English Cocker Spaneil Dog Breed
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 Cocker 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 Cocker’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.
Height at withers:
- Dogs: 15-17 inches
- Bitches: 15-16 inches
Weight:
- Dogs: 28 – 34 lb
- Bitches: 27 – 32 lb
Show dogs are restricted to certain colours dependent on country, whereas working Cockers 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
Cockers are renowned for their friendly, faithful, playful, quiet and affectionate natures. They are easily trained and make a good medium-sized family pet. Very few Cockers have temperament problems; in a 2002 survey consisting of 487 Cockers, only 1% of the dogs were aggressive to people and 2% were aggressive to other dogs. English cockers have a loving temperament and make an excellent family pets. They will often bond to one person in a family. They have a “go do it now” attitude.
Health
The Cocker 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. This problem is less pronounced in field-bred lines due to anatomical differences.
They live for 13 to 14 years on average. English Cocker Spaniels can be aggressive when they are overly bred. They are also prone to skin problems in the curly coated variety.
