The photo is of an Welsh springer spaniel owned by friends I visited in Charleston. He accompanied us on our boat ride. There is a soft spot in my heart for spaniels because my family owned a few during my childhood, but our favorite was a cocker spaniel mix named Ginger. Her fur was golden and her disposition sunny. You could always count on that dog to remain steady and calm your fears. Cocker spaniels are one of those medium-sized, in-between dogs — in between a chihuahua and a basset hound, a teacup poodle and a chocolate lab and a rat terrier and a Saint Bernard. I think they are good family dogs. But there are a whole lot more different kinds of spaniels. Let’s learn more about them.
According to Wikipedia, a spaniel is a type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century, spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retrieve water fowl shot down with arrows. Land spaniels were setting spaniels — those that crept forward and pointed their game, allowing hunters to ensnare them with nets, and springing spaniels — those that sprang pheasants and partridges for hunting with falcons, and rabbits for hunting with greyhounds. During the 17th century, the role of the spaniel dramatically changed as Englishmen began hunting with flintlocks for wing shooting. In 1984 Charles Goodall and Julia Gasow write that spaniels were "transformed from untrained, wild beaters to smooth, polished gun dogs."
Definition and description
The Oxford English Dictionary defines spaniel as "a breed of dog with a long silky coat and drooping ears."
Not much has changed about spaniels in general over the years, as can be seen in this 1921 entry in Collier's New Encyclopedia:
Their distinguishing characteristics are a rather broad muzzle, remarkably long and full ears, hair plentiful and beautifully waved, particularly that of the ears, tail and hinder parts of the thighs and legs. The prevailing color is liver and white, sometimes red and white or black and white and sometimes deep brown or black on the face and breast with a tan spot over each eye. The English spaniel is a superior and very pure breed. The King Charles is a small variety of the spaniel used as a lapdog. The water spaniels, large and small, differ from the common spaniel only in the roughness of their coats, and in uniting the aquatic propensities of the Newfoundland dog with the fine hunting qualities of their own race. Spaniels possess a great share of intelligence, affection and obedience, which qualities, combined with much beauty, make them highly prized as companions.
History
The origin of the word spaniel is described by the Oxford English Dictionary as coming from the Old French word espaigneul which meant "Spanish (dog)"; this in turn originated from the Latin Hispaniolus which simply means "Spanish."
In Edward, 2nd Duke of York's work “The Master of Game,” which was mostly a 15th-century translation of an earlier work by Gaston III of Foix-Béarn entitled “Livre de chasse,” spaniels are described as being from Spain as much as all greyhounds are from England or Scotland. Sixteenth-century English physician John Caius wrote that the spaniels of the time were mostly white, marked with spots that are commonly red. He described a new variety to have come out of France, which were speckled all over with white and black, "which mingled colours incline to a marble blewe."
Celtic origin theory
In the appendices added to the 1909 reprint of Caius' work, the editors suggested that the type of dogs may have been brought into the British Isles as early as 900 BC by a branch of the Celts moving from Spain into Cornwall and on into Wales, England and Ireland. Theories on the origin of the Welsh springer spaniel support this theory, as it is believed that the breed specifically is a direct descendant of the "Agassian hunting dog" described in the hunting poem “Cynegetica” attributed to Oppian of Apamea, which belonged to the Celtic tribes of Roman Britain:
There is a strong breed of hunting dog, small in size but no less worthy of great praise. These the wild tribes of Britons with their tattooed backs rear and call by the name of Agassian. Their size is like that of worthless and greedy domestic table dogs; squat, emaciated, shaggy, dull of eye, but endowed with feet armed with powerful claws and a mouth sharp with close-set venomous tearing teeth. It is by virtue of its nose, however, that the Agassian is most exalted, and for tracking it is the best there is; for it is very adept at discovering the tracks of things that walk upon the ground and skilled too at marking the airborne scent.
Roman origin theory
Another theory of the origin of the spaniel is that the ancient Romans imported spaniels into Britannia by way of the trade routes to the Far East. Colonel David Hancock adds a belief that the sporting type of spaniel originated in China from the short-faced ancestors of dogs such as the Pekingese, Pug and Shih Tzu. The theory goes that these ancestors were introduced into Southern Europe and evolved into the small sporting spaniels of the period around AD 1300–1600. The issue of how a short-muzzled dog could evolve into a longer-muzzled dog is addressed by pointing to the evolution of the King Charles Spaniel into the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in less than a century.
Hunting
In assisting hunters, it is desirable that spaniels work within gun range, are steady to shot and are able to mark the fall and retrieve shot game to hand with a soft mouth. A good nose is highly valued, as it is in most gun dog breeds. They are versatile hunters traditionally being used for upland game birds but are equally adept at hunting rabbits and waterfowl. Whether hunting in open fields, woodlands, farmlands, in briars, along fencerows or marshlands, a spaniel can get the job done.
On the basis of function and hunting style, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale or FCI draws a distinction between Continental and Anglo-American spaniels. The FCI places Continental dogs of the spaniel type in the pointing group because they function more like setters which "freeze" and point to game. Breeds in this group include the blue Picardy spaniel, French spaniel, Brittany, Pont-Audemer spaniel and the small Münsterländer. The FCI classifies most other dogs of the spaniel type as flushing or water dogs.
American Cocker Spaniel
The American Cocker Spaniel is a breed of sporting dog. It is a spaniel type dog that is closely related to the English Cocker Spaniel; the two breeds diverged during the 20th century due to differing breed standards in the U.S. and the UK. In the United States, the breed is usually called a cocker spaniel, while elsewhere in the world, it is called an American Cocker Spaniel to distinguish it from its older English cousin. The word “cocker” is commonly held to stem from their use to hunt woodcock in England, while “spaniel” is thought to be derived from the breed's origins in Spain.
The first spaniel in America came across with the Mayflower in 1620, but it was not until 1878 that the first cocker spaniel was registered with the American Kennel Club. A national breed club was set up three years later, and the dog considered to be the father of the modern breed — Ch. Obo II — was born around this time. By the 1920s the English and American varieties of cocker had become noticeably different, and in 1946 the AKC recognized the English type as a separate breed. It was not until 1970 that The Kennel Club in the UK recognized the American Cocker Spaniel as being separate from the English type. The American Cocker was the most popular breed in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s and again during the 1980s, reigning for a total of 18 years. They have also won the best in show title at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on four occasions, the best in show title at Crufts in 2017 and have been linked to the President of the United States on several occasions, with owners including Richard Nixon and Harry S. Truman. In 2013, the cocker spaniel ranked 29th in the American Kennel Club registration statistics of historical comparisons and notable trends.
The breed is the smallest of the sporting dogs recognized by the AKC, and its distinctly shaped head makes it immediately recognizable. In addition, there are some marked differences between it and its English relative. It is a happy breed with average working intelligence, although by being bred to a show standard it is no longer an ideal working dog. Members of the breed suffer from a wide variety of health ailments including problems with their hearts, eyes and ears.
American water spaniel
The American water spaniel is a breed of spaniel which originated in the United States. It was developed in the state of Wisconsin during the 19th century from a number of other breeds, including the Irish and English water spaniels. The breed was saved by Dr. Fred J. Pfeifer, who set up the breed club and standard, and whose work led to recognition for the breed by the United Kennel Club, and later, the American Kennel Club. While they are the state dog of Wisconsin, they remain a rare breed.
They are medium-sized dogs and have a double layered coat, which comes in a variety of brown related shades. A versatile hunting dog, they are also suitable for apartment life due to work by breeders to develop a breed with an even temperament. The AWS may have been involved in the development of the Boykin spaniel.
Blue Picardy spaniel
The blue Picardy spaniel or épagneul bleu de Picardie is a breed of spaniel originating in France from the area around the mouth of the River Somme around the start of the 20th century. It is descended from Picardy spaniels and English setters and is described as a quiet breed that requires much exercise due to its stamina. It is especially good with children. Similar to the Picardy spaniel, it has a distinctive colored coat. Recognized by only a handful of kennel associations, the breed is predominantly known in France and Canada.
Boykin spaniel
The Boykin spaniel is a medium-sized breed of dog, a spaniel bred for hunting wild turkeys and ducks in the Wateree River Swamp of South Carolina in the United States. It is the state dog of South Carolina, where it was discovered and further developed by hunters in the 1900s. September 1,1984 is Boykin Spaniel Day in South Carolina.
The Boykin spaniel is a versatile hunter, working as a retriever and upland hunter, flushing birds into flight. Pointing is not in character with the Boykin's hunting style, but many confuse the inherent characteristic of a "hesitant flush" with pointing. Of the six or eight different breeds used to create the current breed, three are pointing breeds for this reason. The field Boykin spaniel wants to be 100% precise when she flushes her bird, and as a dutiful partner, she knows to wait until her hunter is positioned for the shot. Their stamina in hot weather and eagerness make them good for dove hunts, but also for pheasant and other upland game. They can be used in driving deer or in tracking wounded game. Their small size makes them easy to carry in a canoe or other small boat, and they are described as "the dog that doesn't rock the boat."
However, an unacceptably high percentage of Boykin spaniels are not able to internally produce the proteins necessary to keep their muscles working during sustained work in warm temperatures and can die. As of 2017, Exercise Induced Collapse syndrome appears in about 10% of all Boykin spaniels due to inattentive breeding practices. Screening for the presence of the gene which causes EIC is done by simple DNA sample collection and analysis. Prospective buyers of Boykin spaniel puppies are advised to obtain verified proof of DNA testing from all breeders before buying.
Cavalier King Charles spaniel
The Cavalier King Charles spaniel is a small breed of spaniel classed in the toy group of The Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club that originated in the United Kingdom. Since 2000, it has grown in popularity in the United States and ranks as the 19th most popular purebreed in the United States. It has a silky, smooth coat and commonly a smooth undocked tail. The breed standard recognizes four colors: Blenheim (chestnut and white), tricolor (black/white/tan), black and tan, and ruby. The breed is generally friendly, placid and good with both children and other animals; however, they require much human interaction. Since they are family dogs, it is recommended to not leave one alone for long periods at a time. The expected average lifespan of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is between nine and fourteen years.
The Cavalier King Charles changed dramatically in the late 17th century, when it was interbred with flat-nosed breeds. Until the 1920s, the Cavalier shared the same history as the smaller King Charles spaniel. Breeders attempted to recreate what they considered to be the original configuration of the breed, a dog resembling Charles II's King Charles spaniel of the Restoration.
During the early part of the 18th century, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, kept red and white King Charles type spaniels for hunting. The duke recorded that they were able to keep up with a trotting horse. His estate was named Blenheim in honor of his victory at the Battle of Blenheim. Because of this influence, the red and white variety of the King Charles Spaniel and thus the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel became known as the Blenheim.
Attempts were made to recreate the original Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as early as the turn of the 20th century, using the now extinct toy trawler spaniels. These attempts were documented by Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, in the book "Toy Dogs and Their Ancestors Including the History And Management of Toy Spaniels, Pekingese, Japanese and Pomeranians" published under the name of the "Hon. Mrs Neville Lytton" in 1911.
Clumber spaniel
The clumber spaniel is a breed of dog of the spaniel type, developed in the United Kingdom. It is the largest of the spaniels and comes in predominantly white with either lemon or orange markings. The name of the breed is taken from Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire where the breed was first developed. It is a gundog that specializes in hunting in heavy cover. It is gentle and loyal, and can act aloof with strangers. It has several habits which could be considered disadvantages, including a constant shedding of its coat and snoring.
The history of the breed is uncertain prior to the mid-19th century with two theories being prevalent. Clumber spaniels have been kept and bred by various members of the British royal family, including Prince Albert, King Edward VII and King George V. They were introduced into Canada in 1844, and in 1884 became one of the first ten breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club. The breed can suffer from a variety of breed-specific ailments varying in severity from temporary lameness due to bone growth while young to hip dysplasia or spinal disc herniation.
Dutch partridge dog
The Drentsche Patrijshond is a versatile spaniel-type hunting dog from the Dutch province of Drenthe. Called the Dutch partridge dog or "Drent" for Drenthe in English, approximately 5,000 dogs are registered with the breed club in the Netherlands, and breed clubs operate in Belgium, Denmark, Scandinavia and North America. The Dutch partridge dog bears some resemblance to both spaniel and setter types of dog. An excellent pointer and retriever, this dog is often used to hunt fowl and adapts equally well to the field or marshes.
English cocker spaniel
The English cocker spaniel is a breed of gun dog. It is noteworthy for producing one of the most varied numbers of pups in a litter among all dog breeds. The English cocker spaniel is an active, good-natured, sporting dog standing well up at the withers and compactly built. There are "field" or "working" cockers and "house" cockers. It is one of several varieties of spaniel and is the foundation of its American cousin, the American cocker spaniel. The English cocker is closer to the working-dog form of the field spaniel and the English springer spaniel.
Spaniel type dogs have been found in art and literature for almost 500 years. Initially, spaniels in England were divided among land spaniels and water spaniels. The differentiation among the spaniels that led to the breeds that we see today did not begin until the mid-19th century. During this time, the land spaniels became a bit more specialized and divisions among the types were made based upon weight. According to the 1840 Encyclopedia of Rural Sports, cockers were 12–20 lbs. At this time, it was not uncommon for cockers and springers to come from the same litter. Even a puppy from a "toy"-sized lineage could grow to be a springer.
There is no indication from these early sources that spaniels were used to retrieve game. Rather, they were used to drive the game toward the guns.
English springer spaniel
The English springer spaniel is a breed of gun dog in the spaniel family traditionally used for flushing and retrieving game. It is an affectionate, excitable breed with a typical lifespan of twelve to fourteen years. They are very similar to the Welsh springer spaniel and are descended from the Norfolk or Shropshire spaniels of the mid-19th century; the breed has diverged into separate show and working lines. The breed suffers from average health complaints. The show-bred version of the breed has been linked to "rage syndrome," although the disorder is very rare. It is closely related to the Welsh springer spaniel and very closely to the English cocker spaniel.
The English physician John Caius described the spaniel in his book the “Treatise of Englishe Dogs” published in 1576. His book was the first work to describe the various British breeds by function. By 1801, Sydenham Edwards explained in the “Cynographia Britannica” that the land spaniel should be split into two kinds, the springing, hawking spaniel, or starter; and the cocking or cocker spaniel.
At this point, both cocker spaniels and springer spaniels were born in the same litters. The purpose of the breed was to serve as a hunting dog. The smaller cockers were used to hunt woodcock, while their larger littermates, the springer spaniels, would "spring" — or flush — the gamebird into the air where a trained falcon or hawk would bring it to the handler.
Many spaniel breeds were developed during the 19th century, and often named after the counties in which they were developed, or after their owners, who were usually nobility. Two strains of larger land spaniel were predominant and were said to have been of "true springer type." These were the Norfolk and the Shropshire spaniels, and by the 1850s, these were shown under the breed name of Norfolk spaniel.
In January 1899, the Spaniel Club of England and the Sporting Spaniel Society held their trials together for the first time. Three years later, in 1902, a combination of the physical standard from the Spaniel Club of England and the ability standard from the Sporting Spaniel Society led to the English Springer Spaniel breed being officially recognized by the English Kennel Club. The American Kennel Club followed in 1910. In 1914, the first English Field Champion was crowned, FTC Rivington Sam, whose dam was a registered cocker spaniel, Rivington Riband. Sam is considered one of the foundation sires for modern field lines.
Field spaniel
The field spaniel is a medium-sized dog breed of spaniel type. They were originally developed to be all-black show dogs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were unpopular for work as a hunting dog. However, during the mid-20th century, they were redeveloped as a longer-legged dog that was more suitable to be used for field work. They are now considered to be a rare breed and are registered as a Vulnerable Native Breed by The Kennel
Club.
Their fur is darker than other spaniels and they have no undercoat like most of the other field type spaniels. Their coats come mostly in solid colors with some occasional markings on the chest.
They can make good family dogs and are patient with children, but can require some sort of purpose, be it hunting or agility work in order to prevent them from becoming bored and destructive.
The field spaniel was originally developed for the show ring by competitors who were attempting to develop an all-black spaniel. Some of the breeding methods of those early developers were criticized; one of the first breeders of the field spaniel, Thomas Jacobs, said of the origin; "Much has been written and said on the purity of the breed; deprecating the means I have adopted to produce them as calculated to alter a presumed type, and frequent missiles have been hurled at me and my dogs from behind the hedge. But where is the pure bred black spaniel we hear so much about? Proof of the existence of the pure bred one (if there ever was one!) has not been forthcoming. Like most sporting dogs, they are the result of different crosses."
They were unpopular with sportsmen as the dark colors of the breed did not show up in hunting conditions, and the elongated and short shape of the early breed was not very practical for moving easily through cover. The low-slung variety of field spaniel were developed by Phineas Bullock from dogs previously owned by Sir Francis Burdett, the secretary of the Birmingham Dog Show. Burdett was said to have owned a variety of black cocker spaniels. Bullock crossed the field spaniel with the Sussex spaniel and the English water spaniel. In the 1870s he was very successful in the show ring with his variety of field spaniel; however, it resulted in a dog that was almost exactly like a Sussex spaniel with the exception of the head itself.
Irish water spaniel
The Irish water spaniel is a breed of dog that is the tallest of the spaniels. Dogs range in height from 22 to 24 inches and weigh 55 to 65 pounds.
The modern breed as we know it was developed in Ireland in the 1830s. It is not known from which other breeds Irish water spaniels were developed. The acknowledged father of the breed, Justin McCarthy from Dublin, left no breeding records. All manner of dogs have been suggested including: the poodle, Portuguese water dog, barbet, generic old water dog, the now-extinct English water spaniel as well as the Northern and Southern water spaniels, but whether Irish water spaniels are antecedents, descendants, or mixtures of these other breeds is a matter of some speculation. It is believed in Irish folklore to be the descendant of the Dobhar-chú.
The Irish water spaniel is a sturdy, cobby dog native to Ireland. The coat, consisting of dense curls, sheds very little. The color is liver/puce and has a very definite purple hue unlike the color of any other known breed. The non-shedding characteristic of the coat means that people usually allergic to dogs might have less of an allergic reaction to Irish water spaniels.
Irish water spaniels have several distinguishing characteristics which place them among the more recognizable of all breeds: The topknot of long, loose curls growing down from the head which often covers the eyes; a "beard" growing at the back of the throat often accompanied by "sideburns"; and a curled, liver ("puce")-colored coat. The most distinguishing characteristic of these dogs is the smooth "rat tail," completely free of long coat except at the base where it is covered for 2–3 inches with curls. The face is entirely smooth-coated and, unlike the poodle, should require little or no trimming to stay that way. An Irish water spaniel is ruggedly built with webbed feet to aid in its powerful swimming. Altogether, the Irish water spaniel presents a picture of a smart, upstanding, strongly built but not leggy dog, combining great intelligence and rugged endurance with a bold, dashing eagerness of temperament.
Papillon
The papillon (French for 'butterfly[-eared]'), also called the Continental toy spaniel, is a breed of dog, of the spaniel type. One of the oldest of the toy spaniels, it derives its name from its characteristic butterfly-like look of the long and fringed hair on the ears. A papillon with dropped ears is called a phalene, which translates to moth in French.
The history of the papillon is traced through works of art. The earliest toy spaniels resembling the papillon are found in Italy. Tiziano Vicelli painted these small dogs in many famous paintings beginning around 1500, including the “Venus of Urbino” in 1542. Other well-known artists who included them in paintings are Watteau, Gonzales Coques, Fragonard, Paolo Veronese and Mignard. In a painting after Largillierre in the Wallace Collection in London, a papillon is clearly shown in a family portrait of Louis XIV. Papillons are also in paintings of royal families around Europe and paintings of merchant-class families. The breed was popular in England, France and Belgium.
The "Titian spaniels" and those portrayed by later artists through Mignard and his contemporaries had the drooping ears characteristic of today's phalène; the erect-eared appearance did not become fashionable until the end of the 19th century. The Titian spaniels were also exclusively red-and-white in coloration, in contrast to the many recognized colorations of today's papillon.
The papillon's history and long association with royalty have led to many stories about the breed. Marie Antoinette is said to have walked to the guillotine clutching her small dog under her arm, likely an apocryphal tale. However, tradition has it that Marie Antoinette's dog was a small spaniel that had been brought to the French court from Spain on the back of pack mules. According to the story, her pup was spared and cared for in a building in Paris still called the Papillon House. Marie Antoinette's dog was said to have descended from a very old drop-eared breed known as the epagneul nain or Continental dwarf/toy spaniel that appeared in church frescos and paintings as early as the 13th century.
Pont-Audemer spaniel
The Pont-Audemer spaniel or epagneul Pont-Audemer is a rare breed of French gundog. It originated in the 19th century from different breeds of water spaniels and took more of a setter role in hunting than that of a traditional spaniel. Following the Second World War, the breed's numbers dropped so low that the breed club decided to allow cross-breeding with other breeds because of fears of the existing stock becoming overly inbred. In 1980, the breed club was merged with that of the Picardy Spaniel.
The breed is alleged to have been developed in the Pont-Audemer region of France in the nineteenth century. While the exact origin of the breed isn't known, it is thought that stock from both the English water spaniel and Irish water spaniels may have played a part in the breed's original makeup. In the early 20th century, outside France, they were considered more useful as a setter than doing typical spaniel type work.
The breed's numbers were never large, and so few examples existed after World War II that in 1949 the president of the Pont-Audemer breed club in France allowed for other breeds, including the Irish water spaniel, to cross-breed with the existing population in order to alleviate the risk of inbreeding what few Pont-Audemer spaniels remained. However the breed's population remained low, and in 1980 at the recommendation of the Société Centrale Canine, the Pont-Audemer breed club was merged with that of the Picardy Spaniel.
Stabyhoun or Frisian pointer
The stabyhoun or stabij is one of the top five rarest dog breeds in the world. It is from the Dutch province of Friesland and in particular from the Frisian forest area, a region in the southeast and east of Friesland. The breed has been mentioned in Dutch literature going back to the early 1800s, but has only extended its range from the 1960s outside of Friesland and not until the 2000s did the range officially extend beyond the Netherlands. The name Stabij translates roughly as "stand by me" with the last part simply Frisian, meaning dog, which is pronounced "hoon." The dog is considered a Dutch national treasure. There are only a few thousand Stabyhouns in existence today worldwide.
The Stabyhoun is found in historic literature from Joost Halbertsma, Waling Dijkstra and Nynke fan Hichtum dating back to the early 1800s. In earlier days it was used for hunting foxes, small game and birds. While on farms, Stabyhouns exhibited fine skills as a mole-catcher. During the hunting season, it was used as an all-round gundog. Today, the Stabyhoun remains a competent hunter, although British and German breeds are more popular. Renowned for its peaceful disposition, the Stabij is a soft-mouthed retriever, a fine pointer, excellent tracker and a good watchdog. It has also been used by dairy farmers as a cart-dog.
Historically, these dogs were nearly exclusively owned by farmers, whose limited financial means dictated the need for a single farm dog capable as an all-around working, hunting, guard and gentle house breed.
The breed's appearance and purpose have not changed. In order to optimize the working traits of the working farm dog in earlier days, the Stabyhoun was often mixed with another old and rare Friesian breed, the Wetterhoun.
However, in 1942 Stabij owners organized for official breed recognition and crossbreeding between the Stabyhoun and Wetterhoun was halted in an effort to prevent the extinction of the increasingly rare breeds.
Today the Stabyhoun enjoys a small but thoroughly devoted following among Dutch sportsmen and homeowners. Its numbers are increasing slowly but steadily. This breed has caught the attention of dog lovers in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and North America.
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