# Sprocker spaniels



## emilylp (Jul 31, 2009)

anyone own one? and know the general size they get , im guessing about 40cm? a mix between the 2 cocker and springer


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## Dingle (Aug 29, 2008)

I think there's a couple of sprocket owners on here, are you thinking of getting one?


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## emilylp (Jul 31, 2009)

yes, thats my preferable dog choice


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## Dingle (Aug 29, 2008)

Cool...

Any particular reason behind the choice of cross breed?


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## emilylp (Jul 31, 2009)

well, i like both , springer and cocker , but the springer is a bit to big for my mums liking , and the ones i have seen tend to be smaller because of the cocker spaniel genes... and there cheaper lol


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## Dingle (Aug 29, 2008)

I have heard they are very active & particularly good at things like agility...


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

cheaper really? a sprocker here is more then a spinger at the moment although not as much as a cocker 

I know 2 they are lovely boys


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## becca&jack (Jan 21, 2010)

my dog Jack is a sprocker and hes grown huge! hes almost twice the size of out friends springer. His mother was big for a cocker spaniel though


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## SpringerHusky (Nov 6, 2008)

Sprockers are cool, but I have to say you can't predict the size, all the ones i've met are springer sized. Also sprockers are usually from either pet breeders but mostly I find they have come from working stock so i'd be careful before getting one as a working stock as discussed before is not suited for your situation and mixing springer to cocker makes a very high energy dog (usually). They are wonderful mixes though


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

I don't think I've ever met a sprocker. Seen pics though, they look cute 

I met a springer x collie it was more crazy than Dixie! Lol


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## haeveymolly (Mar 7, 2009)

emilylp said:


> well, i like both , springer and cocker , but the springer is a bit to big for my mums liking , and the ones i have seen tend to be smaller because of the cocker spaniel genes... and there cheaper lol


Oh lovely but dont just get one for the size a sprocker like a cocker can be bigger than some springers ive had 3 springers 2 at the moment and they have all been different sizes so do be carefull if you are getting a pup. One of my springers is smaller than some cockers i know.


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## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

As it is a cross breed, you can't be too sure about size and energy, as you could get either extreme, really lazy or hugely hyper. Sprockers are usually more springer-like than cocker, but could resemble either breed. I think sprockers are usually hyper like springers. 

If you choose a sprocker, then make sure that the parents are show type rather than working, which would mean the dog would be bigger because both springer and cocker show types are bigger than their working types of their breed, and it would have more coat too, so more grooming.

Are you thinking of getting a sprocker rescue?

If a springer is too big for your mum, then why not get a cocker?


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## SpringerHusky (Nov 6, 2008)

haeveymolly said:


> Oh lovely but dont just get one for the size a sprocker like a cocker can be bigger than some springers ive had 3 springers 2 at the moment and they have all been different sizes so do be carefull if you are getting a pup. One of my springers is smaller than some cockers i know.


That's quite true, my barney was not much bigger than a cocker.


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## haeveymolly (Mar 7, 2009)

SpringerHusky said:


> That's quite true, my barney was not much bigger than a cocker.


They are lovely them 2 yes molly is about the same size as your cocker.


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## GSDlover4ever (Feb 21, 2009)

i thought you were getting one from a rescue?


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## sullivan (Aug 29, 2008)

My cocker is quite a big lad as ive noticed whilst out many cockers are alot smaller than him hes a show cocker. but hes very lively . I think the sprockers are lovely to.


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## eternallyme (Nov 29, 2009)

Ive got a sprocker (dad was a sprocker and mum was a springer) and so far he is looking to get pretty big! As most people have said though it is really difficult to tel exactly how big they will get because they are a cross breed. All the boys in charlies litter seemed much bigger than the girls though so I dont know if there is a gender difference! Good luck if you do get one though as they are very bouncey!


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## Starlite (Sep 9, 2009)

was gonna say Many Tears rescue have sprocker pups needing homes but its actually sprollies - still gorj tho :001_tt1:


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## MerlinsMum (Aug 2, 2009)

Goodness me.... for someone who was advised not to get a springer as a first dog, did you realise Sprockers could be ten times more energetic and hyper?? 

Just think....what if they were working cocker (manic hyper nutcases!) x working springer? (ditto!).


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## james1 (Sep 21, 2008)

good dogs - but you need experience with them - especially (in fact definitely) if they have a working pedigree. By no means an easy dog, a few gundog owners who have experince trianing working pets would find their work cut out id think.


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## catz4m8z (Aug 27, 2008)

Size isnt much of an issue is it? A lady near me has 2 Springers and 3 Cockers and if it wasnt for the fur length you couldnt tell them apart.
As a general rule though girls will always be smaller, and often slightly less mad!


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## Gram (Jan 14, 2016)

emilylp said:


> anyone own one? and know the general size they get , im guessing about 40cm? a mix between the 2 cocker and springer


I've got my Bella she's a 3 1/2 year old and a sprocker,Bella is smaller than a Springer and bigger than a cocker,smack bang in the middle,


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## Gregski (Aug 19, 2016)

Hi,

We have one, brilliant dog, cleaver, doesn't bark, loving and allways pleased to see us.... She's a smasher.


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## Helen&megan (Mar 16, 2016)

Megan a sprocket an
He smaller then an English spaniel but slightly taller then a cocker spaniel. Hope that helps


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## Watson15 (Oct 18, 2016)

eternallyme said:


> Ive got a sprocker (dad was a sprocker and mum was a springer) and so far he is looking to get pretty big! As most people have said though it is really difficult to tel exactly how big they will get because they are a cross breed. All the boys in charlies litter seemed much bigger than the girls though so I dont know if there is a gender difference! Good luck if you do get one though as they are very bouncey!


Hi there. I am looking at a Sprocker that's mother is a Springer (Small) and father is a Sprocker. Is there any disadvantage if one is a Sprocker as compared to a Cocker x Springer breed?


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

No, they are both mongrels


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## Watson15 (Oct 18, 2016)

Bit harsh


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Watson15 said:


> Bit harsh


Not sure what I have said that can be construed as harsh, soft or anything else?


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## Cassyj (Sep 26, 2015)

Watson15 said:


> Bit harsh


But it's true it will be a mongrel


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## Cassyj (Sep 26, 2015)

I was looking into the breed before I got mine but was put off by the cost I just didn't want to spend that much on a mongrel and I certainly wouldn't be getting one that wasn't a true sprocker IE ess v cocker


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## MiffyMoo (Sep 15, 2015)

Watson15 said:


> Bit harsh


There's nothing wrong with mongrels, both of mine are


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## kirksandallchins (Nov 3, 2007)

They were a cross of 2 breeds with the hope of breeding better working gundogs. I don't suppose the owners care if they are a breed, crossbreed or mongrel as long as they can work.


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

kirksandallchins said:


> They were a cross of 2 breeds with the hope of breeding better working gundogs. I don't suppose the owners care if they are a breed, crossbreed or mongrel as long as they can work.


This is a genuine question: how is a sprocker better than a well bred cocker or a springer? I keep hearing some people talk about farmers or hunters breeding crosses of working breeds to get a better working dog, but never understand how the cross is an improvement from existing breeds.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

kirksandallchins said:


> They were a cross of 2 breeds with the hope of breeding better working gundogs. I don't suppose the owners care if they are a breed, crossbreed or mongrel as long as they can work.


Were they?

So in what way are ESS and CS somehow inferior to crossing both?


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## Catharinem (Dec 17, 2014)

Watson15 said:


> Hi there. I am looking at a Sprocker that's mother is a Springer (Small) and father is a Sprocker. Is there any disadvantage if one is a Sprocker as compared to a Cocker x Springer breed?


If I understand you correctly, you are asking if better to have 2 pure breed parents, or one parent pure and one a cross itself?

Both Cockers and Springers have inherited eye problems, but carried on different gene locations. Disease is recessive, need 2 copies of the bad gene, one from each parent, to be affected (one copy would make an unaffected carrier). Hence even a parent who was affected would not have affected offspring if one parent was pure Cocker and the other pure springer. Put either of those to a crossbred parent could potentially result in affected offspring, if they inherited one copy of a bad gene from their mum and another from their dad. Eg an unaffected Cocker carrier has a 50% chance of passing on the bad gene. Mated to a carrier Sprocker, which also has a 50% chance of passing on the bad copy, you can see there is a 25% chance of puppies being clear, 50% chance of being unaffected carriers, and 25% chance of whole litter being affected. In a litter of 5 or 6 puppies there's a probability of 1 or 2 puppies being affected. But chance doesn't always play fair, like tossing a coin doesn't fall heads or tails alternatively, so every puppy in the litter could be affected ( or every one could be clear).

It's a sloppy way of persuading puppy buyers that testing for eye problems isn't required, as first crosses shouldn't be affected ( though could well be carriers). The problem comes when other things, such as other health problems, temperament or drive/energy are also regarded as not necessary to select for carefully. A backyard breeder could churn out first cross puppies and claim they were healthier than either a pure Cocker or springer or a cross put to another same cross or back to a parent breed, but actually a pure breed from carefully selected breeding stock could still be unaffected or clear with testing of the parents and careful mate selection, and might be much better than a cross breed in other traits such as temper . Most important is to find someone who tests their dogs, and has knowledge of their lines.

Hope that make ssense and not rambled, getting late, someone else will put it much better I'm sure.


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