Field Spaniel

The earliest Spaniels originated in Spain, which explains their name, but most of the modern breeds were developed in Britain. Well into the 1800s, the several British Spaniels used by hunters for flushing gamebirds from cover were not classified by breed, as they are today. Rather, they were organized by size and job description – the larger Spaniels were called Springers, and the smaller ones Cockers, named after the woodcocks they excelled in flushing.

With the onset of dog shows in England in the 1870’s, categorising specific types and breeds became important, and the name Field Spaniel was used to describe the Spaniel type born of Cocker, English Springer and Sussex crosses. Already skilful hunters, these early Fields found immediate success in the show ring.

Field Spaniels were one of the first breeds to be shown and registered in America. Their show careers trace back to the early 1880’s with records showing that a black Field Spaniel was an American Champion by 1883, a year before the American Kennel Club was founded.

Unfortunately, the Field’s accomplishments in the arena encouraged breeders to produce a showy Field Spaniel, with an extremely long, low shape that was described as a “grotesque caricature of a spaniel”. These short-sighted breeding practices destroyed the Field’s value as a gundog and introduced health problems to the breed. The Field’s decline was as rapid as its ascent, the breed soon teetered on the brink of extinction.

During the mid-20th century the Field was resurrected by dedicated breeders who re-introduced  Cocker and Springer blood, rebuilding the dog along its original lines as a longer-legged dog that was once again suitable to be used for field work, retrieving game from land or water. In the decades since, the Field Spaniel’s rise and fall and rise-again has served as a cautionary tale for dog breeders.

Nowadays, the breed has evolved into one that is fit for both the show ring and the home, with no difference between working dogs and show bred dogs, and it is the mission of Field Spaniel Societies around the world for the breed to remain as such. While she retains her excellent hunting skills, the Field is mainly a family companion and show dog and is rarely seen in the field.