yes there is a BIG difference in the show cockers and the sporting ones, the sporting have a shorter cobbier body type and a shorter hair coat (but still long) and the show are leggier with long fine hair. mom is kinda upset how the breed has changed since she started showing/breeding 40+ years ago. she REALY dislikes the "puggish" look that their face has gotten. her favorite color was the blacks (that was the color she had as a kid) she always had 1 black. but she mostly had ascob and partys. and my favorite was dee, a red roan. when i was very young i saw a pure white cocker- it was beautiful. and i never forgot that dog and i always said if she heard of a white pup i wanted one, when i was @15 she had a lady call her and wanted to know why her 2 buffs had a litter of pure white pups. so we got a female pup out of that litter. at 8 weeks she was snow white!! but at 3-4 mos she looked dirty no matter how many baths i gave her. turns out she was a (rare at that time) red roan. if you look up artrue (sp??)cockers that is the main line my mom had. i wouldnt mind having a cocker again, but the ones i have seen are not very good examples of the breed.