Known as “the flusher,” the Sussex Spaniel is an old breed dating to the 1700s when it was relied upon to flush birds from hiding places, and then retrieve the game after the hunter’s shot. It was also one of the original nine breeds recognized by the AKC in 1884.
Early British breeds were often named after locations, and the Sussex was no different. Augustus Elliott Fuller is credited with being the breed’s founder, and in fact he kept them as working dogs on his estate in Rosehill Sussex for some 50 years.
The “spaniel” part of the breed’s name, however (and in fact, any spaniel) is more of a toss up. Many believe that the source of the word, “spaniel” came from Spain. One cynologist, however,(Colonel David Hancock) believes he has traced the word “spaniel” to the French verb espanir, meaning “to crouch or flatten,” and even further back to the Latin explanere, and the Italian spianare, also “to flatten or flatten out.”
We don’t see nearly enough Sussex Spaniels (which the Kennel Club lists as one of its Vulnerable Breeds) and if you have one, share his or her picture?
Sussex Spaniel by Walter Weber (1906 -1979)
This print is available here
Here are two
Ruby and Amy
Awwww, Georgia, they’re awesome!
Here’s another!
Love it!! These dogs have the Best Faces Ever
Here are my two Trundle and Rye, hooligans both, wouldn’t be without them.
Squeal, they’re wonderful, Ki!!!
This is Clyde on his first birthday a couple weeks ago
Clyde looking for birds!
Go get ’em, Clyde!
Clyde. What a great name for a Sussex!
Just gotta love them
Here’s Jackson and his maniac grandson Booker.
What a pair of good looking dogs! Thanks for sharing,Bob!
Loki in the snow.
How wonderful, Kerry, thanks for sharing Loki’s “snow angel” image with us!
I want to Thank You so much for providing these well written articles of all these dogs and what they were used for. My colleagues and club members have been praising me for sharing these interesting and informative of purebred dogs and their purpose.
I share the regularly on The Facebook Group and Pages of Greater Muskegon Kennel Club, Grand Rapids Kennel Club, West Mchigan Apple Blossom and Harvest Cluster Dog Show and my business page of Hall of Fame Mobile Grooming.
Please keep up your great works
You know, Patricia, we were wondering how we got so famous (grin) after seeing some of the posts show up on the pages of so many kennel clubs. There’s been no living with us (swelled head, and all that). We’re delighted that anything that can inspire pride in folks who’ve been targets of guilt trips (usually by the adopt-don’t-shop folks) is being passed along, so thank you!