Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Boykin Spaniel pup taking over the house, our lives

I wanted to jump in here and share a picture of our new Boykin female puppy. "Zoey" is settling in nicely and seems to love the fact that she is the center of attention. This should be interesting and I am looking forward to working, hunting and living with her for years and years. My wife and three kids don't seem to realize that she is mine, and Zoey doesn't seem to realize that she's actually a dog. So,all is well.

Just a pup and she can already type with her hind feet! What a cutie.

soso, Welcome to the campfire. I see you registered last Oct. and didn't post till now? You better teach her to type and post her own pictures.
She's a beauty.
Our beloved hounds, what would we do without them ?

You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to find a cuter pup than that. If their reputation is half accurate, you have to go some to find a breed with more hunt in 'em, too.

Try not to spoil her.....heh heh heh.

Bucktales, I have been a bit of a lurker here, and a poster elsewhere...time to change that.
I researched heavily before deciding on a boykin, forsaking my allegiance to labs. I am a duck and dove hunter...with a crazy notion that someday there will be pheasants involved. Zoey might be the push I needed to head in that direction. The fact that she, if all goes well, could possibly walk through the house without knocking everything on the floor just adds to the attraction. So far it's going great. I just hope I don't run into a well bred (chocolate) lab puppy opportunity any time soon.
Thanks for the welcome.

Welcome from another "lurker".
Great looking dog. I've been seriously looking at getting a Boykin as well, since we lost our big boy (Yellow Lab) in Jan. I primarily hunt upland, but would like to get into waterfowl as well.
Also considering American Water Spaniel or a Wachtelhund.
Just starting on my Boykin research. Have heard them described as "small labs" and "lab-like" in hunting style and temperment. If you could refer me to any information sources you found particularly useful I would appreciate it.

Regards,
elkjaeger

OMG! She is soooooooooooooo cute!

I Googled Boykins after you posted the pic and they sound like a wonder dog! I couldn't find, however, how big the adult dogs are. How big do they get?

M

M

From what I've seen so far the males run around 35-40 lbs. Described as being halfway between Cocker Spaniel & Springer Spaniel in size.

elkjaeger

EJ, so far I am thrilled with my choice. She is very alert and not much gets past her. I love puppies that pay attention to everything, and she seems to do just that. Here are a few of my notes that I had written down during my quest.

Breeding: bred for hunting ducks and wild turkeys in South Carolina during the 1900's. ancestors are reported to be the chessie, springer,cocker and american water spaniel.

Health Concerns: hip dysplasia, cataracts and skin allergies.

Registry: BSS (boykin spaniel society) maintains its own registry of purebred boykins. boykins are not even recognized by the akc.

Size: male adult: 15 1/2"-18" 30-40 lbs
female adult: 14"-16 1/2" 25-35 lbs

During my search, certain phrases kept showing up, like "desire", "stamina", and "eagerness to please". I was taken by what I found out about them, by their look and I, for some reason, liked the fact that there just are not alot of them around...atleast here in SW Arkansas. Most of them seem to be in South Carolina and surrounding areas.
I was lucky, I found a quality breeder fairly close to home and the timing was right. Be prepared though...if you go take a look at boykin spaniel puppies, be prepared to write a check...and it won't be a small check either. Good luck, I hope you get one.

Thanks for your response.
There is a breeder up in Bozeman, MT but is advertizing "long-legged" Boykins for "western-style hunting".
Uhhhh.....go get a Springer, or a English Pointer for that matter. I WANT a dog that stays close......that's why I'm looking at Boykins.

Thanks again,
elkjaeger

I don't have one but the people who do say that they can be pretty stubborn (not generally considered a Lab-like quality). Temperment will vary between individuals of any breed, so you just have to play it by ear. By avoiding affiliation with the AKC, the BSS has managed to maintain an unusually high percentage of dogs with hunting ability within their breed.

Beautiful puppy and welcome to this wonderful forum. I have been researching the breed and am now working with RockNCreek kennels in SC to perhaps purchase one from them.
While I sent you a PM, let me ask you here where you got yours.

Also, please know that efective January 1, 08, the Boynkin will be a recognized AKC breed,IIRC.

If space were a consideration, the Boykin would be one of the first dogs I'd look at in lieu of Labs. But that probably won't happen.

Good luck and keep us posted on developments.

wuzzagrunt,

The last Lab I had was the most hard-headed, subborn dog I ever owned........course my wife says that's not true....he was just smarter than I was
My wife's a real comedian, eh?

Yeah, I've experienced first hand how two dogs of the same breed can be polar opposites in personality.

elkjaeger

Thanks...I will griz!!

As I said in my reply to your pm, keep me posted and I hope to see some pics soon of your new boykin pup!

I would love to see pics of that pup as she gets older! Got my vote for that idea.

Regards, sse

Yeah, Goldens are always described as being "highly trainable" and as being dogs who "love to please". Mine has a real willful/stubborn streak in him, though. He's a good dog, but he's definitely got his own agenda.

Yup, "his own agenda" is definitely what this Lab had.

I spent gobs of money & sent him to a trainer to be "broken". After 28 days the trainer gave up and made me come & take him back.
I detest e-collars, but I got one. Took the Lab all of 3 outings to figure out the range and that he wouldn't get zapped if I couldn't see him........so much for the collar.

Only thing that ever got to him was when I'd take his regular collar off, throw little sticks (twigs really) when he got close to me, and tell him to "go find someplace else to live". He knew he had finally tipped me over the edge. He would be on his best behavior.......for about 2 days

Think I just proved my wife's theory........

Zoey will be 8wks old tomorrow, and has really come to life this week. She is a little chew happy, but that is to be expected. I have been workin on it, but she is gettin away with murder with my wife and kids. I am taking her to the lake for her first trip to the water this evening. My plan is for a little splashing in the shallows and see where she takes it from there. She loves to chase things and probably next week I will get her in the hallway of the house and do some light retrieving work. If not next week, the week after.
BTW, the bandana is all my daughters doing and I am powerless to stop it.