4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Rolo Rabbit]

This has certainly been the year for new things - first the chooks, now we're thinking of getting a puppy!!!!

 

The funny thing is I've wanted one for years but DH hasn't been keen. Now just when I'd given up and was happy with the girls, he's changed his mind.

 

The current thinking, after going round the mulberry bush several million times, is a cocker spaniel - mainly because they're not too big, not too boisterous they get on with children and they're very beautiful. But we have read a few articles about rage syndrome which has scared us a little. Does anyone have an opinion? (silly question on here).And does anyone have one and also have a cat?

 

Any comments gratefully received.

[craftyhunnypie]

My sisters hubby has one & he's quite boisterous. He is trained as a gun dog too. He's nice to look at, but he is a bit over the top & will only take commands from Matthew & not my sister or anyone. It also killed one of my sisters chickens!

 

I prefer the Cavalier king Charles spaniels. Very good pets, so loveable, friendly, good with children & easy to obedience train.

 

Emma.x

[bronze]

Spaniels are known for being boisterous. thats why they often get used as sniffer dogs and the like

[victoriabunny]

I think cocker rage has been rather over-exaggerated in the press, to be honest. Go to a reputable breeder (please, please avoid those Dogs-r-us places, puppy farms under another name basically) and meet both parents. For some reason, solid-coloured cockers tend to be more wilful than the parti-coloured ones, and the red ones have the reputation as being most affected by cocker rage (I love blue roans best, gorgeous dogs!)

 

They are lovely dogs but they were originally bred to work and as such they have relatively heavy exercise requirements for a small dog - lots of long walks in the countryside are needed if a cocker is to be truly happy. They attract mud like it's "Ooops, word censored!"ody's business, too - those lovely long ears drip grey water all over your carpet in winter!

 

Buy a dog magazine - they usually have lists of decent breeders in the back.

[Helly Welly]

I'd go for a cavalier king charles spaniel, they are meant to be the best dogs if you have children.

 

We had a springer spaniel when i was eight which bit my lip. I had to have five stitches and i still have the scar and a lump inside my mouth. No experience of cocker spaniels, sorry.

[chelsea]

my sister has a cocker spaniel but its the "working strain" apparently there are 2 types. dont get the working strain as her dog is absolutely mental/hyper/bouncy....its broke both its front legs twice in one year! it never stops having bundles of energy! he's good with her children but my sister doesnt trust him with strangers. If you get a cocker be prepared to give it lots of exercise.

 

My friend has a cavalier king charles and its lovely (she has 2 kids) and its a lovely family dog - and quite a nice size to take out places with you aswell (pubs/days out etc).

[Rhapsody]

I think a Cavvy would be better, but I have always opted for a rescue dog even when my kids were small and never been let down by any of them..

[Tessa the Duchess]

The only time I have ever been bitten by a dog was when I went to stroke my friends cocker spaniel The dog knew me really well, but she just turned nasty. I wouldn't get one if you've got children. I second Rhapsody, get a rescue dog, I have had really good experiences with them and they are checked out by trained staff as to their mental state.

 

Tessa

[Tessa the Duchess]

The only time I have ever been bitten by a dog was when I went to stroke my friends cocker spaniel The dog knew me really well, but she just turned nasty. I wouldn't get one if you've got children. I second Rhapsody, get a rescue dog, I have had really good experiences with them and they are checked out by trained staff as to their mental state.

 

Tessa

[Cooks]

I have a cocker spaniel..(Black and tan) although i dont have a cat, I do have a tiny weeny yorkshire terrier as well. (shes smaller than a cat)

Although I agree with some of the comments that 'some' cockers can be boisterous, this is not always the case and can be a lot to do with training and them basically being allowed to run the roost so to speak.

 

The rage syndrome is highly exagerated, it can happen, but then it can happen with a lot of breeds not just cockers.

 

If you would like some reputable breeders I would be happy to point you in touch with a cocker spaneil dedicated website, sun by a friend of mine where you will find all the info you need to make the decision.

 

I also have details of cockier spainel rescue if you chose to find a rescue dog.

Feel free to pm me if you want further details.

 

edited to add here is a picture of my Cocker - Jessie

xx

[Seagazer]

I think you should look into this very carefully. I've only had chickens for a couple of weeks but my dog is obsessed with them. She has managed to catch one of them a couple of times now (thankfully the chicken is fine but I'm covered in bruises after flinging myself between her and the dog!).

 

If the dog is a breed that is used for catching/picking up birds etc I would steer clear. I know some people on here have very well behaved dogs but I would rather have a dog with no inherent traits for wanting to catch a chicken!

 

A friend of mine has had two cockers and never had a rage problem, lovely dogs. But do look into it.

[Rolo Rabbit]

Thanks for your comments everyone - that's really helpful and has probably helped steer us away from cockers although looking at your Jessie, Loopylou, makes the decision a bit more difficult.She is beautiful.

 

We have a friend who used to have a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier which she says was wonderful although bouncy. We'll probably go and have a good chat with her to see if that's a possibility but before we do, does anyone have any experience of them? I'd never even heard of them before Crufts.

[dogmad]

Can I just say we have a cocker spaniel and he is the most lovable dog ever. He isn't happy unless he is having cuddles and kisses. Yes he is boisterous but that is the way we have raised him (playing rough etc) yet my friend who has a cocker and a two year old girl is the most gentlest. We have other pets including rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, parrot and although he shows an interest in them he would never do them any harm (of course I wouldn't leave them in a room together on their own though)

 

Whilst getting Einstein (our cocker!) we researched the breed thoroughly and I visted dog shows, spoke to people there, made friends and they put me in touch with a reputable breeder.

 

Rage syndrome is more common is the solid red/gold colour and again more likely to come from poor breeders, however it is still very rare so please do not let this put you off Cockers. Rage syndrome has also appeared in other breeds such as American Cocker Spaniels, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Dobermanns, English Bull Terriers, English Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Pyrenean Mountain Dogs and St. Bernards.

 

 

Whatever you do don't buy a dog on impulse, I certainly wouldn't get one from a litter advertised in a newspaper (good breeders do not have to advertise and often have a waiting lists for their dogs), do not buy from a pet shop, or a puppy farm. Make sure you see the pup with its litter mates and its mum and preferably in a home environment. Rescue dogs are also a consideration, I have had one and would do again. Yes she chewed the sofa up within a month of getting her but then I had 10 years of the most well behaved dog I've had the pleasure of owning.

 

We have said now that Cockers are the breed for us (have owned Lhasa Apso and GSD x before), we will definately have another one, they are adorable.

[Rolo Rabbit]

Hmmm... Thanks dogmad. It's good to hear the other side of the story. We're definitely not going to rush into anything. We just want to get a dog which will best suit our lifestyle and our other pets . It's really difficult!

[Cooks]

I have to say that our cocker is brilliant with the chickens (after a slow introduction) and our small terrier was more feisty with them

 

I do not think it's about breed to be honest, but more about how sensible the owner is about training, finding right breeder is vital, although having said that my jessie is a rescue and I know her breeder is not exactly what I would call good. she's lovely though and only sniffs the chickens bums now...

[Sunshine]

When we got our dog 8 years ago we looked into getting a soft coated wheaten terrier becasue my sisters were toddlers so we wanted a dog that would be good with children.I still really like them and they are definatly on my favourite dog list as well as basset griffon vendeens(petit and grand).

 

We did have a rescue dog briefly before we got our current dog and we had to take him back to the centre because he was too boisterous and was sick whenever you took him in the car.We didn't really think it through though which is where we went wrong. So then we got a rescue mongrel puppy which was much better as we were able to train her and get her used to cars!Shes not perfect but we all love her to bits. I also think that its not all about the breed and the way the dog is trained is more important as there are lovely dogs and not so lovely dogs of each breed. Definatly make sure you are consistent with the training with each member of the family as that is where we have gone wrong because we all seem to have different ways of walking her. I always make her walk nicely on the lead but my dad lets her pull and chase rabbits etc.

 

Let us know how you get on(i am very interested to hear about you get on with the soft coated wheaten terriers)

[Rhapsody]

I feel like the Merchant of Doom on this thread, I do apologise! A friend of mine got a Wheaten "Ooops, word censored!" and it drove her to drink, she ended up giving it away- sorry again

[Rolo Rabbit]

Gulp... what did it do Rhapsody????

[Rhapsody]

(Phoned her to varify and these are her words) -She found it very hard to housetrain, an obsessive chewer, it barked like a nutcase if a mouse sneezed in the garden and when it came into season it bit everyone.Sorry again.

[Rolo Rabbit]

Thanks for going to the effort of finding out Rhapsody. From what I've heard, wheatens are real individuals so I'm kind of hoping that your friend had one of the bad ones...

 

We're going to chat with our previously mentioned friend this week - and we're going up to see a breeder in a couple of weeks as we have to be vetted before they'll even put us on the list as wanting a puppy. I'm glad they're being very particular though - at least we know they seriously have the dog's welfare at heart. We do still have a lot of questions as to whether it's the right dog for us and I'm pretty sure that they will give us honest answers.

[Rolo Rabbit]

WELL!!!

 

We went to visit our friend who had the Wheaten terrier and she raved and raved about it so we went to visit 3 of them in the flesh (so to speak) on Friday. They were absolutely loopy and covered us with kisses and leapt all over us but only for about 5 minutes! Then they calmed right down and were adorable. OH and I were completely smitten and we've decided to go ahead and put ourselves on the puppy list!!!!!!

 

I'm so excited!!! I know it's going to mean quite a change in our lifestyle but it's one that I've wanted for years. We told the children at dinner that evening and DD especially was almost overwhelmed - she was totally silent for about 30 seconds then gave hub an enormous hug. She's talking about it non-stop now. We're taking them to meet the dogs tomorrow - I can't wait to see them again!

 

If you want to see what a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier looks like

click here (ooh!! very pleased I managed to do my first link!!)

[Sunshine]

Im so jealous! do you know how long the wait will be until you are likely to get a pup? Lots of picures will be needed!

[Rolo Rabbit]

The earliest will be 4 months as there's a female dog (can't put the proper word!) who is possibly pregnant down in Cornwall very soon. (?) But we don't know if those puppies are already spoken for - we'll see if we can go on her list but also on the general list too. It could be as long as 9 months or worse At least it gives us time to get all the bits and bobs ready and to get our heads into gear but I think it's going to seem a veeeeery long wait.

 

I just keep having to look at the pictures - I still can't believe we're really going for it!!!!!

[Rolo Rabbit]

We've done it!!!!!!! The lady we went to see with the loopy Wheatens put us in touch with a breeder whose female dog has just had 8 puppies, 5 dogs and 3 females. I rang her straight away and she was a lovely lady up in Yorkshire (long way from Devon!) and she's happy to let us have one of her little girls!!!!!

 

 

I'm sooo excited now. i think part of me didn't really believe it would ever happen and now I know it will and we could have her by the end of August!

The best thing was that the lady we went to visit recommended us to the breeder and said she thought we'd be a lovely family for a Wheaten. I'm sure that was influential in her being so ready to accept us.

 

So it's all systems go. I'm off to the library to look for puppy books today!!!

[Rolo Rabbit]

DD and I are counting the days and it's now only 18 days til we pick up our puppy!!! We went to watch a puppy class on Sunday to see if we liked it and it was brilliant - the leader is the receptionist at our vets and she was fantastic with the puppies. Can't wait to have our own little person to take!!