Thursday 16 July 2009

KC the Punk Ass Dog

This is KC, an English Cocker Spaniel. She’s a gun dog, which basically is a dog which was bred to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game (usually birds). However, if you ask KC to fetch something for you, she’ll turn around and simply look at you with eyes which say “I ain’t getting that – you want it, you get it ya lazy sod”. She is unbelievably dopey and now she has a Mohawk on her head. Either way, the world should be thankful that she is not a Poodle, who may be one of the most intelligent types of dog, but let’s face it – they’re just ridiculous!



Spaniel type dogs have been found in art and literature for almost 500 years. Initially, spaniels in England were divided among land spaniels and water spaniels. The differentiation among the spaniels that led to the breeds that we see today did not begin until the mid 1800s. During this time, the land spaniels became a bit more specialized and divisions among the types were made based upon weight. According to the 1840 Encyclopedia of Rural Sports, Cockers were 12–20 lb (5.5–9 kg). At this time it was not uncommon for Cockers and Springers to come from the same litter. Even a puppy from a “Toy” sized lineage could grow to be a springer.

There is no indication from these early sources that spaniels were used to retrieve game. Rather they were used to drive the game toward the guns. (Perhaps this is why KC hates fetching stuff!)

During the 1850s and 1860s other dog types of Cockers were recorded. There were Welsh Cockers and Devonshire Cockers. Additionally, small dogs from Sussex Spaniel litters were called Cockers. In 1874 the first stud books were published by the newly formed kennel club. Any spaniel under 25 lb (11 kg) was placed in the Cocker breeding pool, however the Welsh Cocker was reclassified as a Springer in 1903 due to its larger size and shorter ear. "...in those days only those dogs up to a hard day’s work and sensible specimens were allowed to live, as absolute sporting purposes were about their only enjoyment and dog shows were hardly heard of..."

George W Bush had a Springer Spaniel, Spot Fetcher, and Millie bush (who was Spot Fetcher’s mother) was the pet of George H W Bush. Barack Obama currently has a Portuguese Water Dog called Bo

The sport of conformation showing began in earnest among spaniels after the Spaniel Club was formed in 1885. When showing, the new Springer and Cocker, both were in the same class until The Spaniel Club created breed standards for each of the types. The Kennel Club separated the two types eight years later. Since then, the Springer and Cocker enthusiasts have bred in the separate traits that they desired. Today, the breed differ in more ways than weight alone.
In America, the American Cocker Spaniel type was forming. As a result, the English Cocker lost favour. The two Cocker Spaniels were shown together until 1936, when the English Cocker received status as a separate breed. The American Kennel Club granted a separate breed designation for the English Cocker Spaniel in 1946.

Photograph details: Nikon D40. 18-55mm Kit lens. Focal Length 18mm, exp: 1/125. F-stop f/5.6, ISO-400, Opteka 0.2x magnification fish eye lens adapter


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4 comments:

  1. Your Punk Ass Dog is freakin' cute!! Love the mohawk! At least she's not scared of the shooting - that's at least a step in the right direction! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. haha, yeah she needs a haircut and we decided to give her one! lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. KC is on facebook - search for KC_thepunkassdog[at]hotmail[dot]com - sorry for strange email address there but it's to stop her getting spammed - she has enough stress in her life with all the sleeping and eating she does, bless her!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll have to look her up tonight!! That's too funny!!!

    And what a rough life she leads!!

    ReplyDelete

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