KENAI
Boykin Spaniel

The breeds · gun dog · flushing/retrieving

AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog

Boykin Spaniel.

Flushing spaniel and retriever: 'primarily a working gun dog', built lighter and smaller than the big retrievers to fit the section boats of the Wateree River; 'the little brown dog that doesn't rock the boat'.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

17 / 15INHeightdogs 16.75, bitches 15.25. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
25–40LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 35 lb (30 to 40); breed bitches 30 lb (25 to 35).

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 16.8 in (15.5 to 18) · bitches 15.3 in (14 to 16.5)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2019

Center is the midpoint of the AKC range. BSS standard gives the same range.

Weight

dogs 35 lb (30 to 40) · bitches 30 lb (25 to 35)

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society

AKC breed page agrees (25-35 lb). Center is the midpoint.

Coat

Flat to slightly wavy to curly, medium length; typically a single coat but may have undercoat; light fringe or feathering on ears, chest, legs and belly; a 'wash and wear' coat

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2019

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Medium-length, typically single coat with light feathering

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2019

Derived from the standard's coat description: medium coat, usually single, sits between the short-dense (4) and medium-double (3) bands; 3 chosen because undercoat may be present.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

The standard asks for 'hard muscled working condition' and 'great eagerness and energy for the hunt yet controllable in the field'

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2019

Qualitative; no registry minutes band exists for the breed.

Energy

AKC Energy Level 4 of 5 (between 'Moderate' and 'High Energy')

Breed clubAKC

No RKC exercise band exists for this breed; exercise_need_min is therefore not recorded. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · AKC Coat Grooming Frequency 3 of 5 ('Weekly' on the AKC scale of 1 Monthly / 3 Weekly / 5 Daily)

Breed clubAKC

No Royal Kennel Club page exists for the breed (not KC-recognised); AKC breed page band used as the fallback band. AKC 'Weekly' maps to KENAI 2 (weekly brush).

Grooming

Weekly brushing (AKC band 3 of 5); the standard calls the coat 'wash and wear' and allows trimming, never shaving

Breed clubAKC

Single source for the band; the AKC standard's 'wash and wear' line supports it.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Flushing spaniel and retriever: 'primarily a working gun dog', built lighter and smaller than the big retrievers to fit the section boats of the Wateree River; 'the little brown dog that doesn't rock the boat'

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2019

BSS history page and the BSS hunt test rules (upland and retriever tests) agree the breed is run both ways.

Primary game

Ducks and wild turkeys (the breed was bred by South Carolina hunters for the Wateree River Swamp); today run on upland birds as well

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society

BSS upland test birds: pheasant, quail, chukar (pigeons in Novice); water series uses mallards.

Also used on

Pheasant, quail and chukar in the BSS upland stakes (pigeons allowed in Novice); mallard ducks or upland game birds in the water series

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society, 2021

From the Birds section (VIII) of the BSS Upland Hunt Test rules.

Range

Close (within gun range)

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society, 2021

The rules: 'work at a reasonable distance from their handlers, neither too close ... nor too far (which presents a difficulty for gunners in bringing down birds)'.

Search pattern

Hunts at a suitable gun range 'showing a fine spaniel pattern'; must work neither too close nor too far from the handler; intelligent use of wind and terrain

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society, 2021

Open stake standard, BSS Upland Hunt Test rules.

Field trial standard

BSS Upland Hunt Test (Novice, Intermediate, Open): find, flush and retrieve; Open dogs must flush with intent and be absolutely steady to wing and shot on land and water. BSS Retriever Hunt Test: marked land and water retrieves, blinds (Open: double land, double water, a blind, a walk-up), delivery to hand, into a boat or blind

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society, 2021

From the Purpose and stake sections of both BSS rulebooks (2021). The BSS also runs retrieving and upland field trials.

Water work

Water is core to the breed's test life: every BSS upland stake includes a water series, and the BSS Retriever Hunt Test is built around marked water retrieves, water blinds and boat or blind delivery

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Society, 2021

Upland rules: 'the incorporated water work is also important and should be judged accordingly.'

Cold water

3 of 5 · Medium, often single coat; bred for South Carolina swamp retrieving, not late-season northern water

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2019

Derived from coat (akc_std) plus the breed's water work (bss_history, bss_retriever).

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

25.3% · 6,918 OFA hip evaluations to date: 73.0% normal (5.3% excellent, 47.9% good, 19.7% fair), 25.3% dysplastic (15.5% mild, 8.5% moderate, 1.4% severe); rank 33 of OFA breeds

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Cumulative all-years figure; the service prints no period, so 'to date' = the read date. Hou et al. 2013 (public individual records 1974-2009, 1,612 Boykin hip scores) ranked the Boykin highest of 74 breeds on a 0.07-6% scale; the OFA's own summary statistic is far higher, exactly the under-reporting gap Hou's authors described.

Elbow dysplasia

2.7% · 2,167 OFA elbow evaluations to date: 97.2% normal, 2.7% abnormal (2.4% grade 1, 0.3% grade 2, 0% grade 3)

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Cumulative all-years figure; the service prints no period, so 'to date' = the read date.

Most common disorders

Hip dysplasia, juvenile cataracts, patellar luxation, Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) and Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC) are the conditions the parent club lists as most frequent. The BSS checklist adds degenerative myelopathy and pulmonic stenosis screening. Minor et al. 2011 confirmed DNM1 (EIC) carriers and affected, collapsing homozygotes in Boykin Spaniels

Breed clubBoykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America

No VetCompass or UK Kennel Club survey covers this US breed; club lists plus one peer-reviewed genetic survey (minor2011) stand in. OFA DNA registry to date: EIC 1,545 tested, 11.8% carriers, 1.0% affected; CEA 1,461 tested, 25.8% carriers, 1.0% affected; DM 1,477 tested, 11.7% carriers, 0.9% affected; patellas 2,654 evaluated, 4.2% abnormal; CAER eyes 4,431 evaluated, 6.9% abnormal (distichiasis 14.1%). (OFA data service, read Oct 5 2026.)

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Boykin Spaniel yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Boykin Spaniel against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 11 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Boykin, the little brown dog

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