Field Spaniels

Field Spaniels belong to the type of gun dogs originally developed for bird and small game hunting. All spaniels are small or medium sized dogs with long hanging ears and long coats. The most desired features of these dogs are a good nose, a soft mouth, and endurance. Working spaniels have to fetch game in woodlands, open fields, marshlands, and meadows. The word “Spaniel” means “Spanish.”

Field Spaniels were the first spaniels developed specially for conformation shows. The main aim of the breeders was to create a uniform solid coat color in the new breed, while most working spaniels were spotted. Several solid-colored breeds were used to create a new look: the Cocker Spaniels, the Irish Water Spaniel and other black spaniels. When the new breed became very popular, breeders focused on improving its looks, as they didn’t have to care about the working abilities and health of the breed.

Breeding to the Basset Hound and the Sussex Spaniel produced a low legged dog with a bunch of hereditary health problems. In the early 20th century, there were only a few original Field Spaniels of a breeder quality. To save Field Spaniels from the extinction, the breeders had to improve the breed’s genetics. They crossed them with the English Springer Spaniel and managed to get rid of typical health disorders. Unfortunately, it didn’t help to restore the glory and popularity of the breed. The Field Spaniel is a rare breed today.

According to another theory, the Field Spaniel is a basic form and a general term for many spaniels, like the English Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Clumber Spaniel, Welsh Springer Spaniel, and Sussex Spaniel. Specified spaniels developed from the Field Spaniel. All spaniel breeds became excellent in one or several areas of hunting, but the Field Spaniel was a universal gundog and lost its popularity because of it. Field Spaniels remained only as show dogs today.

Like all spaniels, the Field Spaniel is a very social dog that can adapt to any family and any lifestyle. It makes a good companion dog for large families, playmate for children and therapy dog for the elderly. A strong hunting instincts makes Field Spaniels unreliable around birds and smaller pets, but they do well with cats and dogs.