The Sussex Spaniel - A Complete Anthology of the Dog

By Read Books Ltd.

The Sussex Spaniel - A Complete Anthology of the Dog gathers together all the best early writing on the breed from our library of scarce, out-of-print antiquarian books and documents and reprints it in a quality, modern edition. This anthology includes chapters taken from a comprehensive range of books, many of them now rare and much sought-after works, all of them written by renowned breed experts of their day. These books are treasure troves of information about the breed - The physical points, temperaments, and special abilities are given; celebrated dogs are discussed and pictured; and the history of the breed and pedigrees of famous champions are also provided. The contents were well illustrated with numerous photographs of leading and famous dogs of that era and these are all reproduced to the highest quality. Books used include: My Dog And I by H. W. Huntington (1897), The Kennel Encyclopaedia by J. Sidney Turner (1911), Hutchinson's Dog Encyclopaedia by Walter Hutchinson (1935) and many others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Oct 12, 2011
• ISBN: 9781447491590

Book preview

THE SUSSEX SPANIEL

Has a general resemblance to the Clumber in height and shape. His head is, however, lighter, and, in consequence of this and his rich liver-colour, his whole appearance is handsomer. He gives tongue freely.

THE SUSSEX SPANIEL.

Until the year 1872, Sussex spaniels were never distinguished as a separate class at any of our shows, being admitted only as other than Clumber, or as large spaniels. In that year, bowever, the Committee of the Crystal Palace Show instituted a special prize for the Sussex breed, and their example was followed in October at Nottingham, where the puce-coloured Rufus, bred by Mr. Beesly, defeated Mr. P. Bullock’s George, so named from his resemblance to the dog selected by me in 1866 as the type of the breed. Mr. Soames’ George has never yet been surpassed, as far as my opinion and observation go, and I shall therefore retain his portrait as efficiently representing the true type of the Sussex spaniel.

Before the above-mentioned constitution of a distinct class under the name Sussex, it was of course impossible to criticise the various liver-coloured spaniels exhibited, excepting generally; but almost as soon as the opportunity was thus given it was taken advantage of, and in 1874-5 a host of letters appeared in the Field on this subject, under the signatures of C. B. Hodgson, J. Blade, Castra, Ruthwell, J. Farrow, J. H. Salter, W. W. Boulton, Sussex, Phineas Bullock, J. Hughes, and R. Marchant, with a view to show not only that a dog must himself possess a proper liver colour to constitute him a Sussex spaniel, but he must also be descended from parents of that hue. In illustration of this argument, it was proved under protest at Birmingham in 1874, that Mr. Phineas Bullock’s George, though himself exhibiting the proper colour and shape of the Sussex breed, was by his celebrated Bob, who was of a rich black colour. The result was that George was from that time withdrawn from the Sussex classes at the chief shows, and it has been since held that the objection was valid. It may be remembered that a portrait of this dog was published in the Field in 1872 as a Sussex spaniel, which he closely resembled in appearance; and, though his pedigree was given in the catalogue of the Crystal Palace show, it did not strike me that his sire (the well-known Bob) was black, as was afterwards brought out.

MR. SOAMES’S SUSSEX SPANIEL GEORGE—BRED BY MR. FULLER.

From the year 1872 special classes have been given to the Sussex spaniel at most of our large shows, and in nearly every case a dog with a golden liver coat, or a reasonable approximation to this, has been selected for premier honours; but still I have reason to believe that a good many of the prize winners have been crossed with extraneous strains, and that there are very few really pure specimens of the genuine Sussex spaniel in existence. In 1859, when I published in The Dog in Health and Disease the portraits of Mr. Soames’s George and Romp, from the Rosehill kennels, it was so rare that many good sportsmen had never heard of its existence and for several years I looked in vain through the various shows for another good specimen of it. At the early Birmingham shows Mr. F. Burdett’s blacks were in fashion; and on his death Mr. Jones, of Oscott, took possession of the show bench with his Bob, a son of Burdett’s dog of the same name. Soon after this Mr. Phineas Bullock came to the fore with dogs descended from the same strains, and without any infusion, as far as I know, of the real Sussex spaniel—at all events, not for some years. After a time, Mr Bowers, of Chester, obtained a dog (Buckingham) and two or three bitches of the Rosehill strain; and Mr. J. H. Salter, of Tolleshunt D’Arcy, in Essex, also purchased Chance and Chloe, of pure old Sussex blood. Dr Williams, of Hayward’s Heath, Sussex, possesses a bitch from which I believe he has bred some good puppies. Mr. Marchant of Dartford, and Rev. W. Shield of Kirkby Lonsdale, Mr H. B. Spurgin of Northampton, and Mr. A. W. Langdale of Bishop’s Stortford, also have the breed; but beyond this short list I am unable to go, though no doubt there are others with which I am unacquainted.

In work the Sussex spaniel is somewhat faster, and certainly more lasting and persevering, than the Clumber, from whom he also differs in possessing a peculiarly full and bell-like tongue, though still somewhat sharp, in note. He is by no means noisy, except when first entered to his game, and it is easy to distinguish by his tongue whether he is on fur or feather. He is readily taught to retrieve with a soft mouth, but there is sometimes a slight tendency to sulk, and he certainly is not so easily kept under command as the Clumber; but for hard work he beats that dog altogether, and is rarely gun-shy. As compared with the indefinite strains of liver-coloured spaniels of such symmetry as to be exhibited at our shows, but descended from Mr. Burdett’s Bob and other black dogs, I have no reason to think that the real Sussex is in any way superior to them, either in the field or on the show bench, if judged without regard to purity of blood; and if a class were made for liver-coloured spaniels without designating them as Sussex, I can see no reason to believe that the first prize would of necessity go to either of the gentlemen above named. Classes for Gordon setters are now abandoned, on account of the difficulty in defining that dog; and I am by no means sure that it is not desirable to follow this example in reference to the Sussex spaniel, as was to some extent done at the last Brighton show, when a class was formed for golden liver coloured Sussex spaniels. But even then, a dog of the true golden" colour, if proved to be descended from a black strain, would be open to disqualification. Clearly, however, the colour alone is no mark of purity, as was proved in the case of Mr. Phineas Bullock’s George above mentioned; and, indeed, I know no breed of dogs in which colour alone can be relied on. The standard points of the Sussex spaniel may be estimated as follows:

Grand Total 100.

1. The skull (value 15) should be long, and also wide, with a deep indentation in the middle, and a full stop, projecting well over the eyes; occiput full, but not pointed; the whole giving an appearance of heaviness without dulness.

2. The eyes (value 5) are full, soft, and languishing, but not watering so as to stain the coat.