THE "AMERICAN" COCKER SPANIEL
A History
by Lee Weston
What is fascinating about the history of the spaniel
family, is that so many now individual breeds have a common root.
Case in point is the history of the English Cocker Spaniel and the "American"
Cocker Spaniel. First of all, it should be noted that the American
Cocker Spaniel is known here in the U.S.A. as the Cocker Spaniel; the English
Cocker Spaniel in Great Britain is known there as the Cocker Spaniel.
So for the sake of clarity, I am going to use "American" or "English" to
keep the distinction simple. The English and American Cocker Spaniel
had identical histories up until around the 1930's. They were considered
one breed of spaniel. The English Cocker Spaniel had been imported
from Great Britain to North America and Canada in the 1870's.
To begin a history of any of the spaniel breeds,
it is important to note that the word "spaniel", means a "dog of Spain".
It is generally accepted that Spaniels are traced back to Spain for
their development as a hunting and retrieving breed of dog. From
Spain the dogs were transported, traded, given away as gifts, or simply
traveled with their masters to England. Spaniels were used in England
for hunting on the estates of the wealthy and were further developed and
bred for specific purposes there. Spaniels are found in art work,
in mosaics, and in the writings of such authors as Chaucer, Shakespeare
and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
The spaniel was a generic term used to describe
a type of dog. When a litter was born the owner/breeder would decide
what use a particular dog or pup was to be put to. Much depended
on the size and how muscular the dog turned out to be, the stamina he/she
displayed, and the intelligence of the dog. What type of game
the dog was to hunt was also a factor. The spaniel could possibly
be used for hunting the forests, pointing in high brush, flushing birds
out of thickets, or used in marshes for retrieving ducks, geese, etc. So
to begin with there were no distinct breeds of spaniel, only the generic
description of the type of dog.
The professional breeding of dogs has always
been with a purpose in mind. The responsible breeder works on a bloodline
for his/her kennel in some instances an entire lifetime. When the
English Cocker Spaniel was introduced to North America, it originally was
for the purpose of hunting small birds, such as pheasant, grouse, and woodcock.
The English Cocker Spaniel under went significant changes within a number
of kennels during the 1920's and 1930's, to achieve a different type of
dog. There were those breeders who were breeding for conformation,
or show purposes, and those who were breeding for field work. The
result was an "Americanized" Cocker Spaniel, slightly smaller, 1 to 2 inches
shorter at the withers, a smaller head and muzzle, a more dramatic down-slope
of the top line, and a longer, silkier, more dense coat of hair.
The year 1935 brought about a dramatic change in that the breeders who
favored the English style, formed a separate club from the original American
Cocker Spaniel Club (established in 1881), and agreed not to interbreed
their lines with this new "Americanized" variety. In 1936, the American
Cocker Spaniel became the number one A.K.C. breed, and stayed at the top
for the next fifty years as the most popular dog amongst the American public.
Even in the present day, the American Cocker Spaniel has a place in the
hearts and minds of many people as the ideal pet. The English Cocker
Spaniel people had to wait until 1946, before the A.K.C. recognized their
breed as separate from the American Cocker Spaniel.
As with other breeds that have attained public
fame and popularity, the American Cocker Spaniel was then subjected to
almost devastating breeding practices by puppy mills, backyard breeders,
and unscrupulous dealers who saw the dog as only a means to make money.
The result of these unprincipled breedings was a change in the temperament
and the introduction of health problems that did not exist before. The
American Cocker Spaniel's personality underwent dramatic changes, and in
some instances, became unpredictable. So for a number of years, the
Cocker Spaniel was in danger of being changed irreparably. In the
last ten to fifteen years, responsible breeders have been winning the battle
to get the personality and health of the American Cocker Spaniel back to
its original loving, predictable stableness. This does not mean that problems
do not exist, they do. The purchaser of a new Amer. Cocker Spaniel
still has to exercise caution. Get to know the breeder, ask questions
and ask to see the parents, grandparents and/or the littermates of the
puppy. You can get a good idea about the future health and well being
of your dog, by checking the health of the close relatives.
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