Is it possible to work a show type Cocker?

[Mearas]

Just wondering, from my last thread, I am still considering whether to get another puppy? I was wondering if it would be possible to have a show cocker spaniel that could say do 3 -5 days a season. Or would we be laughed out of the field The reason I ask this is I am not sure if I could cope with the energy of a working cocker full time.

 

[stormox]

you wouldnt be laughed at for their looks- but they just dont have the instincts that are needed in the shooting field and are specifically bred for in the working cocker.
It would be a lot more difficult to train a show cocker to hunt, or retrieve compared to the workers.
You could consider a mixture of the two- a few of the pet/agility ones are bred that way, and you would be able to tell which ones had the better working instincts while in the nest.

 

[Mearas]

I didn't realise that people bred a combination. Can you tell me where I can find out about them and breeders. Please.

 

[PorkChop]

The thing is to train them to a high enough standard will take the same amount of time whether you work them five days a season or every week.

A show spaniel is not going to have the same hunting instinct as one that is bred to work.

As long as your dog is obedient and does the job nobody will give two hoots what breed it is

 

[stormox]

Probably the best thing to do would be to get in touch with breeders with stud dogs, and if they breed mainly workers ask if the dog has covered any show- agility-pet bitches, I think this would be more likely than a specifically working bred bitch being mated to a show stud dog, though I suppose that is possible.
Also, within working cockers, the lines bred for trialling, because they want speed and flashiness, are likely to be 'hotter' than the working cockers that are bred from steady, reliable, workmanlike shooting dogs.

 

[Mearas]

Thank you Stormox and LJR. This has been very thought provoking. Would you be able to suggest some good 'workmanlike' lines I may consider please? Also is there any advantages or disadvantages to buying an older part trained dog? Another thought I had was a Field Spaniel. a friend has one and she is a delightful little dog but I have also heard that they can be very tricky. Noisy and disruptive or is this just the owners responsibility.

 

[ralph and maverick]

I have a working x show cocker, she is very clever, but isn't as busy as a full working cocker (the ones that I have met anyway), I don't work her but she i do agility (not competing) with her and obedience, she picks things up very quickly, to my trainers amazement! She is fantastic at retrieving, we have a "special" ball which comes out for every walk, and you can see her really working and using her nose when we hide it.
Also she doesn't have the full coat of the show type, except for the ears!
Token picture

 

[stormox]

PMd you

 

[CorvusCorax]

The best way to select a dog for a purpose IMO is to go to a trial or a show or a training club and see what you like the look of and research those kinds of breeds or lines.

Please remember that the attributes that make good working dogs are the ones that make them slightly more annoying as pets - there are lots of dogs out there with an on and an off switch but if you want oomph on the field, you often have to take a bit of oomph at home as well!
Lots of breeds have been damaged because that oomph has been bred out of them to make them 'easier' pets and they don't have the genetics or the aptitude to do the job they were intended/bred for - me, I'd rather have the oomph!!

 

[Dexter]

Not a cocker and a very different type of working, but I have a working bred whippet. The difference between him and a show type whippet is significant. He was bred to rabbit and would be exceptional at it, but its just not my thing. His job for me, is racing and he is brilliant at it and I'm hoping for big things as he hits full maturity

We are about to start flyball which he loves and definitely serves to take the edge off him. We do lots of training and lots and lots and lots of walking! Usually 2 hours a day with 4 to 6 hours on a weekend, but he would manage with less, thats in part due to me needing to walk an awful lot as rehab after breaking my spine. He will never be as easy as a "pet dog" and I initally had a very, very steep learning curve with him. But now I've learnt to manage him and channel him, hes the best dog I have ever owned

So not what you asked at all but I just wanted to point out that it is possible to have a working bred dog with a very strong work ethic without actually working them. I dont think I will ever have anything other than a working bred whippet. My other dog is a pet version, and while I adore her, she doesnt have the extra something that my young dog has

 

[Mearas]

Thanks again everyone this is so helpful to me in trying to come to a conclusion.
Ralph and Maverick I think your dog is really super. Thanks also Cave Canem. We have a busy life but the show cockers we have had previously have fitted into it really well. Having lost our 15year old cocker just before Christmas I was not ready to have another one until a few days ago when the postman knocked and as I was walking out I was looking for my little dog around my feet. I realised that instead of just being upset I was really missing her and began to think how nice it would be to have a puppy again.

 

[CalllyH]

My cousin has a show type cocker and he's like a teddy bear, absolutely stunning dog but if you turned up on a shoot with him you would be a very brave person!

 

[justsoamy]

I know I’m several years late to this thread (stumbled upon it in a Google search for something else), and I just had to say my bit. Of course show type Cockers can work! The instinct is there, it just needs to be trained. My show type Cocker had a very successful career as a beating dog, working 4 days a week every season. Best dog on the shoot. She was brilliant at catching runners, and had an excellent nose on her - often flushing out birds that other dogs would run over. Being a show type she also had a steadiness that the working bred dogs never had, so she was often sent into thickets etc when the other dogs were held back. Don’t discount show types, they are still working dogs, they just need to be reminded.