INFORMATION FOR JUDGING ENGLISH COCKER SPANIEL SWEEPSTAKES
(Approved by the ECSCA Breed Education Committee, November 2025.)
Thank you for your interest in the English Cocker Spaniel. Please review the following before your assignment.
Breed Knowledge: Please review the materials found under the Menu > BREED EDUCATION. -- There you'll find the Official AKC Breed Standard, our Judge Seminar PowerPoint, the Illustrated Standard and more.
Procedure: See the “Rules, Policies and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges.” You will find this on the AKC website in the Conformation Judging Resource Center.
A few responsibilities to keep in mind:
Speed of judging – a new breed judge is expected to judge a minimum of 20 dogs an hour (whereas an experienced judge would do at least 25 dogs an hour.)
Examinations - You are expected to examine and gait every dog in the same manner. A thorough and complete breed-specific exam does not include excessive touching beyond feeling for breed-specific characteristics and specific points of reference. Touch and examine only as much as is necessary to complete a thorough, breed-specific exam, but touch no more.
This is a Table breed. Do not examine or touch this breed on the ground. It is required to be examined on the table per the AKC Rules, Policies and Guidelines, which read as follows: “Table breeds must be examined on the table. If re-examination is necessary for a table breed, they must be placed back on the table. For re-examination, a maximum of two dogs may be placed on the table at the same time.”
Directives issued by the ECSCA Breed Education Committee:
Directive on Judging:
When judging the English Cocker Spaniel, it is important to remember the original purpose of the breed, which is to hunt in very dense cover. It must be understood that the English Cocker pushes through the cover and does not leap over it like the larger Springer or Setter. To function efficiently in this type of terrain and in this manner, the correct “cockery” dog must have well sprung ribs that are deep and carried well back, a short, broad back, a well-developed forechest, generous bone, a short, broad loin, and broad and muscular hindquarters. He is a compact, broad, and very powerfully built dog for his size. The English Cocker must be viewed from above to confirm that the well-sprung ribcage is the widest part of the dog, with an ample chest and a broad, “hammy” rear to support the body. An English Cocker lacking in substance that is long, narrow, refined, shelly, racy, and/or fine-boned, is “settery” in appearance, is atypical of the breed, and should not be rewarded.
Clarification of ECS Colors
The Breed Education Committee and breeder-judges of English Cocker Spaniels have noticed an increase in the number of questions regarding acceptable color and markings. In order to provide information on color and markings in accordance with the Breed Standard, this clarification was drafted by the Committee. The English Cocker Spaniel standard states under Color – “Various.”; then goes on to list the acceptable colors and markings in the breed. The AKC guidelines (1994, amended 2006) for writing breed standards states: “In breeds where multiple colors or color combinations are acceptable, but not all colors are permitted, the complete list of all acceptable colors and color combinations must be included in the standard. In such cases, any color or color combinations not mentioned are unacceptable, and judges are to pass judgment on this basis.” Please keep in mind when judging this breed, that color patterns occurring in breeds outside the Sporting group, such as brindle or sable, etc., are not described in the English Cocker Spaniel Breed Standard as they are neither parti-color (ticked, roaned, or open marked, with or without tan points) nor solid color (with or without tan points). Issued by the E.C.S.C.A. Breed Education Committee and approved by the Board of Directors of the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America, Inc. Issue Date: October 12, 2010
11/10/25 mw