- Rich red and white only
About the Welsh Springer Spaniel
Origin: Great Britain
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 18-25 kg
- Female
- 16-23 kg
- Height
- Male
- 46-48 cm
- Female
- 43-46 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Retrievers - Flushing Dogs - Water Dogs
- Origin
- Great Britain
- Also called
- Springer Spaniel Gales
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Welsh Springer Spaniel?
Medium-sized, compact gundog with a distinctive red and white coat and straight, silky feathering. Known for its happy disposition, boundless energy, and versatility in the field as a sporting spaniel built for endurance.
Welsh Springer Spaniel history and origins
Ancient Welsh breed developed as a versatile gundog to flush and retrieve game birds, mentioned in Welsh laws dating to 300 AD. Officially recognized as distinct from other land spaniels by The Kennel Club in 1902 and AKC in 1906.
Welsh Springer Spaniel appearance and size
Males typically weigh 18-25 kg and stand 46-48 cm at the shoulder; females 16-23 kg and 43-46 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Flushing dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Very ancient and distinct breed of pure origin. Strong, merry and very active. Kindly disposition, not showing aggression or nervousness”
Quoted from FCI standard n°126. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Flushing dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Welsh Springer Spaniel
What you get with the Welsh Springer Spaniel
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Flushing dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Very ancient and distinct breed of pure origin”
- Longer-lived than a crossbred dog — median 14 years across 537 animals, against 12
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Curly coat highly undesirable”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; McMillan et al. 2024, median age at death. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Welsh Springer Spaniel
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Curly coat highly undesirable.
Forelegs and hindlegs above hocks moderately feathered, ears and tail lightly feathered
- Straight or flat
- Silky texture
- Dense
- Never wiry or wavy
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°126 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Welsh Springer Spaniel in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Welsh Springer Spaniel
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Welsh Springer Spaniel on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Welsh Springer Spaniel owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Welsh Springer Spaniel breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.