Meet Bertie
Cocker Spaniel (English), 2 years old
My favourite thing about Bertie is...
He’s very loving and loves to snuggle up on the sofa or curl up on the bed. He thinks he is a small child! He’s energetic and loves life. He’s loyal and very bright. He loves to learn tricks, play with balls and carry his soft toys around. He’s very cheeky and will steal socks and slippers or pull the washing off the line to get attention.
The biggest challenge with Bertie is...
His energy means he pulls on the lead constantly and if he is let off the lead he’ll run off especially around sheep as he thinks they are playmates so we have to keep him on lead unless we’re in an enclosed area. He didn’t do well in kennels as he is spoilt, we can leave him for about 3 hours at home but haven’t been able to leave him anywhere overnight. We’re working on this though.
The most surprising thing about owning a Cocker Spaniel (English) is...
As he is a working breed he has his nose to the ground constantly and is always wanting to run and explore which makes walking tricky on lead. He loves to retrieve things and we hide his food daily so he gets to use his senses.
What I wish I’d known about Cocker Spaniels (English) is...
I wish I had understood how much energy a working breed had compared to a show breed that I had owned before. He is such a loving dog though and has definitely calmed down in the last 6 months but as a puppy he was very hard and needed a lot of time and effort.
Did you know?
There are two very different types of Cocker Spaniels: the English Cocker Spaniel and the American Cocker Spaniel. Enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic argue about which one is the ‘real’ one! While the English Cocker Spaniel is taller than they are long, the American one is longer than they are tall. They also have a longer muzzle than the American ones.
