Cocker spaniel and springer spaniel coat sizes

A spaniel does not need to be kept warm; it needs to be kept from bringing the pond indoors. Both breeds here have a dense, water-resistant coat with long feathering on the legs, chest and ears, and both will walk into water given the chance. The piece that pays for itself is the one that keeps the body dry so that the towelling is confined to the legs and ears, which it always will be.

Two sizes of spaniel

The cocker figures spread 18 to 27 in across three charts, which is the difference between an American cocker in a pet clip and one in full coat, plus the English cocker, which is a size bigger. All three are coat makers' lists of measured dogs. Measure over the coat as it lies.

Cocker spaniel

Worked out from the size charts on the product pages for the measurement range above. Your dog's own tape measurement is what decides it.

A cocker in a pet clip (20 in chest, 14 in neck) is a jacket L, a vest S or M by neck, a Heritage Turtleneck L. In full coat at 24 in, jacket XL, vest M, Heritage XL. The Fireside stops at 16.5 in and the trench at 16 lb; neither is a spaniel size.

English springer spaniel

Worked out from the size charts on the product pages for the measurement range above. Your dog's own tape measurement is what decides it.

A springer is a jacket XL (26.8 in) to 2XL (30.7), a vest L (24 to 31 in). The knits end at 24.4 in around the chest and do not fit the breed. A working-type springer, lighter and leaner than the show type, sits at the bottom of those sizes.

The ears

Spaniel ears are the longest in the dog world and the first thing into every puddle. A pullover must not drag them: fold them back along the neck with one hand and bring the collar over with the other, and choose the size whose neck number is above the dog's. The jacket's zip runs up the chest and its collar sits below the ear leather, so the ears lie over it; nothing passes the head at all, which is the easier answer for the breed.

Dry the ears first after every wet walk. The feathering holds water against the ear canal and spaniels get ear infections more than almost any other breed.

What the jacket does and does not do

The All-Weather Jacket keeps the chest, shoulders and upper back dry under a rain-shedding shell with a warm lining; the leash clips to the harness built into the chest, which on a spaniel that quarters ahead on the leash keeps the pull off the neck. It is cut short in the back to free the hind legs, so the hem ends before the tail, and the feathering on the legs and belly will still come home wet. That is a spaniel; no coat that lets the dog run keeps the feathering dry.

In cold drizzle the Quilted Vest does the same job for the back without the lining, and its belly strap takes up the difference between a clipped and a grown-out coat.

Warmth

A cocker or springer in a full coat does not need a sweater outdoors. A cocker in a short clip on a cold day, or an old spaniel, does: the Heritage Turtleneck in L or XL by chest, stretchy, with a fold-down collar that can be worn folded to stay clear of the ears.

Shipping and returns

Free US shipping; ships in 1 to 2 business days and usually arrives 4 to 9 business days after that; 60 days to send a wrong size back (Shipping & Returns). The measuring guide shows the three measurements; on a spaniel, the chest is taken behind the front legs under the feathering, as it lies.

Questions

Cocker, 25 lb, in full coat: jacket L or XL?

Measure. The L is 22.8 in and full coat adds an inch or two; most full-coated cockers tape 23 to 25, which is XL.

Does anything cover the feathering?

No. The feathering on the legs, chest and belly is below any coat's hem. The jacket keeps the body dry; the legs get a towel.

Will the jacket's collar rub the ears?

It sits under them, at the base of the neck. Long ears lie over the collar, not inside it.