I echo what AZCarolyn said: poor cocker breeders have ruined the breed in general. There are tons of puppy millers in the cocker world thanks to their popularity due to movies like ‘Lady and the Tramp’, etc.
If you’re not going to get an adult dog from a shelter (which is always my first recommendation), then no matter what the breed, you have to research and find a good, ethical breeder. But some breeds have a higher percentage of bad breeders due to their popularity as a breed.
In general, if you go to the AKC website and look up the statistics to see how many of each breed are registered each year, the higher up the list (i.e., the more popular), the higher the percentage of puppy millers and backyard-breeders. Getting a puppy from either of those sources is a recipe for extensive, expensive, and potentially deadly health problems, not to mention temperament problems.
So as AZCarolyn says, if you ever get a Cocker, find a good breeder. And of course knowing the definition of a “good breeder” takes research in itself. :-)
By the way, does anyone have any suggestions out there for helping a fat dog lose weight? My Ursa is officially a chubbette now, tipping the scales at 88 lbs. Small for the average rott, but Ursa is quite petite and at her best weight at 75 - 80lbs. She gets a lot of exercise, and we've restricted her calories (we even had her thyroid checked). Prior to the rat poison in the dog food (I'm now making her food) I was feeding her Science Diet (which I've been told is too grain-heavy for pets. )
Which is why I grovel for a pet quality puppy from a show breeder... the other good thing is they are very particular about whom they allow to adopt these puppies... very few end up in rescue because the reputable breeders will take them back rather than see them in rescue.