General Appearance: A symmetrical, powerful active dog, sound and well put together, not clumsy nor long in the leg, displaying a kindly expression and possessing a personality that is eager, alert and self-confident. Primarily a hunting dog, he should be shown in hard working condition. Overall appearance, balance, gait and purpose to be given more emphasis than any of his component parts.

Temperament: Friendly, reliable, trustworthy. Hostility or aggressiveness towards other dogs or people, undue timidity or nervousness in normal situations is not in keeping with the character of the Golden Retriever. Dogs displaying poor temperament should be excused from the ring.
Size: Males 23-24 inches (58-61 cm) in height at withers, females 21 ½ -22 ½ inches (55-57 cm). Length from breastbone to buttocks slightly greater than height at withers in ratio 12:11. Weight for dogs, 65-75 lb. (29-34 kg); bitches 60-70 lb. (27-32 kg)

Coat and Colour: Dense and water repellent with good undercoat. Texture not as hard as that of a short-haired dog nor silky as that of a setter. Lies flat against body and may be straight or wavy. Moderate feathering on back of forelegs and heavier feathering on front of neck, back of thighs and underside of tail. Feathering may be lighter than rest of coat. Excessive length, open coats, or limp, soft coats are undesirable. The natural appearance of the coat or outline should not be altered by cutting or clipping, other than the trimming of the feet and neatening of stray hairs. Colour lustrous golden of various shades. A few white hairs on chest permissible but not desirable. Further white markings to be faulted except for greying or whitening of the face or body due to age. Any noticeable area of black or other off-colour hair is to be faulted.
Head: Broad in skull, slightly arched laterally and longitudinally without prominence of frontal or occipital bones. Good stop. Foreface deep and wide, nearly as long as skull. Muzzle when viewed in profile, slightly deeper at stop than at tip; when viewed from above, slightly wider at stop than at tip. No heaviness in flews. Removal of whiskers for show purposes optional.

Nose: Black or dark brown, though lighter shade in cold weather not serious.

Teeth: Scissors bite with lower incisors touching inside of upper incisors. Full dentition. Obvious gaps created by missing teeth to be faulted.

Eyes: Friendly and intelligent, medium large with dark close-fitting rims, set well apart and reasonably deep in sockets. Colour preferably dark brown, never lighter than colour of coat. No white or haw visible when looking straight ahead. Dogs showing functional abnormality of the eyelids (such as, but not limited to, trichiasis, entropion, ectropion or distichiasis) are to be excused from the ring.

Ears: Rather short, hanging flat against head and with rounded tips slightly below jaw. Forward edge attached well behind and just above eye with lower edge slightly below eye.

Neck: Medium long, sloping well back into shoulders, giving sturdy, muscular appearance with untrimmed natural ruff. No throatiness.

Forequarters: Forequarters muscular, well coordinated with hindquarters and capable of free movement. Shoulder blades wide, long and well laid back, showing angulation with upper arm of approximately 90 degrees. Shoulder blade and upper arm (humerus) should be approximately equal in length, setting close-fitting elbows back beneath the upper tip of the shoulder blades. Legs straight with good bone. Pastern short and strong, sloping slightly forward with no suggestion of weakness.

Body: Topline level from withers to croup, whether standing or moving. Well balanced, short coupled, deep through the heart. Chest at least as wide as a man's hand, including thumb. Brisket extends to elbows. Ribs long and well sprung but not barrel shaped, extending well to rear of body. Loin short, muscular, wide and deep, with very little tuck up. Croup slopes gently
Hindquarters: Well bent stifles (angulation between femur and pelvis approximately 90 degrees) with hocks well let down. Legs straight when viewed from rear. Feet medium size, round and compact, with thick pads. Excess hair may be trimmed to show natural size and contour.

Tail: Well set on, neither too high nor too low, following natural line of croup. Length extends to hock. Carried with merry action with some upward curve but never curled over back or between legs.

Gait: When trotting, gait is free, smooth, powerful and well co-ordinated. Viewed from front or rear, legs turn neither in nor out, nor do feet cross or interfere with each other. Increased speed causes tendency of feet to converge toward centre line of gravity.

Faults: White markings beyond a few hairs on chest. Dudley nose (pink without pigmentation). Low, hound-like ear-set. Slab-sidedness, narrow chest, lack of depth in brisket, excessive tuck up, roach or sway back. Cow hocks and sickle hocks. Open or splayed feet.

Disqualifications: Deviation in height of more than 1 inch (3 cm) from standard either way. Undershot or overshot jaws. This condition not to be confused with misalignment of teeth
 
 

GENERAL APPEARANCE
The English Cocker Spaniel is an active, merry sporting dog, standing well up at the withers and compactly built. He is alive with energy; his gait is powerful and frictionless, capable both of covering ground effortlessly and penetrating dense cover to flush and retrieve game. His enthusiasm in the field and the incessant action of his tail while at work indicate how much he enjoys the hunting for which he was bred. His head is especially characteristic. He is, above all, a dog of balance, both standing and moving, without exaggeration in any part, the whole worth more than the sum of its parts.  
SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE
Size — Height at withers: males 16 to 17 inches; females 15 to 16 inches. Deviations to be penalized. The most desirable weights: males, 28 to 34 pounds; females, 26 to 32 pounds. Proper conformation and substance should be considered more important than weight alone. 
Proportion — Compactly built and short-coupled, with height at withers slightly greater than the distance from withers to set-on of tail.
Substance — The English Cocker is a solidly built dog with as much bone and substance as is possible without becoming cloddy or coarse.
HEAD
General appearance: strong, yet free from coarseness, softly contoured, without sharp angles. Taken as a whole, the parts combine to produce the expression distinctive of the breed.
Expression — Soft, melting, yet dignified, alert and intelligent.
Eyes — The eyes are essential to the desired expression. They are medium in size, full and slightly oval; set wide apart; lids tight. Haws are inconspicuous; may be pigmented or
unpigmented. Eye color dark brown, except in livers and liver parti-colors where hazel is permitted, but the darker the hazel the better. Ears — Set low, lying close to the head; leather fine, extending to the nose, well covered with long, silky, straight or slightly wavy hair. 
Skull — Arched and slightly flattened when seen both from the side and from the front. Viewed in profile, the brow appears not appreciably higher than the back-skull. Viewed from above, the sides of the skull are in planes roughly parallel to those of the muzzle. Stop definite, but moderate, and slightly grooved. Muzzle — Equal in length to skull; well cushioned; only as much narrower than the skull as is consistent with a full eye placement; cleanly chiselled under the eyes. Jaws strong, capable of carrying game. Nostrils wide for proper development of scenting ability; color black, except in livers and parti-colors of that shade where they will be brown; reds and parti-colors of that shade may be brown, but black is preferred. Lips square, but not pendelous or showing prominent flaws. Bite — Scissors. A level bite is not preferred. Overshot or undershot to be
severely penalized.
NECK, TOPLINE AND BODY
Neck — Graceful and muscular, arched toward the head and blending cleanly, without throatiness, into sloping shoulders; moderate in length and in balance with the length and height of the dog. 
Topline — The line of the neck blends into the shoulder and backline in a smooth curve. The backline slopes very slightly toward a gently rounded croup, and is free from sagging
or rumpiness. Body — Compact and well-knit, giving the impression of strength without heaviness. Chest deep; not so wide as to interfere with action of forelegs, nor so narrow as to allow the front to appear narrow or pinched. Forechest well developed, prosternum projecting moderately beyond shoulder points. Brisket reaches to the elbowand slopes gradually to a moderate tuck-up. Ribs well sprung and springing gradually to mid-body, tapering to back, ribs which are of good depth and extend well back. Back short and strong. Loin short, broad and very slightly arched, but not enough to affect the topline appreciably. Croup gently rounded, without any tendency to fall away sharply. 
Tail — Docked. Set on to conform to croup. Ideally, the tail is carried horizontally and is in constant motion while the dog is in action. Under excitement, the
dog may carry his tail somewhat higher, but not cocked up.
FOREQUARTERS
The English Cocker is moderately angulated. Shoulders are sloping, the blade flat and smoothly fitting. Shoulder blade and upper arm are approximately equal in length. Upper arm set well back, joining the shoulder with sufficient angulation to place the elbow beneath the highest point of the shoulder blade when the dog is standing naturally. 
Forelegs — Straight, with bone nearly uniform in size from elbow to heel; elbows set close to the body; pasterns nearly straight, with some flexibility. 
Feet — Proportionate in size to the legs, firm, round and catlike; toes arched and tight; pads thick.
HINDQUARTERS
Angulation moderate and, most importantly, in balance with that of the forequarters. Hips relatively broad and well rounded. Upper thighs broad, thick and muscular, providing plenty of propelling power. Second thighs well muscled and approximately equal in length to the upper.  Stifle strong and well bent. Hock to pad short. Feet as in front.
COAT
On head, short and fine; of medium length on body; flat or slightly wavy; silky in texture. The English Cocker is well-feathered, but not so profusely as to interfere with field work. Trimming is permitted to remove overabundant hair and to enhance the dog’s true lines. It should be done so as to appear as natural as possible.
COLOR
Various. Parti-colors are either clearly marked, ticked, or roaned, the white appearing in combination with black, liver or shades of red. In parti-colors it is preferable that solid markings be broken on the body and more or less evenly distributed; absence of body markings is acceptable. Solid colors are black, liver or shades of red. White feet on a solid are undesirable; a little white on throat is acceptable; but in neither case do these white markings make the dog a parti-color. Tan markings, clearly defined and of rich shade, may appear in conjunction with blacks, livers and parti-color combinations of those colors. Black and tans and liver and tans are considered solid colors.
GAIT
The English Cocker is capable of hunting in dense cover and upland terrain. His gait is accordingly characterized more by drive and the appearance of power than by great speed. He covers ground effortlessly and with extension both in front and in rear, appropriate to his angulation. In the ring, he carries his head proudly and is able to keep much the same topline while in action as when standing for examination. Going and coming, he moves in a straight line without crabbing or rolling, and with width between both front and rear legs appropriate to his build and gait.
TEMPERAMENT
The English Cocker is merry and affectionate, of equable disposition, neither sluggish nor hyperactive, a willing worker and a faithful and engaging companion.
(Approved by the American Kennel Club, October 11, 1988)