[Closed] WAHOO im getting a DOG 🙂

What model of dog?

what size legs?

you really need to make those walks come alive!!

Been watching Crufts? Must be one of those beautiful standard poodles then...
Anyone else feel cheated when something so un-dog-like wins?
I liked the commentary "The dog lives in the UK and the owners live in Australia" (or something) great dog then.

I've been leaning towards a Sprocker because of the yougn'uns in the house. Gentle enough, small enough (but also not too small) but can run a good 10mile (eventually).. Last dog (before family) was a Rotty so I'm more used to big dogs, but compromises must be made..

YEs Crufts was watched, and I was really egging on Brandon (Rotty) to win, it did well to get where it did though. But yes the poodles, I feel sorry for them, the winner must have had right chilly bollox...

I'd love to get a dog, but unfortunately I have to go to work 😥

Doggies are ace.

I'm lucky I work from home a lot, and mum and kids are generally here as well. However, my early Birthday present comes with, and I kid you not, a contract I need to sign on what does/doesn't go, responsibilities (me) and actions, all neatly rolled up into a hand made kiddy card type thing.

I liked the commentary "The dog lives in the UK and the owners live in Australia"

Just highlights how ****ed up the whole Crufts/KC thing is.

The BBC dropped it because of issues with over breeding and the internal politics of the KC.

Get a rescue mongrel would be my suggestion, I would never get a KC registered dog ever again.

We got a Sprocker recently for pretty much the same reasons as you by the sounds of things. She's GORGEOUS and great with the kids. Our boys are 3 and 4, it took a few weeks for them to get used to each other, plenty of tears as she was a bit nippy and jumpy to start with but she's now excellent with the kids. The wife has been taking her to puppy training classes and she's responding well.

I'd like her to be able to come on runs and rides with me once she's old enough - you have to be careful not to walk them too far for the first year. The kids are doing a great job of training her for the bike, she'll happily run alongside or around them whilst they're riding their bikes.

Wife is at home as the kids are just part time at pre-school so we're lucky that someone is around the house most of the time. All in all we're very happy with her.

This is the only photo I have of her to hand, shortly after she came home. She was about 8 weeks old here.

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I'd love to get a dog, but unfortunately I [s]have to go to work [/s]

I'm just far far too lazy. Kids want a dog but I just couldn't be arsed taking it for a walk in the morning and at night. Which is a shame as I reckon it'd be great fun.

What annoys me about Crufts and the like, this Bassett hound was bred for hunting and should be atheltic. **** me it was bred to a breed standard and can hardly walk. The best greyhound looked like it had never run judging by its lack of muscle. The bulldog was bred for fighting and blah blah....my lucher would eat a bulldog in 30 seconds flat if she was pissed off enough! Then Airedales were used in WW1, yes but they look **** all like modern airedales which became so inbred in the 80's they became almost uncontrolable. ****wits utter ****witts.

The KC are a disgrace. Why aren't they doing more to encourage the breeding out of the physical characteristics which afflict certain breeds. I'm thinking the breathing problems of brachycephalic dogs like bulldogs and pugs.

Crufts.. all those dogs are in bread..

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LOL @ C9

Tony where did you get your Sprocker form in the end, I remember your thread about that...? Very cute looking btw..

Me too, we dog sat for a weekend, ordered a pup next day, take delivery in June, that's ages away.

sui, good choice with the spaniel cross, they are full of beans and complete clowns

I'd still recommend a staffie, great dog around kids, need a good daily walk (much like spaniels), but very low maintenance (grooming, etc). pretty good as a guard dog too if our experience is anything to go by.

aa, KC is on a proper road to nowhere with the 'breeding for form' show dog thing, and the real losers are the dogs, sadly.

about the only one thing the KC shows do for me is highlight the importance of genetic diversity when it comes to the strength of a species/breed.

[url= http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/dogownership/crufts ]RSPCA petition[/url]

I know there are some political issues with the RSPCA but this has to be a good thing.

I am the only person in the world who hates dogs aren't I?

Why do you hate dogs?

DavidB - Member

I am the only person in the world who hates dogs aren't I?

no my missus is pretty much there, but will "grow" to love as she did me 🙂

I am the only person in the world who hates dogs aren't I?

You can only hate dogs if you have no soul.

A good dog is one of the best things you can have in your life.

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not sure why it's clipping it.

Google it for the full cartoon.

Sui - IIRC we found her on preloved.com. Bit weird looking for puppies on a site for second hand stuff! Once we'd decided on breed we worked out preferences on sex, parents (both her parents are working dogs), colour, distance, etc and scoured t'internet. We were fortunate that about a week after we started looking properly a litter was advertised about 90 minutes from us.

We were second to see the whole litter so pretty much got the pick of them, although we could easily have brought them all home.

Good luck in your search. And where are you by the way? If you're close to us and want to come and meet her, introduce her to the kids etc you'd be very welcome.

DavidB - Member
I am the only person in the world who hates dogs aren't I?

The dearly departed TJ of these parts was also a dog hater.

I am the only person in the world who hates dogs aren't I?

Hi Tony, Ashtead (Leatherhead/Epsom). I was thinking about getting the kids to meet some younger dogs first, the son is fine (2yo) but the daughter (almost 4) needs some convincing..

The pre-loved things does seem weird, but have also seen how populated it is with pets. I'll make a search!

Ohhhh i'm excited too! All being well, we'll have a dalmation pup by August. The breeder was lovely and was happy with us, which was a relief. The pup should be quite cosmopolitan in family history (part argentinian, croatian, english, russian, finnish!)

(seems quite strange to be waiting for a dog to get [i]knocked up[/i] though...)

Post some more pics up!

nothing makes me think less of a man than the comment 'The Missus will let me'

🙄

RSPCA petition

I know there are some political issues with the RSPCA but this has to be a good thing.

Fair enough, there are breeds that would benefit from not having silly breed standards. But if you're going to have a go at the KC why not aim for breeding licences and get puppy farms dealt with at the same time.

One licence that obligates a breeder not to breed dogs that will lead to known health issues, or keep them is shitty conditions, or repeatedly breed from the same bitch, and to make sure the blood lines are not too close. If you're going to profit from animals the least you can do is take care of them properly.

Most people are descent, but the bad ones are unfortunately spread pretty evenly throughout all walks of life, including the KC. That doesn't mean everything the KC do is evil. Our dog is KC registered, the training he attends is at a KC club. Everyone I've encountered there is a decent person who doesn't want to see any dog suffer.

KC are stupid ****s, see Pug, Boston Terrier or countless other examples of them causing the breeding in of painful and dangerous traits into dogs, saying other people do bad things with dogs too doesnt excuse them.

We're in Crowthorne so not too far. If you're over this way at some point then let me know. She's 17 weeks now so still pretty young, but old enough to understand she needs to be more gentle with young children.

You can only hate dogs if you have no soul.

Or if you can't bear the yappy buggers and their horrible stink, disgusting eating habits, putrid vile eggs, fawning annoying owners who state "he's only being friendly" and utter slavishness.

When I was young an alsation ripped a large chunk out of my Mum. To this day I've not been happy with dogs approaching me at all. If I ever mention this to a walker who has let out of control Rover jump up at me, they always always always tell me that he is different and I should not overreact. Bollocks. Surely I am allowed to distrust domesticated predators and (backed up by the law) expect their owners to keep them under control and away from me.

If I had a pet baboon and it did to others the things dogs do to me daily on my walk to work, I'd be in jail. now.

I can totally see the attraction of dog ownership and the rewards. Not for me though, I'd have them all pulling sledges, herding sheep or feeding Koreans.

Given that none of these dogs have hurt you they have a point dont they? I imagine you might well be overstating the point too. I mean I walk daily around lots of dogs and its rare ons jumps up at me. People should be more sympathetic and should call their dog away no doubt but its unlikely any harm will come to you. The law isnt what you think it is either. A dog has to be dangerously out of control and you have to have reasonable grounds to think you are in danger. Not liking and being scared of dogs isnt reasonable grounds.
All of which doesnt mean these dog owners are not unsociable idiots.

When I was young an alsation ripped a large chunk out of my Mum. To this day I've not been happy with dogs approaching me at all. If I ever mention this to a walker who has let out of control Rover jump up at me, they always always always tell me that he is different and I should not overreact. Bollocks. Surely I am allowed to distrust domesticated predators and (backed up by the law) expect their owners to keep them under control and away from me.

Is this TJ's new login?

Sui - Member
following on from this

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/if-i-was-allowed-a-dog-it-would-have-to-fit-very-strict-guidelines-the-wife

I appear to have a choice of early birthday (June) present.

SWEEEET..

great news, I am sure you will find like most people who own dogs, it makes you a better, more tolerant, happier person 🙂 As its like living with a very stupid clown, who is permanently excited by life.

Given that none of these dogs have hurt you they have a point dont they?

The one that bit me did.

really how terrible, were you badly hurt?

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Having started phoning around some of the local rescue centres, they are very keen to keep to their minimum age requirement, so I can see me (us) going down the breeder route at the moment.

As its like living with a very stupid clown, who is permanently excited by life.

Sui - we seriously considered the rescue option but in my limited experience they're pretty closed to families with young children. I called into one near us and had a chat with them and they confirmed that is the case with most rescue centres. I'm actually glad now that we got that response as it justified our selfishness in wanting to get a young puppy - the kids (all of us) would have loved any dog but puppies are lovely.

Breeder route is a good one so long as they're responsible. Expect to be asked a lot of probing questions, a responsible breeder will want to make sure you're OK and IMO this should be seen as positive. Also don't be embarrassed to ask them lots of questions, basically when you go to see a litter it's as much about breeder and buyer vetting each other I think.

[i]I can totally see the attraction of dog ownership and the rewards.[/i]

Cool

I've been leaning towards a Sprocker because of the yougn'uns in the house

You do realise that Cockers and thus Sprockers are some of the bitiest dogs around don't you?

A surprise entry on this list. Cocker Spaniels are fun-loving, playful and good natured pets. They’re one of the most popular dog breeds to keep as pets. However, these little dogs are also notorious for biting people a lot. A study by Cambridge University brought up surprising results- solid coloured cocker spaniels were likely to be more aggressive. English Cocker Spaniels also have a higher tendency towards owner and stranger directed aggression. In Palm Beach County in 1992, this breed accounted for 59 bites out of the 2,234 reported. Children were the likeliest target of these dogs, with 40% of the victims being under ten years of age.

Real life incident- a cocker spaniel in Wharton bit a 52 year old woman on the leg. She suffered from puncture wounds and had to be hospitalized.

Get a lab or a poodle.

Clearly the op should get a lurcher, best type of dog in the world!!

tis American, must be wrong 😳 Both lab and poodle are too big.

A spaniel will take up as much room and will run around more so needs more space. Lurchers are tall but fold up small and sleep loads.

Then get a minature poodle or a minature poodle crossed with a lab. Sprockers will take up a lot of room simply because they bounce off walls/the roof. Poodles are great dogs, don't be put off the camp reputation they have because of the silly haircuts.

Also to expand on what A_A said, the best dogs for children and coping with smaller houses are hilariously quite often the massive ones like St Bernards.

That study was done on English cockers by Cambridge.

cockers have a tendency towards possesive behaviour of one owner, so i'm not altogether surprised by the above, TBH.
i have a welsh springer/field spaniel cross, and she's very good, but with kids i'd probably recommend something like a boarder terrier. they're popular for a reason.

Lurchers, they are noot inbred pooches and are brilliant with kids

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_syndrome

My springer spaniel, is twice the size of my old border terrier, but he doesn't take up twice the space when sleeping and sits in the footwell of my car quite happily, with room for people's feet.

They are right about cocker spaniels though, they get spaniel rage and can be very very aggressive! See the link at the top of my post!

Generally, the bigger the dog, the more placid they seem to be (in my personal experience)

Although I did have my left hand half bitten off by a golden retriever when I was young, physically scarred but not mentally! They are another breed that are pretty aggressive but aren't mentioned much.

Its the inbreeding, get a mutt lurcher

If we're going to recommend dogs we are personally baised towards, get an Old English Sheepdog.

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Your wife won't care that it will eventually grow into a monster when you bring home this.

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lol

Look, I know bigger dogs don't actually take up much more room than a nutcase hound, however it's a perception thing (you've hit the nail on the head with the last post Tom). So now I'm confused, I've had a lot of people saying that a Sprocker is an excellent dog for young family, now quite quickly that's turned in to - not quite so good..

I grew up with working Springers as a child - but my parents were experienced with them.

But there is definately something different about them, they could be very single minded and moody. Working cockers and to a lesser extent Springers have an edginess to them. My old Springer was great but there was one time when she was young that she snarled at a young one proding and poking her. They do make great family pets but I would say that you'd need some experience to make that happen. Compared to my cockapoo, I'd say my old Springer had a greater sense of the rules in our house (she would very quickly become guilty and hide if she had done something wrong) but at the same time she had a certain bloody mindedness that the poodle cross doesn't have. The new dog is daft but she listens and learns almost instantly, I taught her to sit, lie down, roll over and high five at four months - if I give her a command she does it. However if she does something she shouldn't, it seems to go right over her head. Which is weird because she is by far the better behaved dog, I believe it's because she's much more people oriented than any of the Springers I've dealt with. She attaches herself to your feet, then follows you around all day. If you sit down, she will sit next to you and go to sleep with her head in your neck. (She's not a working dog :mrgreen:)

Mind you, I have no experience with show cockers - who should be a bit more docile!

I've met a lot of dogs since we got our Lurcher, nicest dogs I've come across are Labradoodles and Cockerpoos, ie the poodle crosses. Cockers and border collies the biggest pita (I'm aware of the contradiction there). Oh yeah Lurchers are by reputation and ime fabulous with kids.

Just don't rush into anything Sui, the good thing is that you're now allowed a dog. Now just meet as many breeds as you can - preferably the mothers and fathers of potential litters. Then decide, no need to decide whether you do or do not want a Sprocker yet 😀

Whippet x bedlington lurcher would honestly be the perfect dog for you, mine has a bit of Greyhound and collie in so is a bit bigger. Here's an example:
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heres mine, 2nd best rough bitch in berkshire![img] [/img]
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back to the drawing board maybe..

tony, say it will be alright....<pray>

Bloody hell, I finally get the chance to get a mut, and now it seems impossible

To be honest, within reason any dog will do if you get it as a puppy and train, socialise and exercise it right.

My friend had a cocker when we were in our teens. Lovely dog till it was about 4, then this happened:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rage_syndrome

They new nothing about it at the time, only found this by chance a few years ago. Eventually Snoop (dog) had to be put to sleep after biting my friends Mum, he'd only let a few people near him, and only once in a blue moon. Life in a dog run wasn't the best. I'm not saying this will happen to ever cocker, or that my friend's experience could not have somehow been prevented, but it's worthing keeping in mind.

anagallis_arvensis - Member
To be honest, within reason any dog will do if you get it as a puppy and train, socialise and exercise it right.

Exactly this IMO.

Edit: apparently i need to learn how to quote properly 😆

 

Oh yeah gratuitous dog pick required

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Tom_W1987 - that thing about Cockers in Palm Beach would be referring to American Cocker Spaniels, which are different to English Cocker Spaniels. Weirder shaped heads, to start with.

I've never met a snappy cocker spaniel - in fact, I remember being AMAZED at one at Benny's training class, when her gave her a treat it was like my hand was being kissed by velvet, she was so incredibly gentle! Apparently she actually spent her days with her owner in a nursery, surrounded by children, so she'd been trained to be very gentle.

Noodles, another dog at dog school, is a cocker poo, and he's also lovely and friendly, but can be a bit food aggressive and occasionally territorial towards people (but not dogs, oddly).

Benny's half cocker spaniel, and he's ridiculously soft - he never barks back or responds aggressively to other dogs, even if they're snapping (or biting) him. He's lovely around children - he's normally very bouncy, but he tones it down in the presence of babies (as tested on my nephews and friend's daughters).

That said, my brother's dog is the most adorable around children, and especially around my 1 year old nephew - they're partners in crime. He's very gentle and protective of my nephew, and he's a staffie.

EDIT: Forgot obligatory dog photos

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Do you think she will notice if I come home with a Newfoundland 🙂

Cockerpoo you say.....

Edit... scrub that, they look like what Paul o Grady has...

We've a Working Cocker and he's gentle and friendly. Not aggressive in anyway.

He will stand his ground with other dogs and stand up for himself but he has to be provoked first by them barking and snapping at him.

Lots has been written about rage and it's something we looked into a lot to make sure ours would be ok. The conclusion we got to was it was more common in show cockers that were golden and it was something that these days is rare if it exists at all.

I won't deny it he was a little "cockerdile" when he was young but it passed in a few months once he learnt his place, this it seems is a common cocker trait!

tony, say it will be alright.

Since we got Poppy she started out a bit nippy but this is to be expected and something I think all pups go through wether in the litter or elsewhere. Being around such young children I think has helped as they are obviously more sensitive to nips etc so she's had to learn very quickly to be gentle. I'm not sure if it's just her or the breed in general but she tends to be very 'mouthy', in that she wants to get her mouth round your hands etc. Tactile I guess. Pups have sharp teeth and at times she still gets it a bit wrong but she's still young.

As a_a says above, socialise, train, and exercise. If a dog gets bored it gets mischievous, training sessions give them a good mental as well as physical workout.

Personally I don't think you can go far wrong with a Sprocker but then I would say that! I did grow up with all sorts of dogs, Springers included, and have never had reason to worry about any of them, so I've got a very positive bias.

Whatever breed you choose so long as you treat it well and responsibly (socialise, train, exercise, etc) then you'll be fine.

Again, we're not that far up the road, bring your kids to meet Poppy if you're in anyway concerned.

Also:

I finally get the chance to get a mut, and now it seems impossible

Decide what you want from a dog, do some independent research, once you decide on a breed find a litter and go see them. Meet the parents and see if they're what you expected. If they're not then look at something else.

We thought we wanted a lab when we decided to get a dog. Once we spent a while looking into breeds, talking with friends (and folks on here), etc we ended up with a Sprocker.

Lol @ cockerdile 🙂

Cheers for all the words of wisdom and opinions. Tony I may take you up on that offer, so be prepared.. I've put some feelers out with some other rescue centres and also a Spaniel breeder as my head still says Sprocker 🙂

Just being impatient now.

No worries, please do. My email is in my profile.

I work with dogs and see dozens a day of all breeds and you soon get to know what's snappy 😉 it is true that there are snappy cockers around, mainly the solid coloured ones for some reason? They are normally alright though, you meet far more aggressive golden retrievers which people normally think of as good family dogs. Springers tend to be good if you can excercise them enough. I wouldn't recommend poodles, the little ones can be bity and the big ones loopy (ymmv), I'm always wary with terriers and collies. Obviously all dogs have the potential to bite so good socialisation etc is vital. I'm a lurcher fan but pure greyhounds are good as well if you don't like long walks they don't take much more work than a cat and curl up small.

Got a working cocker. She's 1 at the end of the month. I have no idea where the time has gone with her. She was mouthy at first, but soon got out of it. My Sister has her half-sister, who is more show type. She is the most docile dog that lets my nieces get away with dressing her up as Rapunzel. Neither have ever shown any aggression. Rage Syndrome was a problem, but I think it is slowly being bred out. She is bloody lively though and has her quirks, like digging the water from her water bowl, or blowing bubbles in it. She loves her walks and knows that it is walk time and will bark at the door to go out if I dilly-dally around. When she plays with my partners show type cocker, she makes chimpanzee noises, which is odd but funny!

All pups bite. We just had a rope type toy and everytime we nipped we'd shove it in her gob and she would chew that. If she still chewed us we just stopped playing with her.
Now training her not to steal other dogs balls in the park, that was tricky!

I second the bedlington whippet cross, here's ours, sadly departed two weeks ago. God i miss him.

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What a great looking dog, sorry he passed on. Bloody dogs you love them but they dont live long enough!

how true, not like loosing a child or anything, but definitely like loosing a best mate.