We are looking for a pedigree chocolate and tan, show type, cocker spaniel, preferably a bitch, for a loving home.  Travelling not a problem for the right puppy.  Any help much appreciated.

Have you tried the Cocker Club?  Or the list on the KC site .  It is not very helpful in that it does not describe the colours of puppies born but at least you can start by contacting the Accredited Breeders who breed to the higher code of practice set out by the Kennel Club.  Once you begin talking to these breeders they may be able to lead you on to other reputable breeders who may be able to help.  Fail in that you could book yourself a ticket to Crufts and go and see who is exhibiting this colour because, as I am sure you are aware, they are not that easy to come by.

Try Hustonia a breeder in Ireland has lovely dogs.

Or Mrs Breenan with Kerrijoy cocker, they breed Choc & Tan, and solid Choc.

Oh solid chocolate would be lovely!

Well in that case,Whistler, why not consider a Field Spaniel? Lovely dogs.

There are a couple of chocolate field spaniel puppies near me..stunning !

Field Spaniels are liver not choc I've got 2 Fields and they are fabulous dogs.

Sorry, i didn't realise the "Correct" colour was liver...they look like chocolate to me (same as the bar i'm eating at this moment in time )

I've got a chocolate / liver working cocker (must confess I call the colour chocolate too - his nickname is "chocawocker") - he's an absolute stunner.  He's such a pretty boy that I keep threatening to get him a pink collar, but OH says he wouldn't take him for walks if I did that.

As far as I am aware it is chocolate in cockers but would be interested to know if it was ever called liver in the past. I'm sure I read somewhere that labs were liver until there was a demand for them as pets and they changed to calling it chocolate as it appealed to the pet market, anyone know if this is correct?

The breeder of my cocker says it is correctly liver rather than chocolate (spaniels = liver; labradors = chocolate, apparently?) but nearly all the litters I've seen advertised call them chocolate. 

Cockers were liver too in the past.

That's interesting Rosemarie, I've only ever seen cockers advertised as chocolate.

Why don't they call them brown?  Poodles are brown.  Just out of curiousity   But I like to say it how it is.  Plus I haven't had any chocolate in, um, 10 days (only 30 more to go), I can barely read the word without drooling.

> I've only ever seen cockers advertised as chocolate.

Modern marketing .  Some books only refer to them as variations of red.

> Modern marketing

That's what I was thinking hence my question on labs.

Cockers come in lots of colours my dream would be one of each. My Blue roan trotted off with the workman earlier and now has a white paint sheen to his coat from poking his nose where it should not have been.

I would like a solid liver next but Hustonia's "fudge" looks a dream.

Spanish Water Dogs should only be called brown too but I bet some breeders will start putting them as chocolate too.  Like they also should be golds and not apricot, cream and not beige.

> labs were liver until there was a demand for them as pets and they changed to calling it chocolate as it appealed to the pet market, anyone know if this is correct?

Yep, pretty much so. The standard lists the three colours for labs as black, yellow, or liver/chocolate. So liver is still correct terminology.

Field spaniels are never chocolate!

> Cockers were liver too in the past.

They still are for some breeders Some well-known Cocker kennels (like Lynwater) still register pups this colour as liver and hate the modern "chocolate" which has crept in over the last 20 years or so. It used to be that it was the show breeders using "chocolate" in place of liver but now an increasing number of Working Cocker breeders are also doing it. Wonder why the trend hasn't caught on in Springers - they're still resolutely liver and white not chocolate

Granitecitygirl. Brown Poodles were always known as chocolate in the past if its altered then its only just recently become brown.