Boykin Spaniel - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Dumpy
This is a fairly young, American dog breed and there is an interesting story about its history. Around the year 1900 a man named Alexandr White found a dog wandering near a local church. Mr White called his new dog Dumpy and he was delight by the dogs active and enthusiastic temperament and natural retrieving skill. Alexandr White sent his dog for a training to a man named Whit Boykin who was fascinated with the dog skills as well and decided to built a new breeding program around Dumpy

2) Pedigree
The dogs Mr Whit Boykin used in the breeding process, next to Dumpy, were American Water Spaniels, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Cockers, English Springer Spaniels and possibly some pointers as well. The result of this breeding was the Boykin Spaniel we know today.

3) State dog
You already know that the Boykin Spaniel was developed in the USA. More specifically small South Carolina community called Boykin, named after Mr Whit Boykin i already talked about before. Later, the people of South Carolina decided to make the Boykin Spaniel their official state dog. And not only that. They also celebrate a Boykin Spaniel Day on the first of September.

4) Hunter
The breed was created to hunt turkeys and waterfowl in the South Carolina swamps and they are amazing at it. They are very skilled at flushing and retrieving and they have all the needed hunters personality traits, like intelligence, willingnes to work, high endurance and energy level and they are extremely adaptable to different environments.

5) Family companion
But this is not only hunter, not at all. The Boykin Spaniel makes amazing active and sweet family companions. They are always ready for an adventure or playtime. Thanks to their playfulness they are great partners for older kids. They also typicaly do not have problems with other dogs in the family.

6) Coat
One of the most distinctive feature of the Boykin Spaniel is definitely its coat, especially the feathering on the ears, belly, legs and chest. The coat has medium length and it is slightly wavy. This is a double coated dog and the coat keep them warm when working as water retrievers. According to the breed standard, the Boykin Spaniel has solid, rich liver or dark chocolate color.

7) Size
This is a medium sized dog with floppy ears and athletic body. Their average height is between 14-18 inch, which is 36-46 cm and weight between 25-40 pounds, which is 11-18 kg. The females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

8) Nicknames
There are two popular nicknames for Boykin Spaniels. The first one is Little Brown Dog, which is pretty much selfexplaining. The second is Swamp Poodle and indeed, with their curly hair they might resemble Poodles a little bit, must most importantly, they spent a lot of time in the swamps hunting birds, so it’s a fitting nickname.

9) Swimmers
The Boykin Spaniel is a highly energetic breed and if you want them to stay healthy and happy, regular daily exercise is a must. They are ready to do any kind of an activity, including good playtime, long walks, hikes or jogs. Or swims. Yes, this is an extraordinary swimmer and they just love it and you will make your Boykin Spaniel very happy if you will take them to some lake where he can swim.

10) Not a Cocker Spaniel
This breed can be easily mistaken with the more popular Cocker Spaniel, but those are two different separate breeds. The main difference between them is their weight. The Boykin Spaniel is heavier and sturdier breed with bigger muscularity. Also, Cockers come in some other colors like golden or red which can not be found with Boykins.