One fairly common sporting breed that I don't hear or see a lot of is the cocker spaniel. So, I'm curious, has anyone here either owned or had personal experience with both cocker spaniels and golden retrievers? I've spent an extended amount of time with goldens, but I've never met a cocker spaniel. What are the biggest differences between the two breeds' personality? Which breed seems to be healthier, more quiet, less prey driven, and more patient with children? I think I remember hearing somewhere that a lot of the spaniels tend to be temperamental and impatient with small children, but I don't know for sure. Curious to learn more!
Golden retriever vs cocker spaniel?
GOAussies
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Completely different breeds....
(I'd get a cocker spaniel every time because the jowly saggy faces of clumbers are eh)
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Okay. To each their own. I stand by my preference.
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I love a Clumber. My neighbor had one named Lily, but she’s no longer with us. He used to apologize all the time because Lily loved Luke and me and every time she saw us, she wanted to visit. My leggings were nothing but slobber and slime by the time Lily walked away.
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Cockers are really adorable, it always surprises me how tiny they really are.
My parents are on their second Boykin and at first glance you think they are the same size as a cocker, then realize they pack a punch at 40 pounds.
I'm a big fan of working cockers and Boykins.
Both are weirdos and nothing like a golden retriever.
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My parents are on their second Boykin and at first glance you think they are the same size as a cocker, then realize they pack a punch at 40 pounds.
I'm a big fan of working cockers and Boykins.
Both are weirdos and nothing like a golden retriever.
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I have also never had a cocker, only knew a couple that others had. One was a very sweet ASCOB cocker. She lived a long, healthy life and I never knew her to be anything but gentle and friendly. The other one was another ASCOB cocker that my MIL owned briefly. She was neither sweet, nor very friendly but it was probably more because of her circumstances (lack of training and re-homed a couple of times).
I like the look and the size of a cocker, but I don't think they could hold a candle to Goldens in terms of temperament, brains and beauty.
I like the look and the size of a cocker, but I don't think they could hold a candle to Goldens in terms of temperament, brains and beauty.
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Ran some upland tests with clumbers, too. They're really cool dogs, but the drool/slobber isn't for me.
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I have loved the ones I met, I don't think they drool as much if they aren't hot. I did notice they shed maybe worse than Goldens.
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I ran an HRC hunt test with a Boykin a few years ago. Only one I've ever seen - and she was awesome. I smile to this day thinking about it. The test had heavy-ish cover for a dog her size and all you could see was the tip of her tail as she bounded through it. She was a total eager little work horse. No idea what her personality was like elsewhere, but in the field, she was all hard work and looked like she was loving every moment.
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I remember smiling so big the first time I saw one carrying a duck. The duck seemed almost as big as the dog. There were two that day and the both worked so well.
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As a groomer I can tell you cockers have a reputation for pooping and peeing all over themselves and being kinda bratty. My dad grew up with one and he said that todays cockers are not the same; they had better temperaments back then. I assume that if you went with a good preservation breeder you would have better temperaments though.
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Unfortunately, we are seeing an awful lot of lousy Goldens, too. Their temperaments often aren't what they used to be. When people breed for money rather than outcome, this is the result.
Yes i agree
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Most sporting breeds have split between show and field. Cockers are one of those breeds. Cockers originally were just small English spring spaniels, but then were split off as a completely separate breed.
Within cockers there are English and American breeds. Then there are the field cockers. Field cockers are the field line within cockers. Completely different dog. Field cockers are high strung like you've never seen in your life. They are crazy energy. If you can handle a field cocker, you can handle anything. Field cockers are not for the faint of heart.
I just AKC spaniel (flushing) hunt tests. I've judged a fair amount of field cockers. Fun to watch because of the energy. The tough part is they are so short, in high cover, the often can't see their marks land, so their noses must be excellent to find their game. But unfortunately if they flush a second bird, they will completely forget there was a first bird. Lots of field cockers are trained by pros because they are a unique hunting style and require a lot of work. They are generally very smart and very sweet. Their body type and style is completely different from the show lines. You will find them to have longer bodies, shorter fur, shorter ears, and less high domed skulls.
If you get a field cocker, make sure you work them regularly, they are not great pets if you don't. Also make sure you have a pro you work with, for all the additional help with training you may need.
Field cockers are not for the faint of heart.
Within cockers there are English and American breeds. Then there are the field cockers. Field cockers are the field line within cockers. Completely different dog. Field cockers are high strung like you've never seen in your life. They are crazy energy. If you can handle a field cocker, you can handle anything. Field cockers are not for the faint of heart.
I just AKC spaniel (flushing) hunt tests. I've judged a fair amount of field cockers. Fun to watch because of the energy. The tough part is they are so short, in high cover, the often can't see their marks land, so their noses must be excellent to find their game. But unfortunately if they flush a second bird, they will completely forget there was a first bird. Lots of field cockers are trained by pros because they are a unique hunting style and require a lot of work. They are generally very smart and very sweet. Their body type and style is completely different from the show lines. You will find them to have longer bodies, shorter fur, shorter ears, and less high domed skulls.
If you get a field cocker, make sure you work them regularly, they are not great pets if you don't. Also make sure you have a pro you work with, for all the additional help with training you may need.
Field cockers are not for the faint of heart.
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Then there are field spaniels, which are a different breed again, similar to large, conformation-bred English Cocker Spaniels. I’ve heard good things about their temperaments, so they might be an option worth considering by people who want a dog that is smaller than a golden retriever.
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I have not judged any field spaniels, but I have trained with a couple (there are a few up here in Alaska). They are a mild temperament.
Please be careful of any spaniels if you are interested in hunting or hunt tests. Many spaniels have had the "hunt" bred out of them. And it can vary from littermate to littermate. I would absolutely test a pup I was thinking of bringing home with a wing or using some other predator inducement test. Nothing more frustrating than having to force fetch a dog to pick up a bird. They should pick up birds naturally and have a desire to hunt naturally. Not to say that this can't happen in goldens, it can, but not nearly as often as in spaniels. This is only from my experience as both a judge and training with a variety of spaniel breeds, and speaking to long time spaniel owners.
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That’s good information. I was thinking of people looking for a pet or conformation show prospect, but I see I didn’t word my post clearly. Am I correct in thinking that the long ears and long, wavy coat of cocker spaniels and field spaniels would be a handicap in hunting and field tests?
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I have not seen it to be a problem, any more than a golden coat. Golden field lines (which is what I currently have), have thinner shorter coats. And they shed a lot less. Cockers and springers have single coats, whereas goldens have double coats.
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Then there are Brittanies, a breed I adore. They’re a utility gun dog rather than a true spaniel, but they‘re still referred to as Brittany Spaniels in some countries. They’re also not for the faint hearted. According to this Brittany site http://www.brittanybreed.info/DualChampions/, there are are more AKC Dual Champion Brittanies (Show and Field) than all other sporting breeds combined. My Brittany is from lines imported from the US. Her sire received an award of merit at Westminster and her grand sire was BOB at Westminster. One of her sire’s half siblings was an AKC Dual Champion. She’s UD titled and working towards her Obedience Championship. She’s highly intelligent, cooperative, loving and sensitive but also a determined dog with a high hunting drive and no instinct to stay close to me. Training her has been an adventure but so worthwhile.
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My obedience school owner has Brittany Spaniels. They are sweet and pretty. Her current adult one seems a little shy (well, compared to Logan 🤣 .) Hers have done well in obedience and I think she does field with one of them. A neighbor had one and that one was so crazily energetic. I think it needed more exercise. Very sweet though. I found her loose a couple of times and brought her home to play with my first Golden until they could pick her up.
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Regarding cocker spaniels.... most pet people keep the dogs trimmed. When I was little our neighbor had a lovely cocker spaniel.
I did a search to find something similar to how she kept him trimmed and this link comes pretty close? Scroll down to the black and tan pic. The thing is our neighbor was very particular about keeping him groomed and I think that was a big turn off for my mom who opted to get a golden instead of a cocker (we kids all wanted cocker spaniels because of the neighbor's dog).
American Cocker Spaniel Suburban & Field Trims - PetGroomer.com Magazine
Would not work with conformation where the long coats are a huge deal, but I don't understand why it would or should be an issue with field work.
Regarding English Cocker Spaniels and American - big difference is the coat texture that I can tell???? Maybe it is the individual dogs that I've met, but the ECS's have coats more like setters. I prefer the coats and heads of American cockers.
Where I am - have seen both english cocker spaniels and American cocker spaniels in higher level obedience and tracking. The trainer I know who does tracking with her dogs keeps them in show coats.
Field spaniels - I see them more in conformation. They seem to be excellent junior dogs + not as crazy competitive or difficult to finish as our breed. I have only see one very briefly in obedience and speaking to one of the owners, she grimaced about that dog's trainability for obedience (this was a positive only trainer though so who knows).
@GrandmaToGoldens - brittanies come the very closest to our breed in my mind though still quieter and just slightly reserved? One of the most active AKC obedience judges in our area used to own and work with her show brittanies and these dogs were fantastic obedience dogs (OTCH and CH dogs). Field brittanies though are a lot more dog than these though.
I did a search to find something similar to how she kept him trimmed and this link comes pretty close? Scroll down to the black and tan pic. The thing is our neighbor was very particular about keeping him groomed and I think that was a big turn off for my mom who opted to get a golden instead of a cocker (we kids all wanted cocker spaniels because of the neighbor's dog).
American Cocker Spaniel Suburban & Field Trims - PetGroomer.com Magazine
Would not work with conformation where the long coats are a huge deal, but I don't understand why it would or should be an issue with field work.
Regarding English Cocker Spaniels and American - big difference is the coat texture that I can tell???? Maybe it is the individual dogs that I've met, but the ECS's have coats more like setters. I prefer the coats and heads of American cockers.
Where I am - have seen both english cocker spaniels and American cocker spaniels in higher level obedience and tracking. The trainer I know who does tracking with her dogs keeps them in show coats.
Field spaniels - I see them more in conformation. They seem to be excellent junior dogs + not as crazy competitive or difficult to finish as our breed. I have only see one very briefly in obedience and speaking to one of the owners, she grimaced about that dog's trainability for obedience (this was a positive only trainer though so who knows).
@GrandmaToGoldens - brittanies come the very closest to our breed in my mind though still quieter and just slightly reserved? One of the most active AKC obedience judges in our area used to own and work with her show brittanies and these dogs were fantastic obedience dogs (OTCH and CH dogs). Field brittanies though are a lot more dog than these though.
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