Field Spaniel

The Field Spaniel is an active dog. Whilst calmer and less ‘busy’ than the Cocker, the Field Spaniel is still a spaniel, with the brains and desire to work that is common across all the spaniel types. Ideally suited to an outdoor, country life, the Field Spaniel is an excellent mix of sweet temperament and working ability, in the right home.

Country of Origin: England Developed approximately 150 years ago from a mixture of Cocker and Sussex Spaniels, and possibly others, the breed fell out of favour during both World Wars. In the 1960’s breed enthusiasts revived the Field Spaniel by introducing Cocker and Springer Spaniel blood. Considered to be sweet, affectionate and mild, the Field Spaniel remains a rare breed with many people favouring the more active and flashily marked Cocker Spaniel or the larger Springers.

The Field Spaniel needs to have a balanced diet including all the main nutrient groups and a constant supply of fresh water. It's also important to conduct regular?body condition?scores to ensure you keep your dog in ideal shape, and remember to feed your pet at least twice daily in accordance with the feeding guidelines of their particular food.

Two or more hours of dog exercise per day ideally via a variety of activities that engage this clever dog’s mind, as well as their body. Versatile and intelligent, the Field Spaniel will do well in a range of dog sports and competitions, as long as they are with their family and kept well entertained.

Health and common issues

The Field Spaniel is generally a hardy breed. As with many breeds, they can suffer from various hereditary eye disorders, and hip and elbow dysplasia (joint conditions that can be painful and lead to mobility problems). Eye testing and hip scoring of dogs prior to breeding is therefore important.

Space requirements

The Field Spaniel does not require lavish housing, but will want to spend time with their family, and will require a securely fenced garden and access to interesting and varied country walks. Country or rural suburbs will suit the Field Spaniel best as they are likely to find the busy, noisy city environments overstimulating and stressful.

Training field spaniels

The Field Spaniel will enjoy a wide range of activities, as long as they are working with their owner or family, they’ll have fun. Field Spaniels find carrying and holding objects in their mouths inherently reinforcing, so early and consistent training in retrieving to hand, and being willing to swap items for toys and treats is vital to ensure misunderstandings do not occur. This is a busy dog who likes to follow scent and explore the open countryside so a strong recall and good training to ignore livestock is a must. Easily motivated to work for toys or treats, the Field Spaniel is fun to train and work with.

Best family dog breeds

The Field Spaniel is an excellent family dog for those with children old enough to understand how to behave around dogs and ideally help with training and enjoy long country walks or dog sports. As spaniels enjoy picking up and carrying objects it is important to teach the dog to retrieve and swap and to teach children not to take items from the dog or chase the dog to get items back as this can lead to behavioural problems. While many dogs are traditionally thought of as being good with children, all dogs and children need to be taught to get on with each other and be safe together. Even so, dogs and young children should never be left alone together and adults should supervise all interactions between them.

Did you know?

The Field Spaniel is one of Britain’s Vulnerable Breeds, with the highest number of puppy registrations in the last five years being only 80! The Vulnerable Breeds list was created to highlight breeds at risk of disappearing and it is a shame the Field Spaniel is not more popular, as being calmer, they are often far better suited to family life than the more popular Cockers, Working Cockers or Springers.