Seminar Notes (Sue Rose)

Transcription from video tape made at 1993 ECSCA National Specialty Judges Study Group

This transcript relates to photographs being shown to the study group. You may find some useful quotes here.

    This breed is young - 1879 - other seminars talk about breeds being 4, 5, 6000 years old. Created by English people to hunt in specific areas, they are built in specific ways. Many other breeds were developed at this same time. The Sussex, the Springers, the Welsh Springers were all being divided out from fairly common stock.
    (Shows slide resembling Sussex. It is, in fact, a black English Cocker of the time.) Long body, straight legs (maintained today), hock, stifle system is moderately angulated. The main difference is we're up a little bit on leg and we've tailored our heads a little different. These heads you are going to see sometimes today because they come back to get us. The muzzles that are a little underslung on the bottom, not quite the depth that we are looking for. They do have a nice rounded head, slightly flat on top - just what we are looking for today and a fairly tight eye because it's needed for the field.
    1922 - Very much like what we are looking for today, but no furnishings yet. Angulation moderate, head beginning to develop to today's head.
    You have to keep in mind that the English Cocker is a gentleman's or gentlelady's hunting dog.
    Topline in this breed should be a nice smooth curve from the head down to the rump.
    Modern Dogs In America:

1) Sentinel - 1941 - About the time the English Cocker was working on getting its individual status. Note the moderate topline, moderate drop-off, tail off the end of the spine. Really pretty head.

2) Venture - 1942 - Again proper topline, tail coming right off where we want, angulation a little closer to what we see most of the time today. Line from the end of the rump comes down to the front of the toes. Angulation is moderate, bit of a tuckup, coat that does not hide what the dog looks like.

3) Beauty - A bitch similar to the last dog but more feminine. Good topline.

4) Morse Code - 1948 - A black which would be very competitive today.

5) Pumpkin Coach.

6) Black, white and tan - 1954.

7) Lucky Star - Very smooth, well put together male. Nice broad muzzle with good length to it. Beautiful line from the head right to the tip of his tail.

8) Galaxy - 1964

9) Simon - 1965 - Elbow under the high point of the wither, topline.

10) Constellation - 1968 - Dark saddle which you will see in a few English Cockers. There is nothing in the standard which refers to full, dark saddles. (Ed. Note Correction: "In parti-colors it is preferable that solid markings be broken on the body and more or less evenly distributed.")

11) Blue Witch - 1970 - Pretty, cobby, short back. Good depth in muzzle, nice length of head.

12) Firebird - 1970 - English import. Good planes, depth of muzzle. Line down rump to end of toes.

13) Capricorn - Good tail set, good topline, nice smooth curve. No exaggerations. Nice curve on head, slightly flat, good straight bridge on his nose.

14) Feather Duster - 1972 - Stop is a little shallower than is preferred but acceptable. Some drop off in back skull. Good foot.

15) Antigone - 1974 - Short back.

16) Angus

17) Newsflash - 1975

18) Nut Brown Maid - 1977 - The spot on her back may move from side to side when gaiting. You may think that they are a little too heavy and rolling a bit, but they're not. The have a little bit of skin - it has to be moveable because they have to get through the briars - so it will move to this side when he extends the front leg on this side and move to the other side when he extends the leg on the other side. Do try and keep your eyes away from looking at color patterns - they do more damage than good

19) Parader

20) Emblem - Good body, spring of rib. Golden sheen, sparkle. Nice shoulder, pretty headpiece.

21) Jim Bradys Gem - 1980

22) William of Orange

Miscellaneous Quotes from seminar:

• An English Cocker female should not be so fine that she cannot produce a dog with some substance.

• Keep in mind that we are still looking for exactly the same animal that we have for the last 50 to 70 years.

• The dog is a field dog. Loves the birds. They do hunt - woodcocks, grouse, pheasant. There are a few people who use them on ducks but we do not carry the fat layer to swim in very cold water. They are upland game dogs. Carrying a four pound bird should be no problem. He needs good mouth size and neck to carry with.

Keeping the standard in mind:

Headpieces - Nice soft melting expression. Nice tight eyelid. This is needed for the field. The standard works for the field dog. Large well opened nostrils - what do they do without a nose? Good length of ear, nice depth of muzzle. The underjaw is level with flews. They do not hang markedly below. Pretty, pretty headpiece we'd all like to take home.

Firebird (Quarterly Cover) watercolor by Prudence Walker - The main thing to notice here is the eye - being smaller (up and down) than it is wide. Not to be round. Moderate - moderate - stop. Balanced head, good neck.

Puppy front (Quarterly) - Breadth of muzzle. Planes parallel - arched and slightly flattened on top.

Body marks break up and help body look shorter.

Marksman - one the move - Note the level topline. Leg comes to end of nose. Good, good drive, well past the end of the tail. No crossing in the middle. They have a lot of ground to cover and must do it freely and with less wasted energy.

Face patterns - There is no mention of face markings in the standard. Do keep track of the fact that face patterns can make a head look unbalanced or shallow.

    Those persons who now judge or plan to judge English Cockers should seek out an opportunity to see them in the field. Both the Working Tests sponsored by the ECSCA and the Hunting Test or Field Trial programs sponsored by the AKC will provide you with that experience. The ECSCA lists the date for Working Tests, and the Hunting Tests and Field Trials are listed with the American Kennel Club.
    The English Cockers who are bench-bred are the majority of ECS in working and hunting tests; at the newly emerged cocker (CS & ECS) field trials, field-bred abound. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of a field dog is to efficiently get the game from the field to the table. This is accomplished through instinct, training, persistence and stamina. Stamina is maintained with the interaction of good structure, effortless soundness of motion, and conditioning.
    Make mental note of the various hunting styles, comparing breed to breed and dog to dog. The standard supports the dog's function. The fine points of type: color of eye, parallel planes, length of neck, fineness of shoulder points, length of tail, color and markings tend to lose their significance in the overall picture of the spaniel at work. But the essentials of type become more obvious. The length and balance of head, strong jaws, and the arch and strength of neck are essential for retrieving. Well rounded ribs (lung/heart capacity), overall substance and thick, tight feet are essential for stamina. Moderate angulation, front and rear, balance of height at shoulders to length of body, breadth of ribs, and strength of loin and hindquarters are essential for efficient, effortless ground-covering ability. The broader dog with a level topline and low center of gravity can turn faster. The taller animal with the sloping topline will hunt with its head up like a setter, and not go under the cover like a spaniel. That wagging tail is the barometer of the nose, communicating to the hunter the location, nearness of the game, and the impending flush. The long ears are an aid in scenting ability as they grab the scent and concentrate it. But a dog with ears so long that he steps on them is at a disadvantage. A short loin is desirable for protection of the vulnerable parts of the body, but the loin should not be so short as to allow the back feet to interfere with the front logs. Soft, thick, curly or overly abundant coat will tend to interfere with the dog's ability to go through heavy cover. A bit of looseness to the skin will prevent many field injuries. But lack of coat will leave the skin and body with no protection making a dog unsuitable to face the elements.
    Judges and breeders alike should take advantage of any opportunity to observe dogs working in the occupation for which they were selectively created. Individual standards are an aid in maintaining each breed's uniqueness. Our English Cocker Spaniel have been bred to hunt upland game such as Dove, Woodcock, Partridge, Grouse, and Rabbit. Here, we also use them for our beautiful Pheasants and Chukars. Our dogs work close, in a natural quartering pattern, flushing the game out, and retrieving with zeal. A "merry cocker" - moderate and compact.