The name Spaniel comes from the French word, 'Espaigneul' meaning Spanish Dog, Spain being where they are believed to be from originally.
They can be found in 14th-16th century literature where in they are described to be mostly white with brown spots although later on a white version with black and brown spots was bred in France. These dogs were primarily hunting dogs and by the 1600's a differentiation could be made between two versions - land- and water Spaniels, depending on what type of hunting they were used for.
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| Obo II |
Fast forward a few years on...The name 'Cocker' comes from the woodcock they used to retrieve and it was around 1870 when it was decided that Cockers should weigh no more that 11kgs and any dog over this weight was considered a Springer Spaniel. In 1987 a clear definition was made between the show and hunt types.
A dog named Obo II was the foundation sire for the modern day American Cocker Spaniel and another called Obo, the sire of hunting type, English Cocker Spaniel.
In the 1900's a Cocker Spaniel won the title of 'Best in Show' at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for the first time.
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| 'My own Brucie' wins 'Best in Show' at the Westminster Kennel Club Show 1941 |
It would be very interesting to find out when Spaniels first came to South Africa!
Information from the following sources:
https://caninechronicle.com/dog-show-history/red-brucie-changing-cockers-forever/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocker_Spaniel
http://mycockerspaniel.com/history.htm
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