26d • Breed of the Week
English Springer Spaniel
A Hurricane in a Teacup
One of the earliest mention of spaniels in England was in 1576 by English physician John Caius in his book Treatise of Englishe Dogs. In his book spaniels were described and separated by function then later in 1801 Sydenham Edwards suggested that they be divided into Springing, Hawking Spaniel, or Starter; and the Cocking or Cocker Spaniel.
The English Springer, alongside other spaniels, primarily grew in the counties of Norfolk and Shropshire. They were originally separated by size: less than 25lbs would be a cocker spaniel and those over 25lbs would be called springers. During this time both types of spaniels were born in the same litters, and both had a function: to serve as a hunting dog. The smaller spaniels, cockers, were used to hunt woodcock, hence the breed’s name, and the larger spaniels, springers, would “spring” or flush the gamebirds into the air. In the 1600s these spaniels were further categorized as land spaniels and were used to not only flush out birds but also rabbits.
In 1902 the English Springer Spaniel was officially recognized by the English Kennel Club and recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1910. In 1914 the first English Field Champion was crowned, FTC Rivington Sam, and is considered one of the foundation sires for modern field lines.
The Springers job back then is similar to what the field line is bred for in modern day: bird hunting and retrieve game. Whether the hunters used nets, bows, birds of prey or rifles to hunt down the flushed birds the Springer Spaniel remained very important and became known as a gun dog.
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English Springer Spaniel
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