One cocker or two?

Taylor's mum

Taylor's mum

New Member
Hiya

Does anyone have any advice on whether two cockers are better than one? We have a 6 month old puppy and were thinking of getting her a friend when she reaches about a year, I know this is a while off but it's a big decision so we want to give it a lot of thought! Does anyone have any advice on whether two cockers are much more difficult to look after (I'm especially worried about tangled leads when walking!!) or whether they think the benefits outweigh any negatives?

We have plenty of room for two so really just want to do what's best by our existing pup :)

Thanks,
 
I have two cockers. There are some disadvantages. There is more upkeep, brushing and so forth. It does take a little work until they walk together well, however they are also company for each other and my two love to play together. I like having two.
 
With two or more dogs you may have to supervise their feedings and make sure they get equal shares. You need to check their compatibility but I'm sure they would be less lonely.
 
I currently have two. One is an older dog, He was 9 1/2 when we got Pye, he helped raise him. Pye loves him very much. Pogs now is 12 1/2 and doesn't play
anymore. I love having 2, but, because my husband and I are getting on in years ourselves, I may not ever have another puppy. My Pye is 3 now.
 
Personally, I'd space them more than 1year apart. You want the 1st to be trained and well bonded to you before you add more puppy chaos. Also, I'd only get another dog if YOU want another dog. IME Cockers are people dogs. They enjoy having a companion, but the one they REALLY want to be with is their person.

Advantages of getting 2 they can help exercise each other through play and keep each other company when you're not around. No need to fight over who gets a lapdog in a 2 person family. Your feet and chest can be kept warm in bed at the same time.

Disadvantages: 2x the cost, time to groom, space in the car. 2x the kennel cost or, if you take them on vacation with you, its more difficult to take them to someone's house. Bad habits do seem to be learned much more quickly - for instance, in my house, Teddy pushes the chairs out so Princess can climb onto the dinningroom table to steal food for both of them.
 
We have always had at least two cockers. Phreddie was 3 1/2 yrs when Booker made her appearance; 17 years later Hannah joined our family, Maggie was 8 weeks younger than Hannah, then a year later Zoe' entered our family. Currently we have two Daphne and Ruby, they are 4 months apart in age.

It keeps our home lively that is for sure. BUT we love having multiples. They do and should bond together as buddies but there are several things you can do so that they are friends with each other but remain loving companions to your family. Keep separate crates, I take walks separately with them as well as together so each dog is use to being with me (or Hubby) or alone at home by themselves. They sleep in separate crates when we are sleeping or leave them at home. When they were babies they had separate ex-pens. They eat in the kitchen at the same time but in different areas. There is no food guarding here, thankfully. They share the same water dish.

It is true thought that with two you have double the vet bills (however my vet gives discounts for multiples), double the grooming time if you do it yourself or double the cost of going to a groomers. Same goes for boarding, food and time.
 
I think cockers are real people dogs, too. If time and money and space were not a problem, I would probably have several dogs. At least two more English Cockers. I have in fact, been sussing out breeders of English Cockers on the internet. I don't think Fiona's breeder intends to breed again because the dog she kept from this last litter was a male. That means that I will have to travel to get my next one.
 
We had one for 15 yrs, it was fine, she was used to be alone. Then we got one from a breeder, it was obvious we needed to get another because he was used to having other dogs around, he needed company. We got his half brother Chase, he was 12 weeks when we got him and all was good in our boys world again. Sadly we lost our boy, our Dillon, suddenly just before his 4th bday. Baby brother Chase was lost and grieving so we got a little girl about the same age, two, our Chicka.
I would always want two, however we will not be getting any more, no matter what as we are too old now. A lot depends on the current dog and how he was raised. Some dogs do better alone and some need other dogs around. We are very lucky, we have no issues between them.
 
manuel said:
With two or more dogs you may have to supervise their feedings and make sure they get equal shares. You need to check their compatibility but I'm sure they would be less lonely.
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My Lily had five puppies on October 29, 2016 so they are now eight weeks old have been committed to their forever homes. (One pup is technically still available.) Two pups left my home on Christmas Eve and I am so worried about them even though I was very careful choosing the parents . . . I don't want the new owners to think I am stalking them with my text messages.
I hear you Manuel on supervising their feeding. Since the two pups left a couple of days ago, one boy who hasn't been picked up yet has gained some weight. I will definitely have to watch them eat to make sure he does not keep over eating. I would not want to have him gain weight and then put him on a restricted diet. I'll make sure this doesn't happen anymore! Thanks for the advice Manuel.
Anyway, getting to the point, I decided to keep one pup because sometimes Lily, who is under three years old, seems lonely (even though she is with me most of the time.) Right now she's weaning the babies so she doesn't get to socialize much since they see her as a "milk machine." I can't wait for this period to end so she can play with her pup. I know Lily will love to have the company and with her sweet personality I'm sure they will get along fine. Still wondering, does anyone else have a mother/child pair of Cocker Spaniels?
 
This might sound crazy, but how about a cat? I had Ebony B4 I got married. Then one day, hubby brought home a kitten. From the getgo, that was Ebony's cat. They were extremely close. I lost both of them w/in months of each other.
 
Nancy said:
My Lily had five puppies on October 29, 2016 so they are now eight weeks old have been committed to their forever homes. (One pup is technically still available.) Two pups left my home on Christmas Eve and I am so worried about them even though I was very careful choosing the parents . . . I don't want the new owners to think I am stalking them with my text messages.
I hear you Manuel on supervising their feeding. Since the two pups left a couple of days ago, one boy who hasn't been picked up yet has gained some weight. I will definitely have to watch them eat to make sure he does not keep over eating. I would not want to have him gain weight and then put him on a restricted diet. I'll make sure this doesn't happen anymore! Thanks for the advice Manuel.
Anyway, getting to the point, I decided to keep one pup because sometimes Lily, who is under three years old, seems lonely (even though she is with me most of the time.) Right now she's weaning the babies so she doesn't get to socialize much since they see her as a "milk machine." I can't wait for this period to end so she can play with her pup. I know Lily will love to have the company and with her sweet personality I'm sure they will get along fine. Still wondering, does anyone else have a mother/child pair of Cocker Spaniels?
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I think it's great you are following up on your pups so closely. I have no experience with parent/pup compatibility but I would think their bonds would be strong.
 
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