The Cocker Spaniel - Companion, Shooting Dog And Show Dog - Complete Information On History, Development, Characteristics, Standards For Field Trial And Bench With Some Practical Advice On Training, Raising And Handling

By Ella B. Moffit

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sims Press
• Release date: Jan 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528763486

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THE COCKER SPANIEL

I

HISTORY

THAT Spaniels are undoubtedly dogs of great antiquity can be easily verified through a study of the early works on sports, dogs and fowling, a remarkable collection of which volumes is assembled at the New York Public Library. For the student of literature on such subjects and for him who has the patience to delve through the Old Englyshe there is still plenty of undiscovered evidence which might further clarify the origin of the breed. All the writers are in agreement as to the above stated antiquity, but there is still a considerable haze surrounding its earliest history. I find mention of Spaniells as far back as 1386 and with this early date, I find myself contented. The Spaniel was in use from this time, possibly much earlier, for there were various forms of sport involving netting, hawking and springing game to the gun as soon as that weapon came into common use and displaced the net. There does not seem to be much diversity of opinion in giving to the Spaniel crossed with the Spanish Pointer the credit for the Setter, which was eventually to result in the several species of these we know today. The Spaniel seems to have assumed such a wide variety of sizes, colors and types that in the course of time the family fell into two divisions—the land and the water spaniel. A division of the land Spaniel grouped these into the large and the small. A like division ensued in the water spaniel and from this we get the Irish and the English Water Spaniel. There is no doubt in my mind that the Irish Water Spaniel is the result of crosses with the Spaniel and the Poodle, a water dog of great merit in ancient days.

In the large group of land spaniels, we find the Springer, the Sussex, the Clumber, the Norfolk and the Field Spaniel. In the small group we find the Cocker and all the toy spaniels which later were separated from the sporting spaniels into a group by themselves. There seems however to have been considerable latitude allowed in placing the large Field Spaniels (sometimes weighing fifty-four pounds) in the group of the large land spaniels, and the small ones, often in the same litter, would be arbitrarily named Cockers and therefore belonged to the smaller group. Until the middle of the 19th century spaniels were classified according to the size of the individual, and in England it was not until 1883 that classes for Cockers were listed in shows and not until 1893 that the English Kennel Club granted the Cocker Spaniel a place by himself in the Stud Book. It was during the last quarter of the 19th century that the Cocker fell into disrepute as a working spaniel and his place was pre-empted by the Springer. Reading between the lines, of authors on sporting dogs, it is evident that the long and low-set dog which had come into being, bred for these exaggerations, then considered beautiful, was responsible for their increasing nonusefulness and disrepute in the field. We do, however, owe a debt of gratitude to these breeders for having established a definite strain which is the foundation of our Cockers of today and of their recognition because it was on June 14th, 1879, that Mr. Farrow produced Obo rather amusingly recorded as being by Fred out of Betty. This to my mind is an indication that Mr. Farrow did not believe in telling everything. For a dog that had such an influence on the future of Cockers must surely have been bred with malice aforethought and it is likely that the parents were worthy of more impressive names than Fred and Betty. Be that as it may, Obo’s descendants among them Miss Obo, Lily Obo, Tim, Minnie, Frank, Ted and Betty Obo, in conjunction with the Braeside family, specifically through Braeside Bob, founded the American Cocker.

I was particularly pleased to come across the following measurements of Obo in Dalziells’ British Dogs:

Weight—22 pounds.

Height—10 inches.

Length from nose to eyes—2 1/4 inches.

Length from nose to occiput—7 1/4 inches.

Length from nose to set-on of tail—29 inches.

These measurements are particularly significant in view of the proportions of his descendants whose height approximate their length.

It is interesting to note that as recently as 1873 Stonehenge On the Dog tells us that all varieties of Spaniels were expected to give tongue on scent. A Spaniel possessing a musical but not noisy voice is all the more valuable if it distinguishes in its notes between the various kinds of game.

Today any Spaniel that yips or gives tongue on game in field trials is severely penalized. It is in 1790 that Bewick makes the first reference I can find to the Springing Spaniel and the Cocking Spaniel. The Cocking Spaniel at that time assumed such small proportions that today he would be classified as a toy. I find mention of weight from eleven to sixteen pounds. It is almost inconceivable that a dog of this size should have been valued for sport and in my opinion can only be explained by the fact that they were used in numbers as noisy drivers. In the early 19th century they were also used in conjunction with Greyhounds to spring the hare or rabbit which the latter would course.

The first field trials for Spaniels were held on January third and fourth, 1899, sponsored by the Sporting Spaniel Club in England. It is noteworthy that both stakes were won by Stylish Pride, a 25-pound Cocker.

Commenting on the trial, Mr. Arkwright, president of the club, said the trials had been very satisfactory—All spaniels were unsteady to shot and wing. All ran mute with the exception of one puppy. Reporting on the second trial in December of the same year, Mr. Arkwright found "all three winners quiet, mute and ‘too highly trained,’!"

CH. BROOKSIDE BRUNETTE

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. George Greer

CH. BROOKSIDE BRILLIANCE

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. George Greer

CH. OVERCROSS EROS

Owned by Mrs. Haley Fiske

CH. LUCKNOW LOTTERY

Owned by the late J. Robinson Beard

THE STANDARD FOR COCKER SPANIELS AS ADOPTED BY THE AMERICAN SPANIEL CLUB

DESCRIPTION AND STANDARD OF POINTS

Skull—Not so heavy as in other Sporting Spaniels, with smooth forehead and clearly defined eyebrows and stop, the median line distinctly marked and gradually disappearing until lost rather more than halfway up, a well developed, rounded and comparatively wide skull showing no prominence in the cheeks, which, like the side of the muzzle, should present a smooth, clean-cut appearance.

Muzzle—Proportionately shorter and lighter than in the Field Spaniel showing no fullness under the eyes, the jaws even and approaching squareness. Teeth sound and regular, the front ones meeting. Lips cut off square, preventing any appearance of snipiness. Nose well developed in all directions and black in color excepting in the reds, livers, particolors of these shades and in the roans of the lighter lines, when it may be brown or black.

Eyes—Comparatively large, round, rather full, yet never goggled nor weak, as in the Toy Spaniel kind. They should be dark in the blacks, black and tans, the darker shades of the particolors and roans. In the reds and livers and in the particolors and roans of these colors they should be brown, but of a shade not lighter than hazel.

Ears—Lobular, set low, leather fine and not extending beyond the nose; well clothed with long silky hair, which should be straight or wavy.

Neck and Shoulders—Neck sufficiently long to allow the nose to reach the ground easily, muscular, free from throatiness and running into clean-cut, sloping shoulders, which should not be wide at the points.

Body—Comparatively short, compact and firmly knit together, giving the impression of a concentration of power and untiring activity. Chest deep rather than wide, not narrow fronted nor yet so wide as to interfere with free action of the forelegs. Ribs well sprung, deep and carried far back, short in the couplings and flank, free from any tucked appearance. Back and loin immensely strong and compact in proportion to the size of the dog, the former level and the latter slightly arched. Hips wide, with quarters considerably rounded and very muscular.

Legs and Feet—Forelegs short and straight, though proportionately longer than in any of the other breeds of short-legged Spaniels; strongly boned and musculed, with elbows well let down and straight, short, strong pasterns. Hindlegs proportionately short. Stifles well bent, strong thighs, clearly defined. Hocks clean, strong, well let down, presenting an impressive combination of propelling power. Feet neither small nor large, round, firm, not spreading and with deep, strong, horny pads and plenty of hair between the toes. They should turn neither in nor out.

Stern—Should be set on and carried level with the back, and when at work its action should be incessant in this, the brightest and merriest of the whole Spaniel family.

Coat—Flat or slightly waved, silky and very dense, with ample Setterlike feather.

Color and Markings—Blacks should be jet black, and reds, livers, etc., should never be faded or washy shades, but of good, sound colors. White on the chest of self-colors, while objectionable, should not disqualify.

Weight—Not under eighteen nor exceeding twenty-four pounds.

General Description—Embodying the foregoing, i.e., a neat headed, wide-awake, serviceable-looking little dog, with an expression of great intelligence; short in body when viewed from above, yet standing over considerable ground for one of his inches upon strong, straight front legs, with wide, muscular quarters suggestive of immense power, especially when viewed from behind. A downward tendency in front he ought not to possess, but should stand well up at the shoulders, like the clever little sporting dog that he is. Massive in appearance by reason of his sturdy body, powerful quarters and strong, well-boned limbs, he should, nevertheless, impress one as being a dog capable of considerable speed combined with great powers of endurance and in all his movements he should be quick and merry, with an air of alertness and a carriage of head and stern suggestive of an inclination to work.

II

THE MODERN COCKER

IN MAKING use of the adjective Modern, I take a slight risk of making this book appear out of date, ten, twenty or thirty years from now and a better term might be The 1935 Model, were it not liable to carry with it the implication that the type is a changeable one. In the foregoing chapter, you have been shown, largely from photographs, what has brought Cockers to their present external appearance. Nature has had her hand in this but the larger burden of responsibility lies in the hands of breeders influenced directly or indirectly by the needs of the sportsman as he has realized the value of Spaniels as gun-dogs. In the Victorian era Cockers were being developed for their unquestionably great value as ornamental complements to the elegance so prized in the times. The long-backed, low-legged Spaniel was a symbol of aristocracy and was to be found in every domicile which combined refinement with a necessity for canine companionship. The British have ever been great dog lovers and with an ease characteristic of the nation. In England it is a foregone conclusion that your dog is an accepted member of the party. No difficulties are encountered on trains, busses or other means of conveyance or in hotels. I have even seen a dog in church! In the United States until very recently this has not been the case. Even today railroad or steamship travelling with a dog is not simple. There are, however, few hotels which will not admit dogs if the owners stand sponsor for their good behavior. I suspect the depression to be somewhat responsible for this. Hotel managements are loathe to turn away applicants for rooms and in the case of an impending dog show, habitual exhibitors are literally swamped with solicitations from hotels for their patronage, dog and all! As the railroads have gone modern to the extent of allowing smoking in dining cars, maybe they will some day realize the added field from which they could draw by catering to the travelling dog-owner public.

In the interest of the moment, that of breeding the beautiful dog, an interest which in almost every breed has brought about unfortunate exaggerations detrimental to the breed from the point of view of brains or actual health, Cockers were bred for length, lowness to the ground, small size and great length of ears. One heard about 24-inch spread of ears! Nowadays if a dog is unfortunate enough to carry such a burden, it is trimmed to something resembling a normal ear. A few attempts, all of them abortive until 1923, were made by sincere admirers of Cockers as gundogs to revive the long, forgotten Cocking Spaniel. Whether these attempts did not carry conviction, or were not properly presented, or simply the time was not ripe, I will not venture to say. Sufficient that every attempt was quickly killed and discouraged and by degrees the interest of these revolutionists was thoroughly quenched. It was not till 1923 that any interest was aroused and that through a letter that I wrote the Kennel Editor of Field and Stream, Freeman Lloyd. This letter was instigated by the natural hunting instinct and birdiness of my champion bench dog, Red Man.

Mr. Lloyd was sufficiently interested in the subject of this letter to publish it, with the result that I was snowed under with correspondence. At this time, the cocker was already changing back from the short-legged, long-back Spaniel to the higher-legged and shorter-backed dog, and with the added stimulus of proving that our dog was a sporting dog and not what sportsmen insultingly dubbed as parlor pets, he has gradually become what he is today a thoroughly workmanlike-looking proposition but retaining in the American Cocker the beautiful head and eye expression which is the most outstanding accomplishment of the pioneers in Cocker breeding in the United States.

I venture to predict more uniformly increased size in the not too distant future but sincerely hope that this will be accomplished as slowly as is necessary in order to retain type and quality. In my opinion it will never be necessary to go to the plain heads, small eyes and houndlike muzzles that the English Cockers have developed and which make the English and American Cockers incompatible.

In the English Cockers I admire the consistently good necks, shoulders and straight fronts and their standardization. In the latter respect I consider them far ahead of us. Over here it is still often true that when a judge gets through sorting a good entry of Cockers he will find that it has not been possible to assemble four to which he has given winners that look alike. This, naturally would be the ideal finale, but too often cannot be attained without disregarding essential details and soundness. For this apparently inconsistent result he often draws the adverse criticism of ringsiders and exhibiting critics. It is a delicate question whether a judge should ignore details for soundness and general pleasing appearance.

A standard is, in its original formation, arrived at after great study and work on the part of those who have great knowledge of their subject. From the time of its publication it then becomes a bone of contention and is ever after a subject for criticism. It could not be otherwise. By reason of its purpose it cannot and should not be mathematical. Its purpose is to give a word picture of the subject, the interpretation of which is given by individuals created in the final analysis and after man has used his best efforts by Nature. It is a prosaic but undeniable fact that the great Creator never duplicates. How then can man do more than give a general description?

The Standard is only of value when applied in a general sense, when accompanied with numerous accurate photographs of high scoring individuals and studied for relative values, faults and disqualifications. By the same token, I have always argued against the promoters of a model. I am afraid that if I could ever get any assistance from models, I would have to get it from at least thirty which were true portraits of dogs that I have admired. It is true that from time to time a well-constructed standard could be revised but in the essentials I fear that the rewriting of it would lead to more dissention than there is in our various groups at the present time and I am afraid that I crave peace! Our present Standard as written in 1881 and adopted by the American Spaniel Club follows this chapter and appears on page 39.

Physically as typified by its best specimens the breed has attained great beauty, a workmanlike appearance and in the blacks particularly a certain degree of uniformity of type. The reds are distinctly on their way. At the time of writing, the particolors are not in such good case, but serious work is being done on these by breeders who have the habit of showing decided results in anything they undertake and I feel that the next three years is going to see best of breeds, sporting groups, and best in show divided more evenly among the solids and the particolors. There is great logic in the interest of these breeders in improving and standardizing the particolor strains. The red and whites and black and whites are, from the point of view of visibility, the most ideal for covert. The variations in color and marking lend themselves to finish and setting off of good conformation but in reverse ratio, color or markings, or both can be a pitfall for the unwary, for they can camouflage a multitude of sins! The writer has evolved an unfailing remedy for this possibility by mentally visualizing the subject in black! In this way, it has been necessary at times to turn down entries which have done better under other judges who, it is suspected, have let themselves be unduly carried away owing to this same matter of an attractive color. It is a curious fact that the particolors were better up to five years ago than they are today, and why they have not kept pace with the solids is due in part to a shortage of outstanding particolor stud dogs. I daresay that a more inquiring mind than mine would get at the reason for this, but I do not think that it is a case in point, being, I feel sure, only a temporary complication.

CH. MEPALS IRIS

CH. MIDKIFF CREME DE LA CREME, CH. CHESASUSGUE DURBAR

Owned by the Lucknow Kennels

CH. ZODIAC OF MISTOVER

Owned by Mrs. E. W. Clap

CH. LUCKNOW CREME DE LA CREME

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Brown

The Outstanding Winner of Sporting Groups Only Rivalled by the Great My Own

THE STUD DOG

Few people have the proper appreciation of the qualities that make a real stud dog and for this reason are often resentful of paying a proper fee. This of course is natural in the face of limited means for obtaining information of this nature. Strange as it will at a first glance seem to the uninitiated, a stud dog must be more than the male of the species. He must have to the nth degree, the ability to transmit proper type, size and soundness. He must have generations of good family behind him and naturally, he must be a typical specimen of the breed. This is not to say, however, that a dog that does not make his championship cannot be a sire, nor that a champion is bound to be a stud dog. In the final analysis the story must be told. In other words, he proves his value through his get. I have known many highly successful bench dogs that have not been of much value as sires. This is difficult to explain but is unquestionably a fact. The most important sire of the last ten years was undeniably not a show dog. I will leave the explanation of these vagaries to more scientific minds than my own and go on to more practical matters. It is partly for this reason that wisdom lies in leaving the matter of proving the worth of a stud dog to the kennel or owner who has him at public stud. It is this practice of making a good dog available to the public at a reasonable fee which is of such assistance to the breeders whether they are experienced or novice. As a matter of fact, no real and consistently successful breeder always stays at home for all his breeding operations. It has been my observation that the extensive breeder who consistently is self-sufficient, gradually loses ground and becomes an added starter. How much more important then for the small breeder not to depend on his own efforts without the assistance of the facilities for elimination, which are in the hands of the owner of a large kennel.

In the selection of a stud dog, the dog of the day, if suitable in color and family naturally is the first one that enters the mind of the prospective breeder. The next question infallibly should be What has he sired? In the case of a dog that has been at stud for more than a year, this information is available from the owner and others and a regular study of that to me, invaluable volume, The American Kennel Club Stud Book, published monthly, will tell much as to how others are breeding. The catalog of a show is also enlightening inasmuch as it publishes the sire and dam and registration number (referring to this same Stud Book) of candidates which merit approval.

The stud dog is given many more opportunities than a brood bitch of establishing his worth as a parent by reason of his ability to beget so many more puppies in a year from a varying number of bitches of more or less quality and of diversified inheritance.

THE BROOD BITCH

The brood bitch is of tremendous importance in the scheme of prospective breeders and there is a variety of opinion as to the relative importance in transmission of the sire and the dam. I believe that the best is none too good but the same rule in respect to the champion applies to the dam as to the sire. However, here we have fewer chances to experiment and it is difficult to say whether in the case of poor results, a more fortunate choice of sires would have been more successful. My best brood bitch of all time is one which, had I shown her, would have never attracted much attention, but the invariable rule of every litter was at least one outstanding puppy. In making the selection of a brood bitch, I always think it advisable to choose one that is more or less negative or to put it more concisely has no glaring faults. She should be within the standard requirements for size and possess a good front and sound hindquarters. Any weakness in this respect, were it a matter of known mistakes in raising would probably be non-transmissable. She should have a good mouth, being neither under nor overshot, and should have a pleasing Cocker head. Heavy or wide shoulders in my experience seem to be more transmissable through the sire than the dam. Above all things, however, is the