We picked up Winifred- "Winnie", our Field Bred English Cocker, at the end of September from a breeder in Idaho. Her litter was born the end of July, so she's just hit 6 months.
The first photo below is from her first weekend at home- she came with a strong desire to please and was extremely social, and took to the house, neighbor kids/strangers, and other dogs immediately. Since day 1, her tail has not stopped moving, even wagging while she sleeps at times. After the last 4 months with her, I can say there is not an ounce of "buyers remorse", as she has been far more social than any pointer I grew up with, rivaled only by a lab/pointer mix I had as a kid. She will actively seek out kids, as she knows they will play with her. House issues have been basically non-existent, as she figured out the dog door her first day in the house, so we're probably at a grand total of 10-15 accidents in the time we've had her, with all of those being in the first month or so. And there hasn't been any destructive behavior. We crate trained her, but she's on week three of having full reign of the house while we are at work (10 hours typically), and has earned the right to continue this with no issues to date.
She missed out on hunting season, being a bit young/small in my opinion to really get out, especially with an early winter. She's my first go at training a bird dog on my own, and her enthusiasm to please and intelligence has made my life easier than I expected. Her retrieving instinct has been strong since day 1, and there is zero fear of gunshots/fireworks/noises. We're a noisy household to begin with. Her mouth is probably a bit too soft, so I've been working on having her hold on to objects to build on this, and it's gotten a lot better since losing her puppy teeth. She's extremely birdy, and her nose never stops. Right now it's all positive reinforcement, but eventually I'll need to work on reigning her in a bit so she can complete a neighborhood walk without becoming hyper focused on the smell of the day.
I included photos of her with some greenheads for a size reference. She's ~5 months old in the photo. She didn't hunt them, as 0 degree weather and an icy river were a bit much for what would have been her first hunt, but she sure liked "fetching" them after the hunt. She is currently about 17-18 pounds. Her mom was just over 20lbs, and her dad was about 30lbs. Her athleticism is insane without considering her size. With that as a factor, my wife and I are in always impressed in new ways.
She takes up hardly any space in the back seat of our vehicles, where she typically sits. But after going out and working fields for birds for training, she gets to ride center console, where she keeps an eye out for ducks, magpies, hawks, or planes. Anything in the air fascinates her. In the last couple weeks, she's worked ruffed grouse in a willow bottom during a ski tour, and sharp-tails in a sage/bramble flat on a dedicated 2 hour bird training session, in which she never slowed, quartering the open field in gun range, and hammering some of the thickest cover I've seen a bird dog work (think beagle working rabbit runs). The cold weather hasn't been an issue when she's working. It was -3 when we were working sharp-tails, and she loves going on ski tours. These being her first forays with upland birds, and with as little bird work as I've done with her thus far, I'm extremely happy, and hoping to pick up some quail/huns, or get to a game farm where she can not only find and flush a bird, but also work through the shot.
As a family dog first and always, we couldn't ask for a more loving companion, and honestly, an easier to train/biddable dog. As a future part-time hunting dog, she's on track to exceed my expectations as an upland bird dog and retriever.
@brockel - You asked for pros and cons. I feel like I hit the pro's. The only cons I can come up with through the limited time I've had with our Cocker is that I could see her small size limiting her if you ever decided to get on larger birds, like geese and even some of the bigger ducks on moving water, and a big, wounded rooster would give her a decent fight. But I know that deviates from the majority of pheasants/huns/grouse. Additionally, she is "clingier" than the pointers I've had- not separation anxiety/barking and crying when you leave bad, but given the option, she will lean against you while you do the dishes, sit on your feet while you read, and generally live inside your personal space bubble. The last con is that one sounds a bit pretentious answering "what kind of dog is that?" with "Field Bred English Cocker Spaniel"
