About
About
The Boykin Spaniel
The Boykin Spaniel was first bred by South Carolina hunters during the 1900’s to provide the ideal dog for hunting ducks and wild turkeys in the Wateree River Swamp. Hunters on South Carolina’s Wateree River needed a small rugged dog compactly built for boat travel and able to retrieve on land and water. In those days wagons, wooden boats and trains afforded hunters access to the game rich corridors along the river. But boat travel limited what hunters could carry. The typical heavyweight retriever was a drawback in a craft already loaded with men, guns, provisions and other gear.
On the Wateree River in the early part of this century hunters often used a take apart “section boat.” Held together by bolts to form a large craft, the three sections with seats removed could be “nested” to fit neatly into a wagon or train’s baggage car. Hunters also used sections as one-man boats just large enough for one person and a compact retriever.
L. W. “Whit” Boykin (1861-1932), a planter, land appraiser and well-known sportsman of the Boykin community just outside Camden, South Carolina, along with his kinsmen the Canteys, experimented with many breeds to resolve the problems posed by their Wateree hunting trips. With selective breeding and a little luck, Boykin developed a small multipurpose retriever now known as the Boykin spaniel.
The Club
The Club is comprised of Regular and Affiliate Members from across the country, but with a focus in the Upper Midwestern states.
The Club is organized by a Board of Officers including the following current volunteers:
Links
Teaching and Training Resources
from the Boykin Spaniel Society
Ordering Pedigrees
from the Boykin Spaniel Society
Boykin Spaniel Foundation
The Society's charity: supporting breed health research and data collection
Boykin Spaniel Rescue
Rescuers of only purebred Boykin Spaniels
Operation Little Brown Dog
A rescue organization that fills in where BSR cannot
Eleven Peaks Trading Co.
The licensed supplier of Boykin Spaniel Society logoware