The cocker spaniel is, without a doubt, one of the best known dog breeds worldwide. It is a very popular dog, and what few know is that the first specimens really came from the Iberian Peninsula.
Although many people may think that the Cocker is a single dog, the truth is that there are different types of Cocker. Have you 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 assigned to them? Next, on our site, we explain how many types of cocker spaniel there are, as well as the main characteristics of each of them.
Characteristics of the cocker spaniel
The cocker spaniel has a long history, dating back to the early 14th century. Specifically, it is a dog originating in Spain, where hunters highly valued it due to its skills as a bird retriever. Currently, this denomination is confusing, because what was once known as a dry cocker spaniel, has now evolved into two different breeds, the English spaniel and the American spaniel, which we will detail later. In this way, we can conclude that the current types of cocker spaniel descend from the old cocker spaniel.
In general, they are friendly dogs. Although they are sometimes branded as sullen, this is not common in them. They are friendly, delicate and lively, very cheerful and incredibly intelligent. They are medium in size, weighing 11 to 12 kilograms on average and a height at the withers of 36-38 centimeters. His body is compact and has well-developed muscles.
How many types of cocker spaniels are there?
As we said at the beginning, there is no single breed of cocker spaniel. Today, there are two types of cocker spaniel that constitute two completely different canine breeds:
- English Cocker Spaniel
- American Cocker Spaniel
Thus, although they have the common characteristics already mentioned, each of the races has its particularities. We see them in the following sections.
English Cocker Spaniel
The first cocker spaniels were originally from Spain, where they were much appreciated as hunting dogs. But, when these dogs arrived in England, the breed adapted to local requirements, giving rise to what we know today as the English Cocker Spaniel.
An English Cocker Spaniel is a medium-sized dog, with a height at the withers of between 38 and 43 centimeters and a weight between 12 and 16 kilograms. The body is slender and with very elegant and elongated lines.
Within English cocker spaniels, 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, varying mainly in size, from 34-39 centimeters in height and weighing between 12 and 13.5 kilograms. In this way, the American Cocker is smaller than the English Cocker, although larger than the original Cocker Spaniel and from which the two current types of Cocker descend.
The body of these dogs is more rounded, with a square muzzle and a more compact body than the English Cocker.
The American Cocker also has show and working sub-varieties, as shown below.
Show Cocker vs. Working Cocker
Both within the English and American cockers, we find two types of cocker: the show cocker and the hunting or working cocker. The main difference is that in the show cocker what prevails is their appearance, so the crosses are made seeking aesthetic objectives, ensuring that the specimens fit to the breed standard. That is why these cockers have a longer and thicker coat, which requires more attention to keep it shiny and untangled. Check out the article on Cocker Spaniel Coat Care.
On the other hand, the working cockers, in addition to having a shorter and less exuberant coat, have certain characteristics designed for hunting. In these specimens they try to strengthen their skills, the aspect falling into a rather secondary plane. They also tend to be more restless, requiring more physical activity, as well as more active, so they need to be busy so as not to be nervous.
Differences between the English and American Cocker Spaniel
As we have seen in this article, there are currently two types of cocker spaniel, the English and the American. To be able to distinguish one from the other, it is probably necessary to make measurements and comparisons between specimens belonging to each of the types. Normally, the most determining values refer to the size and height of each specimen, with American cocker spaniels being the smallest and English cocker spaniels being the largest. They can also guide us with the shapes of their body, if they are more stylized it is probably an English cocker, while if their body is compact it could be an American one.
On the other hand, the facial features also allow us to differentiate an English Cocker from an American. While the English Cocker Spaniel has a long muzzle, the American Cocker Spaniel has a flatter muzzle and a more pronounced forehead. In this way, if we have adopted a cocker with a smaller snout and, moreover, with more rounded body shapes, we can be almost certain that it is an American cocker.
Likewise, one aspect that is not usually very useful when it comes to differentiating them is the coat, since the only thing that usually indicates is whether it is a show dog or a hunting dog, but not It is as illustrative as the size to differentiate between the two existing cocker spaniel breeds.
