Its name describes its work. Originally, the Springer made game spring up for a net, falcon or sighthound to catch, according to the FCI standard. Today, it finds game, flushes it and retrieves it for the hunter with a gun. That combination of nose, speed and carrying shapes it as a family dog too.
| FCI | Group 8 (Retrievers, Flushing Dogs and Water Dogs), Section 2 Flushing Dogs, Standard No. 125, with working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Great Britain |
| Size (height at the withers) | around 51 cm (one figure for males and females) |
| Weight | not specified in the FCI standard |
| Life expectancy | median 13,5 years among 17.905 Springers in a British analysis of 584.734 dogs (McMillan et al. 2024) |
| Coat | close-fitting, straight and weatherproof, never coarse; moderate feathering on ears, forelegs, body and hindquarters |
| Colours in the standard | liver-white or black-white, either also with tan markings; other colours not permitted |
The leggiest land spaniel
The dog should be symmetrical, compact, strong, merry and active, the leggiest and raciest of all British land spaniels. The standard calls its movement distinctive: forelegs swing freely forwards, with pacing permitted at slow speed. Smaller and more refined is the Cocker Spaniel, while the Welsh Springer Spaniel comes entirely in red and white.
Friendly and keen to take part
The standard describes a friendly, merry temperament and a responsive dog. Timidity and aggression are unacceptable. Day to day, that means great willingness to join in, with plenty of energy. A Springer without a task stays friendly but becomes inventive.
A nose that never takes a break
Allow several hours of daily exercise with real tasks for nose and mouth. Dummy training, search games, tracking and water retrieves suit it. Practise recall and calm waiting early, because a fresh field trail beats any cue that was never trained. Fixed rest periods when nothing happens matter just as much.
Eyes, hips and liver: research figures
A median of 13,5 years puts it above crossbreeds at 12,0 in the British longevity study (McMillan et al. 2024). A Norwegian study of 279 Springers without eye disease found drainage-angle malformation in 25,5 per cent. This was associated with glaucoma, which did not occur in dogs with normal drainage angles (Bjerkås et al. 2002). In Sweden, 12,1 per cent of 1.943 X-rayed Springers had hip dysplasia at grade C or above (Engdahl et al. 2026). A Cambridge study described 68 Springers with chronic hepatitis, at a median age of three and a half years on presentation (Bexfield et al. 2011). Ask for parental eye and hip results.
Ears and feathering
The coat is easier to maintain than it looks: brush thoroughly weekly, a little more often around ears and legs. Check the long ears after swimming and field paths.
A good match if
you are active outdoors, enjoy training and want a cheerful companion for family and countryside. First-time owners can manage with classes and genuine daily time.
Probably not for you if
you want a laid-back dog for short outings or it would often spend hours alone. An underoccupied Springer particularly enjoys emptying the laundry basket.
Test whether this much energy fits your daily life with the breed quiz; our book explores it further: “Welcher Hund passt WIRKLICH zu dir?” (book in German). For settling in with a puppy, there is the free Puppy Starter Pack. Your liver-and-white or black-and-white Springer looks lovely on a magazine cover on canvas or in a file for your screen: digital artwork to download.
Further reading
- Cocker Spaniel: cheerful, nose-led and prone to ear trouble
- Weimaraner: the beautiful hunting dog that never clocks off
- Dog pulling on the lead: 5 mistakes almost everyone makes
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI-Standard Nr. 125 English Springer Spaniel (fci.be, English version dated 06.10.2026, valid standard published 08.09.2026, no German version); McMillan KM et al., Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death, Scientific Reports 2024; Bjerkås E et al., Pectinate ligament dysplasia and narrowing of the iridocorneal angle associated with glaucoma in the English Springer Spaniel, Veterinary Ophthalmology 2002; Engdahl K et al., Prevalence of hip and elbow dysplasia in young adult dogs in Sweden, Veterinary Record 2026; Bexfield NH et al., Chronic hepatitis in the English springer spaniel: clinical presentation, histological description and outcome, Veterinary Record 2011.
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