I hope people will realize the drawbacks of owning a cocker that you mentioned because taking care of the dog's coat and keeping the ears clean are indeed time consuming. We had a cocker too, and she shedded terribly. If we didn't keep her brushed and/or trimmed constantly there would be hair everywhere, even in the clean china dishes on the top shelves in the kitchen. I remember having to wipe hair from the top of the stove all the time too. And their beautiful long ears were a constant problem. The ear canals of long earred dogs are always damp and prone to infection so they need daily attention and/or lots of expensive, time consuming trips to the vet. I used to wish we could hold her ears behind her head with a clothes pin or something.

Cockers are lovely and delightful pets, but I hope the breed doesn't shoot to instant popularity and ruin the breed for poor, indiscriminate breeding. Cockers were quite popular many years ago and the breed in at least this part of the US, and that led us to quantities of cockers with personality and serious health problems. If you still want a cocker, please don't buy from a backyard breeder, but find a reputable breeder who knows their genetics and work to screen out health problems. You'll pay more for the pup, but it will most likely save you thousands of dollars in future vet bills. Our cocker is long gone, but we are dealing now with all the same problems in the very popular golden retriever breed. My daughter adopted a golden pup from an unknown source and has spent several thousand dollars in vet bills during the last couple years alone. We bought our golden from a knowledgeable and thoughtful breeder for about a thousand dollars, and have only had to visit the vet for routine shots and general health checkups.

That said, I'm sure the Royal Pooch will receive impeccable care with great attention given to her coat and ears.

Yep... but she'd look even better in a FAUX FUR jacket.

The "superior" breed is whatever that individual fancies.