Meet the English Springer Spaniel

​​​​​​We spaniels are some of the oldest dog breeds in the world! Like our name suggests, the humans believe that we originally came from Spain and traveled to England with the Romans. It took centuries for us English Springer Spaniels to develop but my earliest ancestors were skilled hunting dogs, too! Before guns were invented, humans needed dogs like us to help them on the hunt and early spaniel breeds had specialized skills to assist them. Some of us were better in the water and some of us thrived on land, and the land-loving spaniels had different specialties, too! Some, like me, were best at springing (hence my name), which is when a dog flushes game out of cover into the open. Before guns, they would use falcons, bows, or nets to catch game birds.

​​​​​​​​The first evidence of dogs that looked similar to our breed come from paintings in the 16th and 17th centuries, which depicted dogs with our signature docked tails. The 17th century also saw the invention of the gun, which is when my ancestors became known as gun dogs! By the 19th century in England, my breed and my cousin, the Cocker Spaniel, would all come from the same litter. The smaller pups in the litter would be used to hunt woodcock (hence the name Cocker Spaniel) and the larger pups (us Springers) would be used to flush game.

​​​​​​By 1902, we English Springer Spaniels had our own classification. We first came to North America in 1913 and within a decade we were one of the American Kennel Club’s most popular breeds! In 1924, the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association was formed and it was common for my breed to compete in both field trials and conformation dog shows. The last dual championship Springer Spaniels were shown in the 1940s. Modern breeders split my breed up: field-type Springers are bred for their skills and show dogs are bred for looks according to the breed standard.