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by Clarke C. Jonesphotos by Dwight Dyke

T wo stylish bird dogs poseas if frozen in the chilly,fall mist. “POINT!” yellsDave Pomfret, lifting hishat in the air while seatedastride his horse. A pair

of hunters approach, move past the dogs, flush thequail, and fire. e bird dogs are trained to besteady to shot and do not move. e downed birdsnow must be located and retrieved in the tall grass.Darin Strickland brings up a Boykin spaniel, itslong, wavy coat quivering with energy, and releasesit near the marked, fallen birds. e small, browndog disappears into the high broom-straw. Strick-land tracks the spaniel’s movements by watchingthe tops of the grasses sweep about in a zigzag pat-tern. Quickly, the Boykin emerges from the coverwith a quail, delivers it in precise fashion to Strick-land, and then dashes back into the grasses to findthe remaining bird.

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As the winning handler of the 2013AKC Pointing Breed Walking Gun DogChampionship, Dave Pomfret knows some-thing about bird dogs. He has owned pointersand setters since the 1970s and began field tri-aling them in the early 1980s. Now he uses aBoykin spaniel to retrieve the quail shot atBlandfield Plantation. “I have never had amore pleasant, competent, willing, and peo-ple-oriented dog. Of all the dogs I haveowned, it will do the job with the leastamount of training,” states Pomfret, who isthe upland manager at Blandfield.

“A Boykin wants to please you com-pletely in the worst way,” Dave continues.“ey are not kennel dogs. In my opinion,they want to be around people. And they arevery easy to house break.”

Eleven states have an official state dog,six of which could be called hunting dogs.While Virginia’s State Dog—the fox-hound—may have the most aristocraticheritage, South Carolina’s State Dog, theBoykin spaniel, could be said to have come tous through Divine Providence. e story goesthat in the early 1900s, Mr. Alexander Whitefound the dog on a Sunday morning near hisPresbyterian church in Spartanburg, SouthCarolina, and later turned it over to Mr. L.Whitaker Boykin of nearby Camden to train.

ere is speculation regarding the un-derlying genetic makeup of a Boykin: theChesapeake Bay retriever, the Americanwater spaniel, the springer spaniel, and cockerspaniel, all appear to have had a hand its cre-ation. e end result of that genetic soup is anot-too-big, enthusiastic, hunting dog readyfor upland wing shooting, turkey, and water-fowl hunts.

Harriet Clark runs Laurel Grove Shoot-ing Preserve in Sutherlin, and acquired herfirst Boykin around 1965 when her husbandwas given a Boykin puppy by one of his pa-tients. At the same time, another patient gaveher husband an Irish setter pup. “We weregoing on vacation at the time, so we left bothdogs with a dog trainer for hunting purposes.

When we came back, my husband was ex-pecting the trainer to be raving about the Irishsetter because it was thought to have a goodpedigree. e trainer said, ‘Friend, I don’tknow about that red dog but that little itty,bitty dog, now that’s a bird dog!’”

At Laurel Grove, Harriet’s Boykins re-trieve pheasant and quail. Having shot overHarriet’s Boykins, I can testify that they areeager hunters. “In my opinion, Boykins areeasy to train,” Harriet says. “I handled oneBoykin that won both the Boykin Spaniel So-ciety Flushing Championship and the BoykinSpaniel Society Retrieving Championship,and I am the only one who blew a whistle overher. I don’t give lessons, because I have noth-ing to teach anyone,” continues Clark,modestly, implying how easily trainable aBoykin spaniel is.

Even though the Boykin has a reputa-tion as a fast learner, some breeders cautionthat a new Boykin owner transitioning to aBoykin from working with, say, a Lab orChesapeake retriever should remember thatjust as all pointing breeds are not alike, neitherare all flushing breeds. Although eager toplease, a Boykin may “shut down” if it is over-corrected and therefore may require a gentlerhand.

Dave Pomfret recognizes that this smalldog does have its limitations and does notrecommend a Boykin to those who predomi-nately hunt geese, especially in Virginia’seastern marshes when the tide is out. Any wa-terfowl hunter who has had to trudge throughtwo or three feet of thick, muddy marsh gooknows it is tough going. However, Pomfretinsists Boykins do make great duck andpheasant dogs.

e Boykin has been described as “aduck dog that does not rock the boat.” If youhave ever been on the water in January in asmall jonboat, you know how important thatcan be.

Keith Bosher of Bluff Ridge Kennels inChesterfield likes the Boykin breed for its ver-satility in hunting different game. He

appreciates their drive to compete, perform,and please the handler, as well as their love ofcompanionship. “I am an avid duck hunterand have always had a Lab for duck hunting,”says Keith. “Now I depend on my Boykin forretrieving my ducks.”

Some people also use Boykins to huntturkey and work at dove shoots. Joey Cole-man of Rock Hill Boykin Spaniels inRichmond is passionate about the abilities ofa Boykin and its versatility. Coleman first dis-covered the Boykin when a friend took himturkey hunting and used a Boykin spaniel forflushing turkeys. Joey now owns eightBoykins; the oldest is 13 and the youngest, al-most two years. “Anyone who has hadhunting dogs knows eventually they [thedogs] get to an age when physically they can-not do it anymore. My two oldest are nowretired, so I need to keep training youngerdogs for the field.” Coleman adds, “What re-ally attracted me to the breed was in thatsmall, compact size came so much tenacity,versatility, and affection.”

Coleman’s research of the breed led himto the Boykin Spaniel Society, which is the of-ficial registrar of Boykin spaniels. Coleman isvery impressed with the society and the workthey do to improve the breed. e Boykin So-ciety works diligently to mitigate any healthissues inherent in the breed and aims to im-prove its bloodline. For that reason, theBoykin Spaniel Society established a BoykinSpaniel Foundation to provide support.Formed to further clinical studies and re-search on hereditary diseases, the foundationreimburses Boykin Society members a per-centage of the fees for testing and DNAevaluations conducted by the OrthopedicFoundation for Animals (OFA) and compen-sates registered breeders for additional healthtests. At various Boykin spaniel events aroundthe country, the foundation funds free heartand eye certification clinics.

Bill Crites serves on the board of direc-tors of the Boykin Spaniel Society and theBoykin Spaniel Foundation. He reports that,

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“I have never had a more pleasant,

competent, willing, and people-oriented dog . . .

A Boykin wants to please you completely in the

worst way.” –Dave Pomfret

“ is pilot program has been so successful inenticing members who might not otherwisehave their dog’s hips evaluated … Over thepast 15 years, Boykins have moved from thesecond most susceptible breed for hip dyspla-sia to 17th. During that time, the incidenceof hip dysplastic dogs has been reduced morethan 45 percent.”

As more than one Boykin owner point-ed out, a Boykin is not a kennel dog—itwants to be with you. e Boykin will shareyour couch with you as well as take cover be-side you in a duck blind. When huntingseason is over, Boykin owners often partici-pate in field trials or hunt tests sanctioned bythe Boykin Spaniel Society or the AKC. Itssmaller size (35–40 lbs. male) makes it idealfor those who are downsizing their lifestyleand still would like a hunting and travelingcompanion. Also, an excited 35-pound dogrunning to greet you when you come homecan be less intimidating than an enthusiastic,95-pound Labrador charging at you, doingthe same thing. Note that a Boykin’s longer-haired coat, which lies flat to moderatelycurly, will require more frequent grooming orbrushing than shorter-haired dogs. And justlike any retrieving dog that spends time in thewater, a Boykin’s ears should be checked peri-odically.

If a compact sporting dog suits yourlifestyle—for hunting, trialing, or just hang-ing out with the family—then you may wantto consider letting a chocolate brown Boykinown you. As Joey Coleman says, “Boykins arelike potato chips. Once you have one, youhave got to have another.” •

Clarke C. Jones spends his spare time with his blackLabrador retriever, Luke, hunting up good stories.You can visit Clarke and Luke on their website atwww.clarkecjones.com.

RESOURCES◆ The Boykin Spaniel Society has

recommended guidelines for purchasing a Boykin on their website at: www.boykinspaniel.org/pupbuyer.php

◆ You can find out more about train-ing or trialing with Boykin ownersin our area by logging on to: www.midatlanticboykin.com

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