English Cocker Spaniel Forum:
Color genetics

We have a liver and white bitch. Is it advisable to breed our female with another liver and white or should she be bred to solid?

Our female has very light feathering, is this a trait of a field quality spaniel? Is there a difference between the show quality and the field quality, if so, what are they?

It is not the usual practise to breed the parti colors to solid colors unless you really know what you are getting into. Very few of the longterm established show breeders do it at all.

As far as show quality versus field quality, the best thing would be to talk to the breeder you got her from. If that is not possible, try having a show breeder evaluate your girl.

Not all ECSs, just like other breeds, should be bred. You should try to learn all you can before you think about breeding. This means going to shows, showing your dog to her bench championship or other titles, learn her good points/bad points and everything you can about the dogs in her pedigree. Doing all the health tests for known health issues in the ECS. Tests should include OFA, CERF or Optigen, BAER to name a few.

To learn more about the breed standard for the ECS, go to The English Cocker Standard.