Disagreement on breeds

Hubby and I are having a disagreement on breeds

Purely at the chatting discussion stage as we can't take on another dog whilst we still have Meg,but the way she has aged over the past 6 months I personally think we will be lucky if she is still with us in a couple of years,so we are looking at other breeds...

Anyway hubby likes the Lakeland Terrier,I love the Cocker Spaniels

Hubby has said he likes the working Cockers,where as I like and prefer the Show cockers,problem is the show cockers are not docked but the majority are health tested and vice versa,the working strain are docked have FTCH galore but are not health tested

So I think we would be extremely lucky to get a working type cocker that has come from health tested dogs as there stance seems to be as long as they are working dogs they are healthy

Hubby has said if we do go for a cocker it has to be from working lines and he wants it to be docked,I have said that is fine but it also has to be tested,gives me a slight headache,not to mention he would still like a Lakeland

Looking on the bright side we still have plenty of time to decide,so come on you guys some opinions would be good

I think you will find, if you look in the right places, that more and more working cockers ARE health tested.

The main issue is the difference in energy levels, it is rare to encounter a working cocker that gets tired, have you both been in the company of true working cockers for any extended period of time?

Lakelands are not exactly ten a penny, and they can have a propensity for a bit of a scrap.

What about a welsh there not much bigger and there energy levels are less than a working cocker (and the coats are more manageable). You wont have a problem finding a docked health tested one.

Thanks,
A welsh never crossed my mind will run that past O/H

Just be prepared for it being attached to you like glue. Welshie arent called velcro dogs for nothing.

Have you thought about visiting DD at Crufts? You might just discover something you'd not considered. That's what happened to us - I wanted a Tibetan Mastiff and OH wanted a Leonberger, then we found Estrelas and found a breed we both agreed on!

I think visiting DD is a great idea,I have only ever owned staffords,O/H has owned lurchers and ESS,

We are not looking at big dogs just medium sized,there are breeds out there I would love to know more about......I think talking to owners and breeders alike would be a good idea

If you go gundog day look me up. Im not on DD this year have done it in previous years but hate it so letting someone else do it.

What makes you think Meg only has a couple of years left? is she an elderly dog?

I agree that you should spend some time around working type Cockers before thinking about them too much. They are very different to their show type counterparts and a real handful (in a good, energetic way). Also, I think you'll find more docked litters of working type Cockers than undocked ones so that shouldn't be an issue.

I can give you details of several WCS breeders who both health test and dock their dogs