Golden retriever v cocker spaniel

Spaniels - generally adorable giddy kind and other thsn working dogs who were well trained - obedience isn’t their strong point

The best 'breed' is rescue. So many, especially these days just waiting for a nice home

We’ve had both show cockers and working cockers over the years and they’re great loyal companions but can be a bit crazy and do need just as much exercise as bigger dogs. Fairly easy to train but you do need to be very firm and they “steal” Good luck xxxx

Just like you, Mollygro - a lifetime of rescue 'bitzers', but three years ago took on a Cocker/Springer puppy rather than get a rescue for reasons I won't bore anyone with. We are besotted with this loving, highly intelligent, beautiful dog, but had we known what we were taking on..... I do feel that 'born half wild, dies half trained' might hit the nail on the head. I would urge caution taking on a Spaniel. They are wonderful but congenitally bonkers if ours, and the siblings, are anything to go by.

Lovely dog farview. There is a King Charles spaniel who lives near me. He is as mad as a box of frogs but has the most beautiful face so is forgiven his transgressions.

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Full of energy...squirrel obsession, high prey drive,clever, stubborn,cheeky but oh so cuddly and lovable...adores people especially children...worth the hard work..

DD’s working cocker doesn’t get in a mess eating, just whenever she’s outside!

Cocker “rage” syndrome certainly has not been bred out of them and there’s a real problem particularly with show cockers, but also, increasingly, with golden retrievers AND some other red-gene gun dogs (vizlas, gsp). Few people who shoot will work chocolate labradors, they just seem to be wired differently and aren’t as steady to train. If you have Facebook it’s worth following Perthshire Gundog Rescue, they see first hand the endless problems of pretty puppies getting taken to the vet for euthanasia after aggression - show lines especially, though not exclusively (and I don’t know what lines they are).

I’d only ever get a puppy that has been reared in a family home, not in kennels, as lots of gundog breeds are because working dogs often aren’t kept in the house. If the dam is a family dog used to children and the bustle of a kitchen, she’s more able to rear puppies with confidence around people.

I have had dogs given to me as adults but they’ve all had ingrained issues. My late MIL always adopted “rescue” dogs and they were usually in rescue because they were awful to live with (eg habitual escapees, destructive, noisy…). Get a well-reared puppy from an intelligent, kind breeder who cares about the breed and guarantees lifetime interest and support.

Good luck!

I used to put a cut up pair of tights over my dogs ears when they had a meal.

Until we got our working cocker, we’d only ever had bitzas. Our spaniel is lovely, friendly and affectionate, but high energy. Good for us!
I agree with those who say about tangled ears, but for some reason, I only have to reach for a brush and she comes and sits in front of me expecting to be groomed, ears and all.

Joseann

Portable! 😃
I don't have any knowledge of spaniels, so I will of course have to write the advantages of the retriever.
1. The right height for stroking
2. The right height for removing objects from mouth without having to bend down
3. The right size for jumping in and out of the car
4. To accompany their size, their bladders must be big too, 10 hours on a ferry without a wee!

The right size to knock the coffee cups off the coffee table with one sweep of the tail 😁

I did find our cocker spaniel was lovely but very high energy and definitely opinionated. Excellent in training classes, star of the show but then his own person (dog) as soon as we left.
Not all are like that, though and to be fair I'd never heard of the difference between show cockers and working dogs.

I've never had a retriever but I do know cockers love to get muddy and dirty.

Just fabulous though?

Georgesgran

We still had a vet who was willing to dock puppies and provided relevant certificates MayBee70 knowing they would be going to working homes only. I’ve seen undocked dogs undergo frequent surgeries to amputate ‘shredded’ ends of tails. I’m not for docking as in Boxers, Dobermans, Old English Sheepdogs but for a genuine concern for the dog during its working life.

I must admit that, when I see a Cocker Spaniel I always make a point of looking at their tails and I do think they often look long and straggly. Springers look ok but then they’re much bigger ( and even dafter!).

twyglett you’ve just described the springer we used to have! Soft, cuddly and very good company ie always closer than close but such high maintenance!

Why not consider a rescue . There is a massive need now for adopters . You could even find an older cocker . A good rescue would match you with a nice dog . We just adopted our 3rd rescue and he is a lovely dog that was already house trained . He is 2 years old . Even better an older dog that are often abandoned at no fault of their own .

It used to be found that golden cockers were more prone to temperament problems. So called cocker rage was largely bred out as responsible breeders endured dogs with poor temperament weren't ever used in breeding.
The popularity of golden cocker poos means they’re being over bred. The doodle rescues are inundated with cockerpoos, many beautiful golden, who come in with separation anxiety, reactivity, resource guarding and sadly reports of snapping at family children. They’re very intelligent and from two sensitive breeds. You don’t always get the best of either breed and they do need consistent positive training and exercise. They love agility
If you do go cocker spaniel sikipoo, it’s worth avoiding single colours imo

We still had a vet who was willing to dock puppies and provided relevant certificates MayBee70 knowing they would be going to working homes only. I’ve seen undocked dogs undergo frequent surgeries to amputate ‘shredded’ ends of tails. I’m not for docking as in Boxers, Dobermans, Old English Sheepdogs but for a genuine concern for the dog during its working life.

It was ^MayBee70, but after tests, the poor thing was found to be blind in one eye - the side DH had approached her. Still, no real excuse, with perfect hearing.

I don’t know how true it is because before it was banned mine had docked tails but I was told that the reason for docking them is that some tails are very long and are prone to being damaged, especially as they’re always running through undergrowth and, of course, they never stop wagging them. And if you have a bitch it can get quite messy when they are in season.

We always had dogs Casdon but now have two rescue bitches. They are easier to train and more biddable, bitches seem to want to stay with you more than dogs we have found. Of course both bitches are spayed so don't know if this makes a difference. They are both lovely girls despite having difficulties in their early life.

Georgesgran

We had spaniels for years, the working variety. The saying is ‘born half wild, die half trained’
We generally had springers, but also a mad cocker, who lived to old age. She was an absolute delight, headstrong, but well trained.

Is maintenance an issue? My friends Goldendoodle is at the groomers every 4 weeks and (for some reason) she baths him several times a week and he’s enormous!

I’d just caution to check a show cocker’s pedigree carefully - often too close breeding can produce exceptionally attractive animals, who are off their trolleys. The only time DH was ever bitten was by a show cocker.

Was it a golden one?

My DD has a 10 year old working cocker who is at my house for most of the working week, with my own terrier.

The cocker is adorable but such hard work in many ways. She is well educated, has a faultless recall and can always be called back instantly if she sees a pheasant, squirrel, muntjac or whatever, walks beautifully on a loose lead, she’s good in the house, with children, visitors and cats. But…

She was terribly destructive youngster, especially keen on shoes and doormats. She still grabs the first shoe she can see if she wants to give a visitor a present! She’s slightly less inclined to chew them up now she’s older.

Those ears, tail and feathers tangle in the slightest breeze, she gets smothered in sticky weeds and burrs, she only has to step onto wet grass and the whole dog is soaked. She is silky on her back but her chest, armpits and thighs have a dense undercoat and she takes hours to dry. Even wearing an Equafleece with legs, she has hardly dried from the morning walk when it’s time to walk again.

Spaniels don’t walk in straight lines, she is constantly quartering the ground, zigzagging and backtracking, she must cover ten miles for every one of mine!

She has a bottomless appetite, eats anything and despite being very active and getting two or three walks of between 45 and 90 minutes, she gains weight easily. She was spayed after her first season, which does seem to thicken their waists. She isn’t tall enough for counter-surfing but she might steal unattended food if I left the room, and clears the other pets’ bowls. She moults a lot, she’s combed at least twice a day but my washing machine is full of hair every week when I wash their bedding.

I do love her nature, but managing the coat and ears is hard work and for that reason alone I hope my DD doesn’t get another spaniel.

We had a goldie very many years ago that we took on as an 8 year old, she was sweet but far less bright than the spaniel, she moulted a lot but I don’t remember her coat being as prone to tangles.

Friends have adopted a pointer, who has a wonderfully easy short coat!

I've had a cocker but not a retriever and my cocker was high energy and a bit nuts all the retrievers I've ever met always seemed very laid back..

Thank you all. Very helpful information and a lot to think about. I had a feeling that possibly a cocker might be v high energy and then maybe a GR might be better. Will let you know once we decide. X

I had several cocker spaniels but then switched to whippets. I still melt when I see a spaniel, especially a puppy. They are sweet natured and loving. What stopped me having them is that I’m rubbish at grooming and every time I took them for a trim I would apologise for not keeping on top of the tangles. They’re very much in your face. Always moving around, always wanting your attention. Here I am, love me stroke me…The thing I love about whippets is that they don’t need grooming and sleep most of the time when in the house. I also find them much easier to house train. What I do miss about spaniels is that mine had very good recall. I could go on a walk and just let them off. Can’t do that with a whippet: I’m always having to look out for danger. If you’ve had retrievers then you won’t be worried about the grooming side or the fact that cockers will find the only bit of mud for miles so they can bring it back on their feet and spread everywhere. Cockers did have eye problems back then but I assume good breeders check for that. If you do go to look at a litter of cocker spaniel pups there is no way on earth that you will come away without buying one. Then there is the cost of grooming which you won’t have had with retrievers: not sure how much it is these days. If you have a bitch and have it spayed their coats do tend to go a bit rampant. I don’t know if the same applies to a neutered male as I’ve only ever had females. I’m still wary of solid colours even though I’m sure the temperament problems have been sorted, but I’m very biased because I love Blue Roans.

Forgot to add that we once had a retriever, who wouldn’t retrieve!
All her litter mates went on to be Field Trial/Working Test Winners and some Champions.
Ours?? She was given (after a lot of checks) to a local builder and spent her days living the Life of Riley as a family pet, being driven around in his Range Rover, or else splayed out in front of his fire! A far cry from living outside in kennels here.