Judging the Field Spaniel

Judges have the unique opportunity to make an impact on a breed’s progress by being diligent in learning and applying the standard to dogs they reward. What is most challenging in a rarer breed, such as the Field Spaniel, is applying “type” to this equation as well. Considering that Field Spaniels have always been on AKC’s “low entry breed” list, it is reasonable to assume that many judges have not had the privilege of viewing a large entry for the breed, or have had that opportunity on multiple occasions. That said, it is of utmost importance for judges to know and understand what makes a Field Spaniel unique, regardless of the limited opportunity that prospective and current judges may have to evaluate the breed in person.

History

While the Field Spaniel was one of the earliest registered breeds in the United States, dating back to the 1880s, it is in reality a breed with a young history from a conformational standpoint. Due to a decline in both the U.S. and the home country of England, and near extinction, the breed had to be reintroduced to the U.S. in the late 1960s by way of three littermates imported from the UK. The breed has come a long way since that time due to the commitment of diligent breeders. While this lovely breed continues to grow and improve, breeders have also proved and maintained the breed’s natural working ability. It is very important that the breed remains one that can stand up to the requirements of a day in the field.

Beauty, Balance & Type

What three things should you as a judge keep in mind when evaluating a Field Spaniel? The answer is simple: Beauty, Balance, Type. But how are these reflected in individual dogs? How would you go about judging the breed? How do you define and recognize these qualities in the breed? What about movement? What makes the Field Spaniel head distinctive? Are there any hallmarks of the breed? The most significant line from the Field Spaniel standard is, “Symmetry, gait, attitude, and purpose are more important than any one part.” You will want to remember this as you continue reading.

The Field Spaniel is described in the standard as a combination of beauty and utility, a well-balanced, substantial hunter-companion of medium size, built for activity and endurance in heavy cover and water. It has a noble carriage; a proud but docile attitude; it is sound and free-moving. Symmetry, gait, attitude, and purpose are more important than any one part. The Field Spaniel is a breed in which there is no division between bench and working dogs. Since they are bred with this in mind, it is imperative they be judged with this in mind as well.

Your judging begins the moment the dogs walk in the ring. Watch them as they enter. There are many owner-handlers in this breed, and they are usually handling inexperienced dogs. Keep this in mind as you move through your assignment. This breed can be reserved at first meetings and may be unsure of the goings-on. This is especially true if the dog is young and the handler is inexperienced. However, this is not an excuse for an overly shy or timid dog, particularly in the open or bred-by class. As the standard says, “They may be somewhat reserved in initial meetings. Any display of shyness, fear, or aggression is to be severely penalized.”

Proportion

“A well-balanced dog, somewhat longer than tall. The ratio of length to height is approximately 7:6.”

Look at your entry of exhibits in line and take a moment to assess the overall outline of the dogs. The front of the dog should be in balance with, and not heavier than, the rear. Front and rear angles should be both moderate and balanced as well. The initial appearance should be neither coarse nor weedy but have adequate bone and substance. There should be no extreme exaggerations in any direction. The Field should be longer than it is tall in a ratio of 7 to 6, with the length measured from the forward-most point of the shoulder to the rear, and the height from the withers to the ground. The depth of chest should be roughly equal to the length of the front leg from elbow to ground. The rib cage should be long and extending into a short loin with little to no tuck-up in mature dogs. The upper thigh should be broad and powerful; the second thigh well-muscled. A key point to remember when viewing the outline of a Field Spaniel is that it is incorrect for this breed to have a sloping topline. The neck should smoothly slope into the shoulders, followed by a strong level topline. Overextended or, worse, over-angulated rears are also not desirable. Overall balance is of utmost importance. The front must be in balance with the rear, with a deep loin connecting the two! It is essential that there is balance between size, proportions, and substance.

Head

Look down the line and view the head and expression. Per the standard, expression should be “grave, gentle, and intelligent.” The head should convey the impression of high breeding, character, and nobility, and must be in proportion to the size of the dog. Eyes should be almond-shaped and a dark hazel to dark brown color. A round eye and/or light eye is incorrect and likely to express a harsh or hard expression, instead of the grave and gentle expression the standard requires. Adding to the distinctive head and expression is an ear set slightly lower than the level of the eye, a moderate stop, and a strong, long muzzle—neither snipey nor squarely cut, with flews covering but not extending beyond the lower jaw. The nasal bone should be straight and slightly divergent from parallel with the plane of the top skull. While the breed should have a distinctive head, we are NOT a head breed. Please do not judge the head first and foremost or put primary importance on the head.

Movement & Gaiting

When moving your entry together or individually, it is important to ensure they are gaited at the proper speed for the breed. The Breed Standard reads, “The Field Spaniel should be shown at its own natural speed in an endurance trot, preferably on a loose lead, in order to evaluate its movement.” A natural speed in an endurance trot is appropriate for the breed.

They should not be shown charging out and pulling at the end of the lead or zipping around the ring at top speeds. While there is good forward reach from the shoulder, coupled with strong drive, proper Field Spaniel movement should remain effortless in a long and low majestic stride. Fast, tight, and strict movement is incorrect. A loose lead is best to appropriately evaluate movement.

While the standard allows for some convergence in front at higher speeds, there should not be extreme toeing in. When gaiting a dog to assess front and rear movement, elbows and hocks should move parallel, just as they should be when standing still. Pay attention to this. You will be hard-pressed to find a specimen that moves in parallel that does not stand in parallel, especially in the rear.

Dogs that are cow-hocked but move straight may reflect weakness in the second thigh. The legs move straight, with slight convergence at increased speed; however, single tracking is incorrect. Please watch for toeing in frontward movement as this may reflect a lack of forechest or depth of chest. Lifting from the pastern is common in younger dogs; however, mature dogs should be reaching beginning at the shoulder if moving correctly. Energy-wasting movement is incorrect. Specimens should not be throwing out elbows or hocks, and the down-and-back exercise is the best opportunity to judge this. Movement in this breed should be very clean and fluid.

Substance

“Substance—Solidly built, with moderate bone, and firm, smooth muscles.”

Upon examination, the bite should be scissors or level, with scissors preferred. While a good dog should not be totally overlooked for an incorrect bite, a correct bite is not insignificant to type. The forelegs are straight and well-boned to the feet. As you move along, this is your opportunity to let your hands be your eyes.

The neck should be well set into the shoulder. The prosternum should be prominent and well-fleshed. Elbows are closed-set directly below the withers and turned neither in nor out. The ribcage should be long and extend into a short loin. (The 7:6 length in this breed is to be picked up in the rib, not the loin.) Ribs should be oval and well-sprung, but not overly round or barrel-chested. These dogs should not be narrow from any angle.

The loin should be deep with little to no tuck-up. The croup should be short and gently rounded. Hocks should be well let down and parallel when viewed from the rear. The tail should be set on low, in line with the croup, just below the level of the back with a natural downward inclination. Docked tails are preferred, but natural tails are allowed.

Coat

The coat should be single and moderately long, flat or slightly wavy, and silky. It should be dense and water-repellent. “Amount of coat or absence of coat should not be faulted as much as structural faults,” according to the breed standard.

Moderate, setter-like feathering typically adorns the chest, underbody, backs of the legs, buttocks, and may also be present on the second thigh and underside of the tail. Overabundance of coat or a cottony texture impractical for fieldwork should be penalized. Colors are black, liver, and golden liver. Golden liver is generally considered the color of a Sussex Spaniel. Tan points are acceptable on any of the aforementioned colors and are the same as any tan-pointed breed (e.g., Gordon Setters, Dobermans).

The breed is either self-colored or bi-colored. Bi-colored dogs MUST be roaned and/or ticked in white areas. White is allowed on the throat, chest, and/or brisket and may be clear, ticked, or roaned on a self-colored dog.

Always remember that this is a sturdy hunting companion. Symmetry, gait, attitude, and purpose are more important than any of the parts. Look at the whole dog in this light. Fault judging does a disservice to the breed. Applying personal preference above all else to one area of the dog is also not in the breed’s interests. Look at the whole dog and then weigh each dog’s faults and attributes from there in order to make your selections. Type and purpose should go hand in hand.

There are no disqualifications in the Field Spaniel standard. Remember that the breed has had only a few decades to hone conformation here in the United States, and your selections can either help or inhibit a breed’s path in the future. The search for breed type and proper structure, one that can stand up to the requirements of a day in the field, should always be at the forefront of your judging process.

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The Field Spaniel Breed Standard begins with these sentences: “The Field Spaniel is a combination of beauty and utility. It is a well balanced, substantial hunter-companion of medium size, built for activity and endurance in heavy cover and water.” Through these beginning sentences, the Standard emphasizes that beauty and utility are not separate concepts. The Standard does NOT describe a separation of a working versus show ring type.

It is likely that many Field Spaniel fanciers in the US do not have a background in upland hunting, which is a primary function of the Field Spaniel. Without exposure to working with a dog in the field, how is the fancier going to work to keep the hunting abilities of the Field Spaniel? Given the increasing success of the breed in the show ring, fanciers understand the beauty part. Understanding the utility of the Field Spaniel in working birds is more difficult for the fancier without a hunting background.

Certainly, the development of AKC’s upland hunting program was instrumental in allowing fanciers to test their Field Spaniels in the field. Prior to this program, while there were field trials for spaniels, the Field Spaniel was not eligible for participation. While there were the owners here and there who hunted with their dogs, few of those actively bred and/or showed the breed. A core of committed breeders and exhibitors, who also hunted with their Field Spaniels, was appointed by the parent club of the breed to develop a description of the Field Spaniel when hunting. Exhibitors, breeders, and judges would do well to become familiar with this description that details the hunting function of the breed. This description is found at: https://images.akc.org/pdf/events/hunting_tests/spaniels/hunting_style/fi eld_spaniel.pdf.

So, just how are the functions of the Field Spaniel that produce birds in the field (utility) to be assessed? Without a hunting background, the resources to train for field work, or the ability to secure the services of a professional trainer to take a Field Spaniel into the field, it is a daunting task. We suggest there are sports within the AKC performance programs that offer plenty of opportunity to display the utility of the Field Spaniel breed. These performance activities all highlight behaviors that directly correlate to the Field Spaniel’s function as a bird dog.

SCENT WORK

The sport of Scent Work is based on the work of professional detection dogs (such as drug dogs), trained to detect a wide variety of scents and substances. In AKC Scent Work, dogs search for cotton swabs prepared with a drop of a specific essential oil. The cotton swabs are hidden out of sight in a pre-determined search area, and the dog must find them. Teamwork is necessary, as when the dog finds the scent he must communicate the find to the handler who then calls it out to the judge.

While the Field Spaniel is trained to find different odors than birds when doing Scent Work, the functionality is the same: to find odor, differentiate old from new, and persist to seek the source of the odor. The ability to use the “large nose with open nostrils” called for in the Breed Standard to follow odor to source and find an exact location is essential for Scent Work. Scent Work presents odor puzzles that the dog must solve, often working through odor that drifts, pools, rises, falls, and more. This is not entirely different than the type of odor puzzles presented by wind and scenting conditions in the field and provides an accessible, affordable, and altogether reasonable way to prove scenting ability, intelligence, and persistence.

Dock Diving

Dock diving is an exciting water sport for dogs. In this sport, the dog jumps from the dock into a body of water to compete in elements involving distance, height, or speed. North American Diving Dogs (NADD) offers diving dog competitions that can result in titles recognized by the American Kennel Club.

The medium-sized, well-balanced Field Spaniel, with webbed feet and a dense, water-repellent coat, can fulfill some of their desire to hunt during this fun aquatic sport. Dock Diving combines the Field Spaniel’s love of human companionship with the instinct to gently retrieve birds from the water. The Field Spaniel with good prey drive finds the distance game a great deal of fun as they leap from the dock to catch a thrown bumper! Good forward reach that begins with the shoulder, coupled with the strong rear drive of the Field Spaniel, is necessary for a good launch off the dock and is a beautiful sight as they glide through the water with ease.

BARN HUNT

The Barn Hunt Association (BHA) program offers competitions during which dogs search for live rats housed in protective tubes hidden in bales of hay and alert their handlers as to the location of the tube. The rats are not seen or touched by the dogs or handlers, and their safety is a top priority. The American Kennel Club recognizes titles earned in BHA approved competitions.

Finding hidden rats in bales of hay is a reasonable way to show a Field Spaniel’s hunt drive in pinpointing a scent to find prey. This results in behaviors like those seen as a Field Spaniel navigates a hunting field to efficiently find and work birds. In Barn Hunt competition, the Field Spaniel shows determination to hunt for prey. The hunt includes climbing stacked bales of hay and navigating dark tunnels to actively find a protective tube that holds a rat. The Field Spaniel must differentiate the protective tubes that hold a rat from identical tubes that hold litter or are simply empty. Barn Hunt competitions offer a way to evaluate the Field Spaniel’s independence in hunting on command, thereby showing the working relationship of the dog and handler.

FETCH

Fetching a stick in the backyard is a game many dogs have played with their humans. The newly implemented AKC Fetch program merely formalizes this game. In the beginning levels, Fetch is very much game-like with single, defined distance retrieves. In progressing up the four levels of titling, the requirements increase to skills trained and implemented for Hunt Tests. These skills, which require only bumpers, include line-steadiness, delivery to hand, blinds, and double and triple retrieves.

The ability to retrieve is basic to hunting. The ideal retrieve shows the dog’s ability to mark the fall of an object, enthusiastically chase to the object and pick it up, and smartly deliver the object back to the handler. In retrieving, the Field Spaniel may demonstrate biddability and the readiness to both accept and follow direction from the handler. The Fetch program allows the Field Spaniel to show the continued functionality of the breed to make the hunter’s job easier by bringing back downed birds. As each level involves multiple retrieves, the “activity and endurance” essential for hunting are readily seen.

In summary, the Field Spaniel breeder and exhibitor need not be an active hunter to work to keep the functionality of the breed. There are performance activities that fanciers may readily access to involve their Field Spaniel in activities that relate directly to hunting. While it would be ideal for all fanciers to attend a Hunt Test event to develop an understanding of the function of the Field Spaniel in working birds, at a minimum, reading and understanding the Field Spaniel hunting description with an eye to the Breed Standard is necessary.

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We are all human and, of course, we have our personal likes and dislikes. But the key is not to be so distracted by color that we fail to see the dog underneath the coat. Follow the breed standard, but respect the breed. If the color, pattern, and markings are acceptable, then focus on what makes the dog a Field Spaniel.

The color section of the breed standard is succinct. There are just two colors, two color patterns, and one marking. Let’s start with color. Field Spaniels may be black or liver. Black may range from black with subtle brown or liver undertones, to a high-gloss, jet black. If you ask a lay person, “What color is that dog?” the person will simply say that the dog is “black.” Liver consists of all shades of liver, from light to dark. Golden liver is a separate color, according to the breed standard, but it is, for practical purposes, just another shade of liver. Liver may have a reddish or golden cast, but it would not be identified as “red,” “gold,” “orange,” or “lemon.” For example, a Field Spaniel is not Irish Setter red, Golden Retriever gold, or Pointer lemon. A lay person will identify any liver Field Spaniel (including golden liver) as being some shade of “brown.”

The color section of the breed standard is succinct. There are just two colors, two color patterns, and one marking.

Now that the dog’s color has been established, let’s look at color patterns. Again, there are only two choices; self-colored and bi-colored. Self-colored dogs are, of course, solid black or solid liver. A white throat, chest, and/or brisket is allowed on self-colored dogs. Bi-colored Field Spaniels are simply black and white or liver and white dogs. Bi-colored dogs have a significant amount of white on the body, with the base color (black or liver) typically found in patches on the head and body. The white areas of bi-colored dogs must be roaned or ticked. If the white areas of the dog are nearly evenly distributed with the base color, then the dog is identified as a roan (blue roan or liver roan). If the base color is distributed into the white in spits and spurts, then it is identified as black (or liver) bi-colored with ticking. According to the breed standard, there is no minimum amount of ticking required. The dog may be highly or lightly ticked and still meet the standard. If ticking is not apparent, then some of the white should be gently ruffled to reveal the colored hairs within the white. It matters not if the dog is a true roan or a bi-colored dog with ticking. Both are equally acceptable.

That leaves us with markings. Regardless of color or pattern, Field Spaniels may have tan markings typical of other tan-marked breeds. Expect to find tan on the sides of the muzzle, eyebrows, all four feet, inside the ears, and under the tail. Chest bars and penciling on the toes may be present. Tan can range from light tan to gold to deep russet. Dogs that inherit the alleles for tan from only one parent do not have tan markings, but some of the tan will present itself. For example, instead of having a tan muzzle, the muzzle will be made up of a blend of black and tan (or liver and tan) hair. These ghost markings are subtle and are best seen in bright sunlight. The dog should never be penalized for
these markings.

Two colors, two patterns, and one marking might make the Field Spaniel seem a rather plain breed. Quite the contrary. In combination with each other, there are a dozen different ways to describe the color of a Field Spaniel. The twelve combinations of color, pattern, and markings are commonly interbred because breeders wisely recognize that there is more to a Field Spaniel than its color. As a result, some self-colored Fields have more than a little bit of white on their throats. It is not uncommon to see Fields that have a broad white chest or a little white on their noses, a white toe, or even a spot of white on the shoulder. Personally, I don’t have an issue with these “mismarks” if the extra white is ticked. Dogs that have “ghost tan” have a tan-marked ancestor, and the mismarks have a bi-colored ancestor.

There is one breed-specific disqualification, and this is for the color pattern “sable.” The AKC Field Spaniel breed standard describes sable as “… a lighter undercoat with darker shading as tipping or dark overlay, with or without a mask present…” Sable is extremely rare and you are unlikely to encounter it. It is similar to the sable coat pattern seen in English Cocker Spaniels.

The twelve combinations of coat color, pattern, and markings are beautifully illustrated in the Field Spaniel Society of America’s illustrated standard. It is available for download at the club’s website: http://www.fieldspanielsocietyofamerica.org.

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