Cocker Spaniel Characteristics

The English Cocker Spaniel characteristics are appealing to most.

They have an attractive face with beautiful, expressive dark brown eyes, (sometimes hazel coloured). The rims of their eyes are slightly oval in shape.

Cocker Spaniel dogs ears are long, set low and lie close to the head, and more often than not end up in their food and water bowls!

Their skull is domed and slightly flattened; the muzzle is softly shaped and the same length as the skull.

The Cocker Spaniel's coat is flat and sometimes wavy, and quite silky to the touch, with heavy feathering on their legs.

They also have feathering on their ears, chest, and belly.

Cocker Spaniels need frequent brushing. Ideally, you should be brushing your dog every day, especially if you regularly walk your dogs in the countryside, otherwise you may get away with brushing only two or three times a week.

In the past, it was customary for the Cocker Spaniel breed to have their tails docked when they were very young puppies - between two and five days old.

Opinion seems divided; some seem to think that docking is cruel and used simply for cosmetic reasons.

Others feel that it's necessary to dock their tails because enthusiastic tail wagging, and birding, often resulted in damaged or broken tails. However, since 6th April 2007 the docking of tails became illegal.

Cocker Spaniels are sturdy, compact, medium-sized dogs, with a deep chest, a short back, and chunky, cat-like paws.

I'm sure you'll agree that Cocker Spaniel characteristics are very endearing, making this breed of dog very loveable indeed!

Ideally English Cocker Spaniel dogs should be approximately 39-41cm (15.5-16") and 38-39cm (15-15.5") high for bitches, and their ideal weight somewhere between 12-15 Kgs (26.4-33 lbs).

The life expectancy of a Cocker Spaniel is between 12 and 15 years.

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