C o c ker Spaniel...

[BillB719]

A friend of mine has an American C o c ker Spaniel and he is a happy, easy going dog. They pointed out that they are also used for hunting. I did a little research and it looks like they were indeed bred for hunting and could be an excellent fit for the ruffled grouse and woodc o c k hunting I enjoy.

A c o c ker seems like a good combination of family pet and field companion. I know I would need to be selective in finding the right breeder as they have been over bred. Does anyone have experience with a C o c ker for hunting? pro's? cons'?

Appreciate any input!

Bill

PS I had to put spaces between c o c k so that the software did not replace it with 4 *'s. Go figure ;-)

[moreyes]

I grew up with a ****er Spaniel, he was a great upland game dog, he was never really trained, and did a awsome job hunting grouse and pheasants. Small compact dog but lotsa stamina.

He had a pretty mild personality

[Mike W1]

You'd better make sure they're from current hunting lines, the majority you see today are of show lines and they're really a different dog. A friend from CT has an English ****er, in fact the second one I've seen of his, and they're hunters. What the American ****er used to be but I suspect he paid some big bucks for his dogs too. If I wasn't so Lab oriented I'd might just have an English ****er myself.

[Richard B]

I do not want to take over this thread but if you want a great all around hunting dog you should look at an American Water Spaniel. I have one and he is fantastic for upland and for waterfowl. I have hunted with a number of individuals for upland, pheasants and quail, and they were very impressed with 2 of them actually looking to purchase one in the very near future.

[BillB719]

I do not want to take over this thread but if you want a great all around hunting dog you should look at an American Water Spaniel. I have one and he is fantastic for upland and for waterfowl. I have hunted with a number of individuals for upland, pheasants and quail, and they were very impressed with 2 of them actually looking to purchase one in the very near future.

Hey Richard, you are not hijacking the thread at all. That is precisely the information I am interested in. I was also considering at a Brittany Spaniel, though I know they can be fairly active, and a Golden Retriever, though I know they are a retriever but I understand they also can ve trained to flush upland birds.

So many breeds and so little time.. :)

Bill

[T Mac]

I have several friends with English ****ers.
They do a very good job of hunting upland birds.
Neat little dogs.

American ****ers have some physical traits that could be draw backs to heavy cover hunting. (My opinion, only)


Just for kicks... check these out: Boykin Spaniels.
(I have field bred English Springers, myself....but have a bud with a Boykin...it's a cool dog!)

[ckraning]

This post may be a little to late, but here is my input. I have two c o c kers that are our house dogs. I also use them for phesant hunting. They absolutely love it. They have not had any formal training but they took to it naturally. They are not perfect but do work well. They are better than bigger dogs in catails since they can get under the thicker parts, work well in the woods, they do struggle more than a bigger dog in thick high grass since they end up jumping more. The biggest draw back is they need their hair trimed well and will collect a lot more burrs than a lab, but so will any setter or similar coated dog.

[BillB719]

This post may be a little to late, but here is my input. I have two c o c kers that are our house dogs. I also use them for phesant hunting. They absolutely love it. They have not had any formal training but they took to it naturally. They are not perfect but do work well. They are better than bigger dogs in catails since they can get under the thicker parts, work well in the woods, they do struggle more than a bigger dog in thick high grass since they end up jumping more. The biggest draw back is they need their hair trimed well and will collect a lot more burrs than a lab, but so will any setter or similar coated dog.

Thanks for the information. I did switch over from a flusher to a pointer and settled on a French Brittany. I am in the process of tracking down a good breeder now. I should have updated my thread...

C o c k e r s are great dogs and sounds like you have some from a good gene pool!

[baydogman]

I am and avid bird hunter and have owned 3 chessies and 2 ****ers. both ****ers were pets only, however the first ****er was the birdiest dog i have ever seen. he was never trained to hunt, just house obedience. when i went to get my lazy homers out of the coop to fly, he was the man. if a bird was in the yard, it wasnt for long. he loved to go into the pheasant pen as well, he was from show stock. and as for the brittany, the spaniel was dropped from their name by the akc.