Standard of the American Cocker Spaniel-Head, Neck, Topline, Body

Standard for the American Cocker Spaniel

Head
To attain a well proportioned head, which must be in balance with the rest of the dog, it embodies the following:

Expression-The expression is intelligent, alert, soft and appealing.

Eyes-Eyeballs are round and full and look directly forward. The shape of the eye rims gives a slightly almond shaped appearance; the eye is not weak or goggled. The color of the iris is dark brown and in general the darker the better.

Ears-Lobular, long, of fine leather, well feathered, and placed no higher than a line to the lower part of the eye.

Skull-Rounded but not exaggerated with no tendency toward flatness; the eyebrows are clearly defined with a pronounced stop. The bony structure beneath the eyes is well chiseled with no prominence in the cheeks. The muzzle is broad and deep, with square even jaws.

To be in correct balance, the distance from the stop to the tip of the nose is one half the distance from the stop up over the crown to the base of the skull.

Nose-of sufficient size to balance the muzzle and foreface, with well developed nostrils typical of a sporting dog. It is black in color in the blacks, black and tans, and black and whites; in other colors it may be brown, liver or black, the darker the better. The color of nose harmonizes with the color of the eye rim.

Lips-The upper lip is full and of sufficient depth to cover the lower jaw. Teeth-Teeth strong and sound, not too small and meet in a scissors bite.

Neck, Topline, Body
Neck-The neck is sufficiently long to allow the nose to reach the ground easily, muscular and free from pendulous "throatiness." It rises strongly from the shoulders and arches slightly as it tapers to join the head.

Topline-sloping slightly toward muscular quarters.

Body-The chest is deep, its lowest point no higher than the elbows, its front sufficiently wide for adequate heart and lung space, yet not so wide as to interfere with the straightforward movement of the forelegs. Ribs are deep and well sprung. Back is strong and sloping evenly and slightly downward from the shoulders to the set-on of the docked tail. The docked tail is set on and carried on a line with the topline of the back, or slightly higher; never straight up like a Terrier and never so low as to indicate timidity. When the dog is in motion the tail action is merry.

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