The Sussex Spaniel can be traced back in the UK to the early 1800's.

Mr Fuller of Rosehill, Sussex, England, is credited with being their founder and kept them for 50 years until the 1850's. Though there were other Sussex Spaniel breeders.

They were originally bred as gundogs to work the thick heavy clay soil and dense gorse bushes of Sussex and West Kent in England.

In those days the rich country landowners, who had lots of staff to look after kennels and stables, bred many dogs for different functions and it is because of them that we have so many different breeds today.

The Sussex Spaniel is still used for flushing up game, as it has a fine nose for pheasant. It is not however a particularly good retriever, and so not as popular as the Retriever and Springer Spaniel, who can do both jobs.

By the end of World War II there were still a few Sussex Spaniels about. However, breeding was discouraged in wartime and resulted in only 5 known Sussex Spaniels remaining in 1945.

Although there are far more than this today in the UK, we still have a small gene pool. Only 70-100 Sussex puppies are registered each year.

Further reading: Peggy Grayson's "The Sussex Spaniel" and Edward J Orton's "A History of the Sussex Spaniel" can be obtained from The Sussex Spaniel Association web site