Hi,
  I was wondering if anyone could tell me if cocker spaniels(english) fur or coat needs cutting every now and then if it was to be a pet and not a showdog.

Yes it does, otherwise it would eventually be very overgrown. :) The difference beween show and pet is in how it is done.

Marianne

IMHO it depends, I have cockers and have never had them clipped (and wouldn't).  Although my female has become slightly more fluffy since being speyed, she doesn't need clipping.

It should be stripped, not clipped.

Clipping (and spaying too) will cause the coat to go fluffy and softer and easily matted. Also it doestn thin the coat out at all, so it doesnt cool the dog down or anything.

Stripping on the other hand keeps the coat its natural texture and thins it out, keeps it shorter (you remove the longer hairs) and makes it easier to care for. You do need to be shown how to do it, and groomers charge more for it than for a shave job, however its easy to get the hang of and you dont need lots of expensive tools to do it!

Em

If i were you id get your cocker Hand strippted  if he/she isent neatured you could  try it yourself its much easyier to look after. clipping makes the fur go wooly and hard to manage . Its so easy for groomers to get the clippers out and shave it all off but its much better stripted and you should end up with a cocker that resembles a cocker ;) not a shorn sheep :P 
If you have a gold /red cocker it might have very little fur to come off as they can have light coats ,

A friend of mine now handstrips her cocker, and seh has been spayed so has a wooly coat, it has made an unbelieveable improvement.

Yes, its more work but the dog looks SO much nicer and cooler and is easier to groom afterwards!

Em

Clipped cockers look horrid. Please don't let anyone take clippers to your dog.