Confirmation

The American Cocker Spaniel has been separated out from the English Cocker Spaniel since the 1940’s. They now look very different from one another. I have unfortunately seen many people call a beautiful English cocker an “American cocker.” This is because they can look very similar until you understand the confirmation of each. I’m no expert in English cockers however I do love and have been told I have a “good eye” for understanding the proper confirmation for the American Cocker.

Therefore this is my attempt to help you understand and identity the American Cocker Spaniel. If you desire to know the official and proper confirmation of the American Cocker Spaniel I strongly suggest reading this PDF from the AKC – Official Standard for The American Cocker Spaniel

I’m a visual learner so I will be using visual aids to try and help us understand better what the “modern” American Cocker is and should look like. This standard has held with few changes since 1992. The most modern update of 2018 was to “clarify about the raon color.”

More Coming Soon…

References:

American Spaniel Club. (2018.) The Standard. Retrieved on November 26, 2023, from: https://americanspanielclub.org/about-the-breed/breed-standard/

American Kennel Club. (2018.) Official Standard for the Cocker Spaniel. Retrieved on November 26, 2023, from: https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Cocker_Spaniel.pdf

American Kennel Club. (2022.) Cocker Spaniel. Retrieved on November 26, 2023, from: https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/cocker-spaniel/

American Kennel Club. (2022.) The English Cocker Spaniel. Retrieved on November 26, 2023, from: https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/english-cocker-spaniel/