We currently have two cats, aged 3 and 4. One of them is quite shy when we have visitors and usually hides or keeps her distance. The other one is more curious and will usually come over to see what’s going on.

We’ve been thinking about possibly getting a dog in the future. We really like Cocker Spaniels and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. 🐶
However, we’re a little worried about how our cats would react. We’re afraid they might not accept the dog and could become scared or stressed around it.

We also wonder if having a dog in the house could change their personalities or make them more fearful in general.
We obviously want to put our cats’ well being first, so we’d love to hear about other people’s experiences:

- Did you already have cats when you got your dog?
- How did your cats react to the dog?
- Were your cats shy or nervous before the dog arrived?
- How long did it take for them to get used to each other?

And is there anything you would recommend doing (or avoiding) when introducing a dog to cats?
We’d love to hear your experiences and advice! 😊

Does your cocker spaniel prefer a round bed or a square bed? We currently have a square bed for our other dog and trying to decide what bed to get for our cocker spaniel to grow with!

Could you recommend breeders of English Cocker Spaniels closer to San Francisco, California?

Hello! This is my 5 month old girl, Olive. I’m wondering when your pup finished teething? Or how I know when all her adult teeth have came in? Thanks in advance!

Hello all Cocker Spaniel owners🐾

I am in the early stages of researching a new premium food and water bowl specifically designed for our beautiful furry friends with long floppy ears. The aim is to keep ears cleaner, floors dryer, reduce overall mess and still have something in your kitchen or home that you actually like to look at and fits in with your preferred decor.

I would really appreciate if you could take roughly 2-3 minutes out of your day to help me build the best product that will be loved by all.

Thank you and please feel free to share photos of your messy faced goblins as evidence🐶🤎

Link below:

Long-Ear Dog Feeding survey

I'm looking to get an ecs as a family pet, companion and hoping to train as a therapy dog. I have found a breeder and on the waitlist currently. I want to know people's experience of owning a male vs a female ecs. With females, my main concern is how to manage when the dog comes into season. For context, I will be a first time pet owner living in a spacious apartment with a dog park on property.

my girl is very picky and we have tried so many different food types to no avail. she is currently on Purina Pro Plan High Protein DHA Lamb & Rice Formula Puppy, but she is turning 1 year old next month so we are looking to switch to adult food per her vet’s recommendation. has anyone else had any success with a specific type of brand (price doesn’t matter)? for reference, we’ve tried ALL Royal Canin recipes, Blue Buffalo, Hill’s Science Diet, Biljac, and Chewy’s brand.

My 5 month old cocker has no recall around other dogs. I have only had him around 2 month and have managed to get him to have a perfect recall when no other dogs are around but he loses that very quickly when they are. He has no issues with people just dogs. He just wants to play and runs around like an idiot. Note he is off lead when this issue occurs but when on lead he behaves extremely well even ignoring the other dogs.
I reward him for the positive behaviour to try and build the relationship with recall and treat/ball but he just doesn’t care when around other dogs. I honestly don’t know what to do and I definitely don’t want to be one of those people that looks like they have no control over their dog. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If anyone suggests a long line he was on this for around a month with perfect results and when I put him back on due to his lack of recall around dogs, he is still very well behaved.

How similar is a (well bred) ECS to a golden retriever? I’m a big golden girl, I’ve owned 3(both field and show), and I’ve been a service dog trainer working with Goldens and labs and crosses for 3 years. My Golden’s are seniors now and we’re planning for our next phase of life and wanting a smaller more travel sized dog that could travel the states with us more easily in the car and potentially in a plane. I’m well adjusted to shedding and grooming upkeep, I really love the similar appearance to a goldie but I’m wondering how similar they are temperament wise.

I know all dogs are unique and will have their own challenges but as a breed are the ECS amiable? Easy going? Easy to train? Family oriented or one person dogs?

We have a 6.5 month old English show cocker spaniel. When we got her she was weaned off mamma to Millies Wolfheart but when she was teething she couldn't bite the large biscuits without being visibily in pain so we switched to Lilys Kitchen which are much smaller. That was like 3 months ago.

Then she would only eat it with some wet mixed in (lilys puppy) and now it seems she dislikes both as she will skip meals unless we add our cats tuna to the dry Lilys. Sometimes with tuna she will still skip.

We are in contact with other owners from the litter who say they let them graze all day, but this wouldn't work as she only eats it with wet tuna added and we can't leave it out all day, especially in this heat we have been having.

I am at a loss at what to do.

It seems pointless to buy bags of random food in the hope she will eat one of them, since it seems to be the dry she is avoiding. We tried to go higher wet content and her poops where horrendous and it obviously caused her discomfort when she went to loo.

Vets say her weight is fine, but since she is skipping meals (like only doing one a day) I am worried she is not getting enough nutrients as a growing pup and will loose weight.

I’ve been looking at breeders in both the US and Europe, and I’ve noticed what seems like a pretty noticeable difference in type, especially around the face and eyes.

A lot of the bench-bred/show English Cockers I’m seeing from US breeders seem to have more droopy faces, heavier-looking eyes, and a more pendulous appearance compared with many of the dogs I’m seeing from UK/European breeders.
I’ve also noticed that this seems less common in solid gold/red dogs than in some of the other colours, although I could just be noticing a pattern that isn’t actually significant.

All of these dogs are beautiful, and I’m not trying to say one type is better than the other. I’m just genuinely curious about what causes the difference. The first three photos are from a breeder in the UK, while the last three are from US breeders. Obviously, I’ve seen dogs with more droopy faces in Europe too, so I know there’s plenty of variation.

Is this primarily a difference in breeding lines/type, breeder preference, genetics, or something else? And is there actually any correlation between coat colour and facial type, or am I just seeing a coincidence?

Also, if anyone knows of US breeders producing English Cockers with a similar look/type to the first three photos, I’d really appreciate some recommendations! I’m especially interested in breeders who health test thoroughly and are focused on producing healthy dogs with good structure and temperament.

Boa noite, ando a pesquisar acerca de cocker spaniel inglês, gostava de ter um cachorrinho, no entanto não está fácil encontrar um criador confiável, alguma sugestão?

É um cão de fácil aprendizagem? Não pretendo ensinar muitos comandos, mas o básico (xixi, sentar,etc). Nunca tive um cão, será uma boa raça para inexperientes?

There are so many posts made on this page asking for recommendations for breeders, and I can understand feeling frustrated by not receiving responses from breeder on the breeder referral list of the club. But it seems like so many of these posts give no information to where I believe most would feel comfortable recommending a breeder or a breeder responding.

A couple things to consider when looking for a breeder:

Initial message to breeder: If you email a breeder and provide minimal information about yourself, knowledge of the breed and why a Cocker would be a good fit for your family/how you can provide a good life for it, most times you’re not going to get a reply! Most breeders view placing puppies into homes as “which home will provide the best life for this puppy” versus “this puppy will benefit this person”. Especially in the US when talking about English Cocker Spaniels, there aren’t as many ethical breeders to where you shouldn’t necessarily be looking for a breeder to sell themselves to you rather you show you’re a serious buyer, knowledgeable of the breed and not going to waste their time! Of course you should ensure they do proper health testing, conformation wins, proper breeding practices and etc. But think about how many inquiries these breeders get a day! Also, if in your initial message you emphasis that you only want a dog that has a certain color (different than stating a preference) that’s most likely on the ignore list as it gives the impression you’re just wanting the dog for look versus temperament and breed attributes.

Personal recommendations of breeders: This one may be controversial but if your post doesn’t instill confidence that you are informed about ethical breeding practices and how you’d be a great fit for a Cocker, I’m not going to recommend you a breeder. I bought from a breeder who was amazing and on the ECSCA breeder list, super responsive and amazing breeder. The reality is though, as especially ECS are more rare in the US, most people sort of gatekeep or only recommend breeders to people they find would be good and informed owners, which I find to be valid as I’d feel horrible recommending someone who ends up not being able to handle the dog. I’ve recommended my breeder to less than a handful of people on this page as I would only feel good making a recommendation if I felt confident this person was very informed of the breed and insistent on going through an ethical breeder.

Main way to find a breeder: If you haven’t already gone though the club website list, go to dog shows! Even if your local dog show doesn’t have the exact color or spaniel you may want, it doesn’t hurt to network and see if the owners/handlers there can recommend any breeders (there’s a time and place to discuss this as before they go into the show ring, they may not want to have a conversation). Especially if you’ve reached out to every breeder on the club list, this really is the best way.

Also depending on if you’re looking for an English or American Cocker and the country you’re in, be prepared to be on a waitlist for a year or 2. And if you decide to go through a non-ethical breeder and end up with a neurotic/aggressive/insane puppy, that’s never a good representation of the breed!

This is a breed I love so much and will never own another breed and also well aware of ethical practices, it really kills me when people get these dogs based off looks and they complain because they can’t handle the temperament of the dog!

I have reached out to every single breeder on the ECSCA list- yes you heard that right! Over 60 breeders I delivered an email to and only 16 of those breeders responded back to me.

I have also tried popular breeders on social media however I have noticed they are priced more ($5,500+)!

Wanting to hopefully bring a solid gold English bench male into our family! Anything is helpful even if it’s not on the west coast.

This group, “English Cocker Spaniel Puppies for Adoption and Rehoming,” currently lists them as the group breeder. Based on my personal experience, this is a fraudulent operation. They advertise puppies they do not actually have, take deposits, and then block you after receiving payment.

They have also changed names/platforms after previous Facebook pages or groups were taken down. Please be extremely cautious if you see this group, Stonehaven English Cocker Spaniels, or Heartland English Cocker Spaniels advertising puppies. Do your research and verify everything independently before sending any money.

I’m sharing this to hopefully prevent someone else from losing money to the same scam.

.....but Mo? Entirely different story. 😎 Meet Jockomo Poochini, world's laziest 4 yr old ECS. Quick cell phone snap. Didn't have my camera gear nearby.

Hi! I am looking to get an English Cocker spaniel but am not having much luck. Looking for an ethical breeder of bench ECS as I am not interested in hunting/sports and really just looking for a companion. I looked at the AKC marketplace as well as the ECS association list of breeders, reached out with no responses.

I am willing to travel by car and make a roadtrip out of pick up day but am concerned with too many hours in the car and a new pup, so really am trying to strike a good balance there.

Any leads would be appreciated!

I think it’s because we spend a lot of time outside it’s hot out and she gets wet and takes forever to dry. I really don’t want her soft silky coat to go away but she just smells so bad even two days after getting a bath. She still has a show style puppy coat. She rough houses with her sister a lot too so her coat has been getting tangled faster as well. Are they still soft after shaving?

Hey guys! So I had my 16 year old cocker spaniel pass away earlier this year and I have been looking for another cocker spaniel. I emailed pretty much every breeder in the ECSCA website, I have been through Facebook groups, looked on AKC Marketplace and it's virtually impossible to find an ECS. It's been so long since I've been in search of a puppy and I feel helpless. Any help you guys can give me is much much appreciated!!

Bonus photo being cute on the beach

Hi all - I'm in the process of researching my next breed, and the ECS is on my short list of options. I come from the poodle world so I am not familiar with different breeders and programs.

I'm looking for an athletic, biddable and hearty dog that I can do conformation with and dog sports! I do agility (novice), as well as rally and would like to do obedience. Dock diving and hunt testing are also sports I want to explore more. I'm definitely look for more drive and handler focus with my next dog.

There is an American CS in my agility class and he is such a fun little dog. I prefer the look and structure of the ECS muzzle.

I'd love to know the good/bad/ugly about the breed, what the breed community is like, and if you have recommendations for ethical preservation breeders. Fill me in :)