spaniel

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Any of several breeds of small-sized to medium-sized dogs, usually having drooping ears, short legs, and a wavy, silky coat.
• noun A docile or servile person.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To fawn; cringe; be obsequious.
• To follow like a spaniel.
• noun A dog of a domestic breed, of medium and small sizes, with a long silky and usually curly coat, long, soft, drooping ears, feathered tail and stern, of docile, timid, and affectionate disposition, much used for sporting purposes and as pets.
• noun Figuratively, a mean, cringing, fawning person; a blindly submissive follower: from the characteristics of the spaniel in relation to its master, or when in a state of fear.
• Like a spaniel; fawningly submissive; mean; servile; cringing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• adjective Cringing; fawning.
• noun (Zoöl.) One of a breed of small dogs having long and thick hair and large drooping ears. The legs are usually strongly feathered, and the tail bushy. See Illust. under clumber, and cocker.
• noun A cringing, fawning person.
• transitive verb rare To follow like a spaniel.
• intransitive verb rare To fawn; to cringe; to be obsequious.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun Any of various small breeds of gun dog having a broad muzzle, long, wavy fur and long ears that hang at the side of the head, bred for flushing and retrieving game.
• verb To follow loyally, like a spaniel.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun any of several breeds of small to medium-sized gun dogs with a long silky coat and long frilled ears