Spiritwind - it almost seems as if they use the rouse of a heavy coat to mask those features in their dogs and anyone untrained may or may not see it. I have not really looked at European Collies and to my relatively untrained eye, I did not see those features, however, upon closer inspection I find that you are completely right. The bone structure appears quite finer. They almost have a Sheltie-esque appearance in their facial features. There is one that I found that seems like a too-tall Sheltie in appearance. Through some of my website browsing, I did find a few British Collies that appear to have more substance, but it is only on the younger dogs as if people are trying to change the appearance of the breed to a more substancial dog or have had outcrosses to American bloodlines. Though I do not see the eye of the European/British Collie's appearing anything like the eye of the American Collie. Why is this? Did European Collies have the same difficulty with CEA as their American cousins?

There is more to the American Cocker than just changing the coat, which is one of my biggest gripes. The Cocker was like the poor man's hunting dog and he was supposed to be agile, quick and merry with a coat that would easily cast away brambles and burrs. However, the dogs I see today from breeders are showing stubby noses and the breed is becoming (IMHO) a toy dog, rather than a sporting dog.