Such was the skill of the English cocker spaniel that American sportsmen who wanted the services of a cock-flushing dog began to import English cockers during the second half of the 19th century. In time some of the descendants of those dogs developed shorter muzzles, rounder heads, longer coats and more prominent eyes than their English ancestors. These differences eventually became so pronounced -- and so disquieting to proponents of the original cocker spaniel -- that there are two breeds of cockers recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) today: the cocker spaniel and the English cocker spaniel. The former, which is the subject of this article, is a perennial all-star and has been the MPD (most popular dog) in the United States 25 times during this century. The latter is a role player.
England, for its part, also recognizes two breeds of cocker spaniels: the cocker spaniel and the American cocker spaniel. If that isn't confusing enough, read on.
No Size Fits All
The ancestor of the various types of hunting spaniels is often said to have originated in Spain, where it was used to hunt tapas and other kinds of game. At least one authority, however, British canine historian Colonel David Hancock, has suggested that spaniel is derived not from Spain but from the French verb espanir, which means "to crouch or to flatten" and which neatly describes the spaniel's hunting posture. According to Hancock, spaniels originated during the Roman Empire (27 B.C. - A.D. 476). The old Italian verb spaniare, meaning "to get out of a trap or net," supports this theory because spaniels were net dogs before they became gun dogs.
Prior to the invention of firearms, spaniels worked in tandem with hawks and/or sight hounds. The hawk's presence in the sky encouraged game birds to remain earthbound. Spaniels, meanwhile, tracked and flushed the birds -- one is tempted to call them sitting ducks -- which were then set upon by hawks or sight hounds or by hunters armed with nets.
Following the introduction of the shotgun, which became the vogue in the early 17th century, in part because it looked more decorative hanging over the mantelpiece than nets did, the hawk and the sight hound were handed their golden parachutes. Spaniels were now expected to retrieve as well as to roust.
The terms water spaniel and land spaniel were introduced at that time to distinguish between dogs that functioned better in one milieu or the other. Land spaniels were further classified according to size. The larger spaniels eventually became known as springers for their habit of springing at game to startle it from its cover. The cocker spaniel, which was smaller than the springer and hence more effective in thicker going, was named in honor of its favorite target, the woodcock.
The cocker spaniel was accorded breed status by the Kennel Club in England in 1892. Even so, cautions the AKC's The Complete Dog Book, "It should be remembered that the Springers and Cockers ... both before and after the date of their official separation in England, appeared in the same litters. Size alone was the dividing line between."
That line was drawn at 25 pounds. Spaniels weighing more than that were springers. Spaniels weighing less than 25 pounds were cockers.
Father Figures
Many dog breeds have their Obo, a male dog who puts his stamp and postmark on a breed and, quite often, is the dog to whom all modern-day members of the breed can be traced. In the annals of the English cocker spaniel that dog's name is Obo. The son of a Sussex spaniel sire and a field spaniel dam, Obo was whelped in 1879.
American cocker spaniels have their Obo, too. That dog, Obo II, was the son of Chloe II, who was imported to this country in 1882 by F.F. Pitcher, a New England breeder, while she was in whelp to Obo the first. Obo II was a black dog with a curly coat that was especially so on the shoulders and hindquarters. His legs, in addition, were heavily feathered. He weighed 23 1/2 pounds and measured 9 1/2 inches from foot to withers. He is generally credited with being the godfather of both types of cocker spaniel, English and American, in the United States.
Despite Obo II's patriarchal status, other cocker spaniels preceded him to this country and into its studbooks. The National American Kennel Club, which became the AKC in 1884, had registered the first cocker spaniel in 1879.
Cocker spaniels from England and the United States engaged in a certain amount of fraternization well into the 1930s. Nevertheless, the American preference for a smaller dog -- North American woodcocks are smaller than the European variety -- and for a more stylized appearance eventually resulted in two types of cocker spaniels, which came to be known informally as the American and English varieties. The AKC acknowledged this difference by creating separate classes for the two varieties of cockers, but advocates of the English cocker spaniel thought the latter should be accorded separate breed status as well. Toward that end they formed the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America in 1935. Eleven years later they achieved their goal when the AKC agreed to register English cockers as a separate breed. (The Kennel Club in England did not make American cocker spaniels a separate breed until 1968.)
America's Dog
If the English cocker spaniel was at a disadvantage against American cockers in the show ring, it was overwhelmed by its cousins in the court of public opinion. American dog lovers developed a serious affection for the homegrown cocker, whose greeting-card good looks, intelligence, merry disposition and inquisitive nature endeared it to multitudes. If the breed lost a little -- or, in truth, most -- of its hunting abilities along the way, few people were complaining. There was plenty of "game" in the grocery store, and besides, the majority of people prefer an outing in the park or backyard to one in the bottomlands.
Equally at home in house or apartment, cockers found lodging across America. Indeed, the cocker became America's dog. By 1936 it was the AKC's most-registered breed, and it held that ranking for 17 consecutive years. A cocker named Ch. My Own Brucie, who was best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club affair in 1940 and '41, was later immortalized by an obituary on the front page of the New York Evening Sun. In 1947 the cocker was so dominant that three out of every 10 new dogs registered with the AKC that year were cockers. The breed's 78,501 registrations that year was larger than the AKC's total registrations for all breeds in 1944.
As usually happens, popularity breeds excess, and the cocker spaniel suffered for its stardom. So did many unsuspecting buyers who wound up with mean instead of merry cocker spaniels. Cockers became infamous for behavioral disorders -- particularly a constellation of passive-aggressive behaviors that drove them to crouching and urinating submissively or to screaming and biting. The term cocker spaniel rage was coined to describe their behavior.
The AKC, before caving in to pressure from breeders and recalling the entire first printing (30,000 issues) of the 19th edition of The Complete Dog Book, had listed the cocker among 40 breeds deemed "not good" with children. For all the indignation fired toward the AKC, its opinion is shared by many observers.
"The cocker spaniel's reputation for not getting along with children is well known among those who work with them," reported the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last year. In that article the director of Broward County Animal Control declared, "We don't recommend that families with children adopt them."
Nor is this opinion one of recent vintage. Seventeen years ago Roger Mugford, a British animal psychologist, told the Manchester Guardian Weekly that cocker spaniels were "all given to rages" and that "no family with children should ever have one."
Nevertheless, one "dog information" site on the World Wide Web declares without qualification or cautionary note that "the Cocker Spaniel is an inseparable friend of children, and respectful of its master's authority without much challenge."
The Bottom Lines
The cocker spaniel remains one of America's most popular dogs. Last year it ranked 13th, with 34,632 new registrations, among the 146 breeds registered by the AKC. The English cocker spaniel, by comparison, ranked 77, with 1,174 new registrations. American cockers, therefore, must still be doing a lot of things right, and it certainly is possible to find a cocker spaniel that lives up to the breed's reputation as a charming, gentle companion. Breeders of longstanding, excellent reputation who have a small number of dogs that are raised underfoot are a good place to begin looking.
Too Close for Comfort
In an article entitled "The Truth About Dogs," which appeared in the Atlantic Monthly for July, author Stephen Budiansky reported: "Genetic data confirm that the past century of dog breeding has produced some extremely inbred animals." So inbred that the chance of finding two different genes at any locus on a chromosome in a pedigreed dog is only 22 percent -- compared to 57 percent in mixed-breed dogs and 71 percent in members of a human family. This lack of genetic diversity accounts for the fact that certain inherited diseases cling to cocker spaniels and other breeds like dog hair on a woolen sweater. Among the diseases that cling to cockers most frequently are cherry eye, cataracts, glaucoma, progressive retinal atrophy and hemophilia.
Cherry eye occurs when the tear gland beneath a dog's lower eyelid slips out of place and becomes inflamed. Surgery is sometimes needed to correct this condition.
Cataracts are defined as any opacity (imperviousness to rays of light) in the lens of the eye. Some cataracts remain small and do not result in any clinical impairment of vision. In other cases dogs affected by cataracts experience cloudiness of vision and, ultimately, blindness. Cataracts, which can affect one or both eyes, can sometimes be corrected by surgery.
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is a disease in which the retina slowly deteriorates, producing night blindness in young dogs. As PRA progresses, its victims become totally blind.
The best way to minimize the chance of buying a puppy that will later be affected by one of these inherited eye conditions is by asking if the parents of any puppy in which you are interested have been registered with the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF). Owners can register dogs with this voluntary nonprofit organization once those dogs have been examined by a certified veterinary ophthalmologist and have been found to be free of any phenotypical (visible) evidence of major hereditary eye diseases. CERF issues a registration number for a disease-free dog. That number is valid for one year from the date on which the dog was examined. The American Kennel Club incorporates CERF numbers on registration papers and certified pedigrees.
Cockers are also prone to ear infections and seborrhea (greasy, flaky skin). Their long, silky coats and ears require more than average attention if they are to remain beautiful throughout the cocker's life, which can reasonably be expected to last 12 to 15 years.
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