Boykin Spaniel
Bred in South Carolina to sit in a small boat without swamping it and still bring back a turkey. Brown all over, and the state dog there.
Photo by Luke Faraone, CC BY-SA 2.0
Overview
The Boykin Spaniel was developed in South Carolina in the early twentieth century from a stray brown spaniel found outside a church, bred to retrieve duck and turkey from a small boat in the swamps. The size requirement was practical: it had to fit in a section boat without swamping it.
It is the state dog of South Carolina and remains largely a working hunting dog rather than a show breed.
Temperament
Cheerful, eager and highly biddable. Boykins are friendly with people and other dogs, good with children, and genuinely enthusiastic about work.
They are energetic and they need an outlet. Like most spaniels they are people oriented and dislike being left alone, and they are soft enough that harsh training backfires. They are also enthusiastic swimmers who will find water.
Care and grooming
A flat or slightly wavy coat with feathering that needs brushing twice a week. Moderate shedding.
The drop ears need weekly cleaning and drying after swimming. Hip dysplasia occurs at a notable rate in the breed, and exercise induced collapse and juvenile cataracts both have DNA tests. Ask a breeder for all three.
Living and exercise
An hour and a half a day, with retrieving and swimming. This is a working gundog in a manageable size and it wants the work.
They suit active families and rural households. Ten to fifteen years is the expectation and they stay busy for most of it.
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