Hello,

We are looking to get a WCS puppy end of this year/ beg of next.

We would like to find breeders whose breeding is geared more towards the active pet home ie through parental heritage. We want a breeder who raises them in the family home.

We would love a liver & tan so if there any any breeders out there who also tend to have this colour this would be great.

We are based in Dorset so any southern location.

Many thanks in advance.

Have a look in the breeders section here and contact people. You can then chat through what you are looking for.
Most wcs are pretty active so doubt you will have a problem there .

Hi, thanks that's a good idea will have a look.

Don't think I made myself all that clear in my original post. We had a WCS before who was super chilled out and not your usual crazy and we selected her due to the  parents temperament and ' off switch' . We are looking for something that's perhaps bred to be better suited ro family homes rather than in 'work'

Show-type cockers tend to be more chilled than working-type, who are usually bred to be very active. I don't think I've ever met a calm one!

Hello,

Our previous dog was a WCS who was very calm in the house.

Have you contacted the breeders of your previous dog? If they are no longer breeding themselves, they may be able to recommend someone who is breeding the same type.

There are some breeders producing dual-purpose cockers: the Champdogs (main site) puppy search function has selection filters which include dual-purpose type.

When looking at pedigrees, as a rough rule of thumb, you probably want fewer rather than more red-ink “FtCh” (field trial champions).

Don’t dismiss show type cockers though: they are very active and interested in everything, but it is less compulsive. My present show-type is still eager and active at the age of 13 (although he does sleep more between bouts of activity), as have been my previous ones.

Interesting re working cockers. My Mabel is bred from working cocker lines and from a gamekeeper and okay, she is strong on the lead ( to say the least ) and recall improving but... still hmmm( I'll keep quiet on that one) but around the house she is perfect. She is quiet and well-mannered and will lie peacefully at my feet while I am writing or playing the piano, which I do a lot of. She deffo has an off-switch and is very family friendly.

It's noticeable that it's only working-type cockers, never show-type, that are rehomed to be trained as sniffer dogs in early adulthood, as they've proved far too 'busy' for their pet home. They're fantastic dogs as long as they have a job to do but most (there are of course exceptions!) people's lives are too busy being out earning a living to have enough spare time to devote to the dog.

And of course when they're crossed with a poodle (again, it's usually working-type than show-type that are used) they need even more attention because of the additional high intelligence from the poodle parent!

Apart from shows I doubt i have really seen a show type cocker. Most in  general life are wcs. How much difference is there between them especially visually ?

Working cockers have shorter legs and ears and longer bodies, almost like a cross between a show cocker and a jack russel. They can be very similar in heads, maybe a bit more furnishings on the show type.

Thank you chamsong

>How much difference is there between them especially visually ?

Working cockers are generally smaller, with shorter, higher-set ears and a flatter skull, and rather longer in the body than the show lines. The WCS usually has a smoother coat than the show type too (when entire - once neutered, both male or female, they often turn into powderpuffs!). The show type tend to be steadier although still the 'merry cocker' of tradition with less of an imperative need to continual activity.

Photos here.  They're practically different breeds!

https://woofwagwalk.co.uk/working-cocker-spaniel-or-show-cocker-spaniel-whats-the-difference/

That's the hairiest show cocker I've ever seen

Goodness together like that you can really see the difference.  Thank hou nikita

Ok maybe he she needed a groom. My parents dog many mamy years ago must have been show line. First dog in the family and I now suspect by. They had him groomed very frequently.  Can see why
Brooke coat changed when she was neutered at 6
I call her my black sheep
Nothing keeps it under proper fcr control.  From your descriptions.think if i were thinking ,  I am not , showline would suit best . . First are one thing but ime wcs are a whole different level of active

“That's the hairiest show cocker I've ever seen ”

That blue roan definitely needs a good grooming (doesn’t have to be clippers, can be scissors). The Cocker Spaniel Club produces a booklet on grooming show-type cockers. It’s not difficult to groom a show-type cocker at home, at least for general pet purposes; grooming to show standard is another matter.

Many pet owners of show-types who don’t show have their dogs clipped more or less short, often removing the feathering which is one of the beauties of cockers. A well-groomed cocker has a more-or-less straight coat with a silky texture.

http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/aboutpage.htm for some pictures of nicely groomed dogs.

>That's the hairiest show cocker I've ever seen

Typical spay/castrate coat. Often the only thing is to clip them off because they can be dreadful to groom properly.