Cocker Spaniels

10 things you didn't know about Spaniels

With the floppy ears and joyful personalities, what's not to love about spaniels. But how many of these fascinating facts about Spaniels do you know?

With the floppy ears and joyful personalities, what's not to love about spaniels. But how many of these fascinating facts about Spaniels do you know?

 1. According to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of a spaniel is: 'a dog of any various breeds with a long silky coat and drooping ears.

2. The Irish Water Spaniel is the tallest of all spaniel breeds.

3. The name 'Springer' Spaniel comes from the role in was bred for. This type of spaniel was used to startle birds into the air so that they spring upwards.

4. Based on registration statistics, the Cocker Spaniel is the 2nd most popular breed in the UK behind the Labrador.

5. With seven Best in Show wins, the Cocker Spaniel has taken the most Crufts titles.

6. With a long, well-muscled body the Clumber Spaniel is one of the heavier spaniels. The breed was brought to Britain by the Duke of Newcastle and bred at his home of Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, hence the name.

7. The Welsh and English Springer Spaniels are two different recognised breeds. The Welsh Springer is smaller and lighter in build than his English counterpart.

8. The Clumber Spaniel, Field Spaniel, Irish Water Spaniel, and Sussex Spaniel are all vulnerable native breeds. They each had less than 300 registrations in 2015.

9. Although shown as a spaniel, the Irish Water Spaniel works as a retriever in working trials.

10. The American Cocker Spaniel was derived from the Cocker Spaniel in the USA.