Me and my wife are searching for a dog. We are interested in both the west highland terrier and the cocker spaniel. We are looking for a dog that is easy to train, and friendly and enjoys moderate exercise (ie two 30 minute walks a day). We don’t mind grooming but don’t want to use a professional groomer. There is someone home for most of the day. Would you suggest one of these breeds, or another breed?
My mum has a westie and she is a lovely dog. I have just got a cocker spaniel puppy and again she is a lovely dog. Westie’s can be very clingy and hard to train, whereas my cocker spaniel has taken 2 days to learn fetch, toilet training and sit. We’ve had our westie 5 years and she still won’t fetch or sit with 100% accuracy. it means that we can’t let her off the lead in the park because we can’t guarantee that she’ll come back with 100% recall.
As for grooming, we get our westie shaved once a year and that’s sufficient, but trim her fur on a monthly basis ourselves. I’m not too sure for cocker spaniels. But from what I hear it doesn’t take too much to learn.
Tags: west highland terrier, WestieTags: west highland terrier, Westie
I wouldn’t have a cocker spaniel if I didn’t want to go to a groomer. Cockers need serious grooming. Westies shed little. I actually prefer the Cocker Spaniel, especially an English Cocker because I’m a sporting dog type of gal.
References :
I have heard that westies are hard to train but I don’t know any that well. As a vet tech I can tell you that westies do tend to have skin issues that can get expensive as well as cockers. The biggest issue that we see are ear issues for cockers because of their big heavy ears. I have met the good and bad for both breeds so definitely do your research on them!!
References :
Cockers are the easier ones to train, I’ve heard. I have two cockers, so im going to be a little biased but my two were a breeze to train…but you HAVE to train them cause they can be very stubborn. Both have a rep for being snappy… and they both like to excersice. Cockers are very dociale in the house but I’ve heard westie are not. Both are going to need to go to the groomers A LOT but i taught myself how to groom my cocker spaniels… its not that hard if you dont care how choppy it looks for a while…
References :
Vet Tech and Cocker spaniel owner
Cockerspaniel… I have one… best dog ever. Smart as heck…. so lovable… and very protective. They do need to be groomed.
References :
My mum has a westie and she is a lovely dog. I have just got a cocker spaniel puppy and again she is a lovely dog. Westie’s can be very clingy and hard to train, whereas my cocker spaniel has taken 2 days to learn fetch, toilet training and sit. We’ve had our westie 5 years and she still won’t fetch or sit with 100% accuracy. it means that we can’t let her off the lead in the park because we can’t guarantee that she’ll come back with 100% recall.
As for grooming, we get our westie shaved once a year and that’s sufficient, but trim her fur on a monthly basis ourselves. I’m not too sure for cocker spaniels. But from what I hear it doesn’t take too much to learn.
References :
Westie and Cocker spaniel owner
I have a Westie and they are the most affectionate easy going dogs I have had. My dog does like to be outdoors but they have the best natures and great personalities. He dose not shed hair, easy to groom and loves just being with people. They are also fantastic around kids and generally everyone.
I would recommend a Westie any day.
References :
http://www.elitedoggyandstyle.co.uk