English Cocker Spaniel

A cheerful gundog with a busy nose

The English Cocker Spaniel was bred in Britain to hunt woodcock. It searched dense cover and flushed birds into the open. You can still see that heritage on a walk: a promising scent in the bushes may draw the dog straight in. A recall taught early and rewarded well is more useful than calling repeatedly once its nose has taken over.

Many Cockers stay close to their people and enjoy search or retrieve games. If you are looking for a puppy, ask what its parents do each day. Field-bred Cockers are often more enduring and need more work for their noses and minds. Show lines frequently have a fuller coat and therefore need more grooming.

Day-to-day care

The soft, feathered coat needs a few minutes with a brush and comb every day. Tangles often start behind the ears, under the front legs and in the longer hair on the legs. Burrs and twigs can lodge there after a walk through long grass too. Ease them out before they turn into mats. Show lines often have more coat and may benefit from professional trimming about every three months; working lines generally need fewer salon visits.

Check the ears while you groom. An unpleasant smell, redness or frequent head shaking calls for a vet visit. Repeated ear trouble can also be linked to a skin allergy. Some dogs develop infections after swimming, so ask your vet whether your Cocker needs its ears dried or cleaned afterwards and how to do that safely. Pushing cotton buds into the ear canal is no substitute for proper advice.

Health

Ears and skin deserve close attention in Cockers. Some develop atopy, an allergic tendency that can cause itching and repeated ear infections. If your dog scratches often, licks its paws or shakes its head, ask a vet to find the cause. Hip dysplasia is another concern: the ball and socket do not fit together properly, which can lead to pain and arthritis.

The Royal Kennel Club gives particular priority to DNA tests for acral mutilation syndrome, which can impair pain sensation in the paws, and prcd-PRA, an inherited retinal disease. Hip and eye screening plus tests for familial nephropathy, a kidney disease, and adult-onset neuropathy, which affects the nerves later in life, are also part of breeding care. If you are choosing a puppy, ask to see both parents’ written results and which tests have been done in this family line. Repeated ear or skin problems among close relatives are worth discussing as well.

Could this breed fit your life?