Coloring

The American cocker comes in many colors. You have two main groups of cockers solids and multi-colored – Black, ASCOB, Parti, and Tan Points. In the show world they are divided into 4 groups of color. There are very specific specifications for the cockers color in the show ring or your cocker can be considered mis-marked and disqualified from the ring. That is not the point of this article. If you would like to know more about showing and what disqualifies your cocker from showing. You can read more about it here.

There are more than two or even 5 colors for the cocker. So I would love the opportunity to share them with you now! For the sake of clarity I will keep with the same 4 sections you will find in the Breeds Standard.

The other things I’m going to talk about is the temperament and energy that is associated with each color. These are rules of thumb and not laws. You can get an ASCOB that acts more like a parti. This might be because the breeder decided to add a little “spice” by adding a parti to their ASCOB line. My mentor did this with her ASCOB line which indeed gave her pups a little more spice than my very calm ASCOB Clara ever thought about having. It’s also about the breeder and what kind of energy level, personality, and character they want their dogs to have.

Black: This is going to be the traditional little all black cocker. They normally don’t have any white except for a tiny spot on their neck or chest is normal. These pups can also have a tiny bit of tan. They are so precious. I’m remembering a sweet darling little girl that I absolutely loved and wish I could have been able to take home. She had mostly black and a little tan. They have great temperaments. They are considered more on the calmer side.

Any Solid Color Other Than Black (ASCOB): These solid colored pups are going from “lightest cream to darkest red, including brown and brown with tan points. The color shall be of a uniform shade, but lighter color of the feathering is permissible.” My little cocker you will see often, Clara, was an ASCOB Red. She was a solid red all over. I have friends who have cockers that are also red but are darker on the top coat and lighter on the fethering aka sides and legs. The two shades of red make for very lovely looking and unique pups. The buff/red coat is known to be normally the calmest of all the cocker colors.

Pari: These pups have at least two or more main colors, they can be mostly 90% of one color with only 10% of another (90% black with 10% white or it can be reversed). Again there are many very specifics to Parti’s so feel free to read all about it in the Breed Standard. Parti’s are normally well broken colors, this means you won’t necessarily find a dalmation looking cocker (if you do they are probably considered mismarked). Parti’s can range from black and white, to red and white (the red may range from lightest cream to darkest red same as ASCOB), brown and white, and the roans. “Roans are classified as parti-colors and may be of any of the usual roaning patterns.” These can also include tan points which are considered “tri-colored” cockers. The Parti are well named as they are literally little parties that run around your home filled with energy and fun. They will make you laugh and make great pups for those family’s who need a more energetic dog. Again these are rules of thumb, not law.

Tan Points: “The color of the tan may be from the lightest cream to the darkest red and is restricted to ten percent (10%) or less of the color of the dog.” In the Cocker world the one that is almost a LAW is the Tri-colored parti cocker spaniel. They are known for being extra they are extra excited, extra happy, extra sassy, extra lovable, extra everything a cocker is. They really live up to the standard in “Equable in temperament with no suggestion of timidity.”

All cockers live up to the famous “above all they must be merry!” Statement!

References

American Spaniel Club. (2018.) The Standard. Retrieved on November 30, 2023, from: https://americanspanielclub.org/about-the-breed/breed-standard/