Boykin Spaniel

Eager and energetic; sociable with people and dogs.
A Boykin Spaniel
Photo: Luke Faraone
Adult male
14–18 kg
30–40 lb
Adult female
11–16 kg
25–35 lb
Lifespan
10–15 yrs
Class · Field
also Family, Sport

What it's like

In temperament the Boykin is friendly, eager to please and energetic. It is a keen, hard-working dog in the field and affectionate at home, and it is usually sociable with people and other dogs.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Bonded to its family
Independence
Keen to work with you
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Size and growth

A Boykin Spaniel is a medium dog, about the weight of a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the lightest medium breeds.

The breed is a sturdy, compact spaniel with a solid liver or chocolate-brown coat. The coat ranges from flat to moderately wavy, with feathering on the ears, legs and chest. The eyes range from yellow through amber to brown and tone with the coat. The tail has traditionally been docked.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Boykin Spaniel puppy is already as heavy as a grown Pug. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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051015202m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
3.0–3.9 kg 6.6–8.6 lb
3.2–4.5 kg 7.1–9.9 lb
3 months
4.4–5.8 kg 9.7–12.8 lb
4.1–5.8 kg 9.0–12.8 lb
4 months
6.3–8.4 kg 13.9–18.5 lb
5.5–7.8 kg 12.1–17.2 lb
5 months
8.1–10.8 kg 17.9–23.8 lb
6.7–9.4 kg 14.8–20.7 lb
6 months
9.7–12.9 kg 21.4–28.4 lb
7.6–10.7 kg 16.8–23.6 lb
7 months
10.9–14.5 kg 24.0–32.0 lb
8.3–11.7 kg 18.3–25.8 lb
8 months
11.7–15.6 kg 25.8–34.4 lb
8.9–12.5 kg 19.6–27.6 lb
9 months
12.3–16.4 kg 27.1–36.2 lb
9.3–13.1 kg 20.5–28.9 lb
10 months
12.7–16.9 kg 28.0–37.3 lb
9.7–13.6 kg 21.4–30.0 lb
11 months
13.0–17.3 kg 28.7–38.1 lb
10.0–14.0 kg 22.0–30.9 lb
12 months
13.2–17.5 kg 29.1–38.6 lb
10.2–14.4 kg 22.5–31.7 lb
15 months
13.5–18.0 kg 29.8–39.7 lb
10.8–15.2 kg 23.8–33.5 lb
18 months
14–18 kg 30–40 lb
11.2–15.7 kg 24.7–34.6 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Boykin Spaniels live yet. The 10–15 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Boykin Spaniel comes from South Carolina's Wateree River swamp, where, according to its breed society, hunters in the 1900s wanted a small retriever of ducks and wild turkeys that would not overload a boat. Breed history holds that every Boykin descends from a stray found near a Spartanburg church and trained by L. Whitaker Boykin near Camden. South Carolina made it the official state dog in 19857,8,9.

The Boykin Spaniel took shape during the early twentieth century, as sportsmen around Camden, South Carolina, bred on from a foundation dog traditionally credited to Whit Boykin. Crosses with other breeds are believed to have shaped it, probably including the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the American Water Spaniel and springer and cocker spaniels, though early records are thin. The Boykin Spaniel Society was formed in the late nineteen-seventies to keep a registry, and the American Kennel Club later accepted the breed into its Sporting Group. It was bred to flush and retrieve, working from narrow boats in the swamps and small enough to be lifted back aboard. Hunters still use it on waterfowl, doves and upland game.

Breed standard

No FCI standard covers it; its group here is AKC Sporting group.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Boykin Spaniel figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

English Springer Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
English Cocker Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
American Water Spaniel
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Lagotto Romagnolo
Retrievers & water dogs · Medium
Or compare the Boykin Spaniel with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·