Kim Parkman and Riley walk off with a successful Hunt Test run.
Kim Parkman's Pocotaligo Kennel specializes in training Boykin spaniels, but she has in the past also trained some WSS's including Brian Schmidt's Master Hunter Angus, Susan W.'s Senior Hunters Lars and Mazie (Mazie is a step away from her Mater Hunter), and Lars & Mazie's progeny, Larsen.
What is a Boykin spaniel anyway? The latest issue GunDog Magazine's cover article describes these little brown dogs as an American Original. The story goes that the original Boykin was a stray found around Spartanburg, South Carolina in the early 1900s who was found to have some very good hunting capabilities. The dog later was trained by a Mr. Whit Boykin.
The dogs are a little bigger than cockers, with docked tails. They are muscular little dogs with a dark brown coat that is usually curly but is sometimes flat. With their dark brown coats and wiggling personalities, they are very striking in person but can sometimes disappear in a photograph. Boykins have intense eyes that are surprisingly blue as puppies, and then golden brown as adults.
Only very recently have Boykin spaniels received an AKC designation, but that is just a function of that famous South Carolinian independent streak meeting up with the hauteur of the AKC. All independent opinion acknowledges that these are fine little animals that are genuine spaniel through and through.
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