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About the American Cocker Spaniel

Origin: United States Of America
Typical life span
10-14 years
Size
Medium — from its typical weight
Weight
Male
11-14 kg
Female
9-11 kg
Height
Male
37-39 cm
Female
34-37 cm
FCI status
Recognised by FCI
FCI group
Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs
Origin
United States Of America
Also called
Cocker Spaniel Americano
Known hereditary risks
Not researched yet

About

What is a American Cocker Spaniel?

The smallest member of the Sporting Group, the American Cocker Spaniel is a medium-sized sporting dog with a beautifully chiseled head, long flowing silky coat, long ears, and gentle expression

American Cocker Spaniel history and origins

Developed in the United States from English Cocker Spaniels brought over in the late 1800s. American breeders selected for smaller size, more refined head, and heavier coat for woodcock hunting, leading to recognition as a separate breed by the AKC in 1946

American Cocker Spaniel appearance and size

Males typically weigh 11-14 kg and stand 37-39 cm at the shoulder; females 9-11 kg and 34-37 cm.

What the breed standard says

Bred for
Flushing dog, companion
Behaviour and temperament
“Equable in temperament with no suggestion of timidity”

Quoted from FCI standard n°167. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

Breed reference from The Dog API.

Characteristics

Size
Medium
Exercise needs
—
Easy to train
—
Amount of shedding
—
Grooming needs
5 of 5
Good with children
—
Cost to keep
—
Tolerates being alone
—
Intelligence
—
Health of breed
Not researched yet

Pros & cons

Pros & cons for the American Cocker Spaniel

What you get with the American Cocker Spaniel

  • Purpose stated in the standard: “Flushing dog, companion”
  • The standard describes the breed as: “Equable in temperament with no suggestion of timidity”

What you are taking on

  • High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Trimming to enhance the dog’s true lines should be done to appear as natural as possible”

Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.

Characteristics

FCI standard · American Cocker Spaniel

Coat and colour

As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying.

Coat

On the head, short and fine

on body, medium length, with enough undercoating to give protection.

The ears, chest, abdomen and legs are well feathered, but not so excessively as to hide the Cocker Spaniel’s true lines and movement or affect his appearance and function as a moderately coated sporting dog.

The texture is most important.

The coat is silky, flat or slightly wavy and of a texture which permits easy care.

Excessive coat or curly or cottony textured coat shall be severely penalized.

Use of electric clippers on the back coat is not desirable.

Trimming to enhance the dog’s true lines should be done to appear as natural as possible

Colour

  • Preferred
  • Permissible
  • Undesirable
  • Disqualifying

Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.

• Black variety

Base colour

Solid colour black, to include black with tan points

  • The black should be jet
  • Undesirable: Shadings of brown or liver in the coat
  • Permissible: A small amount of white on the chest and/or throat
  • Disqualifying: white in any other location shall disqualify. • Any Solid Colour Other Than Black (ASCOB): Any solid colour other than black, ranging from the lightest cream to darkest red, including brown and brown with tan points.
  • Permissible: The colour shall be of a uniform shade, but lighter colour of the feathering
  • Permissible: A small amount of white on the chest and/or throat
  • Disqualifying: white in any other location shall disqualify. • Parti-Colour variety: Two or more solid, well broken colours, one of which must be white
  • black and white, red and white (the red may range from lightest cream to darkest red), brown and white, and roans, to include any such colour combination with tan points.
  • Preferred: It that the tan markings be located in the same pattern as for the tan points in the Black and ASCOB varieties
  • Roans are classified as Parti-Colours and may be of any of the usual roaning patterns.
  • Disqualifying: Primary colour which is ninety percent (90%) or more shall disqualify. • Tan points: The colour of the tan may be from the lightest cream to the darkest red and is restricted to ten percent (10%) or less of the colour of the specimen
  • Disqualifying: tan markings in excess of that amount shall disqualify.
  • In the case of tan points in the Black or ASCOB variety, the markings shall be located as follows: 1) A clear tan spot over each eye
  • 2) On the sides of the muzzle and on the cheeks
  • 3) On the underside of the ears
  • 4) On all feet and/or legs
  • 5) Under the tail
  • 6) On the chest, optional: presence or absence shall not be penalized.
  • Tan markings which are not readily visible, or which amount only to traces, shall be penalized.
  • Tan on the muzzle which extends upward, over and joins shall also be penalized.
  • Disqualifying: The absence of tan markings in the Black or ASCOB variety in any of the specified locations in any otherwise tan-pointed dog shall disqualify

Shortened from FCI standard n°167 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.

What the breed standard says

Size
“The ideal height at the withers for an adult dog is 15 inches and for an adult bitch, 14 inches. Height may vary one half inch above or below this ideal. A dog whose height exceeds 15 1/2 inches or a bitch whose height exceeds 14 1/2 inches shall be disqualified. An adult dog whose height is less than 14 1/2 inches and an adult bitch whose height is less than 13 1/2 inches shall be penalized. Height is determined by a line perpendicular to the ground from the top of the shoulder blades, the dog standing naturally with its forelegs and lower hind legs parallel to the line of measurement”
FCI names a size at which a dog is disqualified.

Quoted from FCI standard n°167. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.

FCI varieties

FCI divides the American Cocker Spaniel into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.

  • BLACK
  • ANY SOLID COLOUR OTHER THAN BLACK (ASCOB)
  • PARTI-COLOUR

Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the American Cocker Spaniel in general; any individual animal can differ.

Health guide

What to ask for in a American Cocker Spaniel

No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the American Cocker Spaniel on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.

Gallery

No photographs yet

This is where American Cocker Spaniel owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.

A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.

Puppies

No puppies listed right now

No American Cocker Spaniel breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.

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