English Cocker Spaniel colors vary greatly, with 23 possible shades and three different types of markings. This breed tends to be loyal, affectionate companions. However, researchers have found that some colors do exhibit aggressive or dominant behaviors more often than others. A golden or red English Cocker Spaniel coat is most linked to unwanted behaviors. Particolor English Cocker Spaniels recorded the least unwanted behavior.
Contents
- What colors can English Cocker Spaniels be?
- Solid and patterned coats
- Personality vs coat color
- Which colors are associated with aggression?
English Cocker Spaniel Colors
The range of gorgeous English Cocker Spaniel colors include:
- Black
- Tan and black
- Black and white
- Black, white, and tan
- Blue roan
- Blue roan and tan
- Golden
- Lemon roan
- Liver
- Liver and tan
- White and liver
- Liver roan
- Tan and liver roan
- Liver, white, and tan
- Orange and white
- Orange and roan
- Red
- Red roan
- Lemon and white
- Red and white
- Sable
- Sable and tan
- White and sable
But not all of these are ‘official’ colors. The lemon and white, red and white, sable, sable and tan, and sable and white are not considered standard. Blue roan is the most popular color choice.
Solid vs Patterned Coats
Golden, black, red, liver, liver and tan, and black and tan are considered solid colors. English Cocker Spaniels can also have different markings, including tan markings, white markings, or ticking. Because there are so many different English Cocker Spaniel colors, we don’t have room to talk about all of them. Instead, we will discuss some colors that have been the subject of studies.
Golden English Cocker Spaniels
Lemon, golden, orange and red Cocker Spaniel coat colors are all somewhat related on the genetic level. They have the same location on a chromosome and are produced by recessive genes. However, the way they are paired with other color genes (and thus the way we see them) is quite different.
As you can imagine, the golden shade is sort of in the middle of the four colors. It is not as light as lemon, but not as dark as red. A golden English Cocker Spaniel usually has a black nose.
What About Red?
This is a much deeper shade of golden, and in some cases, it can be as deep as the red of an Irish Setter. Red English Cocker Spaniels have black or liver colored noses.
Black English Cockers
A black English Cocker Spaniel is completely black. Sometimes they have a little white on their throat, and this is still acceptable for show purposes. The nose and rims of black Cocker Spaniels’ eyes are black in color. The eyes will be very dark brown, if not black too.
Particolor English Cocker Spaniels
Particolor English Cocker Spaniels are those made up of two or more colors or have markings. All but six of the 23 English Cocker Spaniel colors are particolors. Which makes the English Cocker a truly kaleidoscopic dog breed!
Personality vs Coat Color
English Cocker Spaniels were bred for two main reasons: for show and for sport. Because of this, there may be some slight differences in personality between the two types.
An English Cocker bred for hunting is often more energetic and needs more stimulation before he calms downat the end of the day. English Cocker Spaniels bred for show, on the other hand, are typically more placid and relaxed around the home.
Still, neither are couch potatoes. Both types will need exercise before they’re willing to lay around the house.
The English Cocker Spaniel as a breed is a devoted, loyal, and loving companion that enjoys human interaction. Unfortunately, not all individual English Cocker Spaniels are this way. The breed is among those with greatest problem of aggression toward humans.
It is for this reason that researchers decided to study the relationship between aggression and English Cocker Spaniel coat colors.
Coat Color and Dominance/Aggression
In 2005, a study called “Heritability of dominant–aggressive behavior in English Cocker Spaniels” was published. In this study, researchers used the Campbell test to evaluate aggressive behavior in English Cocker Spaniel puppies.
The Campbell test has five parts, each of which observe a puppy’s reaction to the behaviors of the test leader. For instance, one part of the Campbell test involves gently holding a puppy on its back so that it cannot get up.
Potential reactions to this include:
- struggling that involves biting or growling
- the same, with no biting or growling
- struggling and then calming
- no struggling at all
Overall, the study found that males are more dominant than females regardless of their coat color. Secondly, coat color does have an effect on dominance, with golden being the most dominant. Followed by black, and particolor being the least dominant.
The study also found that dominant behavior is a heritable trait which is more likely to be passed on by the dam than the sire.
Backing Up The Correlation
The results of this study coincide with an earlier study performed in 1997, which also found that solid colored English Cocker Spaniels were more aggressive than particolored ECSs. There were 13 total types of aggression surveyed, which included:
- Aggression toward strange dogs
- Toward strangers approaching the dog
- At people approaching/visiting the home
- Towards people approaching the owner away from home
- At children in the household
- Towards other dogs in the household
- When the owner gives attention to another person or animal
- Toward the owner or a member of the owner’s family
- When disciplined
- At times reached for or handled
- When in restricted spaces
- At meal times/defending food
- Suddenly and without apparent reason
The study found that solid colored English Cocker Spaniels were more aggressive than particolors in 12 out of the 13 contexts. That is, all except for number aggression towards strange dogs.
Furthermore, golden/red English Cocker Spaniels were recorded as more aggressive than black colored Cockers in a number of situations, including scenarios 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 as indicated above.
Neither of the two studies mentioned liver, black and tan, or liver and tan colored English Cocker Spaniels, which are considered solid colors by the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America. And they may not have studied all of the 23 possible color patterns.
The 1997 study also appears to consider red and gold as the same color, or at the very least groups them together as the most aggressive. However, the ECSCA and the AKC identify them as separate colors.
gemma says
i think your dogs behaviour comes down to how you raise them and the individual dogs personality – not their fur colour.
Carolyn Ray says
Glad that Maggie was part of your life. Our golden ECS that we adopted at nine after his owner passed away and he spent time on the street was the most loving dog. He only barked when someone knocked at the door or at the garbage handlers from his time on the street. He was the ultimate diplomat with barking dogs and could calm most. He protected us from an escaped exotic pet, a black leopard, and would have taken it on if we had let him. He loved his twice daily walk and kept my writer daughters company as they wrote screenplays. My only regret is that his beautiful life was claimed a year to the day due to an adverse drug reaction to gabapentin which caused a severe auto-immune response which resulted in his death. He was an absolute gentleman. We have a female golden ECS now that we adopted that had been a puppy mill dog and abandoned to the street. The rescue had her on gabapentin so we just had to adopt her and change her to CBD oil till she was over the pain. She was very withdrawn but sweet. Now she has regrown her shaved coat(. Took three hours to clear the mats) and her personality has blossomed. She backs at door knocks and occasionally at high energy people or dogs. Generally very quiet and loves to walk and play had a great black ECS too. Love the breed.
Ralph vondrak says
We are in the procees of adopting a cocker whose master is close to dying from cancer. what can we do to help him forget that his Mother (caretaker) is gone. Do you suggest a blanet or something elsr with the smell his is used to.
Taste says
I recommend using a blanket, but also, there are soft toys with a heartbeat that help puppies, but if you get the current owner to get their scent on it then that will really help… 😊
Ralph says
We are in the procees of adopting a cocker whose master is close to dying from cancer. what can we do to help him forget that his Mother (caretaker) is gone. Do you suggest a blanet or something elsr with the smell his is used to.
Mel says
I have a lovely blue roan from show lines who has shown possessiveness over her “stuff” with other dogs but never with people. Having had hunting dogs all of my life, I knew just what to do with all that energy. She has a high energy level and really excellent working drive. She requires a LOT of exercise, both mental and physical, and time which I am able to give her so it works out for us. I did my research before I started my hunt for my ECS and knew that good breeding was my starting point in my search for a puppy. Coat color was my last concern….there is no wrong color for the right dog. It was a good decision….my diminutive hunting dog is the perfect dog for me. However, I could see how this particular dog’s temperament could be ruined if she was ignored, isolated and punitive measures used for misbehavior, or any harsh treatment. So this breed might not be a good choice for everyone. Then again, the temperament can vary quite a bit. Her brother from the same litter is pretty calm.
Lani Yap says
We have a golden cocker, male 3 yrs old who is a VERY friendly yet hyper dog . He is friendly to people as well as other dogs and has never shown any aggression except occassional barking towards one or 2 strangers. When he is properly introduced he quickly warms up and never stops wagging his tail.
Jenny Mertes says
Our orange/white particolor ECS looks almost identical to the photo at the top of this article, even to the long tail! We’re so glad he didn’t have his tail docked. Since he was abandoned, we have no way of knowing how he avoided that.
Jenny Mertes says
We adopted an abandoned orange/white particolor male ECS when he was 2-3 years old. He exhibited extreme shyness toward strangers (with peeing) after an initial barking frenzy, especially toward men. Now, 6 years later, he still barks aggressively at strangers who are at the door but warms up quickly when they toss his ball or feed him a treat. He also has leash aggression toward strange dogs but not people. Otherwise he’s calm, friendly toward women and children, docile, easy to discipline, and extremely eager to please. He’s a joy and a treasure, and we can’t imagine why anyone would abandon him.
Hannah says
I had a holden cocker spaniel named maggie. She was a very placid little couch potato but still enjoyed a walk. She was 10 when we got her. My brother adopted a young mastiff x boxer dog called bear. She raised him and put him in his place, he now has a younger brother who he taught the same as she did. She was good with kids, cats, guinea pigs, lizards, and was a very good girl when it came to emotional support as well. She lived a long life and passed away due to a blocked bladder at 16. Her way of life has rubbed off onto my brothers dogs and my 3 cats, she will never be forgotten. She brought joy to my life even when i wanted to end it all. For people who wish to have a calm, gentle, loving dog i recommend adopting an elderly cocker spaniel. Best days of my life were spent with her. Rip Maggie
Erica Bennett-Hynes says
I have a red/lemon cocker spaniel, raised with children and cats, most placid dog ever. Only health problem was a splinter to inner eye lid. Millie is currently 5yrs. My son has her father who is a blue roan, loves food, exercise generally very vocal but placid dog, unfortunately attacked by other dogs for no other reason than they were both males. Now we have to be careful when passing other male dogs as he is now on his guard protecting himself or family