History of the English Cocker Spaniel
Spaniels very similar to this dog existed in paintings as early as 1300. About 5000 years later, the spaniel gradually diverged into seven breeds: namely the English Cocker Spaniel, Welsh Cocker Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Sussex Spaniel, Ranch Spaniel, Irish Water Spaniel and Crumb Spaniel. The documented history of the modern Cocker Spaniel begins with the birth of the first English Cocker Spaniel, the Orb, on June 14, 1879. Prior to the 17th century, this type of dog was known as a spaniel regardless of its size, body length, or pace. In 1892 the British Kennel Club finally recognized them as two separate breeds. This Cocker Spaniel is the English Cocker Spaniel.
- English Cocker Spaniel Morphological Characteristics
The English Cocker Spaniel is considered one of the smaller of the sporting breeds, he is robust, compact, with a neat, delicate head and very well proportioned overall. The male dog is 40.6 ~ 43.0 cm tall and the female dog is 38.1 ~ 40.6 cm tall. Those who deviate from this standard do not meet the standard. The ideal weight is 12.70 ~ 15.42 kg for males and 11.79 ~ 14.52 kg for females.
Head
1. Overall appearance: sturdy, but not rough, with a relatively soft outline and no sharp angles. It gives the impression that the expression made up of all parts looks distinctive compared to other breeds.
2. Eyes: Koka’s eyes are fundamental to the ideal expression. Medium-sized, plump and slightly oval; separated by a wide distance; tight eyelids. The transepithecae are not conspicuous; with or without pigmentation. The eye color of dogs of other colors is dark brown, except for liver-colored and miscellaneous dogs with liver color, which are allowed to have hazel eyes.
3. Ears: lowly positioned and hanging close to the head; delicate ear contours that extend to the tip of the nose, covered with long, silky, straight or slightly wavy hair.
4. Head: rounded arch and slightly flat, observed from the side and front respectively. Observing its outline, the eyebrows are not much higher than the back of the head. Observed from above, the plane on both sides of the head is roughly parallel to the plane on both sides of the muzzle. The stop is clear, but moderate and slightly notched.
5. Muzzle: The same length as the head; moderately full; only slightly narrower than the head, with the width agreeing where the eyes are; neatly defined below the eyes. The jaws are strong and have the ability to transport prey. The sense of smell is fairly well developed; the nosepiece is black, except for the nosepiece of liver-colored or liver-bearing mongrel dogs, which may be brown; the nosepiece color of red or reddish mongrel dogs may be brown, but black is preferred. Lips are quadrangular, but not pendulous, and there is no exaggerated upper lip.
6. Teeth: clipped bite and. A pincer bite is also acceptable but not ideal. A protruding upper jaw bite or a protruding lower jaw bite is a serious defect.
Neck, backline, body
1. Neck: graceful and well muscled, appearing rounded toward the head, neatly joined to the head, free of flab, and integrated into the sloping scapula; moderate in length and balanced with the height and length of the dog.
2. Dorsal line: The neck joins the scapula to the dorsal line in a smooth curve. The dorsal line slopes very slightly toward the rounded rump with no sagging or creasing.
3. Body: Compact and tightly joined, giving the impression of being very strong but not heavy.
4. Deep chest; not so wide as to interfere with the movement of the forelimbs, nor so narrow as to appear to be too narrow or constricted in the forequarters. The forechest is very well developed, with the sternum protruding slightly beyond the joint of the scapula and upper arm. The chest is deep to the elbow and tapers backward and upward with a moderate lift. The ribs are well supported and gradually braced toward the middle of the torso, with a slightly slender posterior end that is sufficiently deep and fully extended posteriorly. The back is short and firm. The loin is short, wide and very slightly rounded and arched, but not enough to interfere with the dorsal line. The rump is very rounded without any signs of steepness.
5. Tail: Broken tail. Positioned on the rump, ideally the tail remains horizontal and moves firmly as he moves. In excitement, the tail may be raised a little higher, but never upwards.
Forequarters
The English Cocker Spaniel is slightly angular. The scapulae are sloping and the shoulder blades are flat and smooth. The scapula is approximately equal in degree to the upper arm bone, which is positioned back and connected to the scapula at an angle sufficient to allow him to stand in his natural state with the elbow just below the top of the scapula.
Forelimbs: straight, the bones from the elbow to the girdle are almost exactly the same size; the elbow is positioned close to the torso; the girdle is almost straight and slightly flexible.
Paws: properly proportioned to the legs, solid, rounded cat feet; toes rounded and arched, compact; pads thick.
Hindquarters
The angle is moderate and the balance with the forequarters is very important. The hips are fairly wide and round. The first thigh is wide, thick and well-muscled to provide a strong drive. The second thigh is well muscled and approximately equal in length to the first thigh. The knee joint is strong and moderately flexed. The distance from the fly joint to the foot pad is short. The foot claws are the same as the forequarters.
Coat
The coat of the Cocker Spaniel is short and slender on the head, medium in length on the body, flat or slightly wavy, and silky in texture. The English Cocker Spaniel has a lot of feathered trim, but not so much as to interfere with his work in the field. Trimming is allowed to remove excess hair and to emphasize his natural lines. However, it must be trimmed as close to its natural form as possible. The coat comes in a variety of colors, from solid colors such as black, brown, and liver, to miscellaneous colors such as speckled colors.
- English Cocker Spaniel personality traits
The English Cocker Spaniel is a mischievous, lively and energetic dog, so it is important to get a certain amount of exercise every day. Koka’s fur tends to get tangled up in clumps, so it’s best to comb it every once in a while. Ear hair also needs to be cleaned from time to time, so the Cocker Spaniel is not suitable for very busy people.
English Cocker Spaniel Personality Traits
The English Cocker Spaniel is a cheerful and loving dog, calm, neither slow nor overly exuberant, kind, gentle, affectionate, energetic, agile, intelligent, lively, enthusiastic and friendly by nature. A willing worker, reliable and charming companion, very keen to work in the field. Easy to obey is also one of its very good advantages.
- English Cocker Spaniel care knowledge
For a dog lover, the health of the dog is crucial, whether it is the pet’s diet, exercise, and living environment will have an impact on the pet itself, so it is important to have a certain understanding of how to care for your pet. And for how to take care of it should be approached from many aspects, such as diet, exercise, genetics, etc.
Cocker Spaniel Care
Because the Cocker Spaniel is an athletic dog, daily exercise is essential and owners should take it for proper exercise. When going out for a walk, it is not recommended to let the dog overdo the grass, because it is likely to come into contact with other dogs’ feces in the grass, and if the other dog suffers from an infectious disease, it is likely that the dog will be infected by the contact.
And often the dog will come into contact with some parasites in the grass, and may get a skin disease as a result, so it is appropriate to enter the grass when walking the dog, usually at the side of the road.
Genetic diseases that can be carded are: cataracts, glaucoma, epilepsy, and hip dysplasia. Common diseases include: keratitis, mites, canine brucellosis, ear disease, external otitis, middle ear and inner ear infections.
Diet should also pay more attention to some owners feel that what they eat is a love for their dogs. But the opposite is true, your love is likely to harm it, dogs can not eat chocolate, onions, and do not eat chicken, duck, fish bones, etc.. Dogs suffering from skin diseases should not eat milk, eggs, chicken, duck meat, beef. Seafood, etc., otherwise it may be foregone.
Dogs do not have to wash too diligently, one to two weeks to wash once, after washing to pull out the water in the ears, regular cleaning, repair, squeeze the anal glands and so on.
- English Cocker Spaniel Feeding Essentials
Since the Cocker Spaniel has a high demand for exercise, the demand for meat in the diet is correspondingly high, and the choice of meat can be pork or beef. Generally do not give the dog fish. Sometimes it is appropriate to give the dog some large pig bones, but do not give them duck bones, chicken bones, fish bones, such as small bones, because the dog is not only poor digestion of these, and may be stuck in the throat mouth.
For dogs usually do not need to eat other things, dog food can be very good to meet the pet’s own nutritional needs, because dog food is more strictly in accordance with the pet’s needs to a reasonable distribution of dog food plus the right amount of water can be very good to meet the needs of the pet. For the number of times to feed, it is recommended to eat less and more meals, if really too busy because of work can be a meal in the morning and evening, a little more amount of each meal.
The pet’s diet should be reasonably arranged in order for the pet to have a healthy body.
