What’s Different about Welsh Springer Spaniels?

June 4th, 2010 |

Welsh Springer Spaniels appear to the casual observer to be just another variation of the English Springer. That’s far from the truth. Yes, they differ in color, but their genetic history diverged a couple of centuries ago (at least), and there are several other subtle differences which we look at here.

Physical Differences

The Welsh Springer Spaniel has a slightly smaller build than his English Springer cousin. Perhaps one inch lower in height, his body is relatively longer than that of the English Springer (which is seen as ’square’ from the side – that is, the length is about the same as the height). The Welsh Springer tends to be slightly lighter.

The other clear difference is in color. The English Springer Breed Standards allow several colorings (and these differ by Kennel Club from country to country), the Welsh Springer has only one coat coloring – Red and White. The Red is to my eye a golden or gingery colour. Some people refer to this as gold and refer to the dog as a golden springer spaniel.

Eye coloring should be hazel or dark.

Lineage

The Kennel Club description of the breed says that it is of ancient and pure origin, though you have to say that the Welsh and English Springers bear a very close physical similarity. However, the colour of the Welsh Springer remains so pure and different to the English Springer that you have to accept that they can only be very distant cousins these days. The English Springer has two distinct lines – show dog and working dog, but for the Welsh Springer there is no distinction.

There are bloodlines of the English Springer which go back to the county of Shropshire – a county adjacent to Wales where Welsh Springers originated. There may well be some historical genetic linkage there. As a Welshman, I visualise the ‘Welshies’ (as they are often called), in the sheep and cattle country of north and mid Wales, some of which is mountainous and rugged. However, that vision may be more romantic than realistic. They are after all, Springers, used for flushing game – springing into the air chasing after the birds.

Welsh Springers are prized for their hunting abilities, including good noses. Indeed, they first came to notice a result of their exceptional performance in field trials. They were first registered as a breed with the Kennel Club of England in 1902. Their recognition came about a hundred years after that of the English Springer.

Distribution

The Welsh Springer is not as numerous as the English Springer. For example, there are 25 or so Accredited Welsh Springer Spaniel Breeders publicly listed by the Kennel Club in Britain (not all Accredited Breeders choose to be publicly listed). The equivalent number of Accredited Breeders of English Springers is of the order of a hundred.

In the USA, a check across four random states via the Welsh Springer Spaniel Breed Club, gave the following numbers: NC 14, TX 3, CA 7 and CT 16.

For Australia, information was more difficult to obtain, but breeders were located through the Territory Kennel Clubs which are organised under the Australian National Kennel Council. I located one in New South Wales at random.

Their Personality

Welsh Springers are delightful dogs, loyal and affectionate, and great with children – I brought up three daughters with Springers in the house and never had a moment’s concern.

Described as ‘biddable’ – that is, ready, willing and enthusiastic to follow commands – they share this trait with the English springer (and indeed, some other spaniels in the gundog group). Bred for stamina and endurance, they are not sprinters, but will walk and ‘trot’ all day in pursuit.

Nowadays in Britain, their tails cannot be docked unless by special licence. This rarely happens privately, but the police and armed forces tend to use their English Springer cousins as sniffer dogs and the sniffers get docked. To my eye a docked tail gives the dog the right balance, but obviously this is a subjective viewpoint.

From a practical perspective, it is not generally thought that the docked tail gives the dog much advantage when it comes to working through thick brush and undergrowth when compared to a dog with a full tail, as is the norm today in Britain.

On the other hand, most Welsh Springers are acquired to be family pets or companions, and the finer points of working game and hunting are not of major importance to the choice of this versatile breed.

About the Author

The author has owned both English and Welsh Springer Spaniels since the early 1970’s. Discover a lot more about these wonderful breeds, including how to choose a pup, feeding, training, and health do’s and don’ts at => www.springerspanieladvice.com