Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Boykin Spaniels

I trimmed the Boykin, and now my ECS, short as well and put a vest on him to protect his chest and help keep burrs off of him. I also spray the vest with Permethrin for added tick protection. And I check/clean his ears regularly.

I think an English Cocker is easier to train, since they are not "soft" like a Boykin can be. A Boykin can be more like a Brittany at times.

A good field-bred English Cocker is a joy, and I've never had mine get an ear infection yet. Trim coat before season and go hunting. They love people, kids, cats, dogs, birds, and life. And take discipline as needed.

I had an exceptional Boykin and I miss her a ton. It is my true belief that a Boykin will bond with it's owner a bit more than some other breeds. My Boykin was not soft and was a bit hard headed at times. She was a fantastic hunter that was only handicapped by my abilities and experience with hunting dogs. Boykins make EXCELLENT family pets and companions. I will likely never own another due to the misery of losing Sadie. Darn near killed the whole family. I truely loved all my dogs over the years but none bonded with me like she did.

You'll have to add-on to your heart to get another dog. You can't replace the old one, but you can love a new one.

Great point.

My first GSP and I had a bond like that. She couldn't bear to be away from me....would curl up on the shower mat, ride in the passenger seat of my truck, sit on a bar stool, sleep by my side, anything to be close to me. If I went into a store without her, she'd watch the door non-stop until I came out, no matter how long I was inside. If we locked her up when I was home, she would try to claw/chew her way out to get to me. I trained her well but when we were in the field, I could just talk to her and she'd respond to what I was saying by just cuing in to my tone. If I didn't have another dog when she passed, I probably would've quit hunting all-together and even with the other two, it took years for the wind to start coming back in my sails. You'll have more dogs that you really love but there's no replacing some of them.....

Sometimes that's the best medicine. I had a Lab/Weim cross that was my first real bird dog. Accidental breeding btwn a good duck dog and a Weim show dog bitch. Copper and I taught each other a lot in a short time, and were inseparable for the 2 years he was alive. On the day he was taken from me, I couldn't ever imagine loving another dog like that, or even wanting one. But my best friend met me after work and handed me a 9-week old Lab pup and said, "Here, you're gonna need this." Then he got in his truck and drove off so I couldn't argue.

I didn't have that same relationship with the Lab pup that I had with Copper, but there have been 2 or 3 dogs out of the many since then that have forged a similar niche in my heart. The heart grows to accommodate them, despite what your head says...

A good and wise friend there for sure. Well put on the head and heart too......that's really it.