Russian Spaniel

The Russian Spaniel is the most recent Russian hunting dog breed. It descends mainly from the English Cocker Spaniel and the English Springer Spaniel. The term Russian Spaniel is used to designate a breed for the first time in 1891 in New Zealand. The first spaniel known in Russia is a black cocker belonging to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, a great hunting enthusiast, at the end of the 19th century. Subsequently, spaniels of different breeds were imported to St. Petersburg and Moscow. Some are used for hunting, but it must be acknowledged that the smallest among them are ill-suited to Russian terrain and climatic conditions. This is why, from the beginning of the 20th century, spaniels began to be selected for leg length, and springer spaniels in particular were imported to ultimately obtain a very heterogeneous population of Russian spaniels. By the end of the 1930s, such a great variety of spaniels was found in Moscow, Leningrad and Sverdlovsk that corresponded to no usual standard. More constructive breeding was implemented after World War II, in order to homogenize the breed, and resulted in the first standard for the Russian Spaniel in 1951. Revised standards were later issued in 1966 and 2000. The popularity of the breed has only increased more recently, after the beginning of the 1990s. Moscow dog shows have since assembled between 120 and 131 Russian spaniels each year, making it one of the most popular breeds in the country alongside the Irish Setter. In 2002, the Russian Spaniel Club was opened in the United States to further promote the breed outside of Russia, and to allow owners of this type of dog to register it.

The Russian Spaniel is a small robust dog with a silky coat, with some large locks of hair at the ears and legs. Its coloration is highly variable, displaying piebald, spotted or solid coats, and colors white, black or brown, with almost all combinations possible. The head and ears are generally dark. The Russian Spaniel resembles the English Cocker Spaniel, with a body similar to the hunting line of this breed, with the ears of the exhibition lines. However, its body is somewhat longer than that of the English Cocker Spaniel, and has only one line, that is to say that one does not distinguish animals intended for hunting on one side and those intended for exhibitions. Both males and females weigh approximately 13 to 18 kg, and measure 38 to 43 cm at the withers. Thus they are of similar size, or even slightly larger, than the English Cocker Spaniel which weighs approximately 13 to 14.5 kg for 39 to 41 cm tall, with females being even slightly smaller and not exceeding 38 to 39 cm. The primary function of this dog is hunting, where it spots the bird, flushes it and retrieves it on the command of the shooter. The Russian Spaniel is perfectly suited for hunting in marshes, fields or woods, where it spots birds, rabbits and other small game. It is also a popular dog in Russia because its small size poses no problem for staying in a city apartment during the week and being transported for hunting afterward.