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The Cocker Spaniel Breed Standard
General Appearance
Merry, sturdy, sporting; well balances; compact; measuring approximately same from withers to ground as from withers to root of tail.
Characteristics
Merry nature with ever- wagging tail, shows a typical bustling movement, particularly when following scent, fearless of heavy cover.
Temperament
Gentle and affectionate, yet full of life and exuberance.
Head and Skull
Square muzzle, with distinct stop set mid-way between tip of nose and occiput. Scull well developed, cleanly chiselled, neither too fine or too coarse. Cheek bones not prominent. Nose sufficiently wide for acute scenting power.
Eyes
Full but not prominent. Dark brown or brown, never light but in the case of liver, liver-roan and liver and white, dark hazel to harmonise with the coat.; with expression of intelligence and gentleness but wide awake, bright and merry; rims tight.
Ears
Lobular, set low on a level with the eyes. Fine leathers extending to nose tip. Well clothed with long straight hair.
Mouth
Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck
Moderate in length, muscular. Set neatly into fine sloping shoulders. Clean throat.
Forequarters
Shoulders sloping and fine. Legs well boned, straight, sufficiently short for concentrated power. Not too short to interfere with the tremendous exertions expected from this grand, sporting dog.
Body
Strong, compact. Chest well developed and brisket deep: neither too wide not too narrow in front. Ribs well sprung. Loin short, wide with firm, level topline sloping downwards to tail from end of loin to set on of tail.
Hindquarters
Wide, well rounded, very muscular. Legs well boned, good bend of stifle, short below hock allowing for plenty of drive.
Feet
Firm, thickly padded, cat-like.
Tail
Set on slightly lower than line of back. Must be merry in action and carried level, never cocked up. Previously customarily docked.
Docked: Never too short to hide, or too long to interfere with the incessant merry action when working.
Undocked: Slightly curved, of moderate length proportionate to size of body giving an overall balanced appearance; ideally not reaching below the hock. Strong at the root and tapering to a fine tip; well feathered in keeping with the coat. Lively in action, carried on a plane not higher than level of back and never so low as to indicate timidity.
Gait/Movement
True through action with great drive covering the ground well.
Coat
Flat, silky in texture, never wiry or wavy, not too profuse and never curly. Well featherd forelegs, body and hind legs above hocks.
Colour
Solid Colours
Black; red; golden; liver (chocolate); black and tan; liver and tan; No white allowed except a small amount on chest.
Particolours
Bicolours
Black and white; orange and white; liver and white; lemon and white; All with or without ticking.
Tricolours
Black, white and tan; liver, white and tan.
Roans
Blue roan; orange roan; lemon roan; liver roan; blue roan and tan; liver roan and tan.
Any colour or marking other than the above is undesirable.
Size
Height approximately: Dogs 39-41cm (151/2 – 16 inches); Bitches 38-39cm (15 – 151/2 inches). Weight approximately; 13 – 14.5kg (28-32lbs).
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog, and on the dog’s ability to perform its traditional work.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Published with kind permission from The Kennel Club
©The Kennel Club
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