ENGLISH COCKER PERSONALITY

If we look at the AKC breed standard, the first words that strike us are “active,” “merry” and “sporting.” The standard of the breed’s homeland describes the English Cocker as “merry, sturdy and sporting.” There’s no denying it, these things are the essence of an English Cocker Spaniel, and the fact that the standards open with these words may well indicate their importance. An English Cocker Spaniel is a happy dog—happy with you and with the family, but also with complete strangers and other dogs. He is happy to work and happy to play; he is the ultimate optimist. He gets up every morning with the joyful expectation of another lovely day, with lots of fun, hopefully a lot to eat (because he loves his food!) and who knows what new and exciting adventures! He will follow you around in the house; he wants to know what you are doing and he would hate to miss any of the fun and excitement. He loves to share his happiness with everybody, and if this means that he jumps up on you with four muddy paws, then you have to accept that in the sense with which it was done! His happy, easygoing temperament also makes him a fatalist. If he cannot come with you he will express his great sorrow (and he can look very sorrowful!), but he will accept the situation and make the best of it. If his feet are to be trimmed he will try to wriggle out of it, but if you are firm he will give a mental shrug and go to sleep on the grooming table. However, this behavior makes it very important that you are gentle but firm with him because he is clever enough to realize that when he gets his way once, he may get it again, and again…

A good English Cocker should be merry, sturdy and sporting. Above all, he must be a happy dog.

Sometimes we come across an English Cocker with a bad temperament. It should be the duty of breeders not to breed from an English Cocker with either an aggressive or a nervous temperament. Unfortunately, this does not always happen, and it is the unfortunate puppy buyer who has to face the consequences. Investigations are still going on to find out whether bad temperament is a hereditary problem or not. So far, the problem has mainly occurred in solids. It is of the utmost importance that you buy a puppy from a breeder with a good reputation and preferably one whose dogs you have met. If you know that temperament problems have occurred more than once in a certain line, you would do well to avoid this line. Anything other than a happy personality is atypical of the breed and not a trait that should be perpetuated.

Although an English Cocker thinks that every guest to your house has been invited especially to please him and will therefore be loved by him, he is very loyal and affectionate to his own people. He not only shares your house, he also shares your life, your joys and your sorrows, and he has a special antenna for your moods. The bond between you and your English Cocker can become incredibly strong to the point that no words are needed.

Temperament in the English Cocker Spaniel is one of the first concerns of every breeder. Whether sold as a puppy for show, for the field or as a companion only, an English Cocker must be sweet and reliable.

Note that another quality of the English Cocker that receives special mention in the standard is his sporting, sturdy, active and lively nature. You must be prepared to give your English Cocker, when he has matured, at least an hour of free exercise every day. He will enjoy a walk through the park on lead, or even a shopping expedition, but he needs more. He needs to have the opportunity to stretch his legs, run at full speed and be able to pick up exciting smells that appeal to his gundog instinct. Provided that your dog comes reliably to you when called, that he stays within calling distance and that you choose safe areas for his free exercise, he will enjoy exploring woods, fields, dunes; he loves it all…and especially water. If the idea of a soaking wet and rather muddy dog does not appeal to you, you have to teach him right from the start to stay away from the water. Do not think that will be easy! A walk without a swim is, in the eyes of an English Cocker, only half a walk—and if there’s nowhere to swim, a deep muddy puddle may suit him just fine!

Although the English Cocker is a smaller member of the Sporting Group, he has plenty of stamina and vigor. He was designed to work in the field and must do so tirelessly.

His energy is endless. He will walk the same distance as you two or three times over, at full speed, without resting, and it only takes the ten minutes’ drive home from the park to restore him. Once home, he’s ready for you to play with him, throw a ball for him to fetch or whatever it takes to get rid of his energy.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The English Cocker is a relatively small, compact dog, with a height of between 15 and 17 inches and an average weight of around 30 pounds. His small body, however, is big on strength and power—two characteristics that are very important for a dog whose main function is to work in the field. For the pet, rather than the working, English Cocker, this strength is evident in his boundless energy. This is a breed that never seems to tire, so be prepared to spend time participating in some type of physical activity with your English Cocker. Not only will he appreciate the outlet for his energy, he also will appreciate the time spent with you!

One of the most obvious and most striking physical characteristics of the breed is the coat. The coat is long, flat and silky, consisting of a top coat and an undercoat. The English Cocker’s dense coat does require attention in grooming, both to keep it looking in top condition and to prevent any odor. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the English Cocker’s coat is the wide variation of colors and color patterns that are seen. Even more interesting is that there can be personality differences within the breed based on coat color! More detail about this aspect of the English Cocker Spaniel is worth mentioning.

COAT COLOR AND VARIATIONS

Dr. Caius mentioned in his Treatise of Englishe Dogges the Aquaticus or Spaniell, who finds game in the water and who is either red-and-white, solid black or solid red. Later, in 1803, in the book The Sportsman’s Cabinet, springing spaniels and cocking spaniels are mentioned in the colors black-and-white, liver-and-white, red-and-white and a recent color, seen on a dog imported from France, marble blue. Nowadays English Cocker Spaniels occur in no fewer than 17 different colors to be divided into two groups: the solids and the parti-colors.

There is sable-and-white in American Cockers, but so far I haven’t seen this color on an English Cocker Spaniel. The standard is not very explicit on colors; it just says “various” and that in solids only a small white patch on the throat is allowed; solid colors are defined as black, liver and red. Tan markings on certain colors are also mentioned.

Before the war it was common practice to breed all of the colors together, but after the war the breeding was mainly solid to solid and parti-color to parti-color. In solids black is the dominant color, with red and black-and-tan being recessive. In other words, if a dominant black (black not carrying the gene for red) is mated to a dominant black, all of the puppies will be black. If the dominant black is mated to a black carrying the gene for red, all of the puppies will also be black, but some of them will be carrying the gene for red. If two blacks both carrying the gene for red are mated, theoretically 25% of the puppies will be dominant black, 50% will be black but will carry the gene for red and 25% will be red (Fig. 1). If a red is mated to a black with the gene for red, 50% will be red and 50% will be black (Fig. 2). Two reds mated together can only produce red.

To produce liver, both parents should—apart from the gene for liver—also have the gene for black. If two dogs with the gene for liver but without the gene for black were to be mated, the resulting puppies would all be red with brown pigmentation (instead of black). A liver dog with the genes for liver and for black mated to a black or a red without the gene for liver will only produce black puppies (Fig. 3). Liver pups can only be the result of a liver to liver or liver to brown-pigmented red combination (Fig. 4). A liver dog with the gene for red mated to a red or a black with the gene for red will produce red puppies (Fig. 5). A liver mated to a black-pigmented red (without the gene for liver) gives 25% to 50% black pups. This is the only way to breed black puppies out of non-black parents (Fig. 6).

Black-and-tans and liver-and-tans are in fact solids with recessive genes for tan. Solid is dominant and the tan pattern is recessive. The tan markings are genetically fixed, but the quantity of tan can differ greatly, as can the shade of tan. The only way to see whether a dog possesses the gene for tan is by breeding. A black and a red may both have the gene for tan and produce blacks, reds and black-and-tans (Fig. 7). Two black-and-tans produce 75% black-and-tan puppies. Should both of them have the gene for red, then 25% of the pups would be red-and-tan, but in practice this is invisible (Fig. 8). However, if such dogs were to be mated to black-and-tans without the gene for red, the offspring would be 100% black-and-tan (Fig. 9).

In parti-colors, blue roan is dominant over all other parti-colors. Roan is dominant over ticking, but ticking is dominant over black-and-white or orange-and-white. Dark blue roan is dominant over light blue roan, which explains why we see so many more dark blue roans than black-and-whites or light blues. I bred three litters with a black-and-white bitch out of a black-and-white mother. All three sires were blue (with black-and-whites in their pedigrees) and out of all three litters I had only one black-and-white. To have black-and-white puppies out of her, I would have had to mate her to a black-and-white or orange-and-white dog (Fig. 10).

A black-and-white is, in fact, a black dog with two genes for parti-color. Should he have one gene for roan and one for open-marked white, he himself would be a roan. A black-and-tan with two genes for parti-color becomes a tri-color or blue-roan-and-tan. If we breed an orange roan bitch to a black-and-white dog, their puppies will nearly all be dark blue roan.

In a newborn litter of parti-colors all of the puppies are black-and-white (or orange-and-white). The only way to see whether the puppy will later become a blue roan is by looking at his pads and nails. Should these be black right from the start, then you know that your puppy will be a blue roan. If they are pink, then the puppy will become a black-and-white. To produce tri-color puppies, both parents should have the gene for tan. The tan is only there where the markings are. Should you have a puppy with an irregular marking (i.e., one black eye/ear and one white eye/ear) the tan will only be found on the side where the black marking is. This is not a fault according to the standard, but most breeders do not like it.

We once mated a blue-roan-and-tan to an orange roan and the resulting puppies were all blue roan or black-and-white. Conclusion? The blue-roan-and-tan missed the gene for orange and the orange roan missed the gene for tan (Fig. 11). Although the puppies were blue, they all carried the gene for tan and for orange. Should we mate such a blue with these two genes to a liver roan, what will happen then? Chances are the whole litter is blue roan, but it might just be possible that you will have a “rainbow” litter with every color that’s possible!

In parti-colors, the blue roan is dominant. This is a unique and attractive color pattern, as seen on these blue roan siblings.