KENAI
Field Spaniel

The breeds · gun dog · flushing

AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 123

Field Spaniel.

Well-balanced, substantial hunter-companion of medium size, built for activity and endurance in heavy cover and water; a flushing spaniel.

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.

13.1YRMedian lifespan12.5 to 13.4, measured on real dogs.
18 / 17INHeightdogs 18, bitches 17. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
40–55LBWeight, all linesbreed 47.5 lb (40 to 55).
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 18 in (17 to 19) · bitches 17 in (16 to 18)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

Center is the standard's ideal; low/high are the accepted deviation.

Weight

47.5 lb (40 to 55)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The AKC standard prints no weight ('solidly built, with moderate bone'), so the UK standard is the registry source. Center is the midpoint of the UK range.

Coat

Single, moderately long, flat or slightly wavy, silky and glossy, dense and water repellent; moderate setter-like feathering on chest, underbody, backs of legs and buttocks; pasterns clean to the ground; black, liver, golden liver or shades thereof, self-coloured or bi-coloured with roaning or ticking, tan points allowed; sable disqualified

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

The UK standard: long, flat, glossy, silky, dense and weatherproof; abundant feathering on chest, under body and behind legs (rkc_std).

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 · Single coat, moderately long, flat or slightly wavy, silky and glossy, dense and water repellent, with moderate setter-like feathering

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2020

Derived from the standard's coat description: a single coat (which argues for 4) but moderately long, dense and feathered (which argues for 2); placed at 3 as the middle reading. Not a measurement.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.1 years (12.5 to 13.4)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Small sample for this breed. The breed is not among the 18 breeds in Teng et al. 2022, so no life_expectancy_yr partner is recorded. The 2004 UK Kennel Club survey reported a median age at death of 11 years 8 months from 68 deaths (kc_2004).

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than 2 hours = 150.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

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

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC grooming band); coat length medium; sheds

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than once a week = 3. The AKC standard limits trimming to what enhances the natural appearance and penalizes overabundant or cottony coat as impractical for field work.

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

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

Role

Well-balanced, substantial hunter-companion of medium size, built for activity and endurance in heavy cover and water; a flushing spaniel

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2020

The UK standard: 'well-balanced, noble, upstanding, sporting Spaniel built for activity and endurance' (rkc_std). The RKC lists it as a vulnerable native breed (rkc_breed).

Primary game

Upland game birds in heavy cover (the breed was developed in blackthorn country in the English Midlands); flushed and retrieved for the gun

Breed clubAKC, 2006

Neither the standard nor the club names a single bird.

Range

Close: a flushing spaniel hunts within suitable gun range, which the AKC spaniel rulebook defines as effective shotgun range, about 30 to 40 yards

Breed clubAKC, 2013

Search pattern

Efficient ground-covering trot it can hold all day, extending to a faster trot or run when scent is easy; uses its nose more than its feet and investigates cover likely to hold game rather than every inch; shows a reasonable pattern but abandons a strict windshield-wiper quartering once it strikes a scent cone, following its nose to the bird with the tail growing more intense; may pause momentarily before putting the bird to flight; slower than field-bred Springers and Cockers

Breed clubAKC, 2006

The parent club's description for hunt test judges; the AKC spaniel rulebook recognises that some breeds cover less ground less rapidly but must still find, flush and retrieve efficiently (akc_sht).

Field trial standard

AKC spaniel hunting tests (Junior, Senior, Master): find, flush and retrieve birds to hand on land within suitable gun range, plus marked water retrieves; Master dogs must be steady to wing and shot, retrieve from water at 40-45 yards, run a 30-40 yard blind water retrieve and 'hunt dead' at 55-60 yards, and hunt with a logical pattern and experienced independence

Breed clubAKC, 2013

The rulebook tells judges they must know the hunting characteristics of the breeds they judge; the parent club's hunting description is written for that purpose (akc_hunting_style).

Water work

Most Fields swim well; some have a water entry to rival any retriever breed, others a more deliberate entry; swimming speed moderately fast; the standard calls for a dog built for heavy cover and water with webbed feet; every AKC spaniel test level includes a water retrieve

Breed clubAKC, 2006

Standard wording from akc_std; test requirement from akc_sht.

Cold water

3 of 5 · Dense, water-repellent single coat and webbed feet on a dog the standard says is built for activity and endurance in heavy cover and water; the parent club says most Fields swim well, with water entry ranging from deliberate to retriever-like and moderately fast swimming

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2020

Derived from coat plus the breed's water work as described in akc_std and akc_hunting_style: a land spaniel that works water, no undercoat. Placed at 3.

How common the problems are

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

Hip dysplasia

16.4% · 16.4% dysplastic of 1,613 OFA hip evaluations on record (all data through Oct 2026); 82.1% normal (12.5% excellent, 54.7% good, 15.0% fair); mild 9.7%, moderate 6.0%, severe 0.7%; breed rank 72

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: radiographs are submitted by owners, so affected dogs are under-reported and true prevalence is higher. Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock. The UK Field Spaniel Health Charity notes that some hips expected to score badly are held back from the BVA/KC scheme, distorting the UK breed mean score (fshc_schemes).

Elbow dysplasia

0.8% · 0.8% abnormal of 650 OFA elbow evaluations on record (grade 1 0.8%, grade 2 0.0%, grade 3 0.0%); 99.1% normal; breed rank 149

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Same voluntary-registry caveat as hips; elbows are not on the parent club's recommended list, so submitted elbows are few.

Most common disorders

UK Kennel Club 2004 survey (68 deaths, 143 disease reports in 131 live dogs; 23.8% response): causes of death led by cancer 29.4% (liver, unspecified, brain), old age 17.6%, neurologic 16.2% (seizures, spinal paralysis), stroke 8.8%, cardiac 4.4%, liver failure 4.4%; live-dog conditions led by musculoskeletal 21.0% (arthritis, cruciate rupture, hip dysplasia, patellar luxation), reproductive 21.0% (false pregnancy, infertility, pyometra), skin 9.1%, cardiac 5.6% (heart murmur), immune-mediated 5.6%, hypothyroidism 4.9%, eye 4.9% (cataracts, dry eye). The UK Field Spaniel Health Charity runs biennial heart auscultation days because a small number of Field Spaniels have had heart problems, and supports a Kennel Club Genetics Centre study of late-onset epilepsy in the breed (fshc_schemes, fshc_news). OFA tables: thyroid 90.1% normal, 7.4% equivocal, 2.6% autoimmune or idiopathic of 798 tested; advanced cardiac 9.3% abnormal of 269 exams; eyes 2.9% abnormal of 1,984 exams (ofa_stats).

Breed clubThe Kennel Club / BSAVA Scientific Committee, 2006

Owner survey of club-connected dogs, two decades old; no VetCompass paper on the breed was found. The OFA thyroid split (autoimmune 0.4%, compensative autoimmune 1.8%, idiopathic 0.4%) is summed here.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; 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 Field 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.

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. 12 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Field

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