To buy a puppy or not?

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Mearas

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We had our 4th Show type Cocker Spaniel pts aged 15 years 5 days before Christmas. I feel so sad to be without her but I am also enjoying the lack of commitment. She did need a lot of care in the last few months of her life.

However, my OH is desperate for another puppy but I am not sure I am ready yet. To add to this OH would like to have a working type to take shooting occasionally but I am not sure if I will find the working strain to active? Also we have always had bitches before and as we do not plan to breed would we be better having a dog rather than a bitch? Also docked or not?

It is OH birthday in May and it is a lovely idea to have a puppy then and the house does seem empty without one. But there just seems to be so many decisions to make and I don't know whether just to get on with it and trust that I will love the new puppy as much as I have our previous ones or is this to much of a risk and I should wait until I really feel ready?

I would really appreciate your thoughts.
 
As you realise, puppies are massive amounts of work/commitment. I'd say, go for it if you can take time off work to settle in a baby and if you get a decent breeder (talk to Alec Swan on here, he has a very good breeder of working cockers handy)

I think you fall in love with puppies quite easily. They're all different characters and you love them for different reasons. I would go out and get another (I did, a fortnight to the day)

A lot of working strains are automatically docked. The way you train them contributes to how active they will be: choose a puppy carefully, be guided by the breeder and tell them our requirements. I have 3 springers, one a lot more active than the others, but he's been trained to be calm in the house, so when he's out doing the gun dog thing, he's a different dog but still very controlled. Training and consistency are all important.
 
If you're not ready in your heart, I would wait.

Also May is a tight deadline to find a really good pup IMO. This is a dog you may have for 15 years, I personally would want to get it right. Do you think you will find out enough about lines, dogs, parentage, background, what sort of dog you want, health issues etc, in that time frame? If you think you can, go for it.

Re working strains - not the same breed but I spent 18mths to 2 years going to trials and looking at dogs before making the switch from show GSDs to working line and I STILL had my work cut out with my young dog and I still do two years down the line.
At my own club there are a couple of people with dogs, the first litter they went to see, picked one purely on the strength that it was male or female, and now have dogs which do not have the genetics or aptitude for what they want to do, work wise, even though they thought they knew what they were doing.
Do not feel obliged to take a pup from the first litter you see, again, this is a dog you will have for a long time hopefully, you are perfectly obliged to walk away.

Don't expect the next dog to be the same as your last, they are all different and expecting too much can cause resentment towards the dog, which of course they pick up on and can create undesirable side effects.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.
 
I agree with CC, time is short and to find a puppy that is fully health tested from good working parents will take some time, you might even have to go on a waiting list.

I sense your heart is not really in it for a puppy and I agree its one hell of a commitment and then there is no guarantee that it will end up as a good worker.

We all grieve differently when I lost my Battersea dog I waited 4 yrs before I got another dog but I did have a baby in the meantime. When I lost my dog of a lifetime I waited 6weeks before I got my Dobe rescues as the house seemed so empty.

Waiting until you are really sure is the best option IMO and then you can choose confidently knowing you are doing the right thing.
 
as above :)

mines a working strain cocker - hes fantastic :) does have an off switch... but only after 2 bloody good runs........!!!!!

hes always up for playing, even at midnight before bed - so yes they are active! :)


but fab dogs...


go with your gut instinct!.. :)
 
Thank you everyone for your posts it has been very helpful and I need to go away and consider a bit more.
 
I love my working cocker :D but its taken nearly a year for her to calm down! If your concerned they may be too active then yes, you may be right.

Mine is now coming upto 1 yr and is a pleasure to own, she doesn't want to get out of bed until 8am even though i'm up with the horses at 6:30am and takes herself off to bed at 9pm every night. She needs plenty of exercise and attention during the day to get to this point!

I lost my dog who I'd loved for 12 years in August 2011 but waited until May 2012 before looking for another, everyone is different!
 
Love working cockers but the ones I know make my active staffies seem quiet! Also take a lot of training...my friends one gets so much exercise but seems to be permanantly wired (but I still love him..only dog that can smile and run flat out in a short of shoulder in position!)

Instead of pressurising yourself to find Mr Perfect by May, if you have made the decision then why not do your homework and present your OH with the gift of, yes let's have a puppy, I want YOU to choose and here is a first line of breeders who may have suitable pups...gives you more time.
 
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