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Cocker
Spaniel
Origin: Great Britain
General Appearance: merry, sturdy, sporting; well balanced;
compact; measuring approximately same from withers to ground as from withers to root of
tail.
Characteristics: merry natur with every-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 midway between tip of nose and
occiput. Skull well developed, cleanly chiselled, neither too fine nor too
coarse. Check bones not prominent. Nose sufficiently wide for acute scenting power.
Eyes: full, but not prominent. Dark
brown, never light, but in the case of liver, liver roan and liver and
white, dark hazel to harmonise with coat; with expression of intelligence and gentleness but wide
awake, bright and merry; rims tight.
Ears: lobular, set low a level with
eyes. Fine leather extending to nose tip. Well clothed with long, straight silky
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 tremendous exertions expected from this grand sporting dog.
Body: strong
compact. Chest well developed and brisket deep; neither too wide nor too narrow in front. Rips well
sprung. Loin short, wide with firm, level topline gently 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. Customarily docked but never too short to
hide, nor too long to interfere with the incessant merry action when
working.
Gait / Movement: true through action with great drive covering ground well.
Coat: flat, silky in
texture, never wiry or wavy, not too profuse and never curly. Well-feathered
forelegs, body and hindlegs above hocks.
Colour: various. In self colours no white allowed except on
chest.
Size: height approximately: dogs 39 - 41 cms (15.5 - 16
inches); bitches 38 - 39 cms (15 - 15.5 inches). Weight
approximately: 28 - 32 lbs.
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.
Note: male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the
scrotum.
(Published by the Kennel Club in August 1986. Approved by the General Assembly on 23th and 24th June 1987 in Jerusalem)
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