English Cocker Spaniel

The English Cocker Spaniel is a breed of gun dog. It is one of several varieties of spaniel and somewhat resembles its American cousin, the American Cocker Spaniel, although it's closer to the working-dog form of the Field Spaniel and the Springer Spaniel. Outside the US, the breed is usually known simply as the Cocker Spaniel, as is the American Cocker Spaniel within the US. Due to the breed's happy disposition and continuously wagging tail, it has been given the nickname "merry cocker".

Appearance

The English Cocker Spaniel is a sturdy, compact, well-balanced dog. It has a characteristic expression showing intelligence and alertness. Its eyes should be dark and its lobular ears should reach the tip of the nose when pulled forward. Today a significant difference in appearance exists between field-bred and conformation show-bred dogs. The English Cocker Spaniel's tail is customarily docked in North America. In some countries the tail is generally docked at about 4 or 5 inches in field-bred dogs while show dogs generally are docked closer to the body.

Show dogs are restricted to certain colours dependent on country, whereas working English Cocker Spaniels can be any of a wide variety of colours. They come in solid (or "self") colours, where white is restricted to only the chest in show dogs, parti-colour, roan, and merle. Although field-bred and show dogs are found in largely the same colours, some hunters prefer to have white in the coat to make the dog more visible to gunners.

Temperament

English Cocker Spaniels are renowned for their friendly, faithful, playful, and affectionate natures. They are easily trained and make a good medium-sized family pet. Very few English Cocker Spaniels have temperament problems; in a 2002 survey consisting of 487 English Cocker Spaniels, only 1% of the dogs were aggressive to people and 2% were aggressive to other dogs.

The English Cocker Spaniel is generally a healthy breed. Its main health problems are progressive retinal atrophy, kidney disease, hip dysplasia, and epilepsy. They are also often prone to ear infections because of their pendulous ears. They live for 13 to 14 years on average.

History

Spaniel type dogs have been found in art and literature for almost 500 years. Initially, spaniels in England were divided among land spaniels and water spaniels. The differentiation among the spaniels that led to the breeds that we see today did not begin until the mid 1800’s. During this time, the land spaniels became a bit more specialized and divisions among the types were made based upon weight. According to the 1840 Encyclopedia of Rural Sports, English Cocker Spaniels were between 12 and 20 lb.  At this time it was not uncommon for English Cocker Spaniels and Springers to come from the same litter. Even a puppy from a “Toy” sized lineage could grow to be a springer. There is no indication from these early sources that spaniels were used to retrieve game. Rather they were use to drive the game toward the guns.

During the 1850’s and 60’s other dogs types of Cockers were recorded. There were Welsh Cockers and Devonshire Cockers. Additionally, small dogs from Sussex Spaniel litters were called Cockers. In 1874 the first stud books were published by the newly formed kennel club. The hobby of conformation showing began in earnest among spaniels after the Spaniel Club was formed in 1885. When showing, the new Springer and Cocker, both were in the same class until The Spaniel Club created breed standards for each of the types. The Kennel Club separated the two types eight years later. Since then, the Springer and Cocker enthusiasts have bred in the separate traits that they desired. Today, the breed differ in more ways than weight alone.

In America, the American Cocker Spaniel type was forming. As a result, the English Cocker lost favour. The two Cocker Spaniels were shown together until 1936, when the English Cocker received status as a separate breed. The American Kennel Club granted a separate breed designation for the English Cocker Spaniel in 1946.

This breed, like many others with origins as working dogs, has some genetic lines that focus on working-dog skills and other lines that focus on ensuring that the dog's appearance conforms to a breed standard; these are referred to as the "working" (or "field-bred") and "show dog" strains, respectively.

Today, this breed is experiencing a resurgence in usage as a working and hunting dog. Dogs from working lines are noticeably distinct in appearance. As is the case with the English Springer Spaniel, the working type has been bred exclusively to perform in the field as a hunting companion. Their coat is shorter and ears less pendulous than the show-bred type. Although registered as the same breed, the two strains have diverged significantly enough that they are rarely crossed. The dogs that have dominated the hunt test, field trial and hunting scene in the United States are field-bred dogs from recently imported British lines.

Working-dog lines often have physical characteristics that would prevent them from winning in the show ring. This is a result of selecting for different traits than those selected by show breeders. The longer coat and ears, selected for the show ring, are an impediment in the field.

Cuban authorities train and use English Cocker Spaniels as sniffer dogs to check for drugs or food products in passengers' baggage at Cuban airports.