Hello,
This is my first 'main' post and I'm after some advice on rehoming an older dog and what is a suitable breed. It's a silly question really but we've been searching for a dog now for about 3/4 years and have put alot of thought and preperation into it and looking at breeds, visiting breeders, attending shows etc and we decided that following advice from breeders that it would be best to look at rehoming an older dog through a breeder (ex show dog etc) and we looked at a few breeds and our main choice was an English Cocker beacuse of their 'merry' mind!! and then we thought about an American beacuse they are a bit calmer....We are an active family so thought they would be great but I work Part Time, 6 hours a week for 4 days but my older son is home 3 of the days at lunchtime and my neighbour said she could pop in if needs be. Some breeders said that an older dog would be easier and other said a puppy beacuse you could make it how you want it. We are now in a dilemma beacuse of the chocie and being offered both breeds and another breeder suggested a Cesky Terrier which we looked at and liked. Can anyone help?

Thank You in advance and sorry for the long post!! :) :)

Hi
Can't comment on any of your breed choices but what I will say is that not all breeders by any means keep their dogs in the house.  Therefore, if you take on an older ex-show dog you will need to establish if he/she has been housetrained or kennel kept.  Also, SOME breeders (not all!!) will have their own land and just let their dogs free run. Sooo, whilst they are very well trained on the leash and behave great in company their recall may be a tad dodgy!!  :-)  Just some things to bear in mind!  I did think about going down this route myself a few years ago but ended up after a couple of aborted attempts in getting an 8 week old pup. 

Good luck whatever you choose!

I own an American cocker and they are great dogs - I do find even at 6 years old I need to keep all tissues and paper out of George's reach, but other than that he is a lovely dog, willing and able for a 12 mile walk at the weekend, but happy with the mile or half mile he gets during the week before work. They do have a lot more coat than English cockers, but either way you'll need to learn to groom or take him in somewhere every 8 weeks or so to keep it under control. I also have 2 Cavaliers, if you like the spaniel type but want something a little more laid back than the cockers they are worth considering - again perfectly able for 8 mile walks, but quite happy to curl up on the sofa for a nap if it's raining!

Thanks for your replies, keep them coming!!. I think I'm going to see what the breeder says and go from there.