The Clumber Spaniel – Defying The Odds

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248 – March, 2023

By Amy Fernandez

The great thing about purebreds is their infinite variety. This has nothing to do with capricious whims. It’s all about fine-tuning a genetic formula for that ultimate combination of utility and beauty. It’s a tall order, but it’s led to the creation of over 400 breeds. Some, like Cockers and Labs have earned broad, lasting appeal. They will always have fans. Then there’s the Clumber. Also a Sporting dog and a spaniel, it is unlikely that we will ever witness the Clumber scaling the heights of top ten popularity.

For multiple reasons, you might say that Clumber appreciation has never been a well-trodden path. This breed is meant for true loyalists. Clumber lovers know what they like and they really don’t care what the rest of the world thinks about it. Obviously, that attitude instantly weeds out the dilettantes. It can also lead to trouble.

From a historical standpoint, it’s hard to believe that the Clumber is still here. It has a singular track record for defying the odds-and those odds have rarely been in its favor. The single advantage explaining this death-defying history is also somewhat baffling. The Clumber has never attracted much of a fanbase. BUT…it has always demonstrated an uncanny knack for luring in “all the right people” to paraphrase the Marx Brothers.

Currently classified as a vulnerable breed in its homeland with less than 300 dogs registered annually, those stats didn’t budge when Sh. Ch. Raycroft Socialite became the breed’s first Crufts BIS winner in 1991. Nor did it change a few years later in 1996 when Ch. Clussexx Country Sunrise won Westminster. Taken together, those milestone accomplishments should have opened the floodgates, but it didn’t happen.

In contrast to most breeds, Clumbers breezed into purebred legitimacy. While the AKC and the Kennel Club shuffled and reshuffled other spaniels into various registration and exhibition categories, the Clumber was treated like a VIP, with separate recognition and classification status from the start. Shown at Westminster since 1878, the breed earned a handful of group placements over the years and, of course, that milestone BIS in 1996.

Crufts Centennial Winner

Click here to read the complete article
248 – March, 2023

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