Sussex Spaniel

The breed takes its name and its shape from the county of Sussex in southern England, and specifically from the Goodwood estate near Chichester, where a strain of heavy, liver-coloured spaniels was being bred by the 1790s. Augustus Fuller of Rosehill Park in Brightling is usually credited with fixing the type over some fifty years of breeding from about 1795, selecting for the low build and the distinctive colour.

The country it was made for explains the dog. The Weald is heavy clay under dense undergrowth, and a fast, silent spaniel is useless there. The Sussex was bred to work methodically at a pace a walking gun could follow, and to bark on scent so that its handler always knew where it was and what it had found. That voice is unusual among spaniels and remains part of the breed standard.

The breed was among the first ten recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1884, but numbers in Britain collapsed twice, and by the end of the Second World War the breed came within a handful of dogs of disappearing. Every Sussex Spaniel alive today descends from the small group kept going by Joy Freer, who bred them through the war years. Recovery has been slow, and annual registrations in the UK still run in the low tens.

A Sussex Spaniel stands only 13 to 15 inches at the shoulder but weighs 35 to 45 pounds, which gives some idea of how solidly it is put together. The body is long and rectangular, the bone is heavy, the chest is deep, and the movement is a distinctive rolling gait that comes from wide shoulders on short legs. It is a small dog by height and a substantial one by weight.

The colour is the breed's signature: a rich golden liver, the hairs shading to gold at the tips, with no white permitted beyond a small mark on the chest. The coat is abundant and flat or slightly waved, with a weather-resistant undercoat and moderate feathering on the legs, ears and tail. The head is broad with a frowning brow and hazel eyes, and the long, lobe-shaped ears hang close to the skull.

The Sussex is placid and even-tempered, notably calmer indoors than a Springer or a working Cocker. It attaches itself firmly to its household and would generally rather be underfoot than anywhere else, and it can be genuinely unhappy if left alone for long periods.

There is a clownish streak underneath the sober face. Sussex Spaniels are playful with people they know, fond of children, and usually sociable with other dogs. They are somewhat more reserved with strangers than most spaniels, and many are vocal, using an expressive range of grumbles, howls and barks that owners either enjoy or have to manage.

The other side of the temperament is stubbornness. This is a determined hunting dog with a strong nose and its own opinions, and it will not be hurried through anything. Owners who expect biddable, eager-to-please spaniel behaviour sometimes find the Sussex slow to comply; owners who work with the breed's pace find it a very willing dog.

As a gundog the Sussex remains a specialist for close, dense cover. It flushes and retrieves at a deliberate pace within a few yards of the gun, and its voice on scent lets a handler track it through undergrowth. A very small number are still worked in Britain and the United States, and the breed has produced field trial and hunt test titles despite tiny numbers.

Most Sussex Spaniels today are companions, and the breed's steadiness and affection for people make it a good candidate for therapy visiting work. It also does creditably at scent work and tracking, where the strong nose and methodical style are advantages rather than handicaps, and it can manage rally and low-impact obedience. Agility and jumping sports are less appropriate given the long back and heavy build.