English cocker spaniels?

[Commando]

Thanks for the info guys! We put a deposit down on a litter from field bred cockers in bend Oregon for next summer. The wife is pretty excited!

[Henrydog]

I have had Springers for years (very close cousins to cockers)  Both have been very hard hunters (you can train them to hunt close and not run off and chase (I did it with a check cord) and they are great family dogs.  You better have space on the couch they are very affectionate.

[Commando]

My wife is gonna love the affection from him for sure! He’s gonna be spoiled for sure. My lab isn’t gonna like it but he’ll get used to it.

I’ve always been a lab guy so I’ve got really no idea how to train a cocker besides the normal yard stuff. Heard they’re pretty natural in the field and the breeder basically said just get him out in the field and on birds and he’ll figure it out. But we will get it all figured out!

[Henrydog]

I did some pay to play pheasant just to introduce they to the whole thing.  I have the benefit of several covey's of quail within a mile of the house.  They figure it out really fast.  The biggest hurdle is getting them to slow down and wait for you  when they are hot.

[Backstrap]

My wife is gonna love the affection from him for sure! He’s gonna be spoiled for sure. My lab isn’t gonna like it but he’ll get used to it.

I’ve always been a lab guy so I’ve got really no idea how to train a cocker besides the normal yard stuff. Heard they’re pretty natural in the field and the breeder basically said just get him out in the field and on birds and he’ll figure it out. But we will get it all figured out!

Congratulations on your upcoming pup.

My boy is a real fireball in the field. Sometimes he gets so wound up he forgets all his training. So Occasionally I have to give him a wake up call with the e-collar. He’s very good at getting birds out of heavy cover, and finding and flushing birds in general. He’s 50/50 on retrieving, and not especially interested in dead birds. He absolutely loves the water. Not scared of anything. He loves killing possum and rats, and has caught more than one salmon in the river.

It took him until around 8 years old to settle down to more of a lab like activity level around the house. He always wants to play and is always happy. He sleeps in our room, and it’s never been a problem. Overall, he’s a real joy to have in our family, with a fun and addictive personality.

I think you’re in for a real treat! Good luck.
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[Backstrap]

What’s the puppy prognosis? I’m not a facebook guy, but my wife found a cool facebook page for English Cocker Spaniels - Field Bred Gun Dogs.

[Soknarf]

Congratulations on your dog choice.

I relocated from Ireland to WA last winter with my two cocker boys and we are looking forward to our first US season in the coming weeks.

Depending on what type of hunting you want them to do, the training can be very different to usual US styles.

I dont have an e-collar or tracking on my guys, as they never go more than 30/40 yards in front of me.

They work a quartering pattern back and forth as I walk through a field or along a hedgerow. They contact flush birds, so you do need to be ready to shoot, but in general you will see when they pick up a scent and start working a line.

Definitely look into whistle training as this is the most effective method used in the UK / Ireland. My guys come, sit, and get all direction from different whistle patterns.

Take a look on YouTube for "Nick Ridley" and also look up training for "rough shooting" or "walk up shooting" and you should find some good resources.

My guys are hard working dogs, and I usually spend the evening on the sofa pulling thorns out of them. There isnt a blackberry patch of hedgerow that they will shy away from.

They can be sensitive little souls, so one of my guys reacts well to a firm tone, the other just retreats into himself if you raise your voice.

I will have English cockers for the rest of my days as they are perfect for the style of shooting that I like to do.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I am not an expert by any stretch (only had these guys for 3 years), but I have put in a lot of research and come from the land of this type of dog/hunting.