I have loved cocker spaniels all my life and decided to look into buying one 6 months ago. I just recently changed jobs and i now work long hours. Does anybody know if i could leave a cocker spaniel for 8 hours 4 times a week in a crate?
My neighbour jumped at the chance to come in half way through and feed, water and take out for a nice long walk! 
I can offer everything else and as soon as i get in i shall take it another walk and spent lots of time training and paying lots of attention to the lil baby!! 
Thanks,
          Sarah

4 days a week for 8 hours a time, locked in a crate?  Surely this is a WUM..............at least I hope it is :-(

I own and breed cockers and I certainly wouldn't sell you one!  Sorry if that sounds hard, but how do you intend on buying a puppy how are you going  to feed it during the first few months when it has to be fed 4 or 5 times a day, how about house training, socialising the pup etc.

Sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear

I wouldn't sell a pup to someone who was going to leave it that long! How will you house-train it if you're not there? My basic rule is that an adult dog shouldn't be left alone indoors for longer than it takes me to need to visit the lavatory. If I need to go, so might the dog, and we all know how uncomfortable it is to be bursting. :( And that's a trained adult dog - I wouldn't recommend leaving an un-housetrained pup for longer than an hour, maybe two at the most. Sorry.

I wouldn't recommend any type of dog to you, let alone a cocker pup.  You cannot seriously be considering leaving a dog on its own for that length of time, let alone locked in a crate.  Sorry, but if you want a pet that likes to be locked in a cage, buy yourself a hamster.  Really hoping that is a wind up!!

Most Cockers are highly 'into' their people, and would probably fret if left alone, in or out of a crate for that length of time.  Added to that would be the problems associated with house training if you aren't there to let the puppy out every half an hour or so..........  Also, neighbours may well be enthusiastic initially, but soon drop out when it means they are getting all the draw backs of having a dog (commitment wise) and none of the real pleasures.  So many Cockers end up in rescue because of situations like this, please don't let yours be another :(

8 hours is a bit excessive! perhaps you could sponsor a dog at your local rescue centre instead? this is not a fob-off..............there are lots of dogs available, and you can visit and spend time with your chosen dog, perfect for weekends and holidays when youre not working...........and a much better idea allround (and cheaper too!!!) than buying a dog and not being able to look after it properly.