All About
Field Spaniel

Larger than a Cocker Spaniel and smaller than a Springer Spaniel, the Field Spaniel is a medium-sized bundle of energy. They have steadier temperaments than their spaniel counterparts and are generally friendly to everyone, even though they are usually not outgoing. They love the outdoors and are at their happiest when involved in family activities such as swimming, hiking, biking and hunting. They are incredibly agile dogs, allowing them to maneuver quickly in heavy brush and marsh to flush birds from their hiding places. Field Spaniels love people and consider all members of the family to be best friends. They also love water and have a reputation for creating quite a mess with their water dish, splashing around as if it is a tiny wading pool. Their temperament, trainability and patience with children makes Field Spaniels make an excellent choice for a first time dog owner, if that person is committed to an active lifestyle.

Field Spaniels adore their meals and treats. “Owners often joke that we have Food Spaniels,” says one breed devotee. Fields can be quite motivated in training by their drive for food. It is generally agreed that the breed will thrive on a good-quality, balanced diet that is nutritionally bioavailable. Give table scraps sparingly, if at all, especially avoiding cooked bones and foods with high fat content. Learn about which human foods are safe for dogs, and which are not.

The lovely single coat is one of the breed’s most attractive features but requires regular care and maintenance. Weekly brushing and combing will keep the coat shiny and help to reduce shedding. Fields may need minimal trimming about the head and feet. The breed is not to be body clipped as some other spaniels. Their ears should be checked regularly for any signs of infection, and the teeth should be brushed often, using a toothpaste designed for dogs.

Moderately active indoors, Field Spaniels aren't recommended for apartment or condo living. They do best with a large yard to run in. With their strong hunting instincts, it's best that they have a securely fenced yard so they don't wander off into trouble.Locking this breed away in a kennel or chaining him in the yard with minimal human contact will make him neurotic. He does best when given a great deal of exercise with chances to run and explore. Just be aware that he has a tendency to follow his nose. He will also enjoy long walks on leash.

Major concerns: CHD
Minor concerns: otitis externa, patellar luxation
Occasionally seen: PRA, SAS
Suggested tests: hip, eye
Life span: 12-14 years

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.