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The Boykin Spaniel is a medium sized breed of dog and a member of the Spaniel family. It is the state dog of South Carolina and its original purpose was to flush and retrieve game. In New York City, the Boykin is particularly rare, and with its natural cockatoo/bouffant hair style, leading in time to bangs over the eyes, it is always the centre of attention.
Appearance: Slightly larger than the English Cocker
Spaniel (about 17 inches high and a weight over 30 pounds)
with more feathering, its coat colour comes only in liver.
Traditionally, its tail is cropped at the age of three days,
to stop wagging during hunting.
HEAD - The head, comprising the muzzle and skull, is
impressive without being heavy or snipey and is proportionally
in balance with the rest of the dog's body. The skull to be of
medium length, fairly broad, flat on top, slightly rounded at
the sides and back. The muzzle to be approximately the same
length as the skull. Viewed from the top, the width of the
muzzle is approximately one half the width of the skull.
Viewed in profile, the nasal bone is straight with a moderate
stop and subtle rise at the junction of the muzzle and skull
forming two parallel planes between the top lines of the skull
and muzzle. The distance from the tip of the nose to the base
of the skull is about the same length as the neck. The
forehead is covered with smooth, short hair. The jaws are
sufficient length to allow the dog to easily carry game. The
nose to be dark liver in color with nostrils well-opened and
broad for good scenting power. Faults: Pointed or heavy skull,
over heavy muzzle, muzzle too short or narrow.
TEETH - Teeth should be straight and meet in a close
scissors bite (the lower teeth touching behind the upper
incisors). An even bite (incisors meet each other to edge to
edge) is acceptable but not preferred. Faults: Over or
undershot jaws.
EYES - The eyes are yellow to brown to harmonize
with the coat, set well apart, expression alert, intelligent
and trusting. Darker shades of yellow preferred over lighter
shades. Faults: A prominent or pop eye.
EARS - The ears are set slightly above the level of
the eyeline and reach the tip of the nose when pulled forward.
They lie flat and close to the head.
NECK - The neck is moderately long, muscular,
slightly arched at the crest and gradually blends into sloping
shoulders without being abruptly angled or excessively
throaty.
BODY STRUCTURE - The body is sturdily constructed
but not too compact. Sloping shoulders, chest well-developed
but not barrel, the back is strong, straight, and level except
for a slight arch in the loin area. Faults: High hindquarters,
roach back (too much arch over the loin extending forward into
the middle section), sway back (dip in back).
LEGS AND FEET - The legs are strong, of medium
length and well boned, but not too short as to handicap for
field work. Legs should be straight when viewed from the front
or rear. The feet are found to slightly oval, firm, and
well-padded, turning neither in nor out. Faults: Fiddle front
(front legs out at elbow, pasterns close, and feet turned
out). Cowhocks (hocks on rear legs turning towards each
other).
TAIL - The tail should be docked so that at maturity
it is 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. (Leave 1/3 of the tail plus
1/4" when pup is 3-5 days old).
COAT - The coat is flat to moderately curly with
medium length, fine hair with light feathering acceptable on
the legs, feet, ears, chest, and belly. A short straight coat
without feathering is acceptable.
History: The dog was originally found in 1911,
outside a Methodist church after service by Mr. Alexander L.
White (1860-1942). Looking terribly bedraggled, he was named
"Dumpy", but showed some aptitude for hunting, which
the breed still does. So, He took the dog to his friend, Mr.
Whit Boykin (1861-1932), which is where the name came from.
Mr. Boykin bred the dog with a dog named Singo and taught it
to hunt with its brown coat for camouflage.
It may be closely related to the American Water Spaniel. 65
years later, the Boykin Spaniel Society was formed. Their
mission was to document the breed in a registry,to encourage
breeding of purebred Boykinss, to perpetuate natural hunting
abilities and ultimately obtain national recognition in a
recognized organization such as UKC and AKC. The BSS applied
to the AKC for recognitionin the early days of formation. The
BSS was told that they did not have complete documentation for
AKC recognition but to continue building their database for a
re-evaluation in the future.
Several years later, the BSS again took their case to the
AKC. Upon being told that they would turn their very
profitable business of Boykin Spaniel registration over to the
AKC, the BSS chose to continue as a private individual company
rather than joining the AKC as the Boykin Spaniel national
parent club. The BSS[The Boykin Spaniel Society] , unlike the
AKC, has taken an aggressive position on eliminating health
issues through the Boykin Spaniel Foundation.
In the late 1990's, a small group of people who still
desired AKC recognition despite the financial loss formed the
Boykin Spaniel Club and Breeders Association of America.
Although faced with opposition from members of the BSS and a
lawsuit over ownership of the breed, the Boykin Spaniel Club
of America continued working for AKC recognition. Soon after
the inception of the BSBCA, over half of the BSBCA board
members abruptly resigned over leadership and objectives of
the group.
In July 2005, the club was named the Official AKC Parent
Club of the Boykin Spaniel. Althought they remained an AKC FSS
breed, the AKC felt the club had made progress to the point of
allowing them to begin participatine in AKC events. In January
2006, the breed was allowed to participat and earn titled in
AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests. In July 2006, they became eligible to
compete in AKC agility, obedience, rally and tracking. The AKC
does not allow Boykin Spaniels to compete in AKC retriever
tests. As the breed is a spaniel the BSCBAA chose to have the
breed run in AKC spaniel hunt tests instead of the traditional
Boykin retriever test. Historically, the Boykin Spaniel
Society has held both retriever and flushing (spaniel) tests.
The Boykin Spaniel Breeders Club focuses on weight pulls,
agility and non-hunting activites. The Boykin Spaniel Society
is the official registry of the Boykin Spaniel registering
over 21,000 dogs. There are approx 2480 members and over 500
Life members
Health Problems: Several Boykin Spaniels are born
with hip dysplasia each year. Puppies can be checked by a
local veterinarian for this problem at the age of 2 human year
old by an Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) x-ray or as
young as 4 months old by a PennHIP exam. All breeding stock
should receive either a passing PennHIP evaluation or an OFA
certification prior to being bred.
The breed is also known to have eye related problem. All
breeding stock should have a current (yearly) certificate from
CERF. Other lesser known problems include cardiac (heart),
patella luxation, elbow dysplasia, under bite jaw, and skin
problems.
The breed is recognized by CHIC (Canine Health Information
Center) and individuals tested for hip, CERF and patellas as
well as having permanent identification (micro-chip or tatto)
will receive a CHIC number and certificate. However, obtaining
a CHIC certification does not mean a dog has passed their
evaluations; it is mearly an indication that the owner was
responsible enough to check for the health diseases in the
Boykin Spaniel. There are only a few OFA "excellent"
Boykin spaniels.
Temperament: The personality is ever-bright, it
easily substitutes ball retrieving for turkey retrieving, and
will swim with agility in any aquatic environment. It is
excellent with children (better, some say, than its cousin
Cocker Spaniel) and is an instinctive swimmer.
The breed is a definite working dog with ideal retriever
instincts, enthusiasm, and endurance. They say that the Boykin
is the dog that "dosn't rock the boat". At just 30
plus pounds, the Boykin will not upset a canoe or smaller boat
while hunting marsh and flooded timber. This is a
southern-bred dog and does not have a second coat, so big
water in colder climes like the Chesapeake Bay and north are
not appropriate for this breed when used as a hunting dog.
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