Boykin Spaniel

The breed's story begins around 1900 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where a banker named Alexander White took in a small stray brown spaniel he found near a church. The dog, called Dumpy, showed such natural retrieving ability that White eventually sent him to his hunting partner Lemuel Whitaker Boykin in the Camden area to see what he could do in the field.

Boykin used that dog as the foundation of a deliberate breeding programme, drawing on Chesapeake Bay Retriever, springer and cocker spaniel, and American Water Spaniel stock to fix a compact brown retriever suited to lowcountry conditions. The specific requirement was a dog that could ride in the small flat-bottomed boats used on the Wateree Swamp without unbalancing them, and still bring back a duck or a wild turkey.

The Boykin Spaniel Society was founded in 1977 and remains the breed's principal registry, with a strong emphasis on field ability. South Carolina named the Boykin its state dog in 1985. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in the Sporting Group in 2009, though a large share of Boykins are still bred and registered primarily as hunting dogs.

Boykins are medium-sized and solidly built for their height. Males stand roughly 15.5 to 18 inches at the shoulder and weigh 30 to 40 pounds; females stand about 14 to 16.5 inches and weigh 25 to 35 pounds. The outline is slightly longer than tall, sturdy and free-moving, without the heaviness of a full-size retriever.

The coat is the breed's other signature. It ranges from flat to moderately curly, of medium length, with light feathering on the ears, chest, legs and belly, and it is always a solid liver, brown or dark chocolate; a small white spot on the chest is permitted. The undercoat gives useful protection in cold water and thick cover.

The head is moderate with a well-defined stop, and the ears are set slightly above the eye line and hang flat against the head. The eyes are the detail people remember, ranging from amber to a striking golden yellow that complements the coat. The tail is traditionally docked in working lines and carried with a busy, happy action.

Boykins are friendly, sociable and eager to please, and they train more easily than most breeds of comparable drive. They are strongly people-oriented and want to be part of the household, which makes them poor kennel dogs and prone to separation-related distress if routinely left alone for long stretches.

The breed is generally excellent with children and stable with other dogs, a legacy of being expected to hunt in company and travel in crowded boats. Most Boykins greet strangers happily and make indifferent guard dogs, though many will bark to announce an arrival.

Energy is the thing prospective owners most often underestimate. A Boykin bred from field lines has serious stamina and a strong retrieving and water drive, and without an outlet it becomes restless, mouthy and destructive. Given enough work it settles into a genuinely calm house dog.

They are sensitive to tone and respond poorly to heavy-handed correction; a sharp word carries a long way with this breed.

The Boykin's original job was flushing and retrieving in the flooded timber and swamps of the Carolina lowcountry, especially for wood ducks and wild turkey. It remains a genuine dual-purpose gundog, working upland birds such as dove and quail as readily as waterfowl, and its size makes it exceptionally handy in boats, blinds and thick cover.

Boykins compete in spaniel hunt tests and retriever tests, and their trainability and moderate size also suit agility, dock diving, obedience, rally and scent work. Some have been used in detection and therapy roles.

As a household dog the breed's strengths are its friendliness, portability and adaptability; its limits are its exercise requirement and its dislike of being left alone.