Which spaniel in your opinion has the best scenting ability?

[Spanieldaniel]

Just curious, as I have a cocker. Her nose is brilliant. She’s still young so can get distracted but the older she’s getting the more in tune she is getting.

There’s nothing better than watching a dog pick up and scent and track it

[Steve007]

I think you had better separate dashing Upland spaniels eg English Cocker, Springer, American Water etc. from the slower heavier spaniels such as Clumber and possibly Sussex that are more closely related to the Basset Hound. you would have to think that the latter would have better ground scenting ability, but that's not to say they can find and flush birds better, as they transparently cannot.

[MNTonester]

Can't really say, but my Springer was a no quit hunter who rarely lost a bird. I loved watching that dog work a scent

[jmez]

Pretty much equal and adequate. Hunt drive will be the difference.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2023 using Tapatalk

[oregon woodsmoke]

My family has had an English Springer, Field Trial CH lines from Britain, and a Welsh Springer, from hunting lines, and now an Epagneul Breton.

All three had good noses, all three would find birds, all three were excellent to live with and to hunt with. I would recommend any of the three breeds. Of the three, the EB really stands out for his nose. His sense of smell is phenomenal. I've lived with several breeds that are known for their nose work and this EB gets comments about his nose because his sense of smell is so outstanding.

Also a Bracco Italiano and she doesn't seem to have much of a sense of smell, but she is a very weird dog and I do not think she is typical of the breed. No hunting with her because she is the worst coward I've ever met. She doesn't want to leave the house.

[CDN_Cocker]

I have an 11 year old cocker and at this point in his life I have hunted with quite a few other dogs. I always thought I was just biased because he was my first bird dog but I can confidently say he has an above average nose. My younger dog is a small munsterlander. Also a good nose but not the same. As a young dog the cocker ran like a banshee and you could see the quality of his nose bailing him out all the time despite him running like a maniac. The munster is much more methodical and you can see her actively *using* her nose more than he did. They also use scent differently... the cocker is more of an air scenter whereas the munster is more of a tracker / ground scenter.