I have just joined WCOL and thought I'd introduced myself, but not sure where that went!  Don't have a cocker yet......but research going on!  I do have a hyper yellow lab and he and I are learning together. 

Hi and welcome!:D

Hello

Welcome to WCOL!

Hello and welcome.

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

Make sure you check out the  http://workingcockerhealthscreendirectory.com/ our sister site.  You can find breeders on there, along with other health related information to help you with your research.

Hi & welcome

Thanks for taking time to say hello. I have spoken to someone living in Dorset who has offered me some training and picking up opportunities which is great.  I live in South Somerset and am looking for a cocker to eventually work alongside my lab.  Can anyone suggest a good line for me to investigate?  I am not too worried about loads of ftch in pedigree, but a good honest working strain, good temperament and health scores are a must.  The cocker world is new to me, so don't even have a starting point!

Hello we can be newbies together 

I can personally recomend anything that is sired by Whaupley Reiver as my bitch is fantastic!  

But then my bitchs full brother is at stud at Danilimat and he is lovely so could recomend them....I have also had a Mallowdale that was equally lovely but a 100 times faster and keener and needed someone alot more experienced than I will ever be. He would of been fantastic for trialling though.

Most of the people on here who have Whaupley dogs seem over the moon with there so I would start there if I were you. They are both members on here. And both seem lovely and easy to get on with.

The very best of luck in your search it'll be nice to see what turns up for you.

Thanks Sharon, I did contact them, but did not know anything much about them.  Looking at your recommendation I will give them a call.  I'll also look up Danlimat.  Will let you know how I get on.:)

Carolellen at February 9, 2011 at 3:26 PM

Thanks Sharon, I did contact them, but did not know anything much about them.  Looking at your recommendation I will give them a call.  I'll also look up Danlimat.  Will let you know how I get on.:)

Thanks for the recommendations - they are much appreciated!  I am biased but Fudge is a very nice chap (so is Andrew by the way!!) - we do know of a bitch that has been recently mated to Fudge in the south west and we can certainly put you in touch with the owner if that was of interest to you.

We try our best to help people out and do right thing by both the owner and the dog -  it is what we believe is the right way to do it

Fiona

I am very impressed with this site - everyone is so quick to reply and so helpful too.  I'd certainly like to contact the people in the south west if you could give me their details that would be great.  Another question I asked, which dosn't seem to have been picked up - what would you say is the optimum time to get a new pup, i.e. how soon can you introduce them to the shooting field.  I'm not meaning to rush anything, but I have read so much on training etc. and they don't always say the same things. 

Caution seems to be the way when introducing a WCS to the shooting field.  A lot will depend upon the indivdual dogs maturity and how much time you can devote to training it.

Ollie has just finished his first full season, and he's three next week.  I've been told by two professional trainers that the 8 days I took him with me were too much for such a young dog and that it may account for him squeaking with excitment on the peg.  He only had five retrieves all season and I thought I was being cautious.

In terms of when to get a pup etc, the "timetable" with Ollie was:

Born Mid Feb 2008.

Came home April 2008

Puppy school May - Dec 2008

Simple gundog training started Aug 2008, gradually getting more involved over time and continuing to present.

Introduction to gun shots, April 2009.

First retrieve on cold game October 2009

First two half days with one retrieve on each January 2010

First full season Oct 2010 - Jan 2011.

First days beating Last saturday in Jan 2011.

As I say, I have been told this might be too much too soon, so I would emphasise taking your time and having professional input as well.

Hope this helps.:)

Sharon Harding at February 9, 2011 at 3:21 PM

Hello we can be newbies together 

I can personally recomend anything that is sired by Whaupley Reiver as my bitch is fantastic!  

But then my bitchs full brother is at stud at Danilimat and he is lovely so could recomend them....I have also had a Mallowdale that was equally lovely but a 100 times faster and keener and needed someone alot more experienced than I will ever be. He would of been fantastic for trialling though.

Most of the people on here who have Whaupley dogs seem over the moon with there so I would start there if I were you. They are both members on here. And both seem lovely and easy to get on with.

The very best of luck in your search it'll be nice to see what turns up for you.

Our Ollie is out of Bobby (Golden Grove Gripper), who is out of Whaulpley Reiver and I can confirm that a nicer natured dog you couldn't wish for.  There is not the slightest hint of aggression in him and is absolutley brilliant with kids.  The greeting I get when I return to the room, even if only been away for a few minutes is unreal, he greets me as if he hasn't seen me for a week..  Ollie is also very inteligent and picks things up very quickly and is very focussed when out.  I have started to set aside time for training now (7 months) as Ollie lives in the house we have just repeated things as the day went on.  I believe training depends on the dog but formal training should start about 9 months but again depends on the dog.  Ollie is quite young in his ways and is still very puppyish and playful and gets bored quite quickly, so we keep it fun and just take our time even though he picks it up quickly - play is much more fun!!. 

If I was looking for another dog I would certainly look to try and get one from the same line as Ollie.  I can't comment on other lines as Ollie is our first WCS, previously had springers and labradors.  Marc

Hi, I'm waiting on a pup from Andy & Aly (see them above!) - their beautiful Rum was recently mated with Andrew & Fiona's Fudge, so I'm on tenterhooks, trying not to count the pups before they're hatched.  

Folk have kindly directed me to the Gundog Club's training courses http://www.thegundogclub.co.uk/Training/courses/findacoursesouthwest.htm and I made contact with Annie Wales who trains in Gloucestershire.  Asking her advice, she indicated pups can commence Grade 1 training from 6 months.  It seems quite young but I'm keen to avoid mistakes made with a lack of outdoor/off-lead training when my ESS was a pup 7-8 years ago.

Best wishes, Lesley

Andy & Fiona at February 9, 2011 at 5:04 PM

Carolellen at February 9, 2011 at 3:26 PM

Thanks Sharon, I did contact them, but did not know anything much about them.  Looking at your recommendation I will give them a call.  I'll also look up Danlimat.  Will let you know how I get on.:)

Thanks for the recommendations - they are much appreciated!  I am biased but Fudge is a very nice chap (so is Andrew by the way!!) - we do know of a bitch that has been recently mated to Fudge in the south west and we can certainly put you in touch with the owner if that was of interest to you.

We try our best to help people out and do right thing by both the owner and the dog -  it is what we believe is the right way to do it

Fiona

Ooops sorry about that Fiona, jusr re-read my last post didnt mean it to sound like only Fudge was nice haha, to busy concentrating on the dog and forget about their dads ..... do the same to my husband

Neill at February 10, 2011 at 3:55 AM

Caution seems to be the way when introducing a WCS to the shooting field.  A lot will depend upon the indivdual dogs maturity and how much time you can devote to training it.

 

Ollie has just finished his first full season, and he's three next week.  I've been told by two professional trainers that the 8 days I took him with me were too much for such a young dog and that it may account for him squeaking with excitment on the peg.  He only had five retrieves all season and I thought I was being cautious.

 

In terms of when to get a pup etc, the "timetable" with Ollie was:

 

Born Mid Feb 2008.

 

Came home April 2008

 

Puppy school May - Dec 2008

 

Simple gundog training started Aug 2008, gradually getting more involved over time and continuing to present.

 

Introduction to gun shots, April 2009.

 

First retrieve on cold game October 2009

 

First two half days with one retrieve on each January 2010

 

First full season Oct 2010 - Jan 2011.

 

First days beating Last saturday in Jan 2011.

 

As I say, I have been told this might be too much too soon, so I would emphasise taking your time and having professional input as well.

 

Hope this helps.:)

 

This is really helpful Neil, thanks very much.  I will look/ask around for a good spaniel trainer /well. person trainer specializing in spaniels might be more correct!  My lab has only had 3 days out in the field this year, and I thought that he should have done more before now, (he is 4 in May), but he does look and act as if he is only about 18 months old sometimes!

My advice would be not to rush, you do not do any harm by taking things slowly but you can if you push a young dog too fast.  Trialling people seem to be in an unholy rush to get a dog ready by the time it is 18 months old but you tend not to hear about the numerous faliures that fall by the wayside due to this pressure.  I won a trial with a bitch when she was aged only 15 months but Andrew is running a bitch  (bred by Nick and Kris)  who was over two when she  started campaigning.  It is not too long ago when you would not think about getting a cocker to a trial until it was three. 

The secret is to judge the dog and it's reactions to training.  One of the problems with going to a trainer is that because you are paying there is  a temptation to  "just try this before we finish"     and you end up doing more than you intended to.

Fiona   

Yes, I know what you mean, and one trainer was very keen on saying 'I could train your dog to do that in 2 minutes!'  Needless to say we parted company soon after that.  I suppose if i just enjoy my dog and do the basics, the rest should hopefully follow.  If a new pup is anything like my border terrier it will be a breeze.  He has been allowed to just be a dog, but is very willing and picks things up very easily.