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50 free English Cocker Spaniel trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This English Cocker Spaniel trivia quiz covers the 'Merry Spaniel' from its woodcock-flushing origins to the royal kennels. History questions trace how spaniels were once split only by weight, the 1874 stud book that lumped every spaniel under 25 lb into the cocker pool, the Spaniel Club of 1885, the split from the Springer, the creation of the Field Spaniel and the American Cocker, and the AKC's separate recognition in 1946. The breed section covers the standard's ear-length test, height and weight, docking rules, the full palette from blue roan to lemon roan and the controversial sable, Stanley Coren's intelligence ranking, life-expectancy studies, the 'cocker rage' myth and the differences between working and show strains. Show fans get H. S. Lloyd's 'of Ware' kennel, which made the breed the most successful in Crufts history, and celebrity cockers include Lupo, the working cocker of Prince William and Catherine. Questions run from easy to expert with a difficulty score on each, so it suits a family quiz or a real gun-dog enthusiast. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and breed references and each question carries its citation. Also try our Dogs and English Springer Spaniel quizzes.
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Q 01The word 'cocker' comes from the breed's original use flushing which bird?
Woodcock
The Oxford English Dictionary gives the derivation, and the American cousin was likewise developed to retrieve quail and woodcock.
Q 02Because of its constantly wagging tail, the English Cocker is nicknamed "the ____ Spaniel". Which word?
Merry
It also holds a record of sorts for producing one of the most varied litter sizes of any breed.
Q 03The differentiation of spaniels into the separate breeds we know today began in which period?
The mid-19th century
Before that, land spaniels were split up loosely by weight rather than by breed.
Q 04In the 1850s and 1860s, small dogs from which spaniel's litters were also called Cockers?
Sussex
Welsh Springer Spaniels and Devonshire Cockers were recorded as types of Cocker in the same decades.
Q 05Spaniels in England were originally divided into land spaniels and what other kind?
Water
Spaniel-type dogs appear in art and literature going back almost 500 years.
Q 06According to the 1840 Encyclopedia of Rural Sports, Cockers weighed how much?
12–20 lb
At the time Cockers and Springers could come from the same litter; the split was purely by weight.
Q 07Early sources indicate spaniels were used not to retrieve but to do what?
Drive game toward the guns
The flushing role survives in today's working cockers.
Q 08In the 1874 Kennel Club stud books, any spaniel under what weight counted as a Cocker?
25 lb
The Welsh Cocker was reclassified as a Springer in 1903 because of its larger size and shorter ears.
Q 09The Welsh Cocker was reclassified as a Springer in which year?
1903
Devonshire Cockers and small dogs from Sussex Spaniel litters had also been called Cockers in the 1850s and 1860s.
Q 10Conformation showing began in earnest among spaniels after which body was formed in 1885?
The Spaniel Club
The Kennel Club separated the Springer and Cocker into different show classes eight years later.
Q 11How many times has the English Cocker Spaniel won Best in Show at Crufts, more than any other breed?
Seven
The wins came in 1930, 1931, 1938, 1939, 1948, 1950 and 1996.
Q 12Which breeder's line produced three of the four dogs to have won Crufts Best in Show more than once?
H. S. Lloyd's 'of Ware'
Lloyd took the 'of Ware' suffix in 1906 from Ware in Hertfordshire, where his original kennels stood.
Q 13Which English Cocker Spaniel won Best in Show at Crufts in 1996?
Sh. Ch. Canigou Cambrai
Because of wartime suspensions, the breed was the only one to win the title between 1938 and 1950; the 1996 win was its seventh.
Q 21What is the only obvious visible difference between an English Cocker and an English Springer?
Size
Look closer and the Cocker has longer, lower-set ears, more prominent eyes and a more abundant coat.
Q 22Under the UK Kennel Club standard, how much white is allowed on a solid-coloured cocker?
A small amount on the chest
In working Cockers breeders value ability over colour entirely.
Q 23Which of these is a recognised parti-colour in English Cockers?
Blue roan
Roans also come in liver, orange and lemon, plus ticked and plain two-colour combinations.
Q 14Luckystar of Ware's 1930 Crufts Best in Show was a first for which group of dogs?
Gundogs
Luckystar won again in 1931, the first time the title had been retained by the previous year's winner.
Q 15The Field Spaniel was created by enthusiasts who wanted a large spaniel of what colour?
Black
Its four progenitors were two Cocker Spaniels, a Cocker/English Water Spaniel cross and a Norfolk Spaniel.
Q 16In which year did the American Kennel Club grant the English Cocker Spaniel a separate breed designation?
1946
The two Cockers had been shown together in America until 1936, when the English type first got separate status at shows.
Q 17According to the standard, an English Cocker's ears pulled forward should reach where?
A bit past the tip of the nose
The eyes should be dark and the ears lobular; Springers have shorter, higher-set ears.
Q 18Roughly how tall is a male English Cocker Spaniel at the withers, per the breed standard?
15.5–16 inches
Both sexes weigh about 13–14.5 kg; American Cockers are an inch or two shorter and a couple of kilos lighter.
Q 19In countries where docking is legal, a field-bred cocker's tail is usually docked to what length?
About 4–5 inches
Show dogs are docked closer to the body; docking is now illegal in Australia and South Africa.
Q 20In England and Wales, cocker tails may only be docked if the owner proves what?
The dog will work or shoot
Docking remains customary in North America.
Q 24Which rare and controversial solid colour do geneticists say is unique to the English Cocker?
Sable
Some countries classify it as a parti-colour because of its mixed hair shafts; a Weimaraner-like silver is possible but never yet recorded.
Q 25Which roan colour, with light brown pigmentation, is the most recessive of all the roans?
Lemon
Plain white cockers are rarely born and are not encouraged in the breed.
Q 26Where does the English Cocker Spaniel rank in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs?
18th
That places it in the 'excellent working/obedience intelligence' bracket.
Q 27A 2024 UK study gave the English Cocker Spaniel what average life expectancy?
13.3 years
An Italian study the same year found 13 years against a 10-year average for all dogs.
Q 28A 1996 University of Cambridge study surveying 932 English Cocker households looked at what?
Aggression by coat colour
Owners reported different levels of aggression in different-coloured dogs, though 'cocker rage' is now dismissed as a myth.
Q 29In a review of 2,318 English Cockers at veterinary clinics, what was the most common condition?
Periodontal disease
It affected 20.97% of dogs, ahead of otitis externa at 10.09% and obesity at 9.88%.
Q 30How many times more likely than average is the English Cocker to develop chronic hepatitis, per one study?
2.78×
The breed is also commonly affected by progressive rod-cone degeneration via a recessive PRCD mutation.