A well-bred Cocker Spaniel is a joy to own. Gentle and loving, this beautiful creature wants nothing more than to please his master. Cockers are small dogs, fitting comfortably into a car, apartment, or a small home. They are, by nature, companion animals, but are frequently trained for the show ring, and for obedience, agi lity, and for field work. They make wonderful therapy dogs, too.
Temperament
The Cocker could not have become the top dog in the United States unless it posessed a good temperament. A properly-bred Cocker is sweet, loyal, cheerful, playful, trustworthy, easily trained, tractable -- the very things most sought after in a family pet. It requires a moderate amount of exercise and will get fat if allowed to be a complete couch potato. It is sensitive breed, and this may be its only drawback. Harsh treatment will destroy this dogs personal constitution. Discipline must be gentle or the Cocker may wilt. The popularity of the breed has almost been its downfall: Puppy mills and backyard breeders have over-run the puppy market with improperly-bred specimens that are yappy, snappy, nervous, high-strung dogs that are difficult to train and handle.
Puppy mill Cockers can be found in pet stores. These puppies are produced solely because they sell. There's no concern for genetic diseases prevalent in the breed, no concern for socialization so necessary for development of that sweet demeanor, no concern for careful selection of pedigrees and parents to produce a litter. They frequently cost the same as a well-bred puppy from a responsible breeder.
Backyard breeders of Cockers frequently know little or nothing about the breed and are ill-equipped to even know whether Cookie or Buffy is a good specimen of the breed, let alone properly select a mate for her. They produce puppies to put a few extra dollars in their pockets, to give the kids the thrill of seeing puppies born, or to produce another dog "just like Mandy." Better that they should find another way of making money, show the kids some pictures of birth, and buy a puppy from a responsible breeder.
History and Origins
Spaniels were hunting dogs brought from Spain to England, where the type was developed into a gun dog for hunting small game, especially birds, and the name Cocker was described in 1904 as having been derived from its use in hunting woodcocks.
The Cocker Spaniel was recognized as a breed in England in 1892, separating it from Springer Spaniels; until that time, Cockers and Springers would be born into the same litter, and were only separated out into the distinct types when fully grown. Another dog used in the development of the early Cockers was the English Setter, resulting in the roan coats still seen in the breed. Brought to North America in the late 1800s, the development of Cockers in England and Cockers in North America began to diverge into two different breeds, although breeding between the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel was permitted until 1946, when the stud book was closed.
The first Cocker Spaniel registered in the United States' American Kennel Club was "Captain", in 1878, and the American Spaniel Club was formed in 1881, although both the English and American varieties were very similar at that time. The Westminster Dog Show was won in 1921 by a parti-color Cocker (black and white), Ch. Midkiff Seductive.
Over time, the Cocker Spaniels in the United States became smaller than the English dogs, and, in dog shows, separate categories (called 'classes') were created in 1935 for the English variety and the American variety of Cocker Spaniel. In 1938, the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America decided to discourage breeding between the varieties, and defined the English Cocker Spaniel as those whose pedigrees included dogs that were or were eligible to have been registered with The Kennel Club (UK) before 1930. Much research of pedigrees was done by Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge and others, and in June, 1946, the English Cocker Spaniel and the American Cocker Spaniel were recognized by the American Kennel Club as separate breeds.
Size & Weight
Height 14-15" [about 36-38 cm]
Weight 24-28 lbs [about 11-13 kg]
Grooming Requirements
The cocker should be brushed and combed two to three times a week and trimmed every two to three months. The ears should be cleaned weekly, and the ear flaps, which tend to end up in the food bowl, need to be wiped off daily. This dog needs brisk walks and playtime every day.
Exercise Needs
It would be a good thing to walk your Cocker Spaniels everyday even if he has a yard. Cocker Spaniels are active and like to play games like hide and seek, fetch, and other activities
Health Issues
Cocker Spaniel are susceptible to ear infections, eye problems, hip dysplasia and epilepsy.
Trivia
Freckles, owned by Robert Kennedy
Snooper Dawg Channel Chasers
Butch, Albert Staehle's Cocker, who inspired his Life magazine covers
The dog who appears in the original Coppertone ad.
Whitey Hoover, who appears in several Tim Hortons testimonials.
.gif)
