Informationsbrev inkorsningsprojektet

Sista juni 2026 skickades det årliga informationsbrevet om projektet ut till field spaniel- och spanielklubbar jorden runt:

“To the Board and Health coordinator of

Field Spaniel Club Nederland
Field Spaniel Club of NSW
Fieldspanielit ry
Field Spaniel Society of America
Field Spaniel Society of Canada
Fox River Field Spaniel Club
Mid Atlantic Field Spaniel Club
The Field Spaniel Society
Jagdspaniel-Klub e. V.
Klub Spanieli i Psów Dowodnych
Norsk Spaniel Klub
Slovenski klub za španjele
Spaniel Club Deutschland
Spaniel Club Français
Spaniel Club Schweiz
Spaniel Klubben
Suomen Spanieliliitto - Finlands Spanielförbund ry

Dear new and old Field Spaniel friends,

As you might already know from our previous sent yearly information or from our website, in March 2024 the Swedish Kennel Club (Svenska Kennelklubben - SKK - https://www.skk.se/) approved an outcross project to increase the genetic diversity and reproductive traits in the Field Spaniel.

Now it is again time for some updates, and additional information as there seem to be some misunderstandings regarding the project.

This project should not be confused with mixed breeding – the long term goal is to create a typical Field Spaniel but with better genetic diversity and reproductivity traits.

The estimated average genetic inbreeding coefficient for the Field Spaniel is 38.6% (Bannasch et al., 2021). Compared to other breeds that is high.

Numerous studies show that inbreeding has a negative impact on traits associated with reproduction and survival, known as fitness traits. The term used to describe this effect is inbreeding depression. This can manifest as reduced fertility in parent animals or impaired growth and vitality in offspring.

The average litter size for the Field Spaniel was 5,4 puppies per litter during 2021–2025 in the Nordic countries. This is lower compared to breeds of approximately the same weight range.

Each year the Swedish Field Spaniel Club (Field Spaniel Klubben – FSK) do a reproduction survey asking it’s members and breeders in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for information about semen test results, mating attempts etc.

In 2021 and 2022, the breeders conducted a total of 33 breeding attempts. Out of these attempts 20 (60%) resulted in a mating, and 13 (40%) did not result in a mating. 36% of the mating attempts resulted in puppies.

For 2023-2025 seven males from different countries living in Sweden were reported semen tested at 1-6 years old – 4 sterile (57%), 3 fertile (43%), and then one previously tested fertile at five years old but at eleven - sterile.

There were reported that breeding attempts were made at 37 seasons in 2023-2025, and out of these, 23 (62%) resulted in a mating with the planned male, whereas 11 (30%) did not result in a mating even if there was a change of males.

Compared to other breeds this is not a normal outcome.

The project has been planned in close collaboration with our head club the Swedish Spaniel and Retriever Club (Svenska Spaniel och Retrieverklubben - SSRK -  https://ssrk.se/) and the Swedish Kennel Club, and it fully follows the SKK rules and recommendations regarding planning and execution of outcross projects.

The puppies born within the project is registered as ’fieldspaniel/rasvård’ (approximate meaning: Field Spaniel / breed care), not in the normal SE registry though but in the X registry.

The full Field Spaniels in the normal SE registry get a registration number starting with SE followed by an individual number and then the year of registration, for example SE39277/2020.

The project dogs in the X registry on the other hand, start their registration number with SXX, for example SXX41078/2024, this way they are easily traceable in future pedigrees.

The breeds chosen, and approved by the SKK for outcrossing, are the English Springer Spaniel, the Welsh Springer Spaniel, and the English Cocker Spaniel - three breeds with good fertility and with Spaniel mentality. The three breed clubs have a positive stance to the project.

To ensure continous good health and temperament there are detailed instructions in the project plan as to what is required from the donor dogs as per age and health tests done etc.

According to SKK rules, dogs in outcross projects will be able to attend all SKK activities such as obedience, nose work, shows, field trials, mentality descriptions, health tests etc, this to be able to openly and  continously evaluate conformation, mentality and health in the project dogs.

The choice of which of these three breeds to outcross to is largely up to the breeder. The planned mating must be approved by the Field Spaniel Club's board before it is carried out though.

Broadly speaking a number of Field Spaniels will be bred to a donor breed, and then the offspring will be bred back to Field Spaniels. In the fourth generation they can be registered in the normal SE registry again, according to international FCI rules.

It is the hope that these Field Spaniels then will be able to contribute with new genes to the rest of the population, for those who so wish.

According to SKK rules all live puppies born in a litter must be registered with the SKK, also those born within an outcross project.

The SKK has a public database which means both dogs in the SE registry and the X registry can be seen by anyone with access to the internet.

To find all dogs from the outcross project go to the SKK database https://hundar.skk.se/hunddata/ - Sök hundar - Ras: - Fieldspaniel/rasvård - Sök.

The dogs from the outcross project can also be found in the international database https://www.fleckenbase.de/db1/index.php?breed=FIS, to get full information there you need to create an account (free of charge) and log in.

Since the project was approved by the SKK in 2024, two outcross litters have been registered.

The sire to the first litter was a twelve year old English Cocker Spaniel and the sire of the second litter was an eight and a half year old English Springer Spaniel.

A try made with a twelve year old Welsh Springer Spaniel only resulted in one still born pup.

To get to know more about the project, the full project plan, news etc, please take a look at our webpage where information about the project can be found both in Swedish and in English - https://www.fieldspanielklubben.se/inkorsningsprojekt-1.

Yours Sincerely,

Med vänlig hälsning
Monika Jansson
Ordförande Field Spaniel Klubben”