Welcome to the Kaper Field Spaniels website! We hope that you enjoy the photos of our merry pranksters and reading and learning about Field Spaniels!Kaper Field Spaniels is a small, family based breeder and exhibitor of Field Spaniels located both in Massachusetts and Arizona. We have placed Field Spaniels into loving homes in many states of the USA and in Canada. We take pride in our limited breedings with utmost consideration to the health, temperament, and breed type (appearance) of our puppies. All of our puppies are raised in our home where they are well cared for and well socialized. We enjoy the sport of breed exhibition in dog shows, tracking and obedience work, but mostly we enjoy time spent with our dogs in our home and daily life. In Massachusetts we are Carole Hill Kaye and Steven Kaye and children Michael and Emily. In Arizona we are Ralph and Lucille Hill.You can contact us via email at these email addresses:
Carole Kaye is an active member of the Field Spaniel Society of America and currently serves as the Newsletter Editor, the Archivist/Historian and the Librarian for the club. She also is the Vice President of the Concord Dog Training Club (an AKC club). She is a member of the American Spaniel Club and is actively involved in their Archive Committee work group. Carole Kaye has had Field Spaniels since 1997, and has always lived with dogs. She enjoys breed exhibition, obedience, tracking and canine freestyle (dancing) in addition to long walks and playing with her dogs. Kaper Field Spaniels are family raised in the home, not in a large kennel. Socialization, good health and excellent care of young puppies are a priority. Dogs are selectively bred for health, breed conformation and good temperament. Most of Kaper's puppies go to show and pet family homes, a few go to hunting and performance homes.
PUPPIES DUE APRIL 28, 2008. Scroll to bottom for details.
Site Contents: Welcome to our Kaper Field Spaniels website.• What is a Field Spaniel and what makes a Field Spaniel so special?• Origins of the Field Spaniel• Field Spaniels of Today• Health of the Field Spaniel *** Puppies ***
What is a Field Spaniel and what makes a Field Spaniel so special?
Field Spaniels are rare, handsome, dignified medium sized dogs of ancient spaniel heritage that are usually liver (dark brown) colored or black. The rarest Field Spaniel is the roan which is either black or liver colored with white hairs mixed in “ticking”. They can be any of these colors with tan points, such as you would see on a Doberman, having tan markings on the muzzle, eyebrows, front of legs etc. Some Fields have a blaze of white from their necks down through their chests. Their weight runs about 35 – 55 pounds, the males being the larger sized, and they stand about as high as your knee (16-18 inches at the withers.) Their straight or slightly wavy dense coat is a single coat without an undercoat and the consistency is very silky yet strong. The body coat is up to about 2 inches in length, but they have longer, beautiful feathering on their ears, legs, chest, underbelly and tails (which are customarily docked as befits a field working dog – for protection against painful damage in the fields.) They have low set pendulant ears and long muzzles and are characterized by their gentle, wise expressions. Most of this you can see by looking at the photos.What you cannot see in the photos is that Field Spaniels are sensitive dogs and do not respond well to harsh corrections. A gentle reminder is all that is required for their training as they are well in tune with wanting to please their owners, as well as themselves. They can have a bit of a stubborn streak and sometimes patience is necessary when the dog seems to have decided it knows better than its owner. This ability of the FS to think and have a brain of its own makes it somewhat different from some other breeds of dogs that might be a little easier to train, mostly because these other dogs just want someone to tell them what to do because they don’t have many creative thoughts of their own. The FS does have a brain and uses it to set goals and to figure out solutions for how to achieve their goals. They also have a sense of humor and can figure out how to make you laugh, while having a gleeful time for themselves. These are clever dogs, indeed, and they are a joy to live with, providing that you have a bit of a sense of humor.Life with a Field Spaniel requires that you offer some attention to your dog, just as your dog will be attentive to you. They are very affectionate if you allow it. They love to play games such as fetch and retrieve. You may think that they are gerbils in disguise if you get one as a puppy, because just about every FS pup in the world loves to shred paper or paper products and needs to learn that this isn’t such a neat thing (literally) to do. Your dog will follow you everywhere because they love people and want to be with their family. Some might, on occasion, be sloppy drinkers and leave a puddle around the water bowl, while others may take a mouthful and deliver it to your lap, or your guest’s lap. Most, but not all, FS love to swim and take naturally to the water.When you take your dog out you will frequently be asked “What kind of dog is that?” You might explain, “It is a Field Spaniel …a fairly rare spaniel breed that is a little smaller than a Springer and somewhat bigger than a Cocker.” “What a Beautiful Dog!” they will usually respond.Some FS are very friendly and outgoing with strangers, while others are somewhat reserved to downright shy. Usually the shyer ones will outgrow their insecurity with age and with lots of experiences with treats passed to strangers to offer to the dog. Very few FS have aggression issues and the breed is not reputed to be great watch dogs although most will give a loud howdy do when the door bell rings. Our Kaper dogs are always on the alert for newcomers and enthusiastically announce their arrival. Sometimes they greet the visitors in a friendly attention seeking manner, other times they decide they’d be more comfortable upstairs and out of sight.Fields are generally docile, fun loving dogs. They are soft mouthed and gentle and rarely clumsy. They typically are not hyperactive and don’t make pests of themselves unless they are totally ignored and infrequently exercised. They are generally content to lie by your side, but they will follow you everywhere and love to just hang out in the car waiting for a ride to anywhere or nowhere, always optimistic that you’re heading toward their favorite conservation area for a good run. Dogs that are bred to be performance (obedience, agility etc.) dogs tend to be a little more high energy and attention demanding than that those that are bred for the breed conformation show ring and for pets. Field Spaniels make great family dogs as well as hunter’s companions or performance dogs and are frequently used as Therapy dogs. These are dogs that can do it all.
Origins of the Field Spaniel
Spaniels have been documented for many centuries, particularly in Europe and the UK. The breeds and categories of today have evolved from earlier distinctions. The smallest of the spaniels were known as ‘comforters’ and were the foundations of today’s “toy” varieties. The larger, working spaniels were classified as either “land” spaniels or as “water” spaniels. Of the ‘land” spaniels, those that were larger and which had a tendency to crouch or “set” when detecting game evolved into the various “setter” breeds. The other, more flushing land spaniels began to be divided into “strains” according to size, function, and regional characteristics. In the UK and the USA, the smaller of the land spaniels became known as “cocker spaniels” because of their unique specialty of working the woodcock birds. Larger flushing spaniels were commonly referred to as “field spaniels” or “springers” because of the way they would ‘spring’ or flush out the game. Today’s breeds known as Clumbers, Sussex, Field, English Springer (formerly Norfolk), and Welsh Springer Spaniels all belonged in the latter category of springers or field spaniels during the 19th century. Near the turn on the 20th century, these other varieties of spaniels became distinct breeds, and the breed known as Field Spaniels were the larger springers that were generally black or liver or roan in color. Fields were those spaniels that did not particularly fit into the toy, Cocker, Clumber, Sussex, Norfolk (English Springer) or Welsh Springer categories, although they commonly interbred. The breed type standard for the Field Spaniel was established by the kennel clubs and expert writers of the day. When the dog show phenomenon began to take hold in the latter part of the 19th century, the various strains of spaniels became more carefully defined by these ‘breed standards’ and the whims and fancies of the breeders and the judges of the day greatly influenced the evolution of the spaniel family. With some exceptions among breeders who still hunted over their dogs, spaniels were no longer being selectively bred necessarily for their usefulness as working dogs in the field. They were instead being bred according to the fancy notions of what would ‘win’ in the dog show world, which of course was in part defined by whimsical ideas of what a good spaniel should look like. The then current fad for purebred dogs was influenced by the rise of the middle class and the social acknowledgement that having a pure bred dog gave a person status and respectability. Hunting was a gentleman’s sport, and sporting dogs were very popular status symbols. By 1900 the breed that had come to be known as the “Field Spaniel” had just passed its peek of popularity amongst the spaniel fanciers. Many of the breeders of the day had caused the breed to become excessively long and low because that was what was thought to be superior and was winning in the show rings, but then the press began to ridicule them for their extremes, causing them to be less desirable. The Field Spaniel was left with only a few dedicated breeders, and their numbers diminished significantly while other breeds, notably the cocker and the English Springer Spaniel began to soar in notoriety and popularity. The remaining breeders did what they could to reestablish the breed’s appearance, or “type”, to be higher up on leg and of a more moderate length, while preserving the very special and distinguishing head of the Field Spaniel. Even though they were successful in reestablishing the quality of the breed, unfortunately, their efforts did not win back the popularity for the breed because other breeds had by then captured the public’s fancy, and because of the advent of the world wars. Throughout the 1900’s, the Field Spaniel had some ups and downs, but these were mostly downs until the current revival began in the late 1960’s. All of today’s Field Spaniels can be traced back in lineage to 4 dogs from that era. We can all be grateful to that handful of breeders who salvaged the breed throughout the 1900’s. Without them, we wouldn’t have these wonderful dogs that we have today!
Field Spaniels of Today
Still a relatively rare breed, the Field Spaniel of today is watched over by the breeders and the parent clubs for the breed. In the USA, there is the Field Spaniel Society of America; founded by a small group of fanciers in 1978, we now have over 200 members. In the UK, there is the Field Spaniel Society, founded 1923. There are several Field Spaniels in Australia and in the Netherlands, but the numbers are very limited outside of these regions. Worldwide the number of Field Spaniels is probably in the vicinity of 3000 total. The Field Spaniel ranks number 135 out of 154 breeds in the American Kennel Club’s 2005 annual listing of breeds by their numbers registered, this reflects 137 total Field Spaniels registered in 2005. In the USA, breeders have tried to be very careful not to allow their dogs to get into the wrong hands where they might be breed indiscriminately by backyard breeders or puppy mill owners. Most FS are sold with contracts and limited AKC registrations that do not permit offspring to be bred and registered by the AKC. The best specimens of the litters might go to ‘show homes’ where they will eventually compete in the breed conformation ring (the Westminster type dog shows) where judges decide which are the most ‘typey’ (or best representatives of their breed) dogs and award them points to be applied toward attaining the title of CH or Champion. Before they are ever used for breeding, these choice specimens are generally studied for breed type, for potential health problems in themselves and in their pedigrees, and a mate is sought to make a good match. While the original purpose of the breed had its roots in hunting stock, today’s FS serves in many capacities and is most frequently found happily settled in as the family’s beloved pet. The use of dogs for hunting is becoming more obsolete due to the changing nature of our environment and society, but the natural skills and instincts of the hunting dog remain strong and can be called into action by those who wish to pursue hunting with a flushing dog. These natural skills and instincts also lend themselves to the many other uses for which the breed is employed today. Their willingness to please and intelligent, easy to train nature makes the FS a well behaved pet, an excellent obedience dog, hunting companion, or service dog such as a therapy dog, assistance dog, search and rescue, social and sniffing dog. Their superior noses make them very desirable for those who enjoy the sport of ‘Tracking.’ There are several Fields today that enjoy competing in the Agility ring and in the AKC sport of Rally obedience. The successful show dog (breed conformation shows) is in fact a very well trained animal with a socially acceptable temperament and has other characteristics including the physical appearance that exemplify the correct ‘type’ of the breed, or the features that distinguish one breed from another. The Field Spaniel is truly a versatile companion and excels in being the family dog, a loyal and fun loving best friend to every member of the family. Even though the breed has plenty of energy, the mature dogs tend not to be hyperactive and annoying in the home. That is so long as they get an opportunity to get at least a moderate amount of exercise daily. A few good walks or runs about in the yard can keep them content. They delight in off lead romps and can really get into high gear when set loose for a good run…. which is something that they do need every now and then in addition to the daily walks or back yard excursions. Puppies will however, be puppies, and are prone to household disruption and carryings on. Patience and consistency in setting limits while they grow up will eventually do the trick. Fields have wonderful senses of humor which they don’t loose as they age. They do eventually learn the rules of the house as time goes on so their comedy is a bit more proper or acceptable. The silly and fun loving antics of the Field Spaniel has inspired our kennel name prefix, “Kaper,” for they are the merry pranksters of our family. In keeping with their noble character, they do it all in a most dignified fashion.
Health of the Field Spaniel
All of today’s Field Spaniels throughout the world can be traced back to 4 dogs from the 1960’s. This means that all our dogs share a very close gene pool. Luckily, this limited gene pool has kept out some of the severely disabling genetic problems that plague many other breeds. Unfortunately, there are some problems that we do have that are at least in part genetic and which we need to be diligent in our breeding programs to try to reduce or eliminate. Breeders need to open and honest with one another when it comes to sharing information related to all health conditions of not only the dogs being bred but also of the other close relatives of the breeding pair. Most breeders of Fields are careful not to “double up” on any type of health condition or fault in the dogs being bred. Breeders must be willing to do the homework involved in testing and selecting mates for their dogs that will serve to improve upon the health of the dogs, as well as achieving the many other objectives with their breeding programs. Because Fields are rare, it has been necessary to breed to improve some dogs that may have one problem or another. With each generation breeders hope to gain better dogs and to eventually eliminate or minimize incidence of health problems. The recent Field Spaniel Society of America (FSSA) health survey has confirmed that cancer is the breed’s number one killer. The Field Spaniel breed has a notable incidence of ear infections (not uncommon in among the pendulant eared spaniel family), allergies, hypothyroidism, hip dysplasia and eyelid problems. There was a minimal number of reports of elbow problems (only one case), and only a very few reports of specified cardiopulmonary/hematology problems (including only one incidence of Von Willebrand’s Disease.) After this survey was conducted there were some newly diagnosed incidents of heart murmurs which have caused some concern among breeders. Not noted in these survey results was the problem of bad “bites” or dental problems (which several FS actually have), nor was there a category in this section of the survey to report on actual incidence of temperament problems, which while fairly rare in the USA, should still be a significant concern for breeders and owners.FSSA Health Survey results (survey conducted 11/02 thru 3/03) taken from the FSSA Newsletter Fall 2004. 666 dogs were reported in this section of the survey. PERCENT of DOGS: HEALTH CATEGORY:25.11 Ear Problems (including 16.37% ear infections, 3.36% ear wax, 1 dog or 0.22 deafness) 20.18 Skin Disorders including allergies, hot spots and undefined dermatological19.73 Musculoskeletal Conditions including 6.05% Hip - CHD? And 0.22% elbow disorder (1 dog reported).19.06 Ophthalmic (including 1 dog with PRA or 0.22% and 2.47% adult cataracts and nearly 4% eye lid problems and 9.64% other eye defects/disorders)16.82 Reproduction 10.99 Gastrointestinal (mostly nonspecific) 9.87 Endocrine Disorders including 8.97% incidence of Hypothyroidism 8.30 Cancers 4.71 CardioPulmonary/Hematology including only 3 instances of congenital problems (or .67% of total dogs) and 17 undefined problems (this is what was reported prior to a finding of heart murmurs in some breed members which were later discussed in the Fall 2004 newsletter) 4.26 Urinary System Problems 3.81 Neurological Disorders 3.81 Drug Reactions 2.69 Immune Mediated Diseases
PUPPIES
Sometimes we have puppies available and we do keep a waiting list for anyone interested. Send us an email if you are interested in learning more about field spaniels or if you would like to get on our waiting list for a puppy.kaper@comcast.net
APRIL 2008 PUPPIES
The puppies are out of CH Kaper's Down the Rabbit Hole "Alice" a liver, by CH Windward's Santa's Bad Boy TD "Coal" a black. Both sire and dam may be tan point carriers so the pups expected will be black or liver and some may have tan points. Both Sire and Dam have all the FSSA recommended health clearances and more:
CH Kaper’s Down the Rabbit Hole “Alice” CHIC, OFA Hips Fair, OFA Cardiac Normal, CERF Passed, OFA Thyroid NormalCH Windward’s Santa’s Bad Boy TD “Coal” CHIC OFA Hips Excellent, OFA Cardiac Normal, CERF Passed, OFA Thyroid Normal, OFA Elbows Normal
Contact Carole Kaye at Kaper@comcast.net for more information about this litter.
Spaniels have been documented for many centuries, particularly in Europe and the UK. The breeds and categories of today have evolved from earlier distinctions. The smallest of the spaniels were known as ‘comforters’ and were the foundations of today’s “toy” varieties. The larger, working spaniels were classified as either “land” spaniels or as “water” spaniels. Of the ‘land” spaniels, those that were larger and which had a tendency to crouch or “set” when detecting game evolved into the various “setter” breeds. The other, more flushing land spaniels began to be divided into “strains” according to size, function, and regional characteristics. In the UK and the USA, the smaller of the land spaniels became known as “cocker spaniels” because of their unique specialty of working the woodcock birds. Larger flushing spaniels were commonly referred to as “field spaniels” or “springers” because of the way they would ‘spring’ or flush out the game. Today’s breeds known as Clumbers, Sussex, Field, English Springer (formerly Norfolk), and Welsh Springer Spaniels all belonged in the latter category of springers or field spaniels during the 19th century. Near the turn on the 20th century, these other varieties of spaniels became distinct breeds, and the breed known as Field Spaniels were the larger springers that were generally black or liver or roan in color. Fields were those spaniels that did not particularly fit into the toy, Cocker, Clumber, Sussex, Norfolk (English Springer) or Welsh Springer categories, although they commonly interbred. The breed type standard for the Field Spaniel was established by the kennel clubs and expert writers of the day. When the dog show phenomenon began to take hold in the latter part of the 19th century, the various strains of spaniels became more carefully defined by these ‘breed standards’ and the whims and fancies of the breeders and the judges of the day greatly influenced the evolution of the spaniel family. With some exceptions among breeders who still hunted over their dogs, spaniels were no longer being selectively bred necessarily for their usefulness as working dogs in the field. They were instead being bred according to the fancy notions of what would ‘win’ in the dog show world, which of course was in part defined by whimsical ideas of what a good spaniel should look like. The then current fad for purebred dogs was influenced by the rise of the middle class and the social acknowledgement that having a pure bred dog gave a person status and respectability. Hunting was a gentleman’s sport, and sporting dogs were very popular status symbols. By 1900 the breed that had come to be known as the “Field Spaniel” had just passed its peek of popularity amongst the spaniel fanciers. Many of the breeders of the day had caused the breed to become excessively long and low because that was what was thought to be superior and was winning in the show rings, but then the press began to ridicule them for their extremes, causing them to be less desirable. The Field Spaniel was left with only a few dedicated breeders, and their numbers diminished significantly while other breeds, notably the cocker and the English Springer Spaniel began to soar in notoriety and popularity. The remaining breeders did what they could to reestablish the breed’s appearance, or “type”, to be higher up on leg and of a more moderate length, while preserving the very special and distinguishing head of the Field Spaniel. Even though they were successful in reestablishing the quality of the breed, unfortunately, their efforts did not win back the popularity for the breed because other breeds had by then captured the public’s fancy, and because of the advent of the world wars. Throughout the 1900’s, the Field Spaniel had some ups and downs, but these were mostly downs until the current revival began in the late 1960’s. All of today’s Field Spaniels can be traced back in lineage to 4 dogs from that era. We can all be grateful to that handful of breeders who salvaged the breed throughout the 1900’s. Without them, we wouldn’t have these wonderful dogs that we have today!
Still a relatively rare breed, the Field Spaniel of today is watched over by the breeders and the parent clubs for the breed. In the USA, there is the Field Spaniel Society of America; founded by a small group of fanciers in 1978, we now have over 200 members. In the UK, there is the Field Spaniel Society, founded 1923. There are several Field Spaniels in Australia and in the Netherlands, but the numbers are very limited outside of these regions. Worldwide the number of Field Spaniels is probably in the vicinity of 3000 total. The Field Spaniel ranks number 135 out of 154 breeds in the American Kennel Club’s 2005 annual listing of breeds by their numbers registered, this reflects 137 total Field Spaniels registered in 2005. In the USA, breeders have tried to be very careful not to allow their dogs to get into the wrong hands where they might be breed indiscriminately by backyard breeders or puppy mill owners. Most FS are sold with contracts and limited AKC registrations that do not permit offspring to be bred and registered by the AKC. The best specimens of the litters might go to ‘show homes’ where they will eventually compete in the breed conformation ring (the Westminster type dog shows) where judges decide which are the most ‘typey’ (or best representatives of their breed) dogs and award them points to be applied toward attaining the title of CH or Champion. Before they are ever used for breeding, these choice specimens are generally studied for breed type, for potential health problems in themselves and in their pedigrees, and a mate is sought to make a good match. While the original purpose of the breed had its roots in hunting stock, today’s FS serves in many capacities and is most frequently found happily settled in as the family’s beloved pet. The use of dogs for hunting is becoming more obsolete due to the changing nature of our environment and society, but the natural skills and instincts of the hunting dog remain strong and can be called into action by those who wish to pursue hunting with a flushing dog. These natural skills and instincts also lend themselves to the many other uses for which the breed is employed today. Their willingness to please and intelligent, easy to train nature makes the FS a well behaved pet, an excellent obedience dog, hunting companion, or service dog such as a therapy dog, assistance dog, search and rescue, social and sniffing dog. Their superior noses make them very desirable for those who enjoy the sport of ‘Tracking.’ There are several Fields today that enjoy competing in the Agility ring and in the AKC sport of Rally obedience. The successful show dog (breed conformation shows) is in fact a very well trained animal with a socially acceptable temperament and has other characteristics including the physical appearance that exemplify the correct ‘type’ of the breed, or the features that distinguish one breed from another. The Field Spaniel is truly a versatile companion and excels in being the family dog, a loyal and fun loving best friend to every member of the family. Even though the breed has plenty of energy, the mature dogs tend not to be hyperactive and annoying in the home. That is so long as they get an opportunity to get at least a moderate amount of exercise daily. A few good walks or runs about in the yard can keep them content. They delight in off lead romps and can really get into high gear when set loose for a good run…. which is something that they do need every now and then in addition to the daily walks or back yard excursions. Puppies will however, be puppies, and are prone to household disruption and carryings on. Patience and consistency in setting limits while they grow up will eventually do the trick. Fields have wonderful senses of humor which they don’t loose as they age. They do eventually learn the rules of the house as time goes on so their comedy is a bit more proper or acceptable. The silly and fun loving antics of the Field Spaniel has inspired our kennel name prefix, “Kaper,” for they are the merry pranksters of our family. In keeping with their noble character, they do it all in a most dignified fashion.
Sometimes we have puppies available and we do keep a waiting list for anyone interested. Send us an email if you are interested in learning more about field spaniels or if you would like to get on our waiting list for a puppy.
kaper@comcast.net
CH Kaper’s Down the Rabbit Hole “Alice” CHIC, OFA Hips Fair, OFA Cardiac Normal, CERF Passed, OFA Thyroid NormalCH Windward’s Santa’s Bad Boy TD “Coal” CHIC OFA Hips Excellent, OFA Cardiac Normal, CERF Passed, OFA Thyroid Normal, OFA Elbows Normal
