I RECENTLY had a long chat with a spaniel enthusiast who argued, quite convincingly, that the only spaniels we need are cockers and springers, and that all the others are a waste of time. Britain has no fewer than seven native breeds of spaniel. We all know the English springer and the cocker but the other five – Welsh springer, field, Sussex, Clumber and Irish water – are rarities with such tiny populations that the Kennel Club classifies them as vulnerable native breeds. To qualify as vulnerable, a breed must have fewer
