Evening star., 1940-03-03
Cocker Spaniel Standard
Established Back in 1882
Bv r. r. TavnfOn.

ISldOuSlleQ DID
By r. r. Taynton.
When Champion My Own Brucie
took the bow for best dog In show
all breeds at the Westminster Ken
mel Club Show In Madison Square
Garden on February II. 1910, he
set the seal on the overwhelming
popularity Of the cocker spaniel.
The show record of this dog has
never been, and probably never will
be equaled by any dog Of any breed.
Within one year he has attained
the honor Of being judged the best
dog In show at Morris and Essex,
May, 1889, the largest show ever
held anywhere in the world, and
at Westminster, the largest indoor
show and the one which probably
carries the most prestige because
of its age and the quality Of COM
petition 1t provides. In addition,
My Own Brucie was best in show
at the New England Cocker Spe-
ciality in 1899, as well as in 1888,
and best in show at the American
Spaniel Club Special Show in 1889.
It is safe to say he has met and
defeated every outstanding dog of
his breed in this country.
Champion My Own Brucie comes
by his quality honestly. He was
bred and is owned and shown by
Herman Mellenthin Of Poughkeep-
sic, N. Y, q cocker breeder Of over
80 years experience. Brucie was the
last son sired by Red Brucie, who
was not . champion, but holds the
record Of having sired more cham
pions than any other dog Of any
breed. To date there are 80 cocker
champions Of record to his credit.
A large number more have or had
championship points. The number
of his grandchildren to hold the
title has not been counted, but care
full estimate puts the number at
over q hundred already finished.
OF this number, the 4-year-old My
Own Brucie has Q goodly number
to his credit, including the win
ming and reserve winning dog at
this years Westminster.
Cookers Lead in Numbers.
The student of breeding may find
1t interesting to know that the win
ming bitch this year Is q half sis
ter of My Own Brucie, being out
Of My Own Lady Huntington, who
undoubtedly contributed some Of
her quality to her famous son.
For two years the cocker spaniel
has held the record for the largest
number Of individual registrations in
the American Kennel Club. In
1899, 1858 cookers were registered.
The runner-up was the Boston ter
rier, with total Of 7,166 registra-
tions. Undoubtedly 'the impetus to
the growing popularity Of this breed
was the success of the parti-color
cocker Flush in the successful stage
and screen play, "The Barretts Of
Wimpole street." However, the
popularity Of this breed had been
growing steadily for several years
prior to that, as evidenced by the
large entries at all the leading dog
shows, eliminating in the record
total of 334 at last years Morris
and Essex.
Two factors combined to take this
little dog out Of the hunting field,
where he was first noted way back
in the 14th century, and make Of
him the pre-eminent American pet
Of the goth century. He is . small,
pretty, yet sturdy dog. He is . SEN
sible, level-headed. smooth-tempered
fellow, easy to raise and easy to get
along with. His size is . very potent
influence in his popularity.
Leading Breeds Small.
The six leading breeds in number
Of American Kennel Club registra-
tions are all roughly In the same
size class as the cocker spaniel, show
ing that the modern way Of life calls
for dog small enough to be easily
handled in apartments and the city,
one that is easily transported in the
family car, and yet one that retains
enough Of its working dog stamina
and character to appeal to the man
who is not interested In the so-called
toy varieties.
As its name indicates, the spaniel
originally came from Spain. It was
first mentioned by Count CASTOR de
Folk in 1887. Almost 200 years later
John Kays Of Cambridge College in
England mentioned the spaniel Is
having been recently imported from
France, and described him as being
generally . parti-color, either white
with red or orange spots, or else
white speckled or mottled with black.
It was not until the beginning Of the
10th century that the cocker spaniel
began to emerge from the general
family Of spanieb, which at the
present includes springer, field, Sus-
sex, Welsh, clumber, water, irish
water and many more. It was not
until 1881, when the Cocker Spaniel
Club, now known - the American
Spaniel Club, was founded, that the
spaniel family affairs were straight
ened out and standard adopted for
the cocker spaniel.
Champlon Obo II Outstanding.
Champion obo II, imported In
utero by =. =. Fletcher Of Clare
mont, N. H., In 1851, WAS probably
more responsible than any other
dog In fixing the size and type Of
the modern cocker. My Own Brucie
Is the thirteenth generation re-
moved from Obo II. It was he who
was largely responsible for bring
ing down the weight Of the old. time
spaniel till 1t could meet the speci-
ncations Of the standard trainers
for . dog from 10 to a pounds In
weight. It also was Obo II who
was largely responsible for the great
popularity Of the blacks. An his