A medium-sized flushing and retrieving dog known for its rich brown coat, the Boykin Spaniel is avid, eager, merry, and trainable. This mellow housedog and tenacious bird dog was once South Carolina’s best-kept secret.
The Boykin Spaniel should do well on a high-quality dog food, whether commercially manufactured or home-prepared with your veterinarian’s supervision and approval. Any diet should be appropriate to the dog’s age (puppy, adult, or senior). Some dogs are prone to getting overweight, so watch your dog’s calorie consumption and weight level. Treats can be an important aid in training, but giving too many can cause obesity. Learn about which human foods are safe for dogs, and which are not. Check with your vet if you have any concerns about your dog’s weight or diet. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.
The Boykin’s medium-length, wavy coat requires only minimal maintenance. A weekly brushing will help to remove dirt and loose hair and keep him looking his best, and an occasional bath will help to keep him clean-smelling. As with all breeds, the nails should be trimmed regularly, as overly long nails can cause discomfort and problems walking and running.
Boykin Spaniels are generally healthy dogs, and responsible breeders screen their stock for health conditions such as hip dysplasia, juvenile cataracts, and exercise-induced collapse. The Boykin’s ears should be checked regularly for signs of infection and cleaned when necessary—this can be done with soft gauze and an ear-cleaning solution, which the dog’s breeder or veterinarian can recommend. The teeth should be brushed often, using a toothpaste designed for dogs.
Recommended Health Tests from the National Breed Club:
Read the Official Breed Club Health Statement.
The Boykin Spaniel is among the handful of AKC breeds wholly developed in the 20th century. Boykin is a small South Carolina community, population approximately 100 souls, named for a founding resident, Lemuel Whitaker “Whit” Boykin. As the Boykin Spaniel origin story goes, around 1900 a man named Alexander White found a little brown spaniel outside the church in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he attended services. White gave the young male spaniel the uninspiring name Dumpy. An avid sportsman, White took Dumpy out hunting with his retrievers, and to White’s delight Dumpy showed great enthusiasm and instincts for water retrieves and more than held his own with the pedigreed bird dogs.
White sent Dumpy for training to his hunting partner, community patriarch Whit Boykin, who was the area’s leading dog man. Boykin was fascinated with the brown spaniel, who turned out to be as skillful on flushing and retrieving wild turkeys as he was at duck hunting. Boykin built a new breeding program around Dumpy, utilizing crosses to such breeds as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Cocker, English Springer, and American Water spaniels. The result was the upbeat gundog we know today as the Boykin Spaniel.
From the breed’s beginning, sportsmen working Carolina’s swampy terrain were enamored of the breed’s intensity, versatility, and effortless balanced gait. The Boykin’s popularity was for years restricted to the immediate area of its birth. Eventually, though, the Boykin caught on with bird hunters around the country, especially on the East Coast. The keys to the breed’s success were its unbridled energy in the field, the ability to work on land or lake, and a sweet, gentle manner at home.
South Carolinians have made the Boykin Spaniel their official state dog and celebrate September 1 as Boykin Spaniel Day. The Boykin gained full AKC recognition in 2009, joining the elite assembly of the AKC’s “all-American” dog breeds.