Working Cockers are very trainable and very adaptable.  There is no reason why they cannot and will not compete in obedience and mini agility and enjoy doing it.  It is unlikely you will ever get the precision obtained by the collies, but they are keen to learn and will enjoy the training.

Training will need to be started young and patience is needed, as these little dogs are very keen to learn and do tend to become over excited.  They also mature much slower than a Springer, so don't expect too much too soon.

Left is Spyda learning to sit and wait at 11 weeks old.  She is very willing and loves doing the training, but does have a very small attention span and gets easily distracted by butterflys and bugs.

Kind, reward based training will work best for your Working Cocker, a clicker is an excellent investment and I have found this very useful in keeping the attention.  You will need to be gentle, but firm and always encourage your WC with lots of praise and a tasty treat.

Most Working Cockers are excellent retrievers and with practice, will develop a good nose for scent and searching.  Encourage them to pick up a variety of objects, both on land and from water from an early age.

Above are photo's of Spyda retrieving at 11 weeks old

Heelwork should be started carefully, as you do not want your WC to work away from you, they need to work in close to the leg, but still have the attention.  I am using the clicker and a tasty treat and just encouraging Spyda to trot next to my leg and click and treat when she is in the correct position and paying attention.  Only do very short sessions of this, as your WC will get bored with this game very quickly.

Basically with the obedience, start slowly, be patient, have faith and you will end up with a fantastic little worker.  Just remember to give lots of praise, tasty treats and most importantly of all keep the sessions short and make it fun!!

Working Cockers are fantastic at agility and boy can they jump!!  They do not seem phased by anything, so learning the equipment should not be a problem, but it's a good idea to introduce them to things as early as possible, although don't start the jumping until they are about a year old.  This is so that you don't damage their growing bones or stop the growth plates fusing properly.

Working Cocker Spaniels are natural jumpers, because their job calls for them to be able to get through undergrowth quickly, they sometimes need to jump over brambles and low branches.  They will bounce when running and as this picture shows, they can get up quite a speed.  This is what helps to make them so successful for agility and flyball.

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web site designed and built by Manda Smith 9th August 2003

Tassietay Working Cockers - manda.smith@talk21.com