While the statuettes seen here may not look like any spaniel you know, Staffordshire Spaniels are hot hot hot among collectors (the particular pair in this picture cost their buyer $1,250 a few years ago).
Staffordshire dog figurines are matching pairs of pottery spaniel dogs, and while many breeds were immortalized in porcelain 
during the late 1800s and throughout the 20th century (including Greyhounds, St. Bernards and Collies), no Staffordshire breed was as widely collected as spaniels as the King Charles Spaniel. This was because Queen Victoria’s beloved King Charles Spaniel, “Dash,” was portrait painted by many royal court painters. He was the quintessential Victorian pet, and a popular motif for art and pottery design during Victoria’s rule. The statues were typically put on mantelpieces where they could be admired, but they were also called “hearth spaniels” or “fireplace dogs.”
during the late 1800s and throughout the 20th century (including Greyhounds, St. Bernards and Collies), no Staffordshire breed was as widely collected as spaniels as the King Charles Spaniel. This was because Queen Victoria’s beloved King Charles Spaniel, “Dash,” was portrait painted by many royal court painters. He was the quintessential Victorian pet, and a popular motif for art and pottery design during Victoria’s rule. The statues were typically put on mantelpieces where they could be admired, but they were also called “hearth spaniels” or “fireplace dogs.”
In the beginning, great attention was given to details of the dogs which were painted by skilled artists. During the last quarter of the 1800s, however, women and children were doing the artwork, and while these pieces are still highly collectible for their charming folk-art “feel,” later pieces lacked the quality seen in earlier statues.
Authentic Staffordshire Dogs were produced until the late 1920s, but as late as the 1990s, they were still being reproduced. If you spot a hole slightly larger than a pencil eraser in the bottom of a statue, it’s one tell tale sign that the item was produced later. A flaky base is another clue.
Fireplace image: By michael ely, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13841936.