History Two FEATURES DISTINGUISH the Sussex. The first is his colour, which is described as "golden liver"-a colour found only in this breed. It is a rich lustrous brown said to be an inheritance from one brood bitch in the breed's founding kennel. His other distinction is the Sussex's unspaniel-like trait of giving tongue when he scents game. It has been claimed that by the tone of the dog's bark the huntsman can tell whether the game is fur or feather and whether the scent is fresh or stale. Because of this vocalizing it is assumed that the Sussex has hound blood in his make-up. The balance of his ancestry comes from various spaniel breeds-the Field, and the now extinct Welsh, and the Springer-found in Britain in 1795, the year when a Mr. Fuller set out to develop the Sussex. As the name suggests, the breed originated in the county of Sussex, England and was created to be a sturdy, slow moving sporting dog that the hunter could follow comfortably on foot. For fifty years Fuller worked to stabilize his "Rosehill" strain and, on his death in 1847, a breeding pair passed to his head keeper who continued an interest in the Sussex for the next forty years. The breed was first shown at the Crystal Palace in 1862, and by 1870 the Sussex was in great demand. However, a disease called "dumb madness" had so severely depleted stock, breeders had to resort to intensive in-breeding to keep the Sussex alive. As a consequence the breed suffered from decreased vigour and fertility. Two world wars also took their toll and by the 1940s things were looking pretty bleak. Something had to be done to bring new blood into the breed and because little breeding was taking place outside Britain importing it was out of the question. About the year 1954 a cross to the Clumber Spaniel was successful. Size, temperament, and vigour all improved and the breed continues to enjoy a following in Britain. Few are seen in Canada.
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| GENERAL
APPEARANCE *** The Sussex Spaniel was among the first ten breeds to be recognized and admitted to the Stud Book when the American Kennel Club was formed in 1884, but it has existed as a distinct breed for much longer. As its name implies, it derives its origin from the county of Sussex, England, and it was used there since the eighteenth century as a field dog. During the late 1800's the reputation of the Sussex Spaniel as an excellent hunting companion was well known among the estates surrounding Sussex County. Its short legs, massive build, long body, and habit of giving tongue when on scent made the breed ideally suited to penetrating the dense undergrowth and flushing game within range of the gun. Strength, maneuverability, and desire were essential for this purpose. Although it has never gained great popularity in numbers, the Sussex Spaniel continues today essentially unchanged in character and general appearance from those 19th century sporting dogs. The Sussex Spaniel presents a long and low, rectangular and rather massive appearance coupled with free movements and nice tail action. The breed has a somber and serious expression. The rich golden liver color is unique to the breed.
TEMPERAMENT *** Kindly disposition, aggression highly undesirable.
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| HEAD
AND SKULL *** Skull wide, showing moderate curve from ear to ear, neither
flat nor apple headed, with centre indentation and a pronounced stop.
Brows frowning; occiput decided, but not pointed. Nostrils well
developed and liver in colour. Well balanced head. Correct head and
expression are important features of the breed. Its expression is somber
and serious, and fairly heavy brows produce a frowning expression. The
whole of the skull gives an appearance of heaviness, but not dullness.
The wide, moderately long skull has an indentation in the middle. The
occiput is full but not pointed. The brows are fairly heavy. The stop is
full. The distance from the stop to the occiput is longer than that of
the muzzle, which is approximately three inches in length. The muzzle
has a square profile. The lips are somewhat pendulous. Serious faults:
Narrow head. Weak muzzle. TEETH -- A full complement of strong, white
teeth meet in a scissors bite, which is preferred. Minor fault:
Any deviation from a scissors bite. EYES -- The fairly large eyes are
hazel in color, with a soft, languishing expression. Very little haw is
visible Minor fault: Light eyes. NOSE -- Nose leather is
liver-colored. The nostrils are well developed.
EARS *** The thick, fairly large ears are lobe-shaped. They are set moderately low on the head, slightly above the outside comer of the eye. . |
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| EYES
*** Hazel colour, fairly large, not full, but soft expression and not
showing much haw.
EARS *** Thick, fairly large and lobular, set moderately low, just above eye level. Lying close to skull. MOUTH *** Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. Upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
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NECK *** Long, strong, and slightly arched, not carrying head much above level of back. Slight throatiness, but well marked frill. FOREQUARTERS ***
The shoulders are well laid back and muscular. The upper arm should
correspond in length and angle of return to the shoulder blade so that
the
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| BODY
*** Chest deep and well developed; not too round and wide. Back and loin
well developed and muscular in both width and depth. The back ribs must
be deep. Whole body strong and level with no sign of waistlines from
withers to hips.
HINDQUARTERS *** Thighs strongly boned and muscular; hocks large and strong, legs short and strong with good bone. Hindlegs not appearing shorter than forelegs or over angulated.
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| FEET
*** Round, well padded, well feathered between toes.
TAIL *** Set low and never carried above level of back. Lively actioned. Preferably docked to a length of from 5-7 ins. GAIT/MOVEMENT
***
The round, deep and wide chest of the Sussex Spaniel coupled with
its short legs and long body produce a rolling gait. While its movement
is deliberate, the Sussex Spaniel is in no sense clumsy. Gait is
powerful
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| COAT
*** Abundant and flat with no tendency to curl and ample undercoat for
weather resistance. Ears covered with soft, wavy hair, but not too
profuse. Forequarters and hindquarters moderately well feathered.
Tail thickly clothed with hair but not feathered.
Gait *** The Sussex Spaniel has a characteristic rolling gait, produced by the combination of a round, deep, wide chest, short legs, and a long body. Movement is powerful and true, with perfect coordination between the fore and hind legs; never appearing clumsy. The head is held low. It is recommended that the Sussex Spaniel be exhibited on a loose lead to best see the breed's natural gait. Faults: Paddling. Weaving.
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| COLOUR
***
Rich golden liver and hair shading to golden at tip; gold
predominating. Dark liver or puce undesirable.
SIZE
*** Ideal Height: 38-41 cms (15-16 ins) at withers
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| Faults
*** The standard ranks features of the breed into three categories.
The most important features of the breed are color and general appearance. The features of secondary importance are the head, ears, back and back ribs, legs, and feet. The features of lesser importance are the eyes, nose, neck, chest and shoulders, tail, and coat. Faults also fall into three categories. Major faults are color that is too light or too dark, white on any part of the body other than the chest, and a curled coat. Serious faults are a narrow head, weak muzzle, the presence of a topknot, and ageneral appearance that is sour and crouching. Minor faults are light eyes, white on chest, the deviation from proper height ranges, lightness of bone, shortness of body or a body that is flat-sided, and a bite other than scissors. There are no disqualifications in the Sussex Spaniel standard. NOTE *** Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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Sussex Spaniel 
