American Cocker Spaniel - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
American Cocker Spaniels are direct descendants of English Cocker Spaniels who were brought to the USA in the 17th century on the boat Mayflower. In the USA, the breeders prefer different look, and they started to breed Cocker Spaniels according to their idea. The two breeds were diverging, until they were split into two separate different breeds in 1946.

2) English cousin
Even though, the American and English Cocker Spaniels are very similar together, it is not very hard to recognize them apart. Just look at their coat, the American Cocker Spaniel has much greater coat with a lot of feathering. The coat is longer and more lustrous. The American Cockers are also smaller and they have dome shaped head, unlike the English Cockers flatter one.

3) Name
American Cocker Spaniels have very descriptive name. They are American and they are Spaniels, but what does the word cocker means? These cute dogs were originally bred to hunt birds, especially a type of a bird called woodcock. And that is, where they got their middle name, Cocker.

4) Social dogs
Cocker Spaniels love attention. They love their whole family, but they are known for especiall affection to one person, most often to the person who gives them food. They want to be around this person all day long and do everything together.

5) Temperament
American Cocker Spaniel has great personality to make excellent family companion. It is true, that they know how to be stubborn, but on the other hand they are gentle, affectionate, easy going and fun to be around dogs. They are almost never agressive without reason and they make good active companions for older kids.

6) Size
The American Cocker Spaniel is the smallest of all dogs recognized as sporting dogs by the AKC. The average height is between 13-16 inches, which is 32-40 cms. The weight is typically between 24-30 pounds, which is 11-14 kgs. The females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

7) Maintenance
American Cocker Spaniel is an average shedder, but it is pretty expensive to keep their coat in the best condition. Prepare to spend a lot of money, or time, on grooming. It is also important to brush their coat often. Dont forget to regularly check their long floppy ears, because they are prone to ear infections.

8) Coat

The most striking feature of the American Cocker Spaniel is definitely its coat. It is long and silky and it has feathering on the ears, chest, legs and underside. You can find American Cocker Spaniels in many colors, most commonly in black, red, tan and also bi color or tri color.

9) Famous Cockers
Many people all around the world fall in love with Cocker Spaniels, so its no wonder many celebrities love them as well. George Clooney own an American Cocker Spaniel called Einstein and Oprah have two Cockers as well. But definitely the most popular American Cocker Spaniel in history is Checkers, who is best known from Richard Nixons famous speach, which is now known as the Checkers Speech.

10) Health
The American Cocker Spaniel average lifespan is quite good, between 12-15 years, but sadly, due to overbreeding in the past, this breed suffers from a lot of health problems. Most common are cataracts, retinal dysplasia, skin problems, seborrhea, entropion, corneal erosion and glaucoma.