Cocker & Springer Greats

[Cass]

Hey all, thought I'd throw this out there to see if there was anyone who had memories they could share. What prompted me was a thread on another forum I frequent in regards to a particular lab that is a very popular sire here in North America. Does anyone here have any memories of watching any of the great cockers (preferably) or springers in the past? I'm talking about dogs like Danderw Druid, Dardnell Dealer, Jasper of Parkbreck... Jade of Livermere.... or the equivalent in springers (I apologize, the only name that sticks out to me is Saighton's Scout). Is there anyone here with any stories of actually watching these dogs work? I think it would be interesting to hear stories of these dogs that show up in so many of our own dog's pedigrees.

[JET1955]

Attended a open trial November 1987,Yorkshire Gundog Club,open cocker.Jade and Melingoch both ran.Jade was placed 3rd,and guns choice.
But the dog that won was Micky-Finn of Pimmington.A little red dog who i had shot over in a novice trial previously,i think the year before.He can be found in a few pedigrees,i always remember him,a really nice going dog,a proper little cocker,hard hunting and a lovely cocker action.My one regret is i didn't use him on my bitch.

[Cass]

Fantastic story Jet, Thank you so much for sharing. Any insight on the difference between those dogs?

[JET1955]

A lot of water passed under the bridge since then,i still have the card for the trial,that's why I know the results.Jade was a well made strong dog,as i recall,and if my memory serves me correctly he had a long difficult retrieve on one of his runs.The dog which placed second was a biggish black dog Caradoc of Larl.In the novice trial i previously mentioned,ran at BintonWood shoot,near Stratford on Avon,we awarded Micky-Finn gun guns choice.That s when he first caught my eye.

[Alice]

Jade was a well made strong dog

springerish action? there's always been a few murmurs around regarding his parentage...

[JET1955]

[quote][/quote]springerish action
i tapped in those exact words on my second post,
but then decided not to go down that avenue,and changed it.

[Naj]

I was around at the time but only interested in springers so missed seeing Speckle of Ardoon run, but a well known pro trainer friend described her to me as being 'just like a small springer' & was clearly not impressed.

Naj

[Cass]

I often wonder if "springerish action" is just how the dog is trained. I have been told by a few guys I train with that mine runs more like a springer, but I think he only does because I was very adamant early on with how he patterned. I understand the difference, as I have seen cockers that run more in circles than back and forth. I just question if that is a trait that is bred or something the dog adapts from the trainer. Obviously cockers don't cover quite as much ground and are a little more erratic in their thinking so they may be predisposed to the smaller arcs if not pushed out.

[Cass]

To keep this off of that topic, has anyone seen or heard stories of Dardnell Dealer? Why was he such a popular sire? From what I understand he was just a ftch... did he win a national? Other dogs that interest me (because they are in Jake's pedigree) are Zelda of Cadboll, Mallowdale Rackatear, and Diana Floss of Windmillwood

[Cass]

Here's a bit of Jake's pedigree that I had uploaded to cocker spaniel database http://www.cockerspanieldatabase.info/e ... ee/90863/i