house (never for long in mine, it's not big enough!), and they're all great together, out with us or left lounging in large baskets in my parents' kitchen. The bonds I have with mine and that my parents have with theirs are incredibly close, but all the dogs will listen to any of us.

I'm not sure if we've just been lucky here, but I wouldn't nay say getting a pair - if you think you've got the time and stamina for it. None of my family are stay-at-home anything, we all work full time and did have to coordinate a schedule, but I'd do it again without a blink. In fairness to the breeders, though, the ones who sold to us were long-standing friends and knew we could cope!
 
I have mother and daughter who are 50% and 75% working spaniel, respectively. Much as I LOVE it when we get together with the other litter mate - the son/brother for play time. I do find it a bit of a nightmare when he comes to stay. I don't think I'd ever have two from the same litter.
 
I'm on my second set of litter mates and I'd say it's been very hard work with the latest two, purely because of the temperament of one pup. My OH deliberately chose the most outgoing puppy-bad move if you have two, IMO. they don't rely on each other: one is very independent, one loves our older dog.

The first two were a piece of cake, the one I chose is easy, his brother is very time consuming. Any decent breeder will probably refuse you two. Why do you want brother and sister? Until one or both are neutered, you'll have to keep them apart during the bitch's season.
 
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