The Sussex Spaniel, A Gentleman’s Dog

This beautiful animal was one of the first dogs to be registered in the AKC, in 1884 when the AKC was first started; he was among the first ten to be more exact.

But, even though he was among the first to be registered, the Sussex spaniel goes back a lot farther then that, the Sussex spaniel was a gentleman’s dog, a gentleman’s hunting dog, the Sussex spaniel was preferred because he is a great dog for flushing game out of the dens underbrush.

Why was the Sussex spaniel so good at this? Because…. the Sussex spaniel is a dog built low to the ground with some heavy duty bone work, kind of strange for a dog that is only 13 to 15 inches high off the ground, however it is something that makes him very efficient.

Now, I mentioned the fact that the Sussex spaniel was registered in 1884 but, did you know that the Sussex spaniel can be traced all the way back to 1860?Back then, a certain English gentleman named Mr. Fuller, who ran a kennel, developed the golden-liver color that, well that is the only color accepted in a registered Sussex spaniel. One other thing, the Sussex spaniel can have no white on him except for the chest and even that is considered a defect, an acceptable defect, if there is such a thing.

The Sussex spaniel was a dog developed to hunt in England, he even gets his name from there, you know, Sussex. But, anyway, the Sussex spaniel was made to be able to hunt through thick forest, breaking through the thickest underbrush as he followed the scent, this dog had to be able to go at it all day in some very rough terrain, sniffing out any and all the game fowl that he could find.

The Sussex spaniel does not retrieve naturally; remember he is not a Golden Retriever, because of this, if you want a dog that will retrieve the way he is supposed to you will have to train him. The Sussex spaniel does retrieve from the water, going about it in a very deliberate fashion, swimming at a moderate pace and getting the job done.

Actually the same thing can be said about his hunting, the Sussex spaniel does not go around hoping that he’s going to flush a bird, he finds the scent and follows it in the same deliberate fashion, usually with a lot of barking, or howling, or baying, or… no I’m just kidding.

During World War II this beautiful dog would have gone extinct if not for the heroic efforts of Joy Freer who had eight dogs which she saved, most if not all of the Sussex spaniels we know and love today are descendants of those eight dogs. So, we owe Joy a big thank you.

The Sussex spaniel is a big boned dog but he is not very tall, the average weight for the Sussex spaniel is 35 to 40 pounds. Because this unique dog is longer then he is tall, he gives the appearance of being rather rectangular. With this type of body, the Sussex spaniel gives the impression of being rather massive and heavy. Don’t let this fool you though, because the Sussex spaniel has a rather nice gait and, believe it or not, he can move faster then he looks.

I mentioned already that the golden-liver color is the only acceptable color of the breed, but there are other colors, dark liver for example, although this is not an accepted color in the breed standard, the Sussex spaniel does look rather nice like that as well.

The coat should be either flat or just a little bit wavy; a curled coat is not accepted. There is quite a lot feathering on this dog, its legs, belly and neck, not to mention his ears being covered, trimming the coat is not accepted unless it’s just to give shape to the feathering on the legs and to clear out some of the hair in between the pads on the foot. Its better just to leave him the way he is.

When taking care of a Sussex spaniel, make sure he makes his exercise and keep an eye on his food intake, just help him with his diet a little. Also regular brushing is a good idea, to keep that beautiful coat in shape.