The English Cocker Spaniel is a medium sized dog breed from Great Britain. It was originally bred for bird hunting and is listed by the FCI as a search dog in group 8, section 2. The Cocker Spaniel is still used as a hunting dog. However, he has also developed into a very popular family dog.
The English Cocker Spaniel is originally descended from Spanish bird dogs and is one of the oldest dog breeds at all. The British Kennel Club recognized the Cocker Spaniel as an independent breed already in 1873. The first continental federations followed in the early 20th century.
The Cocker Spaniel owes its name to the English word for woodcock. This was one of the bird species for whose hunting the nimble four-legged friends were originally used. In the meantime the Cocker Spaniel was bred more and more as an exhibition dog, whereby it lost its efficiency with the hunt partially. In order to counteract this development, its breed standard was adapted several times in the past.
Today the Cocker Spaniel is much more than just a classic hunting dog. In addition, he is not only in Germany an extremely popular family and companion dog, which is appreciated by his owners, among other things, because of his cheerful and alert nature.
The normal life expectancy of the English Cocker Spaniel is between 12 and 15 years. Males reach a height at the withers of up to 41 centimetres, while females become somewhat smaller with a maximum of 39 centimetres. The weight in both sexes ranges from 12.5 to 14.5 kilos.
The body of the Cocker Spaniel appears compact. It has a deep chest and a straight back, which is slightly sloping in the loin area. The nose and eyes of the Cocker Spaniel are quite large. While the eyes can be either dark or hazel brown, the colour of the nose is based on the colour of the coat.
Besides a square muzzle and a muscular jaw, the head of the Cocker Spaniel is characterized by its typical long lop ears.
The Cocker Spaniel has a soft, close-fitting coat, which is comparatively long on the belly, tail, ears and chest. Regular grooming is therefore important and should include occasional trimming of the coat.
Regarding coat colour, the breed standard of the Cocker Spaniel allows numerous variations. Besides solid red and black animals, two-coloured and three-coloured specimens in different colours are also permitted.
In addition to the English Cocker Spaniel described here, an American variant has been developed over the years. Since it is primarily a companion dog, performance has never been a priority in the breeding of the American Cocker Spaniel.
Compared to his English ancestor, he is somewhat smaller and also has a considerably longer coat. In spite of its hunting instinct the American Cocker Spaniel is not suitable as a hunting dog and is therefore almost exclusively kept as a companion dog.
The English Cocker Spaniel proves to be a curious and eager to learn companion in everyday life, which is extremely loyal to its owner. It loves extensive cuddling as well as romping around together.
However, the Cocker Spaniel particularly likes to rummage in the bushes. There it is completely in its element and can let its instincts run free. Due to its strong hunting instinct it is advisable not to let it out of your sight and, depending on your obedience, to use a drag line if necessary.
With his cheerful nature he easily manages to inspire the people around him. The fact that the Cocker Spaniel is occasionally a little stubborn does little to change this. Towards strangers he is normally as open-minded and interested as he is in contact with other pets or conspecifics he meets while walking.
The Cocker Spaniel is a classic hunting dog, which even today still has all the characteristics for its original purpose. Among other things, this is also noticeable in the form of his pronounced barking joy, which can certainly lead to problems with the neighbours when keeping him indoors.
Regardless of this, most Cocker Spaniels today are kept as pure family dogs, while their importance for hunting is decreasing more and more.
If you decide to keep a Cocker Spaniel, you should consider the high urge to move of the agile quadrupeds. Leisurely walks are not enough to satisfy this urge. Instead, it is advisable to keep them occupied with dog sports.
As with many pedigree dogs, the Cocker Spaniel has an increased risk of a number of diseases that owners of these adorable four-legged friends should know.
For the health of your Cocker Spaniel, a balanced diet that provides the four-legged friend with all the necessary nutrients in the right amounts is very important. The exact energy requirement is influenced by various factors, such as age and activities, and should therefore be determined individually for each Cocker Spaniel.
We would like to support you in providing your four-legged friend with the best possible care. For this purpose, we have put together a special savings set with high-quality Bellfor dog food and other suitable products for the Cocker Spaniel.
To provide your active Cocker Spaniel with the necessary energy for an active everyday life, the savings set contains Bellfor Freiland-Schmaus. The grain-free dry food is easy to digest and provides your four-legged friend with high-quality animal proteins.
The food set also contains dried chicken meat as a healthy snack for in-between meals and our innovative shiitake-based food supplement Shiimun Skin, which you can use to support the skin and coat health of your Cocker Spaniel in a natural way.