My love of the Sussex Spaniel breed began more than 20 years ago, when, on a whim, I visited Battersea Dogs & Cats Home for the first time and fell for a very sad-looking dog. They told me it was a Sussex Spaniel – a breed I’d never heard of. Not many people have, I came to realise. Charley had been badly treated and abandoned and had already been at Battersea for three months; every time she was re-homed she ended up being brought back, as she was too difficult to handle. I initially decided not to take her, but she preyed on my mind, so I asked to take her on trial. In fact, I took her to Badminton Horse Trials, where she behaved perfectly and became my constant companion until she passed away at the grand old age of 17. Today I own two, a mother and son called Muffin and Harry. 

The Sussex Spaniel dates back to the early 1800s, when they were first bred by a sporting gentleman called Mr Fuller, who owned a large estate at Rose Hill in Sussex. He wanted a gun dog that would work in thick undergrowth, with large feet to cope with the heavy Sussex clay. By mating a variety of spaniels and hounds, he came up with the Sussex we know today. 

The Sussex is slow, sturdy and low to the ground, with a broad chest. It’s a persistent hunter and when it finds its scent, it sounds its voice, otherwise known as “giving tongue”. Remarkably, the tone varies according to whether it has found fur or feather. My neighbour, the writer Will Self, described them eloquently in his Evening Standard column as “low-slung silky hounds”. He also described the Sussex Spaniel as “rarer than a giant Panda”, which isn’t so far from the truth. Numbers have dropped dramatically since World War II, with only 50 puppies born on average each year, compared with 35,000 Labradors, so the Kennel Club has put them on the endangered list. 

The Sussex is a friendly and loving breed but they do need firm handling and are better suited to experienced owners. They can be stubborn and possessive and need to be socialised from an early age, but the Sussex Spaniel Association is excellent at advising people who are looking to own one. That said, Muffin and Harry are (on the whole) very well-behaved and have starred not only on my Instagram feed but in photoshoots for Hackett. Likewise, I’m sure they are very proud to be members of The Kennels at Goodwood – where they have their own monogrammed dog bowls – whereas I have to make do with plain china. It’s often said that owners look like their dogs. Well, my two are noble, handsome creatures.

This article was taken from the Autumn 2019 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.