BOYKIN SPANIEL PUPPIES

BOYKIN SPANIEL PUPPIES - THE BOYKIN SPANIEL SOCIETY ®

Are you looking to learn more about the Boykin spaniel? You've landed in exactly the best place! Who could possibly be a better source than the family who developed this breed a hundred years ago? South Carolinian Whit Boykin perfected a specialty breed of hunting dog: a joyful, devoted family dog with the exceptional zeal for work, an enthusiastic retriever and accomplished in the quest and flush of upland birds. Compact yet bold and physical.

The Boykin Spaniel Society's mission is to improve on historic accomplishments so that the future of the breed is ensured. We do that by promoting responsible breeding practices of healthy purebred Boykin Spaniels, and by directing the public to information concerning the attributes - good and bad - of the Boykin spaniel.

The Boykin Spaniel Society® is our brand. It stands for our quality, our history, and most important, our devoted little brown dogs.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The dogs that started it all are HERE!

Click here to view the Boykin Spaniel Society Foundation Stock Dog photos

THE BOYKIN SPANIEL

The Boykin Spaniel was first bred by South Carolina hunters during the 1900's to provide the ideal dog for hunting ducks and wild turkeys in the Wateree River Swamp. Hunters on South Carolina's Wateree River needed a small rugged dog compactly built for boat travel and able to retrieve on land and water. In those days wagons, wooden boats and trains afforded hunters access to the game rich corridors along the river. But boat travel limited what hunters could carry. The typical heavyweight retriever was a drawback in a craft already loaded with men, guns, provisions and other gear.

On the Wateree River in the early part of this century hunters often used a take apart "section boat." Held together by bolts to form a large craft, the three sections with seats removed could be "nested" to fit neatly into a wagon or train's baggage car. Hunters also used sections as one-man boats just large enough for one person and a compact retriever.

L. W. "Whit" Boykin (1861-1932), a planter, land appraiser and well-known sportsman of the Boykin community just outside Camden, South Carolina, along with his kinsmen the Canteys, experimented with many breeds to resolve the problems posed by their Wateree hunting trips. With selective breeding and a little luck, Boykin developed a small multipurpose retriever now known as the Boykin spaniel.