Are cocker Spaniels good hunting dogs?

Ok. I am going to get a dog, and I want a good duck/coon hunting dog. I also want to be a friendly, good with familys type of dog. Is a cocker spaniel good for that? if not is there a type of dog that would be good for that. it can't have short hair ethier.Are cocker Spaniels good hunting dogs?
I can only assume that those above who are critical of Cockers have never owned one. They just love people, are friendly, great with children, very intelligent and always want to please. Mine will retrieve geese and hares with no problem and she is 11 years old at the moment. She hunts better than any Labrador that I have owned, although we don't have coon's in the UK, so I can't help with that one!Are cocker Spaniels good hunting dogs?
What you are asking for requires two(2)* Dogs, One for Ducks %26amp; one (1) for coon. For Ducks get a Labrador Retriever.* For Coon get a Blue Tick Hound.* They both make great Family pets also %26amp; will not endanger the family.** I had Beagles all my life to hunt cottontail rabbits with %26amp; they were both pets and awesome hunting Dogs.** Being a Family pet does not affect there hunting capability whatsoever.**
No they aren't good coon dogs. Generally you will want to keep your hunting and family dogs seperate. Hunting dogs are intended to be more aggressive.





Labradors make good bird dogs, but I never seen one used for coons. But that's my suggestion.
One of my friends tried to convice a bunch of us that his cocker was a good hunting dog, back when I was in high school. Stupid dog couldn't hunt, at all, and the only thing it suceeded in doing was chasing the quail across the river. I don't think they would be good at hunting coons, either.
cockers not good for coon/ duck if anything they could be good for upland game and rabbits. labs make better choice for ducks. nothing beats a good hound for coons
Get a Springer Spaniel.





Friendly family-dog and a good hunter. Energetic too.
Cockers make good family dogs, from the ones I've been around. Don't think they would make good coon dogs. Not sure if they would be big enough to bring a very big duck back in to the boat or not. I know they would have a hard time bring'n a goose back. If you want a duck/family/long hair dog, get a golden retrever. If it were not for the long hair part I would say a good lab. As for hunting dogs be'n agressive, a duck dog don't realy hunt, you don't use a dog to find ducks. They just bring them back to you, they are more like work'n dogs.
Don't mix a hunting dog and a family dog. For instance, while the dog is eating, and a small child tugs on its tail, a family dog would ignore it and keep on eating, while a hunting dog would bite the child. Also, a hunting dog doesn't want to be cuddled and played with, it wants to sleep outside, it wants to stay in the freezing water when you are duck hunting, it wants that life. And no, I've never seen a cocker spaniel become a hunting dog. I recomend a Golden Retriever, as either a hunting dog or a family dog, but not both.
You are going to be hard-pressed to find a dog good for both coons and birds. You need a much more aggressive dog for coons than you will want for duck hunting. Your best bet, probably, would be a Labrador, because it will be good for duck and for the family. I don't know how they are with coons, though.
Some Cockers make pretty good upland bird dogs, but for ducks and coon, forget it!





You need two different types of dog here. Hounds aren't much good for retrieving ducks or birds, and retrievers won't do well trying to run a scent like a hound.





I don't altogether agree that hunting dogs can't be family dogs. I've known of some that did a great job at both careers.





Labrador Retrievers are great for ducks and make fine family dogs.





I do not know of any hounds that make good family dogs. Blue-tick Hounds, and Black-and-Tan Coon Hounds are great for running coon.





doc
Cocker Spaniel for hunting NO, they may have started out as hunting dogs but the 2007 type are not.


You need one of the water spaniels who are trained for and bred for there instinct in flushing out and fetching birds.


As for a coon dog they are also another specialty of there own, a Blue Tic Hound comes to mind as a good one.


Now after stating my opinion I Yahoo'd Cocker Spaniel,


Bird Dog and Coon dogs.


There were gobs of sites but I chose the following sites as reference to support my opinion. www.canismajor.com/dog/cocker.html


www.birddoggroups.yahoo.com/bird-dogs www.coondogs.net


Now after referencing my opinion, let me add that what you are describing is usually called a MUTT and are the greatest dog for every thing but AKC competitions.


Good Luck
Get a lab..They are excellent hunting dogs and good with family.
Yes cocker Spaniels are good hunting and family dogs.