Boykin spaniel in England?

[mattm337]

This is my first post on the forum and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting a different perspective on gundog training than is commonly found in the States. This is not a true training question.

I'm a Boykin Spaniel owner, a breed originally developed in South Carolina as a duck-hunting dog that is also proficient on upland birds. Anyway, my question is this:

The November issue of Shooting Gazette, page 29, shows a dog described as a Boykin Spaniel, named Cocoa, owned by a Major Dicky Waygood. The dog, while a lovely spaniel, looks like no Boykin I've ever seen, as the color is far, far outside of the breed standard, which specifies a rich liver or dark chocolate alone. Has anyone ever seen the dog? If I knew how, I would attach the picture from the article.

The shoot took place on Washbrook Farm, Northamptonshire. Waygood is described elsewhere in the article as a Boykin owner a second time. I was stunned to hear of a Boykin owner in England considering how difficult I've heard it it is to import dogs.

As an aside, "Charlie's Chatter" is part of my morning reading. This is a great forum.

Matt

[trekmoor]

Welcome to the forum Matt I know of no Boykins in this country .... as far as I am aware yours is the first. I made enquiries about getting one of the Boykin breed a few years ago to a well known American Boykin fan. I was pretty much told not to bother too much as Britain already has it's own Boykin ..... the cocker spaniel. I took the man at his word and ended up ....... with Charlie !

Glad you enjoy Charlie's Chatter.

Wullie

[MTS]

I heard of someone with a Boykin in the UK about five years ago but can't remember who.

[mattm337]

Willie,

Thanks for the welcome. I don't live in the UK, but in Kentucky. Makes perfect sense to me about Boykins in the UK; that's why I was stunned when I read the article. Boykins here, as a rule, tend to fall in between cockers and springers in size.

How I wish we had the opportunities to pick up like you do. I enjoy the dog work as much, if not more, than the gunning.

[trekmoor]

Picking up is great. Folk pay me for what I enjoy doing anyway ! Cockers can easily do this kind of work and I'd expect Boykins to enjoy it just as much. I have no way of knowing for sure but I have a feeling cockers - perhaps - hunt a bit differently from Boykins ?

Wullie

[mattm337]

English cockers are rare in my part of the US. From what I have seen, they are pretty similar hunters to the Boykin style, perhaps a touch faster. The smaller Boykins (<30lbs) would be especially close in terms of the ability to squeeze into smaller coverts and the like. Mine is ~34 lbs and is fairly tall for a Boykin (about 19" at the shoulder) which would limit her just a touch. Most of the driven shooting here isn't driven at all, but a poor substitute. Hunt clubs will use large towers from which to flight the pheasants, the guns in a rough ring surrounding the tower. After each "drive," the positions will rotate. The quality varies largely depending on the terrain and the skill of the gun. Regardless, it's a weak simulation. I've only heard of two real driven shoots in the US, and they are enormously expensive.

All in all, though my experience of the other spaniels is limited, a Boykin hunts very close in style to the others. If anything, the concentration of Boykins is greatest in the southeast US and many of the hunting opportunities are in areas where the cover isn't as dense as it tends to be from the training I've read of yours, which reads more closely to what American ruffed grouse hunters would experience.

Take that for what you will; B is my first hunting dog and she is primarily a non-slip retriever in the tests and hunting we do.

[morleyg]

Hey matt- welcome aboard.

Thought this may help viewtopic.php?f=8&t=284&hilit=Upload+photos

Would be good to see a few photos of your Boykin!

G

[mattm337]

Morley,

Thanks for the link to the picture thread. Here are some pictures. Remember, Americans when hunting have a camo fetish. We don't do tweeds, ties, and plus fours

http://s1166.photobucket.com/albums/q603/mattm337/

The one photo with another dog is her sire. He's rather large, not overweight, just a big Boykin, at 46 lbs, where B varies from 32-34 depending on the time of the year.

[rewster68]

Spoke to Major Dicky Waygoods brother today, it is a Boykin.

Rewster.

[mattm337]

Rewster,

Thanks for getting in touch. I guess there's a major difference in coat color in the UK versus any seen in the U.S. Any idea how he got interested in Boykins?