Field Spaniel Profile

history

The Field Spaniel was developed in England in the latter half of the 19th century to be a medium-sized, all-black dog, which was unusual at the time as most hunters preferred dogs with some white so they could be easily seen in the field. The Field Spaniel was created at the same time that dog shows were becoming popular and is considered the first spaniel developed for conformation showing while at the same time retaining his excellent skills in the field.

Until 1901, spaniels were divided by weight, so if one puppy in a litter grew to be more than 25 pounds, he was called a Field Spaniel. If he weighed less than 25 pounds, he was classified as a Cocker Spaniel.

The breed started out as a popular dog, but through some not-so-successful cross-breeding, fanciers turned him into a dog that was longer than he was tall, with short legs, a large head, and too much coat. That didn't make for a very good or very attractive hunting dog, and the public expressed its displeasure. The Field Spaniel's popularity bottomed out. Fortunately, a man named Mortimer Smith made the effort to bring back the Field Spaniel's functional good looks.

The AKC registered its first Field Spaniel, Colehill Rufus, in 1894, but when a fire destroyed a major kennel in 1909, the breed practically disappeared in the United States. The last registration of a Field Spaniel occurred in 1930. The next importation of Field Spaniels occurred in 1967, and those three dogs along with subsequent imports are the basis of the breed today. Despite his fine qualities, he remains a rare breed compared to other spaniels.

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