Sussex Spaniel

COUNTRY: Great Britain
WEIGHT: 40-45 pounds
HEIGHT: 13-151/2 inches
COAT: Flat, silky and moderately long, with abundant feathering
COLOR: Solid golden liver, white spot on chest faulty
Group: Gun Dog


While the rest of Europe was developing the pointing spaniels, the British created their equivalent in the form of the flushing land spaniel. Although the flushing spaniel owes most of his inheritance to the couching dogs of early days, other additions changed his size and style of hunting. What these crossings were is a matter of conjecture, but they may have come from the small, though massive, heavy-skinned influence of the low-stationed hound. The result was a passionate and happy hunting dog that flushed rather than pointed. These dogs became very popular with British gunners, and a variety of sizes and color types developed.

The Sussex is probably a remnant of the oldest type, maintaining a hint of hound in both his heavy-skinned appearance and his urge to give tongue when on scent (especially fur). His earliest proponent, in the 1790s, was A.E. Fuller of Rosehill Park, in the British county of Sussex. By 1803, the British dog press was praising "the golden Spaniel of Sussex, the largest and strongest of the Spaniels." This proves that not only was the Sussex in England at that time, but other types of spaniels also existed with which to compare him.
Since its original introduction, this rare spaniel has constantly verged on extinction. Despite fine abilities and the beautiful golden color, the breed has never attracted a wide circle of fanciers. British breeder Joy Freer may have held the longest interest, acquiring her first Sussex in 1923 and maintaining her sponsorship until her death in 1984. She literally carried the breed through the Second World War, borrowing a little of her hogs' rations here and butcher's scraps there to maintain her eight dogs through the years of food rationing. She continued a limited breeding program through those difficult years, regimentally and carefully placing the one litter a year with others who loved the breed. Nearly all modern dogs trace to these eight survivors of the War.

To say the breed base is narrow does not begin to define the problems. With so few in existence, all closely inbred through necessity, it has been a difficult task to upgrade stock. But much to the credit of fanciers on both sides of the Atlantic, improvement is being accomplished. Great care is taken with the placement of each precious puppy, since every dog may be needed for promotion of the breed or for breeding stock.
In appearance, the Sussex has a tendency to loose skin, heavy and long, low-set ears and prominent flew, reminiscent of the hound—with the setter's heavy fringed coat and merry, docile disposition. The breed is a sturdy hunter with great stamina, though not quick. This probably proved its downfall in later years, against the more agile swift retrievers and setters.
This is a laid-back spaniel who, while friendly, is a bit more territorial than most others of his group. Devoted to his family, he rarely lets them out of his sight. Owning one means having a shadow around the house. Sussex Spaniels take correction well and learn quickly. Many have the endearing habit of "smiling" when excited, or when asking forgiveness after a scolding. Swimming is a passion taken to naturally. If not hunted, the Sussex will find his own quarry: birds, insects and butterflies.
Joy Freer described them like this: "There is no other animal which has his coloring except the lion . . . [the Sussex] also have the same big bone and big feet, and something of the same steady way of regarding you that the lion does."