Any advice for a first time owner??

Hi!!
I am going to be picking up a little 8 week old cocker spaniel x springer spaniel puppy at the end of this week and as I am a first time owner any sort of advice would be much appreciated

is there anything about these sort of breeds I should know??
has anyone found an effective way of house breaking their dog?
the breeder I am getting the puppy from has taken it for a full vet check, it has been wormed and had its first set of jabs. when am I able to take the puppy out for walks, what is the vaccination process i.e how many vaccinations are needed etc.?

Any sort of help or guidance would be brilliant!!!

Thanks
Emma

Hi Emma

Is there anything about those breeds you should know...well, you are going to have your hands full, that is for sure! do you know whether the Cocker and Springer behind your pup came from working or show lines? because that will make a BIG difference in what you can expect your pup to be like in terms of energy level, excitability, etc. Often this cross is done using a working Cocker and Springer to utilize the traits of both breeds. But, obviously I don't know about your pup without you saying.

Housebreaking...there is no magic trick really. Have you got a crate for the pup? crates are a useful tool to aid in housebreaking, particularly for keeping a pup clean (and safe!) overnight. Just take the pup out after every time he or she wakes, after playing, after eating/drinking, etc. Ignore and clean up accidents, praise like mad when they go outside. There are a million threads here on toilet training so search through them.

Different vets have different vaccination protocols. Register with your vet and see what they do. I believe my last pups had their first jab at 8 weeks and at 11 weeks, but I can't remember exactly. You can generally start taking a pup out for 'walks' between 7-14 days after it's last jab, but again every vet will recommend something slightly different.

I think Emma, this is something you should have looked into before buying this pup...as Labradork says both breeds are high energy breeds, so you will have a combination of both good and bad traits in these breeds.

Why not do some online research into both breeds, and then take a guess that your pup will be like either or both in terms of its exercise needs.

Hopefully your breeder also health tested your pups parents for both breed specific health issues..(look on line), not just getting her vet to check over the pups health.

Your own vet many also start the vaccinations from scratch, as they may not use compatible vaccines to your breeders vet.

housetraining, again, no magic trick, its hard work, you need eyes in your backside and a good routine to get pup used too,

Many people use crates, that something for you to consider also

Good Advice from Labradork and Jackbox.

Labradork brings up a good point, about whether the parents are working line, or show line. I have a working line springer x cocker spaniel, and she is the most demanding, energy wise out of all my dogs. She can run all day, no bother at all. She is a working gundog, and I can have her out from 8 in a morning till 4 on a night, and she still wants a walk when we get home and I am walking those that didn't come out on a shoot day with us.

yep , be prepared to have your life turned upside down, find a good puppy class, get a hosepipe for all the mud that you're going to get from now on, and most of all do not underestimate how much work a this puppy is going to be, both breeds are very active, need their brains working and need training from an early age, and after all that............... enjoy

Hi EmmaJane and welcome to Dogsey!

I wouldn't say this cross stands out as an obvious place to start for a novice owner but then I chose a Schnauzer and ended up with a very high maintenance one! But do get signed up for puppy classes asap.

I'll just echo the good advice you've already been given and say hope you're not too house proud and let us know how you get on.

J.

cancel your gym membership. I doubt you will need it the pup will work you ahrd enough.

Good luck. Have fun and endure it.

Many people dont realise what they take on and giv up and pass on their dogs to rescue or the streets.

Enjoy

Hi
Thanks for all your advice,
The pups parents are both from show lines and have a beautiful temperament, the pup so far seems to have the same sort of temperament as the parents being very calm and not too boisterous, but I am sure time will tell on that one...
I have already signed up to puppy training classes and have been going along to watch to get some tips from other owners with the similar breeds and so I have looked into the breed a lot before I chose this particular breed.
I am defiantly going to crate train it as I have heard this is a very effective way of training your pup