The History of

The Cocker Spaniel

 Let's discuss the interesting history of the Cocker Spaniel shall we?

The exact origin of the Spaniel family is a bit fuzzy, and the longer a breed has been around the more difficult it is to pin down.

While there is evidence of the spaniel in France and Switzerland, its ancient origins are believed to come from Spain.

There is mention of the “Spanyell” in European society dating as far back as the 14th century but it wasn’t until the 1800s that small spaniels were widely developed in England to help flush and retrieve game.

The best hunters were used for breeding, which created a generation of skilled hunters but the characteristics of these puppies were inconsistent, so a split was made.

Essentially only the sizes of the puppies mattered and The Kennel Club (England) divided the dogs by weight alone.

 Dogs weighing less than 25 lbs were classed as Cocker Spaniels; as their primary use was to hunt a game bird called the woodcock. Those weighing over 25 lbs became known as the Springer Spaniel; the name being derived from their ability to "spring" game.

Cockers are to this day the smallest in the sporting and gundog groups.

The Cocker has been exhibited in the U.S. since the early 1880s.  In 1883 classes were provided for the breed at English bench shows.

 In 1892 the breed was given breed status in England's Kennel Clubs stud book.

The American Cocker has evolved somewhat differently in type, size, and coloring from the breed now recognized as the English Cocker Spaniel.

By the 1930s the American variety had become so different from its English ancestors that it received status as a separate breed by The Kennel Club.

The American Kennel Club granted a separate breed designation for the English Cocker Spaniel in 1946.

The Field Trial Club began field trials for the breed in the U.S. in the 1920s.

Differences

The term ‘Cocker Spaniel’ refers only to one of two breeds of dog.

It is generally understood to be the American Cocker Spaniel within the U.S. and the English Cocker Spaniel outside of the U.S.

There are “toy” spaniels such as the English Toy Spaniel, also known as the King Charles Spaniel, but they are not Cocker Spaniels and have their own breed classification.

To most of us, the differences between the American and English breeds may not be so obvious but competition judges know exactly what characteristic differences to look for.

The English is slightly larger. The heads are shaped differently with the American being more dome-shaped and having a more pronounced stop and clearly defined eyebrows. The American breed’s lips tend to hang down farther and more loosely. Its eyes are also larger and set so that they look straighter forward than the English. Lastly, the American’s coat is much more abundant than the English.

We hope you enjoyed our discussion of the history of the Cocker Spaniel.

Feel free to look around some more at our other pages on our  website.

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