Cocker spaniel

“ No other spaniel has been bred less for "points" or more consistently for work. Less excitable than the volatile Cocker, his longer legs and sturdier frame adapt him to purposes which the smaller is unable to perform. ”

“ To cultivate this understanding in madam was Steptoe’s immediate aim, in which Beppo, the little cocker spaniel, unexpectedly came to his assistance.
As the two stood conversing at the foot of the stairs Beppo lilted down, with that air of having no 225 one to love which he had worn during all the eighteen months since his mistress had died. The cocker spaniel’s heart, as everyone knows, is imbued with the principle of one life, one love. It has no room for two loves; it has still less room for that general amiability to which most dogs are born. Among the human race it singles out one ”

“ His ears are carried like the fox terrier’s, eye small and dark, well sprung ribs, body fairly long, immense bone for his size, short on the leg and hard weather resisting coat.
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WELSH SPRINGER Color: Red or orange and white.
Weight: Not more than 42 lbs.
As a worker this dog has no superior. He owns a well balanced head, grand spring of rib, and powerful hind quarters. He may best be described as a large Cocker Spaniel. His eyes should be hazel or dark brown and should not show any haw. The ears are comparatively small and hang close to the cheeks. His coat is straight or flat and thick. ”

“ It is absolutely necessary that the dog be forced to hunt as near to the sportsman as possible, otherwise the game will be flushed at such a distance that it will be impossible to get at it. The cocker spaniel is much smaller than the springer ”

“ Hartshorn has already told you about the English toy spaniels, so I will omit those.
"In the early days, the breeds weren't divided up as they are to-day, but were known as large and small land spaniels and water spaniels. The oldest of the land spaniels of England now in existence is the Sussex spaniel. You won't see any in the United States, I think.
"The clumber spaniel you can see in our shows, but he also is more popular among the sportsmen and fanciers of England than here. He is the heaviest of the spaniels. The cocker spaniel is the most popular kind in this country. ”

“ A young spaniel cannot keep to a pheasant’s tail like an old one. He may push the bird for forty or fifty yards if judiciously managed. After that he is almost sure from impatience, either to lose it, or rush in and flush out of shot, whereas an old cocker, who has had much game shot over him, is frequently knowing enough to slacken his pace, instead of increasing it, when he first touches on birds, apparently quite sensible that he ought to give the gun time to approach, before he presses to a flush. ”

“ Weight: 50 lbs.
This is a moderately low and long dog, sound in the hind limbs, with well sprung ribs and strong quarters. The head should be long and level on top, with some stop. The skull should be narrow and the muzzle deep and square. The ears are set on low and moderately long. The eye should always be dark. The coat is flat, dense and glossy, with a fair amount of feathering. Excessive feathering is objectionable.
COCKER SPANIEL Color: Jet black. A white, short frill is not disqualified but is not desirable. ”

“ The Field Spaniel may be described as a larger edition of the cocker; longer and lower in body in proportion to his general make-up, but a well-knit, massive dog, the males weighing from thirty-seven to forty-five pounds, the bitches about five pounds less. The true field spaniel is always black, though his near kin is the springer which comes in parti-colors also. ”

“ I used to think maybe you'd get to putter out there in the side-yard with it, trailin' vines; the china-paintin' outfit I had sent down from Cincinnati when I seen it advertised in the Up-State Gazette; a spaniel or two from Old Cocker's new litter, barkin' around; all them things, I used to think, would give our little place here a feelin' that would change both of us for the better. With a more home-like feelin' things might have been different between us, Hanna."
"Keepin" a menagerie of mangy spaniels ain't my idea of livin'." ”

“ The reason for this popularity of the breed as a whole is not far to seek. The affectionate and merry disposition of the Cocker and his small size compared with that of the other breeds pre-eminently fit him for a companion in the house as well as in the field, and he ranks among his admirers quite as many of the fairer sex as he does men—a fact which is not without a certain element of danger, since it should never be lost sight of that the breed is a sporting one, which should on no account be allowed to degenerate into a race of mere house companions or toys. ”

“ The springer is the oldest of the several breeds, and from him we derive our field spaniels of the present day. The cocker, for which Mr. Phillips appears to have a preference, is one of the oldest recognised breeds, and he is of opinion that the modern type more nearly approaches the old-fashioned dog than its progenitor of twenty years ago; a circumstance traceable perhaps to the increased attention its growing popularity has earned for it. ”

“ The cocker should be a neat-headed, wide-awake, serviceable looking little dog, with rather large dark eyes and an intelligent expression. He should stand on strong, well-boned, but short legs absolutely straight in front, with well bent stifles behind. ”

“ The cocker is here very useful, although he is occasionally an exceedingly impatient animal. He is apt to whimper and babble as soon as he comes upon the scent of game, and often raises the bird before the sportsman is within reach: but when he is sufficiently broken in not to give tongue until the game rises, he is exceedingly valuable. There can scarcely be a prettier object than this little creature, full of activity, and bustling in every direction, with his tail erect ”

“ From the beauty and temper of the cocker, the breed has become very generally diffused throughout the kingdom, and he is more frequently a companion in the parlour than used in the sports of the field. ”

“ Of Spaniels there are several varieties, but of these the Suffolk Cocker is the only one deserving a notice. All the others are too noisy, too heedless, and too quick on their legs. It is almost impossible to keep any one of them steady, and, therefore, in this country at least, they are totally useless, since you would not see them from the beginning to the end of the day. Yaff! yaff! half a mile off, all the time putting up the birds, and you unable to stop them. The Suffolk Cocker, on the contrary, is extremely docile, can be easily broken, and kept in order. ”

“ If the prospective purchaser intends to use his dog for sporting purposes he is advised to select one from stock that will come nearer reaching the maximum rather than the minimum weight, for the eighteen pound cocker is entirely too small for utility purposes. As a matter of fact, some years ago twenty-eight pounds was the standard maximum weight of working cockers which is really more logical in a dog that is intended for field work. At all events, it is better to have a cocker over, than under the weight allowed by the standard, if one expects to make use of him afield. ”

“ The most serious objection to the use of the cocker is the difficulty of teaching him to distinguish his game, and confine himself within bounds; for he will too often flush everything that comes within his reach. It is often the practice to attach bells to his collar, that the sportsman may know where he is; but there is an inconvenience connected with this, that the noise of the bells will often disturb and spring the game before the dog comes fairly upon it. ”

“ Differently from other dogs used in shooting, both the springer and the cocker give tongue the moment they either smell or see game; and this gives intimation to the sportsmen, who generally station themselves on the skirts of the wood or covert to which woodcocks, snipes, and pheasants are known to fly when started. ”

“ The cocker differs from the springer in having a shorter and more compact form, a rounder head, and a shorter muzzle; the ears are very long, the limbs are short and strong; the tail is generally truncated and more bushy; and the hair of the cocker, over his whole body, is more curled than that of the springer. He varies in colour from liver and white, red, red and white, black and white, all liver-coloured, and not unfrequently black, with tanned legs and muzzle. ”

“ However, as it is possible to breed very good show cockerels from hens with no quality of penciling at all, it is very necessary, in making up a yard for breeding, that the strain of the cock bird should be known to be a well-penciled one. ”

“ Like the cocker and springer, he is extremely fond of pursuing birds of all kinds, and, like them, too, always gives tongue in pursuit. He is seldom used for field sports, from his diminutive size, being easily tired, and is too short in the legs to get through swampy ground.
This dog is found of all colours; but those which are black, with tanned cheeks and legs, are considered the purest breed. ”

“ They are bright and lively and make good pets but must be taught not to dig holes in the carefully groomed lawn. It is as natural for them to delve for underground animals as for a setter or spaniel to flush birds. Retrievers are usually gentle, well disposed animals and not only make good pets but are excellent in a family where hunting is a diversion. Very popular just now in this class are the spaniels, especially the cockers. They have beauty, an affectionate disposition, are most intelligent and are excellent watch dogs. They fit into nearly any household large or small. ”

“ The Clumber, Sussex, Norfolk and Cocker breeds are the best established. The Clumber is long, low and heavy. It is silent when hunting, and has long ears shaped like vine leaves. The ground colour of the coat is white with yellow spots. The Sussex is a lighter, more noisy animal, with a wavy, golden coat. The Cockers are smaller spaniels, brown, or brown-and-white in the Welsh variety, black in the more common modern English form. The head is short, and the coat silky and wavy. Of the water spaniels the Irish breeds are best known. ”

“ N——n, when in France, had a lively, intelligent, liver and white cocker, which would work busily all day long within gun-shot; and which possessed the singular accomplishment of steadily pointing all game that lay well, and of not rushing in until the sportsman had come close to him. But this is a case of [40] high breaking more curious than useful, for spaniels are essentially springers, not pointers, and the little animal must frequently have been lost sight of in cover. ”

“ In breeding this variety there should be two pens—one to breed males, and one females. In breeding for cockerels, select a large, well-marked cock, whose ground color is a deep, rich golden-bay throughout, free from smutty or cloudy markings, with fine, glossy plumage, the spangles of which possess in a high degree the beautiful metallic, greenish luster. With him mate pullets of medium color (care being taken not to have them too light or dark in the ground color) , whose spangles are large and distinct, without running into each other and giving them an undesirable spotted appearance. ”

“ Small-sized Spaniels, usually called Cockers, from their being more especially used in woodcock shooting, have been indigenous to Wales and Devonshire for many years, and it is most likely from one or both of these sources that the modern type has been evolved. ”

“ While out with a friend quail shooting, the sun was warm and we sat down on the cool grass in a fence corner shaded by the dead leaves on an oak bush. The little cocker was panting with heat and enjoyed the shade quite as much as his master. Soon a voice was heard from my friend, on the opposite border of a large field, calling: “Send Archos over here. I have a dead bird my dog can’t find.” The cocker paid no attention to the call, and no reply was made by the writer. ”

“ Now having furnished your self with a breed that is stout and sure stricken; see then to the Shape, and know that here you ought to be very nice and circumspect, strictly examining every Part, and if by the severest scrutiny you find your Cock to be foul Grown, or disproportioned, reject him as a Bird unhandsome to look on, uneasy to Match, unwealdy in his Fight, oft times unfortunate in his Battle, and for these reasons ever unfit for breed, and consequently unworthy of your care, or least regard, notwithstanding the Stock be never so good from whence he is derived. ”

“ The game-chicks are sent to the country, like town-born babes in France or the sons of Arabian cities to the Bedawin's black tents. The cockerel begins fighting in his second, and is not a 'stale bird' till his fifth or sixth, year. ”

“ I’ll keep it for myself; it’s fitter for me than for Hen-alie!” said Cock-alu.
So he hung the green light on his tail-feathers, which made them very handsome, and he went on his way.
He had not gone far before he met with the sheep-dog. “Good morning, sheep-dog,” says Cock-alu; “where are you going?”
“I’m going to hunt up a stray lamb for my master,” says the sheep-dog, “and what brings you abroad?”
“I’m going to the silver-spring in the Beech-wood, to get a drop of water for my little wife Hen-alie, who has got a bean in her throat,” says Cock-alu. ”

“ But now notwithstanding this that I have said, yet is not every Flat-Heeler always to be rejected, for the most Eminent Cock-masters of our Days are of opinion that if a Cock come of a good Race, and has true blood in him, and is not only fresh and full Feather’d, but also Sound and well shaped, that such a Bird with a good Hen, will breed as good Chickens as need to strike betwixt a pair of Wings, notwithstanding that he himself hath not the knack of Pointing true in his Fight: wherefore he ought (tho’ not for the Pit) yet for breed sake to be preserved, and wholly set apart for Procreation ”