# Your thoughts on Eng Cocker for ducks/doves. Always had labs



## godogs57 (Sep 9, 2017)

My last lab passed away this past week three days before our opener on the dove field. Bummer for sure. I've had labs for right at 40 years now and have entertained the thought of trying out an English Cocker for the same tasks...ducks and the occasional dove hunt. 

What are your experiences with English Cockers in that situation? I've been on many quail wagons with them, primarily used as either a flushing dog or a retriever.

I have seen a number of em down this way, but they never seem to be kenneled...always riding around with the guy or girl. I'm not in a position to have a dog "with me" every where I go and my labs have always been perfectly content to stay kenneled all day until I get home and then its off to romp around in the pasture or pond. Would this be an issue with an English?

Thanks for your comments in advance.


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## godogs57 (Sep 9, 2017)

Ok I guess it was my imagination. No one has an English cocker.


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## maker4life (Sep 9, 2017)

Never used on for ducks but I'm sure they'd do fine. Mine will retrieve anything and swim like fish. I could though see a big duck maybe being tough.


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## Kawaliga (Sep 10, 2017)

I have a friend that has one that he is training to retrieve doves. The dog is about a year old, and is already retrieving really well. The dog spends lots of time in the house, is obedience trained very well, and in my opinion, will be a superb hunting dog and companion.


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## Mexican Squealer (Sep 10, 2017)

I'm no fan of spaniels in the blind. Labs are hard to beat in my opinion.


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## king killer delete (Sep 10, 2017)

English cocker. No , to many eye injurys hair tangles and to many have had the hunt bred out of them. The cocker spaniel was bred for wood cock hunting. The cocker spaniel is like the Irish setter. Allot of the hunting blood has been ignored for just conformation. Boykin would be my choice of a Retreiver spaniel breed.


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## Melvin4730 (Sep 10, 2017)

The field Bred English cockers are not the same dog as American cockers or show English cockers. The field Bred English Cocker is an amazing hunting dog and would do great as a dove dog. They don't have big bulging eyes like the other cockers. Some of them don't have long hair either.


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## Melvin4730 (Sep 10, 2017)

My female


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## Melvin4730 (Sep 10, 2017)

A male pup


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## Hooked On Quack (Sep 10, 2017)

Melvin4730 said:


> My female




Pretty pup, why is she wearing a lead with your foot on top of it  ??


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## Melvin4730 (Sep 10, 2017)

That's my 7 year old daughter's foot. I just happened to take the photo with her on the leash.

The cockers are great retrievers. We have labs too.


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## godogs57 (Sep 11, 2017)

Thanks for the replies folks. Most seem to use them on doves I see....how do they work on ducks, given their small size?


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## AllTerrainAngler (Sep 14, 2017)

If i picked anything other than a lab it would be a GSP,GWP, or WPG.... We have one english cocker at the kennel and hes a GREAT dove dog but not very useful anywhere else. Boykins are a close 3rd.


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## king killer delete (Sep 14, 2017)

GSP for me. I like the GSP, very nice breed.


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## tucker80 (Sep 14, 2017)

I like em too


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## tucker80 (Sep 14, 2017)

But my lab does the retrieving


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## Kline2054 (Sep 20, 2017)

the "do all" breed for Georgia hunters is the boykin spaniel in my opinion. If you are primarily dove hunting then I personally believe that the temperatures are often too hot for a lab to perform this duty. Now if majority of your hunting will be done up  north in a duck blind then of course it is hard to beat a lab. 

Boykins are great little dove dogs, great swimmers, great family companions, gaining popularity as a flush dog, and many use them for duck and geese 

While there are many breeds that are good at just one of the above, i personally feel that the boykin spaniel is the one breed that is capable of doing most anything that someone needs done in the state of GA as their residence and hunting location 

If going with any spaniel breed it is extremely important to go with hunting line dogs and not show line dogs

nothing wrong with a cocker, i am just bias towards boykins in the spaniel breed


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## maker4life (Sep 20, 2017)

I said before a cocker may struggle with a big duck but after thinking about it I've watched mine carry pheasant that we're about as big as him. A big Canadian maybe but ducks no problem.


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## Melvin4730 (Sep 23, 2017)

Cocker on ducks


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## Jacob Segars (Oct 19, 2017)

Get a springer, use them for anything. That will be a future dog.


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## GLS (Oct 20, 2017)

Melvin, great photo.  I am a Brittany fan, but for a pocket sized retriever, an English Cocker would be the ticket.  As for tangles, a good friend trims his before dove season and has no burr issues.  Amazing little dogs.  They seem to have edged out Boykins among folks I know.  One friend had one that specialized in finding and retrieving box turtles.  He lent it out to a herpetologist who was inventorying the property and the pooch brought close to a dozen and a half to the man's feet.   Did pretty good on birds, too. Gil


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