KENAI
English Cocker Spaniel

The breeds · gun dog · flushing

AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 5

English Cocker Spaniel.

'An outstanding rough shooting dog': used by a hunter to find, flush and retrieve shot upland game in a variety of cover.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.3YRMedian lifespan · sources differ13.2 to 13.3, measured on real dogs. A second study puts life expectancy at birth at 11.3; both are shown below.
17 / 16INHeight · show standarddogs 16.5, bitches 15.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
26–38LBWeight, all linesshow dogs 31 lb (28 to 34); breed 33.2 lb (28.9 to 38.3); show bitches 29 lb (26 to 32).
1HRSExercise, every dayUp to 1 hour per day (Royal Kennel Club band). The constraint most homes get wrong.

The lines

Within one breed the line can matter more than the breed. Where the lines differ, the page says which one a value belongs to.

field

Field-bred (working) English Cockers: the line that dominates AKC Cocker Field Trials and the hunting world. The AKC's field-trial history credits 'a dedicated group of English Cocker breeders who worked on expanding their gene pool with imported dogs' with reviving cocker trials (National Championship 1998, first since 1962); every National Cocker Field Trial Champion listed by the ECSCA since 1998 is an English Cocker. The parent club's health statement names 'Field Bred English Cockers' as a distinct group with extra DNA tests (AMS, EIC). No published size or coat figures specific to the field line were found.

show

Conformation (bench) bred English Cockers: the breed as the AKC standard (eff. Nov 1 2023) describes it. The ECSCA's CHIC guidance notes some health electives are 'more common to ... field/working bred vs. bench/conformation bred' dogs.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

show linedogs 16.5 in (16 to 17) · bitches 15.5 in (15 to 16)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2023

Center is the midpoint.

Weight

33.2 lb (28.9 to 38.3)

MeasuredEngdahl KS, 2023

Converted from kg (1 kg = 2.2046 lb); low/high are the interquartile range, not a standard. The paper notes this is slightly above the UK standard's 13-14.5 kg and may reflect overweight dogs.

show linedogs 31 lb (28 to 34) · bitches 29 lb (26 to 32)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2023

Center is the midpoint.

Coat

show lineShort and fine on the head; medium length on the body; flat or slightly wavy; silky; well-feathered 'but not so profusely as to interfere with field work'

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2023

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Medium-length silky coat with feathering

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2023

Derived from the standard: medium coat (3). Heavier show coats sit nearer 2.

How long they live, and what they costSources differ

Two numbers, two measures. Median lifespan: in a large sample of this breed, the age by which half had died; read it as the typical lifespan (UK, 2024, 584,734 dogs). Life expectancy at birth: how many years a newborn of this breed is expected to live, worked from the death rates at every age in UK veterinary records, the same life-table method used for people (VetCompass, 2022). It runs lower because every early death pulls the average down and because it comes from clinics, not registries. KENAI leads with the median and shows the other beside it. Neither is averaged.

Median lifespan

13.3 years (13.2 to 13.3)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Life expectancy at birth

11.3 years (11.1 to 11.5)

MeasuredTeng KT, 2022

Teng 2022 labels the row 'Cocker Spaniel'. In UK VetCompass data this is the English Cocker (the companion ECS paper classes dogs recorded as 'Cocker Spaniel' or 'ECS' as ECS and American Cockers separately). Sources differ from the median above: different measure, different sample; both shown. VetCompass ECS 2023 adds median age at death 11.44 yr (IQR 9.46-13.47, n = 116 deaths).

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day (Royal Kennel Club band)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band read from the live page. Working-line owners commonly report more; no registry figure for the field line.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC Energy Level 3 of 5 ('Moderate'); the standard: 'alive with energy ... neither sluggish nor hyperactive'

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

4 of 5 · Grooming: Every day; coat length Medium (RKC)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC 'Every day' maps to 4. The AKC breed page grooming band is 3 of 5 (weekly), so the two registries disagree; the RKC band is used 's first choice.

Grooming

Every day (RKC); weekly (AKC band 3 of 5); trimming permitted 'to remove overabundant hair' (AKC standard)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

'An outstanding rough shooting dog': used by a hunter to find, flush and retrieve shot upland game in a variety of cover

Breed clubEnglish Cocker Spaniel Club of America

The AKC standard: 'penetrating dense cover to flush and retrieve game'.

Primary game

Woodcock ('first bred to hunt woodcock', which gave the breed its name); today upland game generally

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The VetCompass ECS paper repeats the woodcock origin.

Range

Close (a flushing spaniel working within gun range in cover)

Breed clubEnglish Cocker Spaniel Club of America

Range as implied by the ECSCA's description and the AKC Spaniel Hunt Test standard it cites; no explicit yardage is published.

Search pattern

Scored in AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests 'in the areas of pattern, bird finding, flushing, marking and retrieving'; used 'to find, flush and retrieve shot upland game in a variety of cover' (ECSCA); the AKC standard asks for a dog 'capable both of covering ground effortlessly and penetrating dense cover'

Breed clubEnglish Cocker Spaniel Club of America

Field trial standard

ECSCA Working Dog / WDX test (find, flush, retrieve, short water retrieve); AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests, Junior to Master (Master: steady to wing and shot, water blind plus water mark); AKC Cocker Field Trials since 1925, FC/AFC on 10 points and a win or two wins

Breed clubEnglish Cocker Spaniel Club of America

Water work

A short water retrieve is required in the Working Dog test; the AKC Master Hunter level requires a water blind in addition to the water mark

Breed clubEnglish Cocker Spaniel Club of America

Cold water

2 of 5 · An upland rough-shooting dog; a short water retrieve is required in the ECSCA Working Dog test and the AKC Master test adds a water blind

DerivedEnglish Cocker Spaniel Club of America

Derived from coat (akc_std) and the breed's water work (ecsca_field).

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

6% · 10,156 OFA hip evaluations to date: 93.3% normal (20.1% excellent, 62.2% good, 11.0% fair), 6.0% dysplastic (4.3% mild, 1.4% moderate, 0.2% severe); rank 172

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Cumulative all-years figure; the service prints no period, so 'to date' = the read date. Hou et al. 2013 excluded this breed from its OFA analysis as chondrodysplastic; the OFA summary is the only percentage.

Elbow dysplasia

0.3% · 1,551 OFA elbow evaluations to date: 99.6% normal, 0.3% abnormal (0.2% grade 1, 0.1% grade 2)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Cumulative all-years figure; the service prints no period, so 'to date' = the read date.

Most common disorders

One-year prevalence 2016 (n = 2,318): periodontal disease 20.97%, otitis externa 10.09%, obesity 9.88%, anal sac impaction 8.07%, diarrhoea 4.87%, aggression 4.01%. Most common causes of death: neoplasia 9.26%, mass-associated disorders 8.33%, collapse 7.41%

MeasuredEngdahl KS, 2023

UK primary-care population, all lines. The ECSCA statement lists FN, PRA, AON, hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, autoimmune thyroiditis, deafness in parti-colors, and AMS and EIC in field-bred dogs as the heritable screening priorities. OFA DNA registry to date: AON 6,014 tested, 20.0% carriers, 2.1% affected; prcd-PRA 630 tested, 16.3% carriers, 0.6% affected; FN 490 tested, 3.3% carriers; AMS 207 tested, 3.4% carriers; EIC 234 tested, 0% carriers; patellas 2,249 evaluated, 2.9% abnormal; CAER eyes 3,707 evaluated, 4.7% abnormal (distichiasis 17.1%); thyroid 786 tested, 90.3% normal. (OFA data service, read Oct 5 2026.)

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Aggression, as studied

Aggression was recorded in 4.01% of UK ECS in 2016 (95% CI 3.21-4.81), about twice the 2.24% in dogs overall; higher in males (4.95%) than females (2.87%) and in solid-coloured (7.00%) than bi-coloured (3.66%) dogs, highest in golden (12.08%). A population-level clinical-record finding, never a prediction for one dog

MeasuredEngdahl KS, 2023

The paper reviews older referral-clinic reports of 'rage syndrome' and says most are over 15 years old; it does not split field from show lines.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the English Cocker Spaniel yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the English Cocker Spaniel against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 10 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
English Cocker, Cocker Spaniel (UK), Working Cocker

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