hodge911 Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 hi all as i,ve said in a lot of my posts i,m returning back to shooting after a very long time off [well over 20 yrs] have managed to get onto a couple of shoots as a beater have a couple of small permissions for mainly bunnies/crows,etc after been on a few beats and watching others with working dogs i really fancy getting one [got the other half nearly convinced] on saturday,s shoot a couple of the lads had some absolutly belter cockers that i have really taken a liken too so my question is are they a good dog to get as a first time ever gun dog and do i get a pup or a older already trained dog and howw hard is it to train them [dont work any longer so time is not a problem] . used to have terriers/lurchers years ago but never a spaniel. any opinions gladly accepted peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andovian Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 I would say brilliant dogs cockers! I have 2 and I used to have running dogs many moons ago also they were a hanful as pups but most dogs are but as soon as they reached 18 months with the training they picked it up fast and love to be out there working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Spot on A. All dogs will need plenty of good training, unfortunately if you get it wrong early it can be very hard to make changes later. There are some excellent training tips on this forum at the top of this page. Be the LAD – give the dog Love, get his Attention and give him clear Direction. Do not expect too much too soon, take your time and build up slowly and do not be afraid to go back to something that the dog seems to have ‘forgotten’ a few weeks later. My advice, if you are not 100% confident about training it yourself is to either get someone else to do it for you. That is what I did OK it cost me £300 - but for me that was better than me potentially messing it up as I am not 100% confident about training dogs. It is a lot of money but in my view spread over say 8-10 years working life, a good investment. Alternatively join a gundog club, these more often that not have regular training classes and cost little to join.. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Sound advice from the lads above. One thing I will say is make absolutely certain that you have the time to dedicate to your dog. Regular daily excercise is a must. Keep your training sessions short and regular (10/15 mins every day rather than 2 hours at the weekend). Start now and build up a massive store of patience....you will need it. Good luck with him/her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 (edited) i was in need of a gun dog and thought ah a cocker steady slower than a springer .so i bought a pup ? wrong wrecked the place passed him on .and bought a 12mth old lab steadier part trianed from [choke it on here ] best move i made 100 percent confident with her real treat . i put her throu her trianing session's each day which she doe's all to please .but being a pup i can tell when to call it enough. she is retreiveing shot crow to hand for me and thats all i need as i am not a pheasant shooting man or beater . goodluck.noel Edited November 14, 2008 by bignoel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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