Hi
After watching crufts I have decided I would like to try showing Max my male english cocker.There is a competition here in Mallorca on May 14/15 advertised on the kennel club site.
Max is 2 years old and has his pedigree papers , is there a height and weight restriction as he is larger than most of the cockers I have seen here .
If anyone has the time to answer my post or direct me to competition regulations I would really appreciate it .
Also I could email a photo of him , he is particolour black and white .
Many Thanks Sally

The Breed Standard for cockers, according to the Kennel Club here, says:

>Size

Height approximately: dogs: 39-41 cms (15½-16 ins); bitches: 38-39 cms (15-15½ ins). Weight approximately: 13-14.5 kgs (28-32 lbs).

I don't know whether in Mallorca they use the FCI standard, but I would think it's pretty similar.

Max is actually 17 kilos ,but not fat .
I guess he may have to join me on a diet 1st .
Also do all cockers have their coats stripped and trimmed a certain way to be able to enter, I wouldask here at the kc but my Spanish is about as good as my japanese !

I constantly look at pictures of cockers from breeders on the internet and I think Max has potencial.His grandfathers breeder has bred lots of champions and in their pictures and he looks so very like them .

Adios Sally

It's not a restriction Sally so a judge may still prefer him if he has other qualities to outshine the others in the ring.  Only if all things are equall will it definately come into play.  Can you feel his ribs fairly easily if not then you should be maybe reducing his weight for his own good but if you can you are only going to make him skinny which isn't going to impress the judge either.
Cocker coats are mostly stripped with a little bit on trimming on the throat around the feet and under the ears and tail basically.   I learned my trimming from a member of the old school who would not have used scissors at the top of the ears and legs as some people do and she learned from the even older school who would not have used scissors at all   I'm not even going to mention the use of clippers as, personally, I would never consider it for showing :)  My ideally presented Cocker ends up to the casual eye to have been turned out exactly like that by nature.  If there are no grooming seminars run by your club in Spain you will find instructions in some of the breed books and there is also a pretty good video by AMP productions although the dog used mostly in the video is a solid black so consequently scissors are used rather more than you would hopefully need to with a roan.
I would add, from the pictures I have seen, the Spanish competitors do seem to present their dogs very nicely with a quite natural look.

Yes, I gather coat preparation's important - they should never be clipped, for example. He'll also need to be happy to stand still while a stranger feels him all over, looking at his teeth, checking to see he has both testicles, etc. Good luck! :)

Thankyou so much for your replies .
I will also search for a book on show cockers to help as advised .

You can get the video I was talking about from here mail order, the English Cocker one further down the page, of course :)