by Keith Erlandson-4-
A difficulty that arose during the latter half of the 19th century was that although the cocker had become established as a breed in its own right, around the turn of the century the Kennel Club brought in a 'weight classification' whereby any spaniel of 25 pounds or under was a cocker and anything over this weight was a field spaniel or a springer. So although some breeders strove to establish the breed, others crossed their cockers with springers and registered the larger progeny as springers and the smaller ones as cockers. Those who breed cockers today have inherited this genetical to-ing and fro-ing and genes do not just disappear. In the recent past there has been some rather uninformed comment in the press regarding variation in type regarding cockers, with suggestions made that many of undesirable springer size, action and colour are emerging. I can do no better than quote a brilliant ex-scientist friend, the late Dr. John Brindle. 'Some of these people are naive beyond belief, and know nothing about the history of anything. In fact they believe that the history of everything began on the day they themselves became interested in it'. I saw my first working cocker in December 1945. She was a clear liver and white but with a typical cocker action. My real experience began in 1957 at the Kennel Club Cocker Championship, when a large, springery liver and white dog, F.T.Ch Carswell Solomon was beaten into second place by the very cockery F.T.Ch Jordieland Bunty. This was to be repeated in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1974 when a large animal of springer appearance was beaten on each occasion by a very typical cocker. Doubtless these large cockers had put up excellent performances in the body of the stake but in the final analysis, the experienced judges exercised their preferences for the true cocker type. Nevertheless, in 1965, 1969, 1970 and l980, very large cockers won the event. So, as far back as I can go, there has always been a vast difference in type within the ranks of the working cocker. It might be easy to blame the breeders for departing so far from the breed standard but that would be unrealistic if we take a backward glance into the history of the show cocker. The disparity in type depicted in old photographs is both amazing and enlightening. Ch. Obo, born 1879 and probably regarded as 'The Father of the Breed' was a long low dog and I am certain he would not have gained his title under the show judges of today. His daughter, Miss Obo, born 1882 was of positively dachshund-like proportions. Moving into the 2Oth century, Mr.C.A.Phillips' Ch. Rivington Reine (born 1904) was short legged and long bodied yet the same owner' Ch. Rivington Gunner (born 1905) was tall and leggy and of workmanlike proportions.