Hello

I'm considering getting a working cocker spaniel. I live at home with my parents and we have a young labrador, but I want a dog of my own and have my heart set on working cockers. However, I work full time and need a dog that can cope in an office environment. I work for my father and he has said that I can take the dog to work. My mother has said that she'll help me with the training. I would be able to exercise and I am more than capable of looking after a dog. I want a puppy but I'm aware that they are hard work. My question is, are working cocker spaniels suitable for an office?

Thanks
James Frondella

All the working-type spaniels I know are far too 'busy' to be good in an office all day. They've been bred to do a day's work out in the countryside, scurrying into undergrowth and flushing or retrieving game. They're not good at settling down for any length of time.

As Jeangenie said a working cocker would not be great at settling under your desk for long periods, a show line cocker might be better, or even they may be too busy. Have you thought about a sighthound? Most do famously love to recline for 22 hours a day as long as they have a super soft comfy bed. What about a whippet?

I find these comments interesting as the working cockers I know are mental out and about but quite placid and easy indoors. I have a couple of friends who take them to their work in offices.

Hello

Thanks for the responses. The dog would not have to sit under my desk, as I would take it for walks every lunchtime, and would also have to provide toys. The dog would also be in a crate. My thinking is that if I bring the dog into work right from the beginning then it would used to an office.

I think u will have to work hard on mental exercises to tire pup out as well as physical . We have a working cocker in the family and although now is 9 she still takes a fair bit of tiring and charges around like lunatic . Its not so much getting it used to an office its can u accommodate its needs within the office and u working
Crates are great but  only for limited time it can't remain in there apart from a lunchtime walk
Also with a pup u need to beable to keep taking it out for toilet training .does your job allow u to drop everything frequently to do that?

> The dog would not have to sit under my desk, as I would take it for walks every lunchtime, and would also have to provide toys. The dog would also be in a crate.

I used to take my borzois to work, they just lounged about at work the way they do at home, and were happy with just a wander at lunchtime, but they were all adults. Pups are harder work and require a lot more outings of course. Unless you have to I wouldn't use a crate, the temptation to overuse them is huge and the poor dog ends up locked in there for 8 hours while owners at at work, 8 hours while the owner sleeps, maybe a few hours while they go out - before you know it the dog is in a cage 20 hours a day. A pen gives a bit more freedom or use puppy panels to block off your corner of the office?

I would take it for walks every lunchtime

Not sure how long your lunch time is but normal advice is only walk a puppy for 5 minutes per month of age while still growing.

The clue is in the name, working, and that doesn’t mean sat in an office. Most working dogs of any breed would really like to be out doing what the breed was bred to do.
These days people buy them as a family dog and have a lot of problems with them when they are not out running gleefully about. My niece and her husband have a working cocker, he’s now 4 nearly 5 years old and is calmer in the house these days. It was not pleasant to be with him when he was younger as he was always wanting you to do something with him, so it was pester pester pester all the time. They taught a settle command but he seemed under the impression that only was for a minute and he was bouncing about all over the place again.
Although he’s now calmer at home he makes up for it when out for a walk and my nieces mum finds it quite a trial to walk him. She’s considering getting a dog soon but one thing she knows is that she won’t have a working cocker.

>The dog would not have to sit under my desk, as I would take it for walks every lunchtime, and would also have to provide toys. The dog would also be in a crate.

A puppy - of any breed - would also have to be taken outside to toilet about every hour, and would need a lot more 'playtime' than only a short walk at lunchtime. Breed behaviours have been bred into them for many generations, and thinking that can be over-ridden is naive, I'm afraid. If you want a dog to lie quietly in a crate for several hours at a time you need to forget about breeds that have been developed to be very active.

agreed jodie .the one we have in the family is very similar although now 9 years old settles more. 
I cant see her being happy or manageable in an office tbh and would need some regular outlet for all.the energy they have on a regular basis during the day. Particularly as u need to work as well
A crate wont be the answer. 
Perhaps.there is another breed better suited to what u want

Don't forget feeding & toilet training

Hello again

Sorry, I didn't explain that I would wait until the dog is toilet trained until I bring it in. I have half an hour lunchtime, so I would walk the dog in the morning, afternoon and evening when it's old enough. I wouldn't put it in a crate all day, so it would be able to walk around. My mother has said that she'll need help with the training.

This is what I have read

https://www.petplan.co.uk/pet-information/dog/breed/cocker-spaniel/

Have a good read of this webpage; it's written by people who know the breed, rather than people at insurance companies who've read about them.

I really wouldn't. It's not so much exercise the puppy needs, 5min per month they are rule, its brain engagement and ive seen fsr too many working cockers who are just pets, go out for walks and maybe the odd game with a ball here and there and the behaviours coming out of them is not good.
Puppies need a lot of work anyway including training classes but as soon as you put the working lines into it they need so much more, a job to do and not sat in a crate during the working day, that dog will go stir crazy 

Even a showline cocker I don't think could cope with this set up as they are naturally a busy breed 

Any breed as a puppy will be full of life and energetic and need lots of engagement, as adults there are plenty of breeds which will chill during the day, the spaniel group bar maybe the Cavalier or King Charles will need to be active with their brains, it simply is not fair on them and you will both suffer from it

http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/cocker_faq.htm

Working cockers really aren't suited to the average pet home. They need a job whether its gundog work, field trials, agility, high end obedience, scent work, flyback etc

I got my papillon puppy last year and I can’t imagine how anyone has time for anything else while the pup is young!

I did enforced naps with him as like a lot of pups he had no idea that he needed to sleep until he was completely exhausted. One hour awake, two hours asleep. Even though he was only awake at most six hours out of the day, every hour of that was filled with toilet breaks, training, play, and socialisation/habituation.

When he was napping (assuming he went to sleep right away, which wasn’t in any way guaranteed) I was trying to get some rest myself, or cleaning the latest wounds inflicted by razor sharp puppy teeth, or washing blankets he’d peed on, or wondering why on Earth I’d brought this horrible little monster into my house!

At 15 months he can settle fairly nicely, but he still struggles to sleep if there’s something going on around him, he’s just so alert and intelligent he’s scared he’s missing something. He needs to use his brain and his body and if he’s not crated or penned or being watched closely he’ll get himself into some kind of mischief I would never have anticipated.

Paps are basically miniature spaniels and not bred for working as they’ve been a companion breed for hundreds of years, but River still has a ton of drive and very much needs a job. He adores dog parkour, agility, and tracking, and gets so excited when he realises we’re going to train or work.

His friend Buddy the working cocker from parkour class is very much the same.

Oh and just a thought, I renewed Riv’s insurance last week and I had to tick a box saying he doesn’t go to work with anyone. I don’t know how it would affect things if he did, but if you’re getting insurance I’d check with them about bringing the dog to work.

That is very a general.summary and doesn't show differences between show and working cockers. Both are busy dogs but the working lines even more so and really need a job.
As jeangenie suggest reading articles by those who really know them is much better
I really would consider an.other breed

Yes,

I'm getting mixed reviews. Some are saying that you should not take them to an office, but some are saying you should.

You always will on any subject:) you will have to consider all research then decide what is best and adapt to what the dog  needs

It will depend on who the reviews are from, as in people on here with wide experience of spaniels (either owning, training or behaviourists) as against someone whos sister-in laws uncle had one.

I’m interested to know what it is that attracts you to cockers, and working cockers in particular.

Just a couple of remarks from an owner of (currently) two show-type cockers, and previously owner of a show x working type cocker. One of my current dogs is fairly placid, but has his moments; the other is much more “worky”, nose always on the go and being poked into interesting scents/vegetation/gaps in hedges. The show/worker mix was very energetic and active, and expert at finding mud to roll in. (There are also working cockers owned by members of my extended family.)

You say you have half an hour lunchtime in which to take your dog for a walk. This may be fine in dry weather, depending on the terrain, but for wet weather and/or muddy ground you’ll need to factor in time for cleaning the mud off paws and tummy as a minimum (more if you have a muddy-puddle roller) and drying the dog. If, in “dry” weather, they get their paws wet, they can happily make their own mud by then walking through dust.

As far as toys are concerned, I don’t know what sort you have in mind, but most toys need two players, even a simple game of tuggie. If you have office colleagues, would they be prepared to play if approached by an expectant spaniel toy-in-mouth? (Even if not muddy.)* Then when he’s got a good game going with you, he will be excited and will take time to settle again. Dogs don’t play Solitaire quietly in the corner.

Cockers are lively, inquisitive people-dogs (often called Velcro dogs) who want to be with their people, “ helping”, knowing what’s going on. Shut into a crate for hours (unless for medical reasons) is not kind for any dog, let alone a cocker.

Ultimately of course it’s your choice, I don’t know enough about you, your expectations of your dog, or your working environment to say whether you should or shouldn’t take your cocker to the office, but just offer some more things to consider.

I enjoy their breed traits, and am prepared to accommodate them; others find them a dreadful nuisance.

*The same goes for office visitors/clients etc.

Hello

Re Merrypaw's message. The reasons why I want a working cocker spaniel are:
I live in Cornwall, which is a predominantly rural county with lots of beaches so I want a dog that likes the sea and long walks.
I have read that cocker spaniels require up to 1 hour walking every day and I would be able to take it for walks in the morning,  afternoon and play in the evening
I want a dog that is intelligent, therefore easier to train than other dogs. I have read that cockers are eager to please their owners. If I get a puppy, I
understand that it's hard work but my mother has trained all of our dogs from puppyhood and said that she'll help.
They're quite small and therefore easier to manage than a bigger dog. The dog would be trained to be used to a crate but the door would always be open so it can come out and play as and when it wants to. As for toys, I would consider kongs or balls.

Intelligent doesn’t always mean easier to train, sometimes it just means the dog is cleverer in the mischief it creates!!

>I want a dog that is intelligent, therefore easier to train than other dogs.

Intelligent dogs can actually be harder work to train successfully than others, because they need so much more input if they're not to become bored and 'go freelance', getting into all sorts of mischief! Clever dogs are very demanding!

>I have read that cocker spaniels require up to 1 hour walking every day

Working cockers, when adult, need a minimum of an hour's exercise a day - remember they're designed to be 'on the go' all day on a working day. Many of them, if they don't get this (or plenty of human interaction instead, not just lying quietly) will go absolutely stir-crazy; a bit like a lifetime of lockdown for us.

>As for toys, I would consider kongs or balls.

Kongs last about 15 minutes or so, and balls need someone to throw them ...

Just wondering what other medium sized breeds people would recommend instead of a wcs ?
I am sure there are other breeds that fit his requirements that could be considered

My experience of training my River (ridiculously smart like most papillons) is that he’s very easy to teach individual skills to, especially with clicker/marker training. Basic skills? No problem, except for stay which he doesn’t have the patience for.

The problem with an intelligent dog is that you can’t *just* train the usual sit, stay, down, come, leave it, etc, and then stop. You need to find new things to challenge them with all the time, because they get bored so easily.

Personally I love a dog with intelligence and drive to work, but I have a lot of time to spend training and playing with my boy.

>I am sure there are other breeds that fit his requirements that could be considered

A well-bred (not easy to find) cavalier could be spaniely enough without the hard-wired working drive of the WCS. Otherwise I'd be looking at a terrier; Norfolks and Borders seem to be fairly chilled compared to many terrier breeds but are still active little dogs who enjoy long walks when they're offered.

not medium but if the family have knowledge then a Labrador and go with the showline type.
They love water, they love their walks, they are easy to train and not hardwired to be bonkers all the time and can easily be taught to chill and relax.
This breed is biddable..

Other options could be a showline English Springer, much less drivey than working line any spaniel. Much more ploddy as well but I would still be looking more Lab than Spaniel on needs.

A very intelligent dog if it doesn't get the right attention and brain engagement will find its own entertainment and that usually means trouble. Also if they don't get what they need then behaviourally you will start having issues too.