i am going to choose my new blue roan cocker spaniel on sunday.Have decided to get a male and there are 2 in litter.Breeder is kc registered and know from talking to lady that she has been breeding for a long time.already named him Harvey,only 2 weeks old so will have to wait to bring him home.Just wanted a few tips on choosing right one.Should i go for the most outgoing puppy or a laid back one.Harvey will be living with me,10yr daughter,9yr son,and 2 cats and also my boyfriend who doesnt live with me.

sorry forgot to ask if anyone could recommend a good book on cocker spaniels as want to give my harvey the best life i can. thanks

Hi lou-lou
Can't help with book recommendation I'm afraid but I'm sure somebody else can. As for chosing a puppy, consider what you want: a lively strong willed dog or a more laid back one -which would suit you best? What's your family like -quiet or noisy? There isn't a right or wrong pup as such, it's usually a question of which pup is most suited to the buyer and ther individual circumstances. Ask the breeder for advice as he or she will know the pups best and their personalities.

You may also find there is no real difference between the two. I chose a pup for myself from a breeder this summer, and I had a choice of 3 -they were all the same colour, same sex and I couldn't notice any difference in their personalities at all. :)

If your breeder is prepared to let you make the choice, I'd second Goldmali here. You know the personalities of everyone else in the house so consider - if there are any overt differences, that is - the pup that, in theory, would fit in best. Personally, I prefer the lively, interested pup over the one that makes a beeline for behind the sofa but you may have different preferences.

When I chose my pup although I could have had his lovely bumptious big brother, both my breeder and I were in agreement that he needed a working home. That's not to say my pup is the slightest bit introvert - far from it!!! - but he and I "clicked" from the outset.

I dont know if what i am about to say is right is wrong but it certainly works for us.We let the pup pick us.The pup that seems to come to us and show some interest,likes play and doesnt seem shy to come forward and make its personality known.We have two lovely dogs through using this method. :)

I agree with Guiness here. If you have children, you don't want a puppy that is too shy! But also you don't want one that is going to be too in your face either. When we chose our pup, we had 2 that came to us, (1 to my husband and 1 to me) Typical! I won the battle in the end after alot of discussion! I couldn't ask for a better dog! one bonus for my husband was my mil ended up with the pup that chose him :-) so he gets the best of both worlds.
Good luck with your choosing. Ahh i miss those really small puppy days :-D

I had the choice of two pups when we went to look at Flynn two weeks ago and I was very worried.  Because they are blenheim cavaliers they had slightly different markings but they was not one I liked the most.  Flynn basically chose us.  There was something about him which the other puppy did not have. 

thankyou for all your great replies.I had already thought to choose the pup that comes to me,but I just wanted to make sure that I would be doing the right thing.Our household is quiet and my children are very sensible.

What are you going to do when the whole litter comes running towards you :D Cocker pups are generally very keen to meet & greet visitors so I would advise you to rely on your breeder's experience as to which puppy is more laid back, which puppy is more assertive etc. If you are new to puppy owning, then I would go for the more laid-back character (if there is one) - all puppies are hard work but novice puppy owners might find a very confident pup a bit too much of a handful.

Re book recommendations, it depends on how much you want to spend really. A good inexpensive book is "Pet Owners Guide To Cocker Spaniels" by Frank Kane which retails at £4.99. There are plenty of other books available but this is a good "starter" one.

Jane

I would of thought that at just over 2 weeks old it would be very difficult to assess each pups true character. I would prefer to choose at 5-6 weeks when the pups are more active and a bit more developed.

Oops didn't notice the 2 weeks old bit ;-) I personally wouldn't let a buyer choose a pup at this age - it's way too early to assess anything at all as the pups won't even be walking & may not even have their eyes open (which is why I don't generally let people visit until pups are older). I agree 5-6 weeks is much better for choosing a pup.

Jane

he he he, i never thought about that to be honest,all the pupies comming running.Lets just hope you have a large house and a big bank balance then. :)

Hi lou-lou.  At 2 weeks you're not going to see a lot of personality.  They're going to be a bit like fat slugs!! :) 
Even when you go to visit later on, you are only going to see a 30/60 minutes snapshot of the pups.  The one who looks dopey then might well have been manic for the previous 2 hours!
If you think that the breeder is experienced, then I would explain to her all the details of your home life, and what sort of puppy you think would fit in, and then trust her, having watched them all for most of each day, to steer to towards the right puppy for your family.
Enjoy Snday! :)

i think i would be more suited to a laid back puppy.when i was 20 living at home we had a blue roan called bramble.he was so laid back and never a problem but sadly died of old age 2 yrs ago.the breeder seems really nice and i am sure she will advise me well

Sounds like a good plan! :)

Just what I was going to say - at 2 weeks they won't be running anywhere surely. But perhaps you can get to know the breeder and she can assess your character, and then if you go back when they're 6 or 8 weeks old she will be able to match you to the right puppy. Hope all goes well. :-)