3 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING A COCKER SPANIEL

now if you’re thinking about getting a cocker spaniel that’s a big decision and a decision that you absolutely shouldn’t take lightly yes they are incredible breeds but they’re not the perfect breed for everybody so in today’s video i’m going to hand you over to one of my breed history experts who’s going to talk about a few things that you absolutely must know about the cocker spaniel before you dream of bringing one into your home number one they can and must run if you’re feeling curious you can conduct quite an easy experiment at home with a cocker as i did with my brother’s cocker misty and my mum’s cocker pippin i got hold of a couple of pet pedometers designed for dogs strapped them onto their respective collars and headed out for a long walk in the herefordshire countryside with them in tow and off lead according to my own activity tracker i had covered just over six miles through the fields in a loop back to my mom’s house by lunchtime when i took the dog’s tracker data in and processed it i saw that between them they had covered 40 miles i didn’t believe it especially seeing them happily trotting around my mum’s living room barely fatigued but i checked the gps data and it was confirmed these are dogs who can run they will run back and forth between you and every distant excitement they lay their eyes on or that they hear and smell indeed for hours on end a working cocker particularly can and must expend a good two hours of romping alongside any other work you wish to do with them a show cocker will be happy with less but even happier with more if you don’t have the time fitness and space then look elsewhere for your perfect dog number two their prey drive is strong because so many cockers are still used in working roles particularly in the british countryside there is an overwhelmingly strong genetic preponderance of working type behaviors meaning that even show bred lines are barely removed from their working cousins as a result cocker spaniel ownership is a constant game of management when it comes to their prey drive or more accurately their working drive they are highly movement sensitive much akin to greyhounds but also extremely alert to sound whilst also possessing some of the most finely attuned noses in the canine world what this means is that they are aware of what they perceive to be prey that you have absolutely no awareness of and if they see it they want it despite their typically high trainability and superb commitment to their masters their prey drive is likely to supersede their good boy behavior from time to time and have them tearing off into the woods in hot pursuit of a pheasant or wounded pigeon and no amount of shouting or pips on the dog whistle can pull them from the thrill of the chase indeed on a typical walk most people aren’t carrying their guns or out for sport but can still depend on their cocker to helpfully flush a bird or two for them as they go if you’re unhappy with a dog that sprints off to complete its own side missions on a regular basis try a more velcro-like breed and number three grooming requirements are high now one thing that must be made clear here is that a cocker with short hair and with a dock tail so your typical working line cocker is not so demanding of grooming a showbreadcocker whose hair is kept long and trimmed to showing standards on the other hand will have you brushing their long sweeping coats their drooping ear fur and their beautifully long tails for hours a day not to mention keeping everything trimmed to the show’s style and dealing with the disruption to the purity of their colour with some scrubbing it is a full-time job keeping them looking their finest whilst also keeping their long coats from becoming hindrances to their free movement even the working dogs find a way of eating into your working week by gathering a whole host of collectible items in their undercarriage on their walks anything from brambles to burrs to briars not to mention fifty shades of muck from the bogs and marshes into which they have thrown themselves if you’re a clean freak or someone who thinks a dog should look after his own coat maintenance a cocker really isn’t the dog for you guys if you love the spaniel breeds as much as we do here then don’t forget to subscribe to this channel we make videos about the spaniels every single week and we can’t wait to see you on the next episode …

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