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- Cocker Spaniel Features
- How many types of Cocker Spaniels are there?
- English cocker spaniel
- American Cocker Spaniel
- Exposure Cocker vs Work Cocker
- Differences between English and American Cocker
The Cocker Spaniel is, without a doubt, one of the best known dog breeds in the world. This is a very popular dog, and the first examples come from the Iberian Peninsula.
Although many might think that the Cocker Spaniel is a unique type of dog, the truth is that there are different types of Cocker Spaniel. Have you ever heard of the English Cocker Spaniel and the American Cocker Spaniel? And did you know that there are also general differences depending on the main task that is assigned to these dogs? Next, in PeritoAnimal, we will explain how many types of cocker spaniel exist, as well as the main characteristics of each of them.
Cocker Spaniel Features
The Cocker Spaniel has a long history that dates back to the early 14th century. Specifically, it's a dog from Spain, where hunters valued him highly for his skills as a bird collector. Today, that name is confusing, because what was once known only as the Cocker Spaniel, has now evolved into two different breeds, the English and the American Spaniel, which we'll detail later. Thus, we can conclude that the current types of Cocker Spaniel descend from the old Cocker Spaniel.
In general, they are dogs with an affable character. Although they are sometimes considered antisocial, this is far from common for them. They are friendly animals, delicate and lively, very happy and incredibly intelligent. They are considered medium-sized puppies, weighing an average of 11-12 kg, with a height at the withers of 36 to 38 centimeters. Its body is compact and has well-developed musculature.
How many types of Cocker Spaniels are there?
As we said at the beginning of the article, there is no single breed of Cocker Spaniel. Today, there are two types of cocker spaniels, that constitute two completely different canine breeds:
- English cocker spaniel
- American Cocker Spaniel
Thus, although both have the common characteristics already mentioned, each of the races has its own peculiarities. We'll look at them in the following sections.
English cocker spaniel
The first Cocker dogs were from Spain, where they were highly valued as hunting dogs. With the arrival of these dogs in England, the breed was gradually adapting to local requirements, giving rise to what we know today as the English Cocker Spaniel.
The English Cocker Spaniel is a dog of average size, with height at the withers between 38 and 43 centimeters, and weight between 12 and 16 kg. Its body is slender, with very elegant and elongated lines.
Within the English Cocker Spaniel, a distinction is made between show dogs and hunting dogs, as we will see later.
American Cocker Spaniel
The American Cocker Spaniel is similar to the English Cocker Spaniel, ranging mainly in size, measuring around 34 to 39 centimeters in height and weighing between 12 and 13.5 kg. In this way, the American Cocker Spaniel is smaller than the English Cocker Spaniel, although it is larger than the original Cocker Spaniel from which both current types descend.
The bodies of these dogs have more rounded shapes, with square muzzle and more compact body than the English Cocker Spaniel.
The American Cocker Spaniel also features exposure and working subvariety, as shown below.
Exposure Cocker vs Work Cocker
Both within the breed of the English and American Cocker Spaniel, we find two types of Cocker Spaniel: the exhibition one, and the hunting or work one. The main difference is that in the Exhibition Cocker Spaniel what prevails is the appearance, that's why the crossings are made aiming aesthetic goals, ensuring that the individuals are always in accordance with the breed standard. That's why these Cocker Spaniels have a longer and thicker coat, which requires more attention to stay shiny and uncluttered.
On the other hand, the Cocker Spaniel working, in addition to having a less long and exuberant coat, it has certain characteristics intended for hunting. In these specimens, breeders try to enhance skills, leaving appearance in a very secondary plan. They also tend to be more restless, requiring more physical activity, as well as being more active, so they need to be busy so they don't get nervous.
Differences between English and American Cocker
As we saw in this article, currently there are two types of Cocker Spaniels, the English and the American. To distinguish one from the other, it is probably necessary to carry out measurements and comparisons between individuals belonging to each type. Usually, the most determining values refer to the size and height of each specimen, the American Cocker Spaniel being the smallest, and the English the largest. Their body shapes can also guide us: if they're more stylized, it's probably an English Cocker Spaniel, but if the body is compact, it could be an American.
On the other hand, the facial features they also allow you to differentiate an English Cocker Spaniel from an American one. While the English Cocker Spaniel has a longer snout, the American Cocker Spaniel has a flatter snout and a more pronounced forehead. That way, if you adopt a Cocker Spaniel with a smaller muzzle and more rounded body shapes, you can be pretty sure it's an American Cocker Spaniel.
In addition, an aspect that is usually not very useful when differentiating them is their coat, as the only thing that usually indicates is whether it is a show or hunting dog, but it is not as significant as the size to differentiate between the two existing breeds of Cocker Spaniel.
If you want to read more articles similar to Types of Cocker Spaniel, we recommend that you enter our Comparisons section.