Cocker Spaniels were bred as gun dogs, using their noses to carefully cover low areas near the handler to flush ground-dwelling birds into the air.
The Cocker Spaniel is an active, good-natured, sporting dog, standing well up at the withers and compactly built. There are "field" or "working" cockers and "show" cockers, the latter being significant smaller a lighter boned. Due to the breed's happy disposition and continuously wagging tail, it has been given the cute nickname "merry cocker". Although related the Cocker Spaniel is significantly different from the American Cocker Spaniel.
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