Everyone knows what a Cocker Spaniel looks like but be in the know that there is actually an English Cocker Spaniel and an American Cocker Spaniel. These two are completely separate breeds but with seemingly similar uses. Both are most often used as gundogs or as conformation show contenders.

The gun dog English Cocker Spaniel has two varieties namely the field or working cocker and the show cocker. The working/field cocker is used during game hunting but rather than retrieving the game, this variety actually drives the game towards the guns. The show cocker on the other hand is used for conformation shows most often competing in agility and obedience competitions.

One interesting fact about the English Cocker is that it is continuously wagging its tail as a sign of a merry disposition therefore many have called this breed “merry cocker”. This dog is also notorious for independent and stubborn disposition although it does not mean that it is difficult to train. The English Cocker is innately intelligent and alert and these characteristics show in its face all the time.

The English Cocker Spaniel is a sturdy, compact and well-balanced dog. It has dark eyes and floppy ears that should reach the nose tip when pulled forward. The tail is usually docked to give its body balance especially in hunting but docking is not allowed in other countries.

There are a lot colors for the English Cocker but some are unacceptable depending on its variety. The show cocker can only have some specific colors but the field cocker can be of any color. There are cockers found in solid colors but there are also some that are found in tricolor and roan.

Examples of the solid colors are black, silver, tan, chocolate, blue, red, gold, copper red and white. Other color combinations are black and white, black and tan, blue tick, blue roan, chocolate and tan, lemon and white, orange and white, red and white, and a lot more! In hunting, hunters prefer that their field cockers have color white in their coats in able to see them properly in the woods.

The adorable English Cocker may also become domineering and stubborn but it is also extremely loyal to the family, does not like to be left alone, and loves to get close with only one person in the family. This breed is also loving, optimistic, intelligent and adaptable. This breed also ranks 18th in Stanley Cohen’s the Intelligence of Dog as a measure of the breed’s excellence in working, obedience and intelligence.

There have been studies about the cocker spaniel which states that there is relevance between the cocker’s temperament and its coat color. A study by the University of Cambridge concluded that solid-colored cockers are more likely to be aggressive than other colors. Similar studies have also concluded that Red or Golden colored cockers are the most aggressive towards humans during discipline or sometimes even for no clear reason.