Boykin Spaniel - History

History

The first Boykin Spaniel, or the precursor of today's breed, was reportedly a small, stray spaniel type dog that befriended a banker walking from his home to the First Presbyterian Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina around 1905-1910. Alexander L. White (1860-1942) liked the little dog and took it home. After the dog showed some aptitude for retrieving, White sent the dog called "Dumpy" to his longtime friend and hunting partner Whit Boykin. L. Whitaker Boykin (1861–1932) experimented with crossbreeding different breeds, and the resulting dog is named after him. In Boykin's hands the little stray developed into a superb turkey dog and waterfowl retriever. This dog became the foundation stock for the Boykin spaniel. The dogs had to be small enough to ride in the small boats used by hunters in the swamps. The Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Springer Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, and the American Water Spaniel may have been used in the development of the breed. The area in which the breed developed, around Camden, South Carolina, was a resort area, and the breed was noticed by visitors and so spread around the United States.

The Boykin Spaniel Society was formed in 1977 and began maintaining a studbook in 1979. The BSS studbook has been "closed" since 1982, meaning that only dogs from BSS registered parents may be registered with the BSS.

The Boykin Spaniel was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1985. UKC does not close its studbooks so dogs from the BSS or the AKC may be registered into the UKC studbook at any time.

In the 1990s a group of fanciers formed the Boykin Spaniel Club And Breeders Association of America in order to achieve AKC recognition of the breed and to gain access to the AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests and AKC Spaniel Field Trials held throughout the nation. The BSCBAA was the first Boykin Spaniel organization to form and maintain a "Code of Ethics". In 2007 the Boykin Spaniel Club And Breeders Association of America was recognized by the AKC as the parent club for the breed.

In 1997 the breed entered the American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service recording program. In January 2006 the breed became eligible to compete in AKC Spaniel Hunt tests for official AKC titles. In July 2006 the Boykin Spaniel was eligible to earn AKC titles in AKC agility, tracking, rally obedience, and regular obedience. On January 1, 2008 the Boykin Spaniel became part of the American Kennel Club's Miscellaneous Group. In the April 2009 board meeting, the AKC voted to move the Boykin Spaniel into the Sporting Group. In December 2009 the Boykin Spaniel officially became an AKC registered breed.

The American Kennel Club studbook for the Boykin Spaniel is currently open. It is proposed to remain open until January 2015. During this time period all UKC and BSS registered dogs may be dual or triple registered to include the AKC registration. Even after the studbook is closed, the AKC parent club can request that it be reopened to allow more dogs to be registered at any time to expand the gene pool.

At the same time, the Boykin Spaniel Society continued to pursue its vision of the breed. In a position statement, the Boykin Spaniel Society board of directors states that use of other registries by their members may foster breeding standards that "are inconsistent with the principles and objectives of the BSS", although members are not prohibited from triple or dual-registering their dogs. The Boykin Spaniel Society has a Code of Ethics for breeders, and sponsors field trial events and breed rescue. In addition to the BSS, the UKC, and the AKC registries, the attractive and good natured Boykin Spaniel is also recognized by a number of minor kennel clubs and other clubs and dog registry businesses, and promoted as a rare breed pet. Unfortunately, many well-known breeders have promoted the practice of having multiple litters each year. Over the decades this practice has snowballed into a quickly growing population of this breed and likely the cause of the reported health issues. The number of recorded litters in the BSS and UKC show that the Boykin Spaniel is quickly becoming one of the most common spaniel breeds in America.