Off-Leash Beaches on the Sunshine Coast

I’m going to have a bit of a whinge because I don’t understand the logic behind council laws on the Sunshine Coast. Why are there specified, tiny, dog-friendly, off-leash bits of beach? Why aren’t all beaches open to off-leash, well socialised dogs? Fair enough, don’t allow them in the flags where people congregate to swim and sunbathe but what’s the harm in having a well socialised, well-behaved, off-leash dog anywhere else? Where I live there’s a stretch of beach that is regularly empty and stretches from Marcoola to Yaroomba and beyond. On any given weekday you can count the number of people on this stretch of beach on your fingers. And yet dogs are not welcome on it off leash except for a 100m stretch between the hours of 5am and 8am and 5pm and 8pm. That means that I can’t run my dog during the day unless I drive somewhere else. Which brings me to my next point in how farcical the council is.

It’s not environmentally friendly. How can it be beneficial for me to have to get in my car and drive a minimum of 6km to Coolum in order to run my dog off-leash? So my car is outputting carbon dioxide and using up fuel reserves just because some idiot at the council sitting behind his desk doesn’t know the first thing about the real world. It just doesn’t add up. And he/she probably can’t either.

All the arguments they throw at you are pathetic. It’s to protect people from aggressive dogs they say. Well how does that work then? Shouldn’t the council be doing something about the people who have made their dogs aggressive? Take their dogs away from them and send the dogs to rehabilitation whilst fining the scum bags. It’s virtually never too late to rehabilitate a dog. You only have to watch Cesar Millan to realise that. And what’s to stop people bringing aggressive dogs to a designated off-leash area anyway? And why should everybody else with well socialised dogs be treated the same as if their dogs are aggressive? That’s guilty until proven innocent. So applying those standards to humans, that means every person everywhere should be treated as a criminal and put in prison just in case.

Pathetic.

Cartoon Dogs

Like cartoons featuring dogs?

Diane Candella sent me a link to her website Cartoon Dog and asked me to include it on this site. Well, here it is – www.cartoon-dog.net

Working English Springers

I finally found a breeder over here in Australia who breeds what I consider to be proper working springer spaniels. They’re called Glastonpark Spaniels and you can find them at http://www.glastonpark.com.au. Just have a look at the difference between these dogs and show springers – it’s quite substantial.

If there are any more of you out there and you have websites please let us know about you by leaving a comment. If you breed them but don’t have a website then you should talk to a web designer who will do you a professional website at a good price because he likes the breed. That’s me by the way.

Springer Spaniels

I know this has got nothing to do with working cocker spaniels but as I can’t find any in Australia I was wondering if anybody knows a good breeder of springer spaniels (working stock) over here? I’ve decided Joey needs a mate other than the cat.

Crate Training

I found a really good article today on crate training on the Drinkwater Gun Dogs website and I thought I’d share my experiences of using the method with you.

Well, in short, it works. But you have to make sure that you don’t use the pen/crate as a punishment. The dog needs to want to go in there. I used a pen rather than a crate and I would go and squeeze myself into it when Joey was a puppy and play games with him in there. The other thing that I found useful is having it so that he could see us most of the time. If I wanted him from under my feet when I was in the kitchen, for example, he found it much easier knowing that he could just lie down and watch what I was doing rather than being cut off from the action.

All in all, it’s a good method. And it seems to stop your puppy from becoming too rowdy and claiming the whole house for himself.

Breeders in Australia

If anybody knows of any working cocker spaniel breeders in Australia can they leave me a comment on this site? I don’t mean fluffy cockers that have been trained a bit – I mean the pedigree working cocker spaniel variety as found in the UK. Thanks for your help.

Chasing Animals

One thing that a lot of people worry about with their working cocker spaniels is the fact that they like to chase animals, particularly rabbits. This doesn’t have to be the case. If you introduce your puppy to different animals at a young age then they just get used to them – at least mine did. I used to take him down the farm when he was a puppy and introduced him to sheep, geese, ducks, chickens, horses, cows and pigs and he got so used to them he ignores everything now. Even when we moved to Australia, he did a 15 second double-take after he saw the kangaroos hopping for the first time then ignored them too.

Can Working Cockers Get On With Cats?

It seems so…

Joey and Timmy Resting

Working Cocker Spaniels As Pets

A lot of people ask if working cocker spaniels make good pets. The short answer is yes but with conditions.

Finding a breeder that will sell a working cocker as a pet is no mean feat in itself as most breeders want to sell to working homes. Once such breeder is Cathy Bowler at Whiteford Working Cocker Spaniels. Cathy is a private breeder who loves her dogs and as such doesn’t over exert them into having too many litters. She is also where I got my working cocker, Joey, so I’m biased.

The first thing you should do when inspecting a litter of any dogs is meet the mother. If the mother’s temperament is good then the chances are she’ll pass it on to her offspring. You also get to see whether she’s healthy and cared for properly. I’d recommend sitting with the mother for a while then when you’re choosing your puppy, just let them run all over you while you sit on the floor. That way you’ll get to witness their personalities first hand. I chose my dog, Joey, because he spent most of his time trampling over his siblings to get to me then when he did make it to me he chewed my arm. I knew straight away what I was getting in to.

As I said before, working cockers can make good pets but only if you’re willing to put some time in to them. My dog gets about 2 hours of walks a day. When I say walks I don’t really mean that. I mean that I walk and he runs everywhere. He is constantly exercising, chasing his Kong, swimming and sniffing things out. If at some point during the walk he hasn’t taken the time out to lie down of his own accord and have a rest then I’m not exercising him enough and he’ll let me know later on by sitting next to me and staring at me constantly until I take him out again. It’s unnerving to be stared at that much I can tell you.

Working cockers are also incredibly loyal. If you want a dog that won’t leave your side then a working cocker spaniel is for you. If, on the other hand, they’ll get on your nerves following you about then think of another breed. If you get up and walk anywhere in the house then the dog will think that there is something going on that’s going to be good fun and you’ll probably end up tripping over him. On saying that, my dog is currently lying asleep next to my feet but then he’s been out swimming for an hour this morning.

Would I say that my dog is good with kids? Erm, no. He dislikes them immensely. Not to the point of biting but he’ll do everything he can to stay out of their way and he is completely disinterested in anything they’ve got to offer. He’s been socialised with children since he was a pup too so it’s not through lack of contact.

Are working cockers clever and easily trainable? Absolutely. Once you start to train your puppy it won’t take more than a couple of weeks before they can consistently do pretty much everything a ‘normal’ dog would do – sit, lie down, stay etc. Then you’ll notice their retrieving instincts. The best toy I ever bought was a ‘Cool Kong’ which is a Kong on a rope that floats. Buy one. Throw it. And keep some ham in your pocket so that when your puppy brings it back he gets a piece. After a week of this my dog wasn’t bothered about the ham – he just loves the retrieval and the running to the Kong. Then you can start to do things like cover your dog’s eyes, throw the kong into the undergrowth where he can’t see it, and let him go after it. Their sense of smell is incredible. Working cockers love the water. I was a bit worried about Joey because he didn’t go in the water until he was nine months old but since then I can’t keep him out of it. Now, he’ll fetch stones off the bottom of the sea – yes, he swims underwater.

Working cocker spaniels, as with the springers I’ve had, are really bitey when they’re puppies. Not in a malicious way but they will definitely bite you and they chew stuff. The chewing can be kept under control by giving them lots of different toys, sticks etc. to keep them occupied but I guarantee that while you’re playing with them you’ll get those needle teeth sticking in your hands every now and again and will find holes in your clothes that weren’t there before you got the dog.

The other thing you should know about working cocker spaniels, and any spaniels in general, is that they are social animals. Please don’t get one if you’re out of the house at work all day every day because you’re asking for trouble. Get a labrador instead.

I hope that this helps with your choice of dog. It’s by no means a bible, but is my experience of owning a working cocker spaniel.

Joey