The Cocker Spaniel is unmistakable with its medium-length coat, friendly appearance, and floppy ears. He is small to the rather medium-sized representative of the dog with about 40 cm height at withers and around 14 KG weight. These handy dimensions he combines with this cheerful charisma, which is especially underlined by the large, bright eyes. With his strikingly cut head, the long drooping ears, and the compact body with his medium-length hair, he is unmistakable. Like hardly any other dog breed, the Cocker has managed the balancing act of being both hunter and companion. This makes a piece of his fascination. Only rarely has the by no means self-evident coexistence of family dog on the one hand and passionate hunting dog on the other developed as smoothly as with the Cocker - provided he is not overbred with overlong, silky fur.
Today's exaggerations of show breeding do not allow him to live out his sportsman's and hunter's heart. So the hunter is put into an evening dress in which he can no longer fulfill his elementary needs. With lush hair reaching almost to the ground and extremely long ears, it is impossible to browse, even dog sports are hardly feasible. Nevertheless, such extreme specimens regularly receive championships at dog shows. For the coat of the English Cocker is required lying and silky.
A wide range of colors is permitted. Solid colors: black, red, liver (chocolate brown), black with tan, brown with tan. Bicolor: black and white, orange and white, brown and white, lemon-white. Tricolor: black, white with tan and brown, white with tan.
Is a Cocker Spaniel suitable for me?
If we classify here the English Cocker Spaniel as also "suitable for beginners", it does not mean at all that his attitude would be banal and his education can take place in the self-run. Quite the contrary. His keeping is rather laborious, as the Spaniel's need for exercise in nature must be met daily. His education must meet the challenge that mine has a hunting dog as a companion. However, it is therefore doable for a dedicated beginner, as he has no hidden quirks or airs and graces. If one is not affected by the rare disease "Cockerwut", one does not have to worry with the Cocker that he once goes out of control or has leadership claims. He is sociable towards other dogs, towards humans anyway.
He is very docile and interested in a harmonious relationship with his people. He has no special demands on the apartment. It should be taken into consideration that his coat needs to be groomed as much as possible daily and that some dirt can get into the car or the apartment if you have been out in the countryside with him in all weathers. The English Cocker Spaniel is a deeply friendly and eager-to-learn fellow who makes it easy for people to train and educate him. He wants and needs this guidance. The be-all and end-all of training is loving consistency. Rules should be set, which must then be followed - also by the two-legged. He learns such rules quickly but is also intelligent enough to recognize any Ínconsequence and to take advantage of it when necessary.
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The consequence must never be confused with harshness or even brutality. These would destroy the dog psychologically. The leadership must be based on an intimate bond between dog and owner. Thus, his education succeeds very well and is easily doable even for the beginner. A challenge is a hunter in the heart of the Cocker. If you want to be able to let him off the leash, you have to train him from puppy on that you can call him off "anytime" and let him come to heel. Anytime is in quotation marks, because even when walking through nature together, you always have to keep a watchful eye and call him off in time. Once a certain threshold is exceeded, it can be difficult to stop independent hunting.