COCKER SPANIEL

As a grouup of dogs, spaniels are an ancient breed with the word first known to occur in the Irish laws of the 7th century. By the mid-17th century these dogs had been divided into water and land spaniels. The latter included what are now divided into the cocker, English springer, Sussex and field varieties. It was only in 1893 that the cocker was recognised as a separate breed. These dogs were originally known as woodcock or cocking spaniels as they were more adapted to covert and woodcock hunting than the larger types of land spaniel.