The Sable
The Sable coloured cocker spaniel still appears to be causing controversy and difference of opinions within the world of cocker spaniels. I therefore feel that I ought to try and share information about this cocker without being too technical.
The Cocker Spaniel Club and the Cocker Spaniel Breed Council are there to protect our breed and they govern certain aspects such as the breed standard and the health and welfare aspects of the breed. On these committees are people with a wealth of experience within our breed and have an unrivalled knowledge.
These committees looked at lots of information about the sable cocker and reams of research and genetical information and decided that the colour will NO LONGER be a recognised colour and it has therefore been removed from the breed standard. This was not done on a whim or because they didn’t like the colour. It was done because it was felt that this colour IS DETRIMENTAL to our breed. One of the overwhelming points was that this colour is not a colour but a pattern and is so dominant that it could override all other solid cockers and basically wipe out the red, black and black & tan cocker in a few generations. Ask yourself do you still want a choice of solids or do you just want to see sable and only sable ?
The Cocker Spaniel Club and the Cocker Spaniel Breed Council are there to protect our breed and they govern certain aspects such as the breed standard and the health and welfare aspects of the breed. On these committees are people with a wealth of experience within our breed and have an unrivalled knowledge.
These committees looked at lots of information about the sable cocker and reams of research and genetical information and decided that the colour will NO LONGER be a recognised colour and it has therefore been removed from the breed standard. This was not done on a whim or because they didn’t like the colour. It was done because it was felt that this colour IS DETRIMENTAL to our breed. One of the overwhelming points was that this colour is not a colour but a pattern and is so dominant that it could override all other solid cockers and basically wipe out the red, black and black & tan cocker in a few generations. Ask yourself do you still want a choice of solids or do you just want to see sable and only sable ?
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Left a typical sable cocker spaniel.
This is the typical sable that is quite an obvious colour. There is however, a clear sable dog which looks like an ordinary red/ golden cocker. |
These are more worrying as people will breed from them not knowing they have the sable gene and before long the others will be wiped out and there will be litters of nothing but full sables.
We would therefore encourage people to check the parental history of their potential purchase when buying a puppy and check the colours. If sable is present in the pedigree then please be thoughtful to the breed and make a true informed decision. Some breeders are charging large amounts for these cockers as they are saying they are “rare”. Yes they are rare and should be rare. Ask yourself are they breeding this colour because they generally don’t know what they are doing and are ignorant to the facts about this colour or do they just not care or disagree with the Cocker Spaniels Club’s decision or is money the motivation. Good cocker breeders don’t charge extra for “special colours” they don’t charge extra for bitches compared to dogs, (some breeds do and that is the norm for them, but generally not in cockers). The kennel club at this moment still allows the registration of sables but it is not a recognised colour/pattern. I am sure this will change in time but go back to the cocker clubs decision and examine it closely.
I hope that has given a small insight into this cocker and remember the clubs take their breed seriously and do not make decisions likely, they want to protect this fabulous breed so that generations of us humans can enjoy them for years to come.
We would therefore encourage people to check the parental history of their potential purchase when buying a puppy and check the colours. If sable is present in the pedigree then please be thoughtful to the breed and make a true informed decision. Some breeders are charging large amounts for these cockers as they are saying they are “rare”. Yes they are rare and should be rare. Ask yourself are they breeding this colour because they generally don’t know what they are doing and are ignorant to the facts about this colour or do they just not care or disagree with the Cocker Spaniels Club’s decision or is money the motivation. Good cocker breeders don’t charge extra for “special colours” they don’t charge extra for bitches compared to dogs, (some breeds do and that is the norm for them, but generally not in cockers). The kennel club at this moment still allows the registration of sables but it is not a recognised colour/pattern. I am sure this will change in time but go back to the cocker clubs decision and examine it closely.
I hope that has given a small insight into this cocker and remember the clubs take their breed seriously and do not make decisions likely, they want to protect this fabulous breed so that generations of us humans can enjoy them for years to come.
