My Brittany is 5 years old, so a couple 3 more years I’ll need to get a new pup and I’m considering a Boykin so I can use it on ducks, and birds.

Any Boykin owners on the board ? If so any rejects ?

Do not own one but there are two where I hunt. They are brothers. Buddy was raised from a pup by the ranch foreman and is a deer tracking machine. He is great around people he knows but does bark at those he does not. First time I showed up in a mask, he wanted nothing to do with me. Once he smelled me, all was fine. I would have no fear of having him around small children. You can see a picture of him in my thread "
hunting is gonna kill me". His brother originally went to another family but for some reason they did not want him after a year. Breeder arranged for him to come to us, as she knew it was a great home for him. He is more shy than Buddy but still a good dog I would not mind having around kids. He also tracks but not as well as Buddy, who started training when he was 8 weeks old.

I’ve got two. Big old lap dogs at home...... bird crazy in the field. Mostly use mine to retrieve, but they are natural flushers as well.

Have you ever used them on ducks ?

My Brittany refuses to flush, and I have to flush - so if they are flushers, I’d be tickled pink...

Ducks are the new thing I go after so I’m wanting to cover that base.

Ducks......you could say that! LOVES the water!

Never owned a Boykin; always heard good things about them. I went with a Field Bred English Cocker; worth considering as well, IMO.
Mine has amazing drive and nose, loves the water and great companion.

Shot a Boykin field trial once very versatile dogs. boykin owners are "different". We were shooting a thrown launched duck with blind retrieve they aren't labs but pretty good. Several of the ducks got ate after them retrieving to shoreline and it didn't bother owners to much. At a hunt to retrieve trial that got your dog booted instantly. Mb

One of the best breeds out there, IMHO. I miss mine terribly. Mine was perfect with people and other dogs. Smart, love water, eager to hunt and please...... What’s not to like? I will echo what Cruiser said, English Cockers are great dogs too. The are very similar to Boykins, both at home and in the field. battue’s boy, Merlot, is a rock star of a dog!

The little Dude gives you all he has every time....

When we got back from 10 days in SD....he needed some RR...his tank was drained.

Love my Boykins! I have owned three still have my male; The last papa bought my daughter fell in love with it while she was dog sitting over Labor Day weekend and she renamed it and claimed it as her own! Great family dogs, great hunters all-around great disposition!

My Boykin turned 15 in October. Shes been a fantastic dog. She’s completely calm in the house, but was a fantastic flusher and retriever in her younger days. She has no problems hunting with other dogs, but doesn’t generally like being around them, otherwise. I love Boykins. I’ve hunted with a lot of other boykins and most were pretty business minded in the field.

She’s in the midst of bladder cancer and is completely deaf now. She still thinks she is a puppy and smells my shoes everyday to see if we are going hunting. Good luck

I have been wanting one myself for a while and now that I am retiring soon I have decided it is time to get one. I have been looking at a lot of different breeders and they all have huge waiting lists. I am considering Boykin Spaniel Plantation in Georgia right now. It will still probably be a long wait especially for a female

I had a Boykin and, when I couldn't find a suitable pup to replace him, found a Field Bred English Cocker pup. My EC is also liver colored. They are so similar in behavior, mannerisms, and hunting style that I couldn't tell the difference in the two if I didn't know their lineage. I've found both to be great house dogs and hunters. Both of mine were/are great on pheasant flushing and retrieving. Both loved water as well. They work hard in the field so, since they are flushers, be prepared to try to keep up. Buy from a reputable breeder and check carefully on their blood lines.

My Boykin "Tig" is about 8. been one of the better gundogs ive owned. Not as good as my Lab or chesapeake but no slouch either and can go a lot harder in the dove fields than any of the others.

At 33lbs he alot easier to have around the house too.

I'd definitely have another.

I keep hearing they're a high strung pain in the butt. Still want to try one, though.

Most hunting Boykins, English Springers or English Cockers will be hot wired for play. They require a soft hand or you will shut them down.

Know what you are getting into....before you decide to “try” one out.

Wonder what Lab owner said that.....

Seriously though, most bird dogs are a pain when they aren’t exercised or given anything to do. They were bred for work. I believe people get them because they look nice and then can’t handle the energy. That’s where the “Destroykins” come from. In my experience, Spaniels have more drive then the average Lab. Battue is also correct in that they are eager to please but are tender hearted. Harsh correction will shut them down quick! You can’t wrench on them like Labs and bend them to you’re will, it simply won’t work. I know of a big time field trial trainer who usually works Labs who can’t or won’t train Boykins. They lack the patience. But do it right with a Spaniel and you’ll have the most loyal dog you could imagine and a machine in the field.

Side note: I actually like Labs and have had one myself. A good one is something to behold though I have seen more poor Lab “bird dogs” than probably any other breed(GSP’s are running neck and neck). Make sense though as they are so popular. In most cases, it’s the owner and not the dog. My comments are in jest towards them rather than animosity. Boykin owners here it plenty from Lab guys!

Like any ‘good’ field breed, they’re probably as much about how they’re trained as what breed they are. That’s just my anecdotal, not some professional insight....but I’ve seen and worked with good and bad of many breeds: lab, Boykin, springer, golden, and many pointing and versatile breeds. The only thing I (think) I know for sure is that each pup is an individual, and ignoring that to make them fit in some box for a breed generality on temperament, training aptitude, etc is likely an issue...at least as much as hearing about stubborn spaniels, destructive Boykins, or labs with no drive, etc.

Generally it’s not the dog’s fault.

Sure, you’ve got bad apples/examples that are part of the equation, but that’s not the breed. Your personality vs the dog is a thing, IMO. I think labs are my best fit with ‘now’, but I’d ‘fit’ with (and have) with the others, also. I don’t mesh well with Chessies, IMO, but have done well with ‘softer’ dogs, requiring patience and different approaches or attitudes, also.

You know what you prefer, better than anyone, and they’ll often mirror a handler somewhat, anyway....so it seems.

Birds, Birds and more Birds...If you can't give them that, then just be happy they are willing to hang around with you....

I guess I got the best of both worlds with the Boykin that I had. She had tons of drive when training/hunting, but settled down nicely in the home. There is literally nothing that I would have changed about her. Well.....Perhaps her insistence that she ride on my lap everywhere we went. That got a bit tough with 3+ hour trips to Hunt Tests in S.C. Battue is right about the birds. You have to have them to make the dog complete. I also can’t stress enough the need for basic obedience with a Boykin, or any other breed, if it is to be used as a retriever. 15 minutes a day will take care of that nicely. Why not.....You are spending time with your dog. The Spaniel breeds are awesome and underutilized in the field IMHO. I know of a nice Boykin litter that is planned for later this spring. If anyone is interested, send me a PM.

“ I guess I got the best of both worlds with the Boykin that I had. She had tons of drive when training/hunting, but settled down nicely in the home. There is literally nothing that I would have changed about her.”

The shedding! I agree with all the rest. Mine are the same, lap dogs at home.... business in the field.

English Cocker "Merlot"....They will even sit quiet in the field once they know they have a reason to do so. Take a line off his nose in the Deer blind, and it is not rare for a Deer to show itself relatively soon....He picked this one out at around 50 yards back in the wood and coming to the field.

They are great little dogs but they are not a Lab... They are murder on doves and can handle limited water and cold - but it will stress them more.

This is one good boy, right here. The total package, starting with just pure “good boy”. I am proud to be his buddy! I didn’t know he can hunt deer too!!! He is a true Renaissance Man! He truely is as neat as he looks!

Yea, he has lined up more than one Deer. The local yard Deer give him an almost daily training session.

He took after a Doe this spring, but she had a fawn in the woods, and he shortly became the chased. Two circles in the back yard, her trying to stomp him and him squealing for mercy and finally deciding to use the open kitchen door.

Now it’s pretty much, there they are, take’em!!!!....😂

Bought a Boykin 12 years ago as a two year-old that I never trained. But she flushed birds in the yard when younger and chased squirrels. She is very soft and wants to learn commands to please us. She sheds (a lot) and will eat anything. I would buy another: BUT check out your breeder carefully! She has exercise- induced collapse (thought she was hypoglycemic the first time it happened). When overheated/over exercised the rear legs stop working, and then she just falls over. When chasing her ball she will not stop.

Got a litter on the ground right now. Ready to go May 29th. Nine pups, two males not yet spoken for. Got our hands full, but they are fun!

While looking for a Boykin a friend of mine that fosters rescue dogs go’s a 4 year old Boykin that someone had dumped over the fence of a shelter. He has a bad case of mange, heart worms and serious malnutrition. He still has 4 months left in his heart worm treatment so we have to keep him calm. I brought him home Thursday and we are trying to get him to get along with our Golden Retriever. He gets along fine with the Dachshund but seems to hate the Golden. His hair is slowly coming back and he already has a few basic commands. He really wants to please it seems. One thing I have found is that his poop is HUGE!

Anyone ever tried using them on rabbits?

You could, in that they will smell them and bounce them out....but have yet to see any Spaniel stay on the track like a Beagle.

My Dad was on the Boykin Spaniel Society Board of Director years ago in Camden. He had an excellent dove dog named Beau.
My Boykin Mad Max was his son and a better duck spaniel has not been whelped. He was retrieving both AL and NM mallards at
7 months-and never looked back.
Amazing retrievers but ducks and doves are their specialties. They are not goose or rabbit dogs.

With the right owner, they train themselves and want to please. The Boykins tend to be one-man dogs
and are very loyal to the family.

If ever there ever was a dog that is an extension of ones self it's a Boykin.



In deep water Boykins are good swimmers and great boat dogs....in a flooded crop/stubble field a Lab reigns supreme because of their longer legs.