Laravel

The Boykin Spaniel is a medium-sized spaniel that originated in the United States and is sometimes affectionately referred to as a "Swamp Poodle". They are a bit larger than a Cocker Spaniel and smaller than a Springer Spaniel. This dog breed was developed in the 20th century, so it is relatively new in terms of established dog breeds. One of the facts about Boykin Spaniels is that the Boykin Spaniel’s origin story is like a local legend from the small town of Boykin, South Carolina.

Lemuel Whitaker Boykin, known to his friends as “Whit” was a founding resident for which the town was named. He was also an avid hunter and the leading dog man in the area. Another local man named Alexander White found a little brown spaniel around 1900, named him “Dumpy”, and put him to work. Despite his unfortunate name, Dumpy excelled at water retrieval and flushing out game, and he fit right in with White’s other pedigreed bird dogs. Alexander White brought the dog to Whit Boykin and, as they say, the rest is history.

Whit Boykin was so impressed with this little brown spaniel’s bird dog skills that he created a completely new breeding program around him. Boykin included other notable bird dogs in the breeding program with Dumpy like the Springer, Cocker, and American Water spaniels as well as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever. After several generations and successful crosses, we have today’s Boykin Spaniel.

The Boykin Spaniel was a gundog with an upbeat personality, eagerness to work, versatility, and more. They could work endlessly on land, lake, or swampy, marshy areas and then come home to be a sweet companion to a family. The Boykin Spaniel soon caught the attention of bird hunters across the country and quickly spread up the East Coast of the United States. The American Kennel Club fully recognized the Boykin Spaniel in 2009 as a member of the Sporting Group.