We have a 12-week old working cocker (Molly) who will be ready to go out next week. I know we will need to keep the walks short at the beginning, but can someone tell me at what point will she be able to go out for 'proper' walks? My partner is dying to have a hill-walking companion who can actually keep up with him, but I'm not quite sure how long this will take (a year? or longer?). She has bags of energy at the moment: I have heard of the 'mad half-hour' (or hour) that pups have, but her mad periods happen serveral times a day! She instinctively retrieves balls that we throw, chasing them at great speed up and down the garden (all our photos - execept the ones of her asleep - just show a black blur!), but I am worried that she is getting too much exercise at this stage and that it will affect her joints later. She is also continually jumping on and off the sofa, and from one chair / sofa to another - but there's not a lot we can do to stop her. (I'm making her sound really crazy but she is absolutely lovely.)

I dont know if this has any relevance or even if it is correct but I was looking after a american x english cocker pup last year and was told he wasnt to have more than half an hours excercise per day until he was at least 6 months old. He was allowed to run about in the garden and play as much as he wanted. It was frustrating because he was so hyper but as he wasnt my dog I had to go by his owners rules, I have heard of this advice in larger breeds because of their hips.

Hope this helps, have you spoken to the breeder ??

Hi the hill walking will have to wait as your pup needs to grow with out any stress on her limbs, i have or had this guy bring his lovely cockerx to training classes and over the three weeks he came i could see the back legs on this pup becoming very weak so i had a word and yes they walked this 14 week old pup for 1to2 hours a day some times twice a day well i advised him not to and haven't seen him since so he just didn't like my advise but how is the pup?.i would say your pup needs to be about 9 or 10 months before you do any real long walks building her up slowly over the months.

I took my 14 week old cocker for a long walk yesterday with her older half sister, but a lot of it he spent sitting in my backpack (hung round the front with straps at the back). Once he realised I wasn't letting him down he was quite happy to go along for the ride!

Thanks for the advice: tomorrow is the first day we can take her out after her jabs. We will keep it very short for the first few months: 15 mins twice a day maybe. It's hard to restrict the exercise, though, as she has an incredible amount of energy and we have been leaving her free access in and out of the patio doors while we've been in the lounge. She just tears manically around the garden! Think we will have to restrict garden access till she's a bit older.

Hi,

I have a 4 month old Working Cocker pup and she goes for one walk a day (at the moment), and goes for about 20 mins running off the lead and that all. She does run about a fair bit, but because we have beardies and they cannot be overexercised because of the joints (as previously mentioned), we are doing the same for Spyda.

When she gets to about 6 months old she will go for about 45 mins and then when she is about 9 months, will go twice a day like all the others for a proper walk.

Manda
x

Thanks Manda. Had a look at your website, and Sypda looks gorgeous: a bit like our Molly (also black with white splashes!)

hi hows molly doing its funny but were are currently looking at the posibilty of getting a working cocker and are interested on how you are getting on as most of the website ive found only sell to 'working gundog people' we used to have a 'normal cocker'( also called molly)who had the normal cocker probs of ear eyes etc and who ultimly succummed to a bad skin problem, i looked at some info on working cokers and they seem to be mostly free of the old favorits. i would be intersted to here how she is doing, do you think working cockers make suitable pets or should they only be owned by people who want to work them

I think that really depends on how much attention you want to pay them. I have a working cocker who works but she woudn't be an ideal choice as a pet. She needs enormous amounts of exercise and will keep going until she drops. If you can keep them busy outside all day and feed their active minds then it doesn't really matter what sort of "work" they do if you can be creative. I firmly believe that they benefit from the very basic gundog training regardless of whether you will ever do that sort of work with them and it will help you to channel their instincts and understand the way they operate. Mine is fairly problem free health wise (touch wood), although I do have to pay close attention to her ears and she succumbs to a tremendous number of scratches, etc from being deep inside the thickest brambles you could ever imagine and being fearless when it comes to barbed wire.

Do you know anyone who has a working dog that you could 'shadow' on a shoot? It is wonderful to see these dogs doing what they are bred to do, and it might just convince you to train and work one!

My 1 year old working cocker, Bilbo, is a pet and I do not work him. However I got him at 7 months old after he had already had 2 homes that couldn't cope with him. The best description I have heard that describes a working cocker is they are like springers on speed, this sums up Bilbo pretty well. I have 2 springers, both working stock and he is much dafter than them, my mother says if Bilbo was a child he would be diagnosed with ADHD. I do alot of training with Bilbo and he soaks it up like a sponge, I am also home all day with my dogs and he is starting agility next month. If you are used to traditional cockers then these working cockers are totally different and I would go an see some working etc. before you go ahead so you have an idea what they are like.

Molly is doing great, Dawn - it is hard to believe that we have only had her two months, I can't imagine being without her now. She is absolutely brimming with energy, though, and never really sleeps during the day. It is very hard to stick to the suggested walking times (although we try to) since she never seems to have burned off much energy on a 20-25 minute walk even though she has been running around manically all that time. She will still be climbing the walls when we get home and dashing around the garden, digging holes, etc. I agree with the others - I'm sure she will continue to be a fantastic pet as she has such a wonderful, affectionate personality, but she is also very energetic and bright and will need lots of exercise and mental stimulation. We will probably take her to agility classes when she is old enough (about 1 year old). Hope you find the right dog for you.

hi rosemarie just another quick question are they as a rule just as freindly towards other dogs as we already have 2(lab and lab/springer), we have a working cocker in our training classse and she seem to love everythiong and is excatly as you discrible totally dotty etc but with my lab/springer cross im already used to that.we re still keeping a eye out for the right dog to come along hopefully not in scotland or oyrkshire which is where i find most of the breders seem to come from (weredown south) dawn.

Hi Dawn - yes, they are extremely friendly with other dogs. Molly adores playing (very boisterously) with canine friends, and seems to actually prefer bigger dogs. We left her with a friend's working cocker for the weekend recently and when we dropped her off they played solidly for 4 hours before Fudge decided he'd had enough and flopped down on the floor to sleep, at which point Molly curled up between his legs and went to sleep too. In fact, it is slightly worrying that she seems to have no sense that some dogs should be kept away from. She saw a GSD on a lead the other day with a muzzle on - it was jumping about like crazy and growling and barking at her but she went merrily over as if it was offering an invitation to play! Like the other respondent's dog, she is mad on balls and can never retrieve enough - preferably in long grass. It's great to watch this little puppy bobbing up occasionally from the grass with her tail wagging like crazy. Loved the definition of them being like 'Springers on speed' - very apt!

Friendly??? I have never known a breed so contented in the company of other dogs, Bilbo loves all the dogs at training class and his best pal is a large male Weimeraner who he pounces on and bites his feet. Be warned though it will drive your other dogs batty wanting to play all day, Bilbo loves to pounce on my 13 year old springer when she is asleep, she wakes up and tries to get him which is all part of the game to him.
If you are already used to crazy gundogs then you are going to have some amount of fun with a working cocker - I have just spent the day trying to stop Bilbo making his trench in the garden any bigger, every time I tell him off he grabs a lump of dirt and tears round the garden trying to get past me and into the house, my springers think he is daft as a brush and look at me as if to ask why he acts the way he does.
Good luck finding a breeder, I am up in Scotland so can't help.

Hi Dawn - have emailed you about a litter

I have a 6 yo rescue cocker who is half working/half show. Compared to a show cocker, he has a longer nose, is much leaner and has a different coat (no undercoat). He is the most friendly dog I have ever owned - loves all dogs and all people. He is an absolutely wonderful dog but does need much more stimulation than a show cocker - although, he can be left for many hours now and then with no destruction at all. He is obsessed with balls or anything that can be thrown. Walks aren't enough - he needs to be able to search for and find his ball (or whatever) on walks. Hiding his ball somewhere in the house and telling him to find it is a good game which keeps him busy!

If you look in any of the shooting magazines, Sporting Gun, Shooting Gazette, Shooting Times you will find plenty of breeders of Working Cockers. As far as I am aware there are several breeders in Scotland. It may be that some breeders will be unwilling to sell a pup to a non-working home though.

Good Luck

hi just a quick question does your dog have any of the eye and ear probs like the show cocker as we have a chance or a half and half like your boy, and were not sure?
dawn