Pet Health And Care >> Dog Breed >> Cocker spaniel

Cocker Spaniel Dog Breed:

The cocker spaniel is a breed of dogs that can trace its ancestry back to Europe when they were brought from Spain to the British Isles to be used as gundogs and hunters.

The cocker spaniel has since moved on to be bifurcated into two breeds the English and American – both have some common characteristics but are quite visually distinct. They are generally quite friendly dogs with no qualms about being friendly with strangers and are good companions to be with. However the English variety of the cocker spaniel is prone to a strange condition called the rage syndrome.

This is a condition in which the dog suddenly attacks it owner with no apparent provocation. The problem seems to be limited to a few varieties of the cocker spaniel but there is no way to be absolutely sure when a rage attack will occur and the only way of knowing if the dog is susceptible to the problem is by conducting an Electro Encephalogram or EEG examination.

The typical traits of the cocker spaniel include a rounded forehead, long flowing fur, shortness, with a short snout.

The dog comes in such a wide variety of colors that the list is too exhaustive. As the dogs were originally hunting dogs, the American cocker spaniel retains some if its ancestral penchant for mischief. Cocker spaniel puppies are famed for this with common household items that are within their reach suddenly disappearing from the house only to turn up in the backyard or some other place of the dog’s fancy. The dog is quite friendly and loves human attention. Due to its size, it is quite easily adapted to apartment living. One of the most notable items of cocker spaniel information is the health issues. This breed of dog has a short life span of just about ten years. It is highly susceptible to cancer, autoimmune disease, and liver troubles. Other common ailments that the breed can encounter are retinal atrophy, dysplasia of the hip, cataracts, and anemia. Again, though the breed is docile, even American cocker spaniels are prone to facing problems from the rage syndrome mentioned above.

Cocker spaniel training is also an important aspect. This is a type of dog that needs to be trained with positive reinforcement and harsh punishment centric training will just distress this dog. It is one of the highly rated dogs on the obedience and intelligence scale.

Submitted on November 24, 2009