Cocker Spaniel History
It is chiefly used in
flushing woodcocks and pheasants in thickets and copses into
which the setter, and even the
springer, can scarcely enter.
"But, if the shady woods my cares employ,
In quest of feathered game my spaniels beat,
Puzzling the entangled copse, and from the brake
Push forth the whirring pheasant."
The cocker is here very useful, although he is occasionally an
exceedingly impatient animal. He is apt to whimper and babble
as soon as he comes upon the scent of game, and often raises
the bird before the sportsman is within reach: but when he is
sufficiently broken in not to give tongue until the game
rises, he is exceedingly valuable. There can scarcely be a
prettier object than this little creature, full of activity,
and bustling in every direction, with his tail erect; and, the
moment he scents the bird, expressing his delight by the
quivering of every limb, and the low eager whimpering which
the best breaking cannot always subdue.
Presently the bird springs, and then he shrieks out his ecstasy,
startling even the sportsman with his sharp, shrill, and strangely
expressive bark.
The most serious objection to the use of the cocker is the difficulty of
teaching him to distinguish his game, and confine himself within bounds;
for he will too often flush everything that comes within his reach. It is
often the practice to attach bells to his collar, that the sportsman may
know where he is; but there is an inconvenience connected with this, that
the noise of the bells will often disturb and spring the game before the
dog comes fairly upon it.
Patience and perseverance, with a due mixture of kindness and correction,
will, however, accomplish a great deal in the tuition of the well-bred
spaniel. He may at first hunt about after every bird that presents itself,
or chase the interdicted game; but, if he is immediately called in and
rated, or perhaps corrected, but not too severely, he will learn his
proper lesson, and will recognize the game, to which alone his attention
must be directed. The grand secret in breaking in these dogs is mildness,
mingled with perseverance, the lessons being enforced, and practically
illustrated by the example of an old and steady dog.
These spaniels will sometimes vie with almost every other species of dog
in intelligence, and will not yield to one of them in fidelity. A
gentleman in Sussex had an old cocker, that was his constant companion,
both in the house and the field. If the morning was rainy, the dog was
perfectly quiet; if it was fine, he became restless, and, at the usual
time for his master to go out, he would take him by the flap of his coat,
and gently pull at it. If the door was opened, he ran immediately to the
keeper's lodge, which was at a considerable distance from the house. This
was a signal for the other dogs to be brought up, and then he trotted back
to announce their approach.
This beautiful and interesting dog, so called from
his peculiar suitableness for woodcock shooting, is but little known among
us except as a boudoir companion for our ladies. He is, nevertheless,
extensively used in England by sportsmen for finding and flushing this
bird, as also the pheasant; and no doubt, if introduced into our country,
would prove equally, if not more serviceable, in putting up game concealed
in the thickets and marshy hollows of our uncleared grounds. Having
extremely fine scenting powers, they are also employed in greyhound
coursing, to give warning of the proximity of a hare, which they seldom
fail to accomplish.
This active little animal hunts with great spirit, and
soon becomes attached to the sport; in fact the only difficulty to be
overcome in breaking him, is the effort it requires to make him suppress
his natural ardor and withhold his exclamations of delight till the bird
is actually on the wing. The tutelage of the cocker intended for the field
should commence as early as possible, and is not, as many suppose,
attended with great difficulty. His first lessons should be confined to
the art of bringing and carrying, which he soon, in common with all the
other members of the spaniel tribe, learns. The next thing to be
inculcated is implicit obedience to our wishes; then, at the age of four
months or so, he may be carried to the field, where his natural fondness
for hunting will soon be developed by his chasing every bird within his
reach. When this impulse is fully exhibited, and the dog expresses
gratification in the amusement, he should be then instructed to give
chase, or not, at his master's pleasure. When this desirable end has been
accomplished, he may be introduced to the particular kinds of game which
it is proposed to hunt him on, and by slow degrees teach him to confine
his attentions to those varieties alone. It is absolutely necessary that
the dog be forced to hunt as near to the sportsman as possible, otherwise
the game will be flushed at such a distance that it will be impossible to
get at it. The cocker spaniel is much smaller than the springer; his ears
are long, pendulous, and silky; his body round and compact; his legs short
and tufted; his coat variable; his nose black; tail bushy and feathered,
and, when hunting, is kept in constant motion.
Some are black and white, others liver color and yellow; the latter
variety we have most usually seen in this country, and some of them have
been represented to us as well-broken and serviceable dogs. — L.
The King Charles's Spaniel,
so called from the fondness of Charles II for it — who usually had some
of them following him, wherever he went — belongs likewise to the
cockers.
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