They were also breeding for head size weren't they? Smaller heads that weren't quite big enough for their brains. I dunno, saw it on animal planet once. lolI would have to agree with you on this. I worked for years as a vet tech during the Cocker Spaniel fad, when every other client had one, and it was the one breed of dog I could count on to snap when we tried to handle it. At our clinic, we had an unwritten policy that all Cocker Spaniels were muzzled before we handled them, to avoid injury to the staff. There was the occasional nice one but most were a nightmare. I do think it had a lot to do with poor breeding though. Because they were SUCH a popular breed at the time, there was no consideration given to breeding for the best traits, and instead anyone with a female would pair it with any male they could find, just to reap the economic benefits.
I grew up with cockers. We did have to rehome a couple because they would bite faces. Ended up with a female when I was older that was wonderful. Might have been because we were older though.