Hi Heidi....
I just wanted to re-iterate what Gilly was asking.....
(I have written this before and have copied and pasted it!)
Is it a show type or working type cocker you are after?? This doesnt necessarily mean that you are going to show or work them. Although both are cockers, they look different and their personalities can vary greatly.
A typical working cocker is on the go all the time, it has been bred to work and as an adult worker will require hours of stimulation on a physical/mental basis. They can take as much exercise you give them, and then some!!! Increasingly working cockers are being sold as pets and it is not unusual for them to be in a home environment. On the whole the are extremely bright - give em an inch and they'll take a mile!!
Show cockers, although also very busy and on the go probably dont need as much mental physical stimulation. Again, the same applies with them, they can be exercised as much as a worker but will probably flake out at the end of the day whereas a worker will still want more. They too - are in the main clever dogs and will take a mile too!!!
A working cocker's coat tends to be shorter than a show cockers coat and there are physical differences too.... show cocker have more of a domed head, whereas a workers is slightly flatter, and working cockers are longer in the body.
I would fully advise you to research exactly what type of cocker it is you want before you go ahead and buy one, alot of working cockers have ended up in rescues because their owners didnt quite know what they were getting!!!
A good way to know, if you check the dogs pedigree on a workers pedigree if it comes from good lines it will have FT CH (field trial champion) and a show cocker will have Sh Ch (show champion).
If you do a search on show and worker differences using the search facility you will see that this has been discussed many times before.
Hope that helps
Cx