Cross Breeds

which dog breed would you rather want ?

i finally talked my mom and dad of getting a malamute or husky and i said that a smaller dog will fit our family better we already have 2 dog an irish setter and a clumber spaniel ,we live in our own house we have a large backyard so which breed would you rather have?? Boston terrier: http://www.breederretriever.com/photopost/data/667/medium/boston_terrier.jpg English cocker spaniel http://www.greatdogsite.com/admin/uploaded_files/1190779499english_cocker_spaniel.jpg or the American cocker http://puppydogweb.com/gallery/cockerspaniels/cockerspaniel_enrique.jpg i really like the Boston and the English cocker i have heard some unflattering things about the american cocker that they are really mean and nasty and evil my friend is a dog groomer and she said that American cockers are the worst when it comes to grooming but do you tihnk that its all a faul of the inbreeding ? since they are popular their reputation went down the drain is that casue of the BYB and puppy mills? i love that picture of the golden cocker i mean how can you resist that cute face ? i dont wanna buy i wanna adopt preferably an older 1-3 years old dog cause puppies are in demand i dont want a puppy will i be able to find an English cocker here in US ?? like in the shelter or rescue groups ? cause i know that Boston terrier are likely ot be found in the shelters i live in NYC so i am worried about the heat sensibility of them but i have seen some Bostons here but not a lot

Public Comments

1. I like the english cocker. and you may find one in the shelters. look in your area for a specific rescue for cocker spaniels. http://www.ecsca.org/contacts.html here is a rescue with all the local rescues. The ECSCA is the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America hope this helped.
2. The English Cocker is described as merry and affectionate with an equable disposition. He's playful, trainable, and friendly toward people (although sometimes reserved with strangers) and other dogs. English Cockers will bark to let you know someone's approaching, so they're good watchdogs, but as typical spaniels they'll happily show the burglar where the silver is. http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/english-cocker-spaniel/personality
3. to be honest if you could give the malamute the exercise it needs, it would be just as good as the others you listed.
4. you should get the english Cocker they are easy to mantane they are playful they like other dogs they are cute and there the right size
5. Def NOT an American Cocker Spaniel, way too many have nasty temperaments or are submissive wetters and way too much grooming. I wouldn't own a boston because of their short snout, they overheat too easily for Florida so Eng cocker it would be. I knew a couple of well bred show English that were nice dogs, better size and not so much coat. Better in the field and nicer temperaments. Inbreeding does not cause problems, crappy breeding does. BYB often breed 2 poorly bred dogs to each other that have no common ancestors and still get crap. Inbreeding is the best way to fix the good points and weed out the bad. It can be done to excess if you breed sibs to each other constantly but all of my purebred dogs that have a pedigree have a common grand sire and/or grand dam. Total outcrossing gets you a litter of different type of dogs with different faults, inbreeding gets you a litter of uniform dogs with more virtues then faults.
6. I love Boston's and have never met one that wasn't a great dog. I have met tons of mean cockers though. When you are going through the shelter system it is a gamble, so I would go with a Boston. However, if you are going through rescue I would just look up both breeds on petfinder.com in your area. There ar e probably a lot more boston's in rescue than spaniels due to the popularity. We have one in our rescue group right now... www.faithfulfriendsanimalrescue.com Her name is Missy
7. Funny you said Boston terrier because that's the dog i've been wanting for over a year now... so yeah, i pick that
8. Given that you already have an Irish setter and a clumber spaniel, I would recommend going with one of the cocker breeds as they have very similar requirements and health issues as the breeds you are already familiar with. Bostons can be great little dogs, but they have a completely different set of health problems than the dogs that your family already owns (esp. respiratory issues, and they are more prone to eye injuries just to name a few right off the top of my head...they are also fairly prone to allergies). And while most bostons do tend to have good temperaments I have met several who were quite unpleasant (one of the worst bites any of my co-workers has suffered was from a boston). Am. cockers do have a lot of health and temperament issues due to inbreeding, and I have met plenty of nasty cockers. However, when they're good they're really good...some of the sweetest dogs I've ever met were Am. cocker spaniels. If you are considering a dog from rescue though and you don't want to deal with health and temperament issues with this breed you are going to have to be patient as most of the cockers that end up in rescue are poorly bred dogs from irresponsible/BY breeders. English cockers are not as common as Am. cockers, but they are not particularly rare either. The vet I work for sees several of them and I quite like the ones I have met. They're a little bigger than the Am. cocker spaniels and due to the fact that they are not as well known or as popular (and therefor not as big a "money maker" for BYB or puppy mills) they do tend to have somewhat fewer health and temperament problems. Because they are less common, it may be slightly more difficult to find one in rescue, but there are quite a few listed on Petfinder.org (some of these are purebred, some are mixes) and the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America does have a rescue section on their website (http://www.ecsca.org/rescuehome.html).
9. Well.. the bracocyphalic dogs (boston terrier) would have a heck of a time with the smog, and heat. But I LOVE their faces, their personalities, and pretty much everything about them. The problem with the cockers is the amount of grooming, and the fact that they are a working dog, and have a lot of energy. Personally, I'd take the Boston. Find a breed specific rescue and go from there. Petfinder would also have some to offer.
10. Hey, I would have to say get the english cocker. They are very smart and cute, and loyal. I really like the american cocker and yes some of them do have nasty tempers but when brought up right they are wonderful.
11. Out of those breeds, I like the Boston Terrier.