Breed profile · Sporting Group · South Carolina’s little brown dog

Boykin Spaniel

The Boykin Spaniel is South Carolina’s state dog — a medium-sized flushing and retrieving spaniel of solid liver brown, bred small enough to ride a section boat without rocking it — and the AKC calls it avid, eager, merry, and trainable: a mellow housedog and a tenacious bird dog in the same brown coat.

Do you have a photo of a Boykin Spaniel in the American show ring? We’d love this page to lead with one. If you have a show photo you’d let us use, email it to [email protected] — tell us the dog’s name and the show, and it may be featured here. Please only send photos you took yourself or have the photographer’s permission to share, and tell us the photographer’s name. We couldn’t find a public photo of a Boykin Spaniel in the American show ring that we were free to share, so the photo leading this page was made with AI. We’d much rather lead with a real one — if you’re a club member with an approved photo, we’d love to feature it.

1. Breed at a glance

Size, coat, and temperament facts are from the AKC standard (approved January 8, 2019; effective April 2, 2019) and the AKC Boykin Spaniel breed page. Lifespan is from the AKC Boykin Spaniel History article.

2. History

The breed began with a stray spaniel-type dog found in Spartanburg, South Carolina, around 1900 — a little brown dog that followed Alexander White home from church one Sunday morning. White sent the dog, called Dumpy, to his friend Lemuel Whitaker “Whit” Boykin of the Boykin Mill community near Camden, South Carolina, and Boykin began the breeding program that became the breed. (Source: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History.)

Boykin crossed Dumpy’s descendants with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the Cocker Spaniel, the English Springer Spaniel, and the American Water Spaniel, breeding for a small, sturdy flushing and retrieving dog that could work the swamps and river bottoms of South Carolina from the small flat-bottomed “section boats” hunters used there — a dog small enough not to rock the boat, and small enough that the dog and the duck it caught could both be lifted into the boat at the same time. The standard still calls the Boykin “the little brown dog that doesn’t rock the boat.” (Sources: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History; AKC standard.)

The Boykin Spaniel Society was founded in 1977 as the breed’s founding registry. South Carolina made the Boykin its state dog in 1985: the State Wildlife and Marine Resources Commission endorsed the breed in April 1984, Governor Richard W. Riley proclaimed September 1, 1984 as Boykin Spaniel Day, and the General Assembly made it official in 1985. The United Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1985. (Sources: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History; Boykin Spaniel Society.)

The AKC admitted the breed to the Foundation Stock Service in 1997, added flushing spaniel hunt tests in 2006, and moved the breed into the Miscellaneous Class in 2007. Full AKC recognition came in December 2009, in the Sporting Group — the AKC’s ninth flushing spaniel and its 163rd breed. (Sources: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History; Larley Boykins, Boykin Spaniel history.)

3. The standard and why it’s written that way

• A medium-sized sporting dog, slightly longer than tall, never square. The standard opens with the whole dog: a sturdy, compact, well-balanced sporting dog, slightly longer than tall, with a docked tail of 3 to 5 inches, built for a day’s work in the swamp — and “the little brown dog that doesn’t rock the boat.” (Source: AKC standard.)
• Height — dogs 15½ to 18 inches, bitches 14 to 16½ inches. The height is measured at the withers, and a variance of more than 1 inch over the standard is a major fault. There is no weight in the standard; the AKC breed page puts the breed at about 25 to 40 pounds. (Source: AKC standard.)
• The head: trusting eyes and long, pendulous ears. The eyes are yellow to amber to varying shades of brown, medium in size, almond or oval, with a trusting expression — protruding or bulging eyes are a major fault. The ears are pendulous, set slightly above or even with the eye line, the leather thin, almost reaching the tip of the nose when pulled forward. (Source: AKC standard.)
• Coat — flat to slightly wavy to curly, medium length. The coat is typically a single coat but may have an undercoat, with light fringe and feathering on the ears, chest, legs, and belly. The coat may be trimmed, but never shaved. (Source: AKC standard.)
• Color — solid liver, and only solid liver. “Color solid liver — deep reddish brown, various shades of chocolate brown, light to very dark. A small amount of white on chest is permitted, no other white markings. Sun bleaching is acceptable.” That single color is the breed’s signature: the whole dog is one rich brown, head to tail. (Source: AKC standard.)
• Gait and temperament in the ring. The gait is effortless with good reach, the tail carried level to or above the back. The temperament the standard asks for is a friendly, willing worker, intelligent and easy to train, with great eagerness and energy for the hunt yet controllable in the field — a dog that works hard and then comes home. (Source: AKC standard.)

4. Temperament & living with one

The AKC sums the breed up in a sentence: “A medium-sized flushing and retrieving dog known for its rich brown coat, the Boykin Spaniel is avid, eager, merry, and trainable. This mellow housedog and tenacious bird dog was once South Carolina’s best-kept secret.” The standard adds the working half: a friendly, willing worker, intelligent and easy to train, with great eagerness and energy for the hunt yet controllable in the field — and a dog that thrives on human companionship and gets along with other dogs and children. (Sources: AKC Boykin Spaniel breed page; AKC standard.)

A Boykin is a hunting dog first and a house dog second, and it shows in the living room. This is a dog that needs daily work — a long walk, a swim, a retrieve, a hunt test or a scent-work class — and a bored Boykin will invent its own work. It loves water and will find it. The AKC’s history of the breed puts it plainly: “The Boykin is a hunting dog that can’t be spoiled by a mother’s love.” What it gives back is a cheerful, affectionate companion that wants to be with its people, in the field and on the couch. (Source: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History.)

5. Grooming

• Brush the coat a few times a week. The medium-length coat, flat to slightly wavy to curly, needs regular brushing, and the light feathering on the ears, chest, legs, and belly mats if it is left alone — a comb through the feathering after a swim or a day in the field keeps it from tangling.
• Trim, never shave. The standard’s own words: “The coat may be trimmed, but never shaved.” A shave spoils the coat’s texture and the feathering the standard calls for; a tidy trim for neatness is all a Boykin needs.
• The ears are the grooming. Long, pendulous ears on a dog that swims need checking and cleaning after time in the water — moisture caught under a heavy ear is where ear infections start. A quick check after every swim is the habit that matters.
• Bathe as needed, and keep up the basics. A Boykin that works will get muddy and will need a bath; a house Boykin needs one far less often. Nails kept short, teeth brushed, and the coat brushed out after the field are the rest of the routine.

6. Health testing

• Five tests for a CHIC number. For a CHIC number, the Boykin Spaniel needs five evaluations: a Patella Evaluation, a Hip Evaluation, an Ophthalmologist Evaluation, an Exercise-Induced Collapse (EIC) DNA test, and a Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA, CH) DNA test. That is the parent club’s list on the AKC’s Sporting Group health-testing page. Breeders must agree to have all test results, positive or negative, published in the CHIC database. (Source: AKC Sporting Group Health Testing Requirements.)
• Hip dysplasia is the condition to watch. The AKC’s history of the breed names hip dysplasia as the most common inherited condition in Boykins — which is why the hip evaluation sits at the center of the CHIC list. Ask a breeder for the parents’ hip results — and look them up in the OFA database yourself. (Sources: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History; AKC Sporting Group Health Testing Requirements.)
• Eyes: two screens, not one. The list asks for both an ophthalmologist evaluation and a CEA DNA test, and both matter — the eye exam catches what is visible, the DNA test catches the collie eye anomaly gene a carrier can pass on without showing it. Ask a breeder for both. (Source: AKC Sporting Group Health Testing Requirements.)
• Lifespan: 10 to 15 years. A healthy Boykin lives 10 to 15 years, and the AKC notes it is not unusual for one to live 15 years or more, with some making it to 17. That is a long life for a working dog, and a long commitment to a companion that wants to be with its people every day of it. (Source: AKC, Boykin Spaniel History.)

7. The annual Boykin Spaniel specialty dog show

A specialty is the breed’s All-Star show — its Super Bowl. Once a year, the best Boykin Spaniels from across the country, and often from around the world, come together in one place.

The Boykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America’s national specialty: a one-day show that moves around the country, held with a cluster of all-breed shows, with conformation at its center and puppy and veteran sweepstakes, junior showmanship, and the breed’s field side — hunt tests and scent work — around it. The 2026 show: Saturday, February 28, at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland, with 18 dogs and 34 entries in the specialty. The 2027 show: Thursday, June 3, at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri.

The national is the breed’s big weekend, and it is still young: the 2023 show in Kerrville, Texas, was the inaugural national specialty, and the show has run every year since — Perry, Georgia in 2024, Navasota, Texas in 2025, and West Friendship, Maryland in 2026.

The 2026 National Specialty — the 4th Annual — a one-day show, Saturday, February 28, 2026, at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship, Maryland, with the Maryland Sporting Dog Cluster, February 27–March 1, 2026. Entry: 34 entries (18 dogs, 16 bitches); whole event 36 entries / 33 competitors. Entries opened Thursday, January 1, 2026, and closed Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at noon, with an entry limit of 100. Event Chair: Sharon Kauzlarich. Superintendent: MB-F Inc. Breed judge: Ms. P Davern (Pluis Davern). (Sources: AKC event search, event 2026683703; BSCBAA 2026 National Specialty results book.)

Best of Breed: GCHS CH Beekauz’s Rebel Yell (dog), owners Sharon, Dan & Katie Kauzlarich. Best of Opposite Sex and Best Owner-Handled: GCHB CH RACH Holy City’s Momma’s Favorite Nursery Rhyme CD BN RM4 RAE2 CGC TKN (bitch), owner Susan C Riegerix. Select Dog: GCHS CH Top Gun Cleared For Take Off SH. Select Bitch: CH G4K’s Beekauz I’m Perfectly Perfect. Best of Winners and Winners Dog: G4K’s Chocolate Moose (5 points). Winners Bitch: Holy City’s Going Rustic SCN SIN SEN (5 points). Best Puppy: Amberfield’s Tiger N The Tank. Best in Sweepstakes: Amberfield’s Sippin’ On Sweet Tea. Best of Opposite Sex in Sweepstakes: Amberfield’s Tiger N The Tank. Best Veteran in Sweepstakes: GCH Briercreeks Double Shot. (Source: BSCBAA 2026 National Specialty results book.)

Junior Showmanship judge Mrs. Erica Cross (6 entries / 5 competitors): Best Junior Handler Carolyn Goldenberg (with GCHG CH Drinking Until Dark Beekauz SH); Reserve Ava Thrun (with CH Beekauz You Found My Light). Sweepstakes judge Mrs. Erica Cross. (Sources: BSCBAA 2026 National Specialty Junior Showmanship Competition; BSCBAA 2026 National Specialty results book.)

The 2027 National Specialty: a one-day show, Thursday, June 3, 2027, at Purina Farms, 300 Checkerboard Drive, Gray Summit, Missouri, held in conjunction with the Gateway Sporting Dog Association; followed by four all-breed dog shows June 4–7, 2027 with rally and obedience, Fast CAT, and NADD dock diving. Entries close Wednesday, May 19, 2027. Event Chair: Cathy Pullian. Superintendent: Foy Trent Dog Shows. (Sources: AKC Upcoming National Specialties; AKC event search, event 2027683703; BSCBAA September 2026 newsletter.)

The week around the show: an all-breed scent work trial May 29–30, 2027 in Columbia, Missouri, and upland hunt tests May 31 and June 1, 2027 in Tebbetts, Missouri, with a Celebration Event at Purina Farms the evening of June 3. Judges had not been published as of November 2026. (Source: BSCBAA September 2026 newsletter.)

Past national specialties: 2025 · 2024 · 2023

Boykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America — boykinspanielclub.us

8. Regional specialties through the year: smaller regional shows

The national is the anchor, but the breed’s year also runs through regional specialties — smaller regional shows, not the national — held by the parent club and regional clubs around the country. These are the 2026 regionals verified from club sources so far:

One parent-club specialty beyond the national itself, held the day after the 2026 national at the same show site, plus a supported entry:

• Concurrent specialty, Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD — Sunday, March 1, 2026: judge Mr. G W Hayburn. Entry: 27 entries (15 dogs, 12 bitches); whole event 31 entries / 27 competitors. Entries closed Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Event Chair: Sharon Kauzlarich. Superintendent: MB-F Inc. Best of Breed and Best Owner-Handled: CH G4K’s Beekauz I’m Perfectly Perfect (bitch). Best of Opposite Sex: CH Pocotaligo’s Make A Splash (dog). Select Dog: GCHS CH Top Gun Cleared For Take Off SH. Select Bitch: GCHB CH RACH Holy City’s Momma’s Favorite Nursery Rhyme CD BN RM4 RAE2 CGC TKN. Best of Winners and Winners Bitch: Top Gun Through The Fire JH. Winners Dog: Top Gun Iceman SH FTI. Reserve Winners Dog: Dzk’s Adventures Run On Bourbon. Reserve Winners Bitch: Amberfield’s Sippin On Sweet Tea. (Source: AKC event search, event 2026683705.)
• Supported entry, Harvest Cluster, Lebanon, Tennessee — October 7–9, 2026: the club’s second annual supported entry at the Harvest Cluster (Tri Star Kennel Club of Williamson County and Tullahoma Kennel Club). Judges and results not confirmed in an official source. (Source: BSCBAA May 2025 newsletter.)

The 2027 regionals announced so far:

• Supported entry, American Spaniel Club Flushing Spaniel Show, Kingsport, Tennessee — 2027: a supported entry is planned at the Flushing Spaniel Show; details had not been published as of November 2026. (Source: BSCBAA May 2026 newsletter.)

More regional specialties will be added here as their programs are verified — this section is built from show data, not guesswork. Browse upcoming show weekends →

9. Clubs

• Boykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America (BSCBAA) (parent club) — the AKC parent club for the breed in the United States. It runs the national specialty and the breed’s field events, and it sets the standard against which Boykins are judged at American dog shows. President Ginger Hurley (2026–27); 228 members at the end of 2024. PO Box 502, Hempstead, TX 77445; [email protected]. (Sources: Boykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America; BSCBAA May 2026 newsletter.)
• Boykin Spaniel Society (BSS) — founded in 1977, the breed’s founding registry, a separate organization from the AKC parent club. It keeps the breed’s registry and breeder listings and runs the National Field Trial. The two are easy to confuse, and both matter: the Society is where the breed’s history lives, the BSCBAA is where its AKC show life lives. (Source: Boykin Spaniel Society.)

If you are new to the breed, the national specialty itself is the better first stop than a breeder’s website: the people there have owned, shown, and worked Boykins, and they will tell you the truth about the exercise, the water, and the coat before you fall for a puppy.

10. Rescue

• Boykin Spaniel Rescue, Inc. (BSR). The national rescue for the breed: founded in 2000, with more than 300 volunteers, dedicated to the rescue, rehoming, and rehabilitation of at-risk purebred Boykin Spaniels. At any time there are 30 to 40 or more dogs in fostering. (Source: Boykin Spaniel Rescue.)
• What adoption involves. An application and a $25 non-refundable application processing fee; dogs are adopted only to pre-approved applicants, and an application stays good for two years. Dogs are evaluated for a minimum of two weeks in foster before they are listed. There is no transport by plane or commercial carrier — the adopter picks the dog up. Adoption fees as of July 1, 2026: puppies up to 1 year $450; 1 to 7 years $400; 8 years and above $375. Phone 1-877-LBD-DOGS (877-523-3647); 112 Hunter Ridge Dr, Spartanburg, SC 29316. (Sources: Boykin Spaniel Rescue, adoption process; Boykin Spaniel Rescue.)
• Adults and seniors. A rescued Boykin is usually an adult, often one whose owner underestimated how much work and water a Boykin needs, or an older dog surrendered when an owner’s circumstances changed. What you get in return is a dog whose character you can see before you commit and a lower price. Either way, be honest with yourself first: a Boykin is a hunting dog that needs daily work, and it is not a dog for a household that wants a low-energy pet.

11. Breeder vs. rescue: honest guidance

• If you buy: start with the parent club, the Boykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America, and its breeder list — and the Boykin Spaniel Society’s listings. Ask for the parents’ health results — hip, patella, eyes, EIC, and CEA — and look the results up in the OFA database yourself. Expect to wait for a puppy from a careful breeder: this is a breed with a small gene pool, and a good breeder will have the answers, will ask you as many questions as you ask them, and will take the puppy back for its whole life if you cannot keep it.
• If you rescue: a rescued Boykin is usually an adult, often one whose owner underestimated how much work the breed needs, and it will arrive with its temperament visible before you commit. What you get in return is a dog whose character you can see before you commit and a lower price. Either way, be honest with yourself first: a Boykin needs daily work and water, and it is not a dog for a household that wants a low-energy pet.
• One breed, one color. The Boykin is solid liver only — deep reddish brown to dark chocolate, with at most a small patch of white on the chest. A breeder selling a black Boykin, a tan-pointed Boykin, or a parti-colored Boykin is selling something the standard does not recognize.

12. Claim this page

Sources

• AKC Boykin Spaniel breed page — akc.org/dog-breeds/boykin-spaniel
• AKC, Boykin Spaniel History — akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/boykin-spaniel-history
• AKC Official Standard of the Boykin Spaniel (approved January 8, 2019; effective April 2, 2019) — images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/BoykinSpaniel.pdf
• AKC Sporting Group Health Testing Requirements — akc.org/breeder-programs/breed-health-testing-requirements/sporting-group-health-testing-requirements
• Boykin Spaniel Club & Breeders Association of America — boykinspanielclub.us
• Boykin Spaniel Society — boykinspaniel.org
• Boykin Spaniel Rescue, Inc. — boykinspanielrescue.org
• Boykin Spaniel Rescue, adoption process — boykinspanielrescue.org/the-adoption-process
• AKC Upcoming National Specialties — apps.akc.org/apps/events/conformation/national_specialties.cfm
• 2027 National Specialty, AKC event search, event 2027683703 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2026 National Specialty, AKC event search, event 2026683703 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2026 concurrent specialty, AKC event search, event 2026683705 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2025 National Specialty, AKC event search, event 2025683702 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2024 National Specialty, AKC event search, event 2024683703 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• 2023 National Specialty, AKC event search, event 2023683703 — apps.akc.org/apps/events/search/index_results.cfm
• BSCBAA 2026 National Specialty results book — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/2026 NS Results crp.pdf
• BSCBAA 2026 National Specialty Junior Showmanship Competition — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/2026 NS Junior Showmanship Competition.pdf
• BSCBAA May 2026 newsletter — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/May Newsletter 2026 COM.pdf
• BSCBAA September 2026 newsletter — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/SEPTEMBER Newsletter 2026COM-db762a5.pdf
• BSCBAA May 2025 newsletter — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/BSCBAA MAY 2025 NEWSLETTER.pdf
• BSCBAA May 2024 newsletter — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/BSCBAA MAY 2024 NEWSLETTER.pdf
• BSCBAA January 2023 newsletter — img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b51756f-d8a0-4f7e-90e1-6fa56ef746c0/BSCBAA JANUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER.pdf
• Maryland Sporting Dog Association, spring event — mdsportingdog.org/spring-event-currentyr
• Larley Boykins, Boykin Spaniel history — larleyboykins.com/boykin-history
• Wikimedia Commons, Boykin Spaniel April Jet (casual photo) — commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boykin_Spaniel_April_Jet.jpg