The English and American cocker spaniel are two breeds of the same dog. Both were bred as gun dogs to use their sense of smell to cover low areas near the handler to flush birds into the air to be shot, and then retrieve the birds with a soft mouth. The differences between the English and American Shorthair are that the American is smaller with a shorter back, a domed head, and a shorter muzzle.
The English variety is taller with a narrower head and chest. Cocker Spaniels can come in a variety of colors, including black, liver, red and golden. Solid colors include black and tan as well as liver and tan. Also common are color mixes such as roans a mix of the solid colors , roan and tans mixes that include white , tricolors color mixes with three different-colored and those solid colors with additional white markings.
The Cocker Spaniel is a small sporting spaniel that stands about 14 to 15 inches. It has those big, dark eyes and a sweet expression. Its ears are long and lush and demand to be touched. Height for male is The male weight stands between pounds and female is pounds.
By the s, Spaniels were divided into two groups: toys primarily companions and large hunting dogs. Hunting dogs were further divided into land and water spaniels. The Cocker Spaniel was named so for his excellence in the field hunting woodcock. In England, spaniels were a functional category, rather than an individual breed of dog, for several hundred years.
James Farrow. In , the Cocker Spaniel was recognized as a breed in England. Cocker Spaniel puppies for Sale. Shortly before, in the late s, American fanciers began importing English Cockers to the United States.
The second volume of the studbook, printed in , registers a black Cocker named Brush II. The oldest breed club in America, it originally included breeders of many types of Spaniels. Eventually, however, breeders split off into separate organizations as differences among the Spaniel breeds were refined.
Cocker Spaniels quickly gained popularity both with breeders and the public. In time, some breeders started favoring a smaller type of Cocker Spaniel with a slightly different conformation than the original English Cocker.
These smaller dogs were especially flashy in the show ring. Allen Bacharach. The term "cocker rage" came into common use describing temperament problems. What was the public's response? The once number one spaniel slipped out of the AKC's top ten altogether.
Fortunately, the English cocker spaniel has changed little over the years; health disorders and temperament are not so much an issue. I recently went on an on-line adoptable pet database and was disheartened to discover over 1, homeless cocker spaniels in the U. It is clear the American public is no longer enamored with their cocker.
However, puppy mills and backyard breeders continue to prey on the American cocker spaniel squeezing every last cent they can out of them.
Breeders of cocker spaniels control the health and temperament of the breed. Some breeders of cocker spaniels, like Trish Jackson, are attempting to revitalize the breed. Trish is breeding her spaniels for the qualities the original American cocker spaniels had--well bred hunting dogs, like their English counterparts. With hard work and the love of the breed, Trish Jackson was able to produce the first American cocker Field Trial Champion since It appears that "show" cockers suffered most of the effects of poor breeding.
Hunters such as Jeff Griffen prefer hunting with field-trial bred cocker spaniels as "show" cockers suffer from "shyness and hysteria to a serious degree. To cocker spaniel breeders I offer this challenge.
Experts believe that this breed has been formed no later than years ago. It was then that the first English cocker spaniels participated in the cynological exhibition in a separate class. The name of the breed determines its origin and the main initial purpose.
And, indeed, the first spaniels spread through Europe from Spain, where they were used when hunting with the network. Once in England, Cocker Spaniels began to be successfully used in the hunt for Waldshnepov, which in huge quantities were found at the time in English swamps.
Spaniels have proven themselves very well, groaning through thick thickets and making a rack exactly when it was necessary. Nowadays this breed of dogs is rarely used for hunting.
Thanks to the small size and excellent sociability and friendly nature, Cocker Spaniels have become welcome pets. The dog of this breed may be subject to disqualification — it has yellow eyes, a pink nose lobe, unpainted lips and eyelids, any deviation from scissor bite, input.
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