The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Marketplace => Topic started by: Birdie Wife on March 25, 2009, 02:19:49 pm
-
Cocker Spaniel puppy for pet, from working stock rather than show stock. Not docked please. Any colour considered! Must be able to see parents.
Please PM with details, or any suggestions of other sites where I might find the perfect pup.
-
I got a gorgeous white Worker who is 8 months old from the Scottish Rescue 3 weeks ago.
http://www.spanielrescuescotland.org/ (http://www.spanielrescuescotland.org/)
or try
http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?board=46.0 (http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?board=46.0)
Good luck!
-
Hi, try www.epupz.co.uk I can usually find breeds I am looking for on there, and Im in Scotland. Depending on whereabouts you are then I may be able to help, can ask a few of the local farmers, they usually know of some.
-
No No No no - not Epupz - there are puppy farmers are on there.
-
No No No no - not Epupz - there are puppy farmers are on there.
I found a site yesterday - not that one but different - more than half the adverts are from similar locations in Ireland, nothing against the Irish but it shouts 'Puppy Farm' at me :'(
-
You can usually pick them up by doing searches for different breeds. And puppy farms are rife in ireland. English Springer rescue here in the UK have ferry loads of them being brought over for rehoming. Some in a sorry state too.
-
You can usually pick them up by doing searches for different breeds. And puppy farms are rife in ireland. English Springer rescue here in the UK have ferry loads of them being brought over for rehoming. Some in a sorry state too.
:'( :'( :'(
-
Sorry, but it's true - we actually were asked to take one young lad onto our re-homing books that was a cross Springer/Brittany - they call them Bringers and one stupid woman in england is breeding them deliberately - 2 springer bitches, one brittany dog - bingo - money makers every season! This one had had 3 homes already 1t 8 months! we found him a great working home. Working dogs are not suitable as couch potatoes.
-
Mike Smith is a Field Trial Judge. Check out Mike's webpage http://www.mailscotgundogs.co.uk/
-
I'm going to have a look at some black cocker puppies in a couple of weeks *big cheesy grin* :love:
-
Is you are still looking I saw an advert for "working cockers" in Linlithgow, Contact number is 078265255322
-
The very same!! ;D ;D
-
Are you going to really work it? for shooting over?
-
Plan is to get it working - not with guns, but finding nests on the nature reserve where I work. I wanted a small dog that likes water as well, we go kayaking when we can so a good swimmer is a strong bonus ;) the pups in the ad are from parents that are quite laid back (for cockers) so hopefully the pup would be good for bringing in the office too.
-
Spaniels hunt within gun range unless they are trained to go further - that is 50 yards each side of the handler/gun. You may have to try to encourage it to hunt a wider pattern if that is what you need. They also flush everything out that they come across - just a natural attribute, they can't help it. HPR's are different inasmuch as they will go on point at the scent of game and hold the game mesmerised until it is flushed for shooting or counting. Are it's parent's field trialers? Presumably you want to discourage the retrieving aspect - or perhaps not. Would you need it to collect injured birds? There are plenty of Gundog trainers in Scotland but perhaps you have trained a Spaniel before.
-
Hi doganjo,
That's really useful information - I haven't trained a spaniel before and would appreciate any relevant info :) I would like to discourage retrieval behaviour and encourage pointing behaviour. I like that they hunt within gun range and therefore are more likely to stay closer, rather than going off unting by itself. Forgive my ignorance, but what is an HPR? Regarding field trials, the parents are both working gundogs and the advert describes "many FTCH's in pedigree".
Other nature reserves in the area are using pointers now to locate the nests of rare breeding birds like Black Grouse, so that productivity can be more accurately measured. Would it be possible to train a cocker to do the same?
I didn't say so before but one of the key reasons for getting a working cocker as a pet is because the ground around here is very rough and working cockers have a different morphology that is better suited to these conditions (as you'll know) - shorter coat less likely to felt up, shorter ears so less prone to infections from draggin their ears when nose to the ground.
-
Sounds like you'd have been better with an HPR. Hunter Pointer Retriever. They are Continental or Versatile Gundogs - I breed, show, work and Judge Brittanys, the smallest of the HPRs. They are about the same height as a Springer but shorter backed and slightly longer legged. I doubt very much that your Cocker will point. They aren't bred for that. What a spaniel does in a normal driven shoot is to bumble through all the undergrowth pushing up all the game as it goes (they call it hunting ;)). The birds fly, the rabbits run, and millions of shooters let off shots at random, with the result some of the game is shot. Then come the retrievers to find it and bring it back to the bag. A bag of 100 to 200 not unusual on bigger estates. Just my view on what I don't think is much of a sport. Game doesn't have much chance IMO.
Now.................... an HPR will hunt an area methodically, using the wind to find game scent, will locate and point said game, hold the point for as long as needed for the guns to get close enough to shoot, flush on command, game is shot (or not depending on the skill of the Gun), then the R part of it kicks in and it is sent to retrieve the game and bring it to hand. Result is a meal on the table for all who take part, a good day's sport for the guns, stories of the one that got away for the handlers, happy fit dogs. A good day for all, and maybe a bag of about a half dozen birds.
I take it you did really want that lecture? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :-[ Oops, sorry - I get carried away sometimes! :-[
-
No worries ;) I think I asked for it anyway :P as I said, the dog won't be worked in the traditional sense. I've been in long discussions with hubbie, who doesn't really want a dog, about what sort of dog he would be happy with. His friend has a show-strain cocker who is a lovely calm boy, hence got to thinking along those lines, and then discovered working cockers. Simple as that really! Hubbie doesn't really need to know the difference ;) I've since been doing a bit more homework and discovered some cockers are terribl attention-seekers, completely fixated on their owners to the point that they can't bear any separation. The parents of the puppies I'm going to see are described as gentle and laid back, yet energetic - sounds perfect.
Had a look on your website just now, handsome dogs you have!
-
Thank you. Mine are line bred to French Dual Champions, not just show ones. No separation between show and work in HPRs - they are 'Good-looking AND Intelligent' - my kennel motto! I am off to Judge in Norway next month - really looking forward to that - but the highlight of my career was judging at Crufts in 2007. If I had a litter planned I'd have sent you pedigrees, but credit crunch has made me cautious - I know of too many dogs being abandoned, and puppies unsold at 3, 4 and 5 months.
Enjoy your dog, pet or not, DO something with him or her - you will all get more out of the relationship. Just look at that - another bloomin' lecture! ::) ::) ::) :-[ :-[ Sorry!