C Parker, you've certainly hit the Springer personality on the head.

Kate and Jesse, you are correct that Springers and Cockers came from the same litters in the 19th century. Over the 20th century the breeds have split a fair bit, and many trainers say that Cockers (as a group) are more hard-headed than Springers. (That does not mean that they are bad dogs, but simply that they require sterner correction--as a group.) I've only seen 4 or 5 Cockers in training, and while they were more hard-headed than most (but not all) Springers that I've seen, it's a pretty small personal sample.