HISTORY OF THE COCKER SPANIEL

The first information we have of the existence of the spaniel comes from a description by Gaston Phebus in 1300. However, it was five hundred years later that the various English Spaniels were divided into seven breeds; the Clumber, the Sussex, the Welsh Springer, the English Springer, the Field, the Irish Water Spaniel, and the Cocker. All these Spaniels derive from a spaniel-type dog imported into England centuries ago. The Cocker and Springer Spaniels developed together, with only size differentiating them until 1892 when the Kennel Club of England recognised them as separate breeds. Later, in the 1940's, the American and Canadian Kennel Clubs recognised the English Cocker Spaniel as a separate breed from the American Cocker Spaniel. The name Cocker comes from the woodcock, a bird this spaniel was originally bred to hunt. Cockers are also good at hunting other birds. They are excellent retrievers with delicate mouths. The English Cocker hunts well in difficult terrain. These days, the English Cocker is more often a companion dog due to his good-natured disposition. The talents of this breed are tracking, hunting, retrieving, watchdogging, agility, and competitive obedience.

DESCRIPTION

The English Cocker Spaniel is an alert, compactly built, medium-sized dog with long ears, reaching at least to the nose when pulled forward (not always the case with the 'Working Cocker', as their ears are higher set and tend to be shorter). Solid, but not bulky. Strong and well-balanced, but not coarse. The upper plane of the skull is almost parallel to the upper plane of the muzzle, and the muzzle is about the same length as the skull. The dark oval eyes should have a melting yet intelligent expression. The hair is medium length. The legs and underside of the body are well feathered (again less coat than their 'Show' cousins). The nose is black or brown depending on the coat colour (black is preferred by 'Show' breeders). It has a sturdy jaw with a scissors bite. The topline is almost level, with only a slight slope down from the withers to root of the tail. The chest is very deep and well developed, but not wide enough to interfere with efficient movement.  The feet are round and cat-like with tight, arched toes. The coat comes in solid black, liver or red or parti-coloured combinations of white with black, liver or red markings or ticking. Tan markings may appear on black liver or parti-coloured dogs. There are two types of English Cocker: working and show. The working types have shorter coats. Many colours are admissible, but on solid colour dogs white is acceptable only on the chest, in show cockers.  Our 'Cockers' are the working strain and are still breed for the job they were initially intended, although we strongly believe that as with everything in our ever changing times blood sports may not be around for ever and the 'Working' strain of cocker adapt easily to various other disaplines, as well as being fantastic active family pets.

TEMPERAMENT

The English Cocker Spaniel is a hardy, energetic, merry and lovable, sweet and affectionate dog. This lively dog is excellent with kids: gentle and playful. It is sociable with strangers, a moderate barker, and obeys respectfully the orders it is given. A superior companion dog. Generally an outgoing breed, but some individuals can be reserved. Temperament varies widely, research individual lines. Some bitches are fairly dominant and should not be placed with a non-dominant owner. Males tend to be more co-operative. Cockers should be trained very gently, but firmly, as they are sensitive but also independent and intelligent. They can do well with cats in the household.

What are the differences between a show strain and a working strain Cocker?

If you are buying a pet Cocker puppy, it is important to know that there are two distinct strains within the breed, the show strain (or show type) and the working strain (often referred to as Working Cockers), each bred for different purposes with different attributes.

Working Cockers, as the name implies, are bred as working gundogs, capable of staying out all day in the shooting field. However many are now being increasingly sold to pet homes where, in the right hands, they can make very good family dogs for the active home. They are also becoming popular in canine sports such as agility and flyball.

Show-strain dogs are the type seen in the show rings (such as at Crufts). If you see a photo of a Cocker on a calendar or in a book, it will be a show-type dog more often than not, although this may be slowly changing with the growing number of Working Cockers in pet homes.

WORKING COCKER SPANIELS AS PETS

Working Cocker Spaniels can be brilliant pets - ours are testament to that. They are superb loyal pets.  They are not to big and so do not knock children over but can be very active.  House training and basic obedience is very easy as they are intelligent dogs and once they have bonded with you they will do almost anything you ask of them.  They are friendly, outgoing, happy little dogs and their temperament to children is second to none.  They take to obedience training well and enjoy a wide variety of activities, such as, retreiving, flyball and agility.  Working Cocker Spaniels are very trainable, as long as the owners are gentle as well as firm - they are generally very sensitive making it easy to have a good relationship without unnecessary problems.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT 

Height: Dogs 15-17 inches (38-43cm.) Bitches 14-16 inches (36-41 cm)

Weight: Dogs 28-34 pounds (13-16kg) Bitches 26-32 pounds (12-15kg)

COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS

There are health problems within all breeds as you will have seen from our opening page - we do all we can to ensure the health of our own dogs as well as those we breed.

Prone to ear infections (please ask me if you need help with ear problems - we can recommend an old fashioned remendy - that works). During the summer, the ears should be checked often. Hanging close to the ground as they do, they can become host to ticks or burr, often the cause of deafness.

EXERCISE

The Cocker Spaniel enjoys as much exercise as you can give it. But please do not over exercise young puppies.  They will also survive on they usual 20 minutes any dog needs twice daily.

GROOMING

Regular combing and brushing of the coat is important. Some coats are particularly profuse, cottony and prone to matting. Others are more silky and flat-laying. Coat type varies substantially within the breed. Bath or dry shampoo as necessary. Check the ears for grass seeds and signs of infection. Clean out excess wax regularly. Brush the hair on the feet down over the toes and trim it level with the base of the feet. Trim the hair around the pads, but not between the toes. Brush out burrs and tangles after the dog has been playing in the grassy fields or woods. Most pet owners will have their dog clipped as this makes life a whole lot easier for both the dog and the owner!!