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32-654: Cocker Spaniels were originally bred as hunting dogs in the UK , with the term "cocker" deriving from their use to hunt the Eurasian woodcock . When the breed was brought to the United States , it was bred to a different standard , which enabled it to specialize in hunting the American woodcock . Further physical changes were bred into the cocker in the United States during the early part of

64-491: A "cocker spaniel" was a type of small Field Spaniel; at the time, this term referred to a number of different spaniel hunting breeds, including the Norfolk Spaniel , Sussex Spaniel , and Clumber Spaniel . While no Sussex Cockers or Clumber Cockers existed, some dogs were known as Welsh Cockers and Devonshire Cockers. The Welsh or Devonshire were considered cockers until 1903, when they were recognized by The Kennel Club as

96-497: A few exceptions. While their origins are unknown, "spaynels" are mentioned in 14th-century writings. They are commonly assumed to have originated in Spain , and Edward, 2nd Duke of York in his 15th-century work The Master of Game introduces them as "Another kind of hound there is that be called hounds for the hawk and spaniels, for their kind cometh from Spain, notwithstanding that there are many in other countries." The Master of Game

128-705: A grandson of My Own Brucie , Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1940 and 1941, was born all-white. In its native United States, the American Cocker Spaniel was ranked the 23rd-most popular breed according to registration statistics of the AKC in 2009, a decrease in popularity since 1999, when it was ranked 13th. For 25 years, the American Cocker Spaniel was the most popular dog in America. It

160-444: A majority of waterfowl hunting employs the use of small boats in winter conditions, retrievers are expected to remain sitting calmly and quietly until sent to retrieve. As birds move into range, a well-trained retriever will watch and follow the handler's gun as he shoots, marking, and remembering each bird that is downed. This is called "marking off the gun", and the downed birds are called "marks". Retrievers often are expected to recall

192-479: A team, one works close in while the other ranges out in larger circles. If either dog becomes birdy, the other dog works its way over to assist. Good bird dogs are alert to their handlers and to the disposition of other dogs in the field. They should readily comply if the handler casts them to an area of particular interest, such as a brush pile. When game is detected, a dog freezes, either pointing or crouching. If other dogs are present, they also freeze, "honoring"

224-578: A variety of colors, including black, liver, red, and golden in solids. Also, black and tan, and sometimes liver and tan are known, as well as a variety of color mixtures of those solid colors including roans , roan and tans, tricolors, and those solid colors with additional white markings. Rare colours can appear unexpectedly in certain lines, for instance while an all-white cocker is usually bred by selective breeding of very light golden strains, they can still appear very uncommonly to parents that are dark-colored. A noted occurrence of this happened in 1943, when

256-521: Is the most popular dog breed for showing in the UK, Crufts , with seven best-in-show wins since the prize was first awarded in 1928. This was mostly due to the success of dog breeder H.S. Lloyd's Ware Kennel, dogs of which won best-in-show on six occasions between 1930–1950. They are the second most popular dog breed in the UK according to statistics released by the KC with 22,211 registrations in 2009, beaten only by

288-547: The Labrador Retriever with 40,943. In third place was the English Springer Spaniel with 12,700. The English Cocker's popularity has increased steadily since 1999 in the United States when they were ranked 76th in registrations by the AKC, to 2009 when they were ranked 66th. Physical differences exist between the show strain and working strain in the UK. While the show strain is bred to the conformation standard,

320-611: The Welsh Springer Spaniel . Prior to the 1870s, the only requirement for a dog to be classed as a Cocker Spaniel was that it needed to weigh less than 25 pounds (11 kg), although breeders separated the cocker from the King Charles Spaniel , which remains a smaller breed of spaniel. This maximum weight limit remained on the Cocker Spaniel until 1900, with larger dogs being classed as Springer Spaniels. The colors of

352-455: The 20th century. Spaniels were first mentioned in the 14th century by Gaston III, Count of Foix in his work the Livre de Chasse . The "cocking" or "cocker spaniel" was a type of field or land spaniel in the 19th century. Prior to 1901, Cocker Spaniels were only separated from Field Spaniels and Springer Spaniels by weight. Two dogs are considered to be the foundation sires of both modern breeds,

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384-662: The Devonshire and Welsh Cockers were described by John Henry Walsh under the pseudonym Stonehenge in his book The Dog in Health and Disease as being a deeper shade of liver than that of the Sussex Spaniel. Following the formation of The Kennel Club in the UK in 1873, efforts were made by breeders to record the pedigrees of cockers and springers. In 1892, English Cocker Spaniels and English Springer Spaniels were recognized as separate breeds by The Kennel Club. Two dogs are thought to be

416-629: The English variety are descended from Ch. Obo, while the American breed descends from Obo's son, Ch. Obo II . In the United States, the English Cocker was recognized as separate from the native breed in 1946; in the UK, the American type was recognized as a separate breed in 1970. In addition, a second strain of English Cocker Spaniel, a working strain, is not bred to a standard, but to working ability. Both breeds share similar coat colors and health issues with

448-532: The English, separate classes were created for the two types in America in 1935 and the Cocker Spaniel Club of America discouraged breeding between the two types in 1938. The American Cocker Spaniel was recognized as a separate breed by the KC in the UK in 1970. The American Cocker Spaniel is referred to as the Cocker Spaniel within the United States. The American Cocker Spaniel was bred smaller, as American woodcocks are smaller than their European relatives, and

480-527: The UK, this is the breed that was originally recognized by The Kennel Club (KC) in 1892. The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized the English Cocker Spaniel as a separate breed in 1946. The size of the English Cocker Spaniel according to the KC is 15.5–16.0 inches (39–41 cm) at the withers for males, and 15.0–15.5 inches (38–39 cm) for females. The weight of a show dog should be 28–32 pounds (13–15 kg). The English Cocker Spaniel

512-803: The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the most prestigious dog show in the United States, the American Cocker Spaniel has won Best in Show on four occasions since its first award in 1907. The American Cocker Spaniel is judged in three separate breed classes under AKC rules; "black", "parti-color", and "any solid color other than black..." (ASCOB). Footnotes Bibliography UK">UK The requested page title contains unsupported characters : ">". Return to Main Page . Gun dog Gun dogs or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game , typically various fowls that are shot down on

544-410: The breed's appearance changed slightly during the first part of the 20th century, as the preference by American breeders was for a more stylish appearance. The standard size according to the AKC is between 14.5 and 15.5 inches (37 and 39 cm) at the withers for males and 13.5–14.5 inches (34–37 cm) for females. The weight of the breed is typically between 24 and 30 pounds (11 and 14 kg). At

576-481: The dog is performing a retrieve. Retrievers are taught to ignore these "diversions" until the current retrieve has been completed. Also at times multiple dogs are used on a hunt, and retrievers are also taught to "honor" another dog's retrieve by remaining calm and quiet while the other dog is working. When competing in conformation shows most kennel clubs , including The Kennel Club group pedigree gun dog breeds together in their own gun dog group, whilst some such as

608-409: The dog's initial exuberance and may help the dog establish its bearings and form a "background" upon which game smells will be processed. The dog then begins working back and forth, starting near the hunter and slowly ranging out. The dog repeats this process as the hunters move through the field. How far a handler allows the dog to range is a matter of personal preference. When a pair of dogs work as

640-534: The first dog's point. The pointing dog remains motionless until the hunters are in position. Handlers give the command whoa , instructing the dog to remain still. What happens next depends on the dog's training. Some trainers train the dog to stay motionless while the hunter steps forward and flushes the game. Other trainers direct the dog to flush the game with a command such as get it! Pointing dogs excel on covey type birds such as bobwhite , quail , and grouse as these birds will hold in position well, allowing

672-539: The flight of the bird and mark the fallen birds for retrieval. A dog which does this successfully is referred to as "steady to wing and shot". Steadiness is the hallmark of the finished spaniel. When a bird is shot, the dog should mark where it fell and wait until given the command to retrieve. Once commanded, the dog will race to the point of fall, pick up the bird, and return it to the handler. Retrievers are typically used when waterfowl hunting , although they can also be employed in hunting upland birds as well. Since

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704-616: The flight. The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and skills of hunting canines, but "gun dogs" refers to canines that are trained to work alongside a loud firearm while hunting or retrieving game. Gun dogs are divided into three main categories: pointers and retrievers, setters and spaniels, and water dogs. There are several breeds used as gundogs with varying instinctive skill sets for each one. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: retrievers , pointing breeds , and water dogs . Although classified according to method of work, gun dogs often have skills extending beyond

736-421: The foundation sires of both modern breeds of cocker spaniels. Ch. Obo is considered by breed enthusiasts to be the father of the modern English Cocker Spaniel, while his son, Ch. Obo II , is considered to be the progenitor of the American Cocker Spaniel. Obo was born in 1879, when registration as a cocker was still only by size and not by ancestry. He was the son of a Sussex Spaniel and a Field Spaniel. Although Obo

768-423: The handler to flush birds into the air to be shot, and to use their eyes and nose to locate the bird once downed, and then to retrieve the bird with a soft mouth . The major differences between the English and American varieties is that the American is smaller with a shorter back, a domed head, and a shorter muzzle , while the English variety is taller with a narrower head and chest. Cocker Spaniel coats occur in

800-455: The hunter to approach and get into position. If a bird is downed, the dogs are instructed to search for and retrieve it with the command dead bird , or simply dead . When hunting upland game , flushing dogs (spaniels and retrievers) work much more closely with the hunter. Flushers will not cover the same amount of ground as a pointing dog as the flusher must be kept within shotgun distance. Flushing dogs are often used on birds that run from

832-409: The hunter. On such birds as pheasant , an aggressive flush is necessary to spring the bird to wing. Flushing dogs excel on these types of bird because they do not point the birds, giving them little time for escape on the ground. Pointing breeds are used on such birds, but must be well trained to know when the bird pointed has moved. Once a bird has been flushed, the dog will sit or "hup" to watch

864-455: The location of many downed birds in one sitting before they retrieve game. Once the shooting has ceased, the handler commands the dog to retrieve each bird that has been downed. If a dog did not see the bird fall, a retriever takes direction from the handler, who can use hand and whistle signals to guide the dog to the unseen downed bird. This is called a "blind" retrieve. During a typical day of shooting, additional birds are frequently downed while

896-464: The tasks outlined for their classification. Depending upon how they are trained, dogs may be useful in a variety of hunting situations. The methods described here are analogous to human-canine hunting going back tens of thousands of years. Upon reaching the field, the handler often will cast or direct the dog in a wide circle. Experienced dogs will search the edges of the field knowing that birds are usually found there. This wide run helps to burn off

928-423: The working strain is bred for working ability, and as such, several physical differences have appeared. Working-type dogs tend to be larger with flatter heads and shorter ears. The coat also tends to be shorter and finer than the show variety and have less feathering. The working strain seems to be more energetic than the show strain. American Cocker Spaniels were recognized by the AKC in 1878. Generally smaller than

960-438: Was an English dog, Obo II was born on American shores – his mother was shipped to the United States while pregnant. During his lifetime, Obo II was claimed in advertisements to be the sire or grandsire of nearly every prize-winning cocker in America. The two breeds of cocker spaniel are the English Cocker Spaniel and the American Cocker Spaniel. They were bred as gun dogs , to use their sense of smell to cover low areas near

992-472: Was mostly an English translation of an earlier 14th century Old French work by Gaston III of Foix-Béarn entitled Livre de Chasse . In 1801, Sydenham Edwards wrote in Cynographia Britannica that the "Land Spaniel" is divided into two types: the hawking, springing/springer and the cocking/cocker spaniel. The term "cocker" came from the dog's use in hunting woodcocks . During the 19th century,

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1024-448: Was ranked number one first in 1936 prior to the English Cocker Spaniel being recognized as a separate breed, and held onto the spot until 1952, when Beagles became the most popular dogs. It regained the spot in 1983 and held on at number one until 1990. In the UK, the American Cocker Spaniel is far less popular than its English relative, with 322 registrations compared to the English Cocker's 22,211 in 2009. Called simply Cocker Spaniel in

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