COCKER SPANIEL

 UK / SIZE [38-41cm] / WEIGHT [12-15kg]

Origins: only its remote origin is “Spanish”; the breed was selected starting in 1879 but in the early XVII Century the British already used it for hunting in Wales and south-west England. Traces of it can be found in ancient books dating back to the ‘400.

Myth: its name derives from Woodcock because it is a real specialist in hunting this kind of bird. It is said that La Fontaine had this dog in mind when he wrote one of his most famous fairy tales - The Donkey and the Dog - and this breed is portrayed in paintings by Titian, van Dyck, Rubens and Rembrandt. Some of its owners are also famous: Virginia Woolf wrote a sort of "autobiography" written by her cocker - Flush - and Richard Nixon was also inseparable from his Checkers who, however, never put a paw inside the White House. Children should remember that Walt Disney's Lady Lilli is a Spaniel who falls in love with a vagabond half-caste.

Characteristics: it is sweet and playful but it always remains a hunting and retriever dog with a very strong character, specialized in making "raise" the woodcock. It loves family madly and needs a peaceful environment and regular habits.

Attitudes: It is an excellent companion animal as long as it respects its needs: a lot of motion and the open-air life; otherwise it can become fat and neurotic. Its favorite habitat is, of course, the countryside.