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AKC: English Springer Spaniel breed overview

Sporting group · England

English Springer Spaniel

Also called Springer, ESS

A tireless flushing spaniel that treats every hedge as a job and every walk as a hunt.

The English Springer Spaniel was built to spend a whole day quartering rough ground and pushing birds into the air. At home it is cheerful, affectionate and keen to please, but it needs real daily work for body and nose, or it will invent its own.

Original AI-generated breed illustration

Weight

18 to 25 kg

40 to 55 lb

Height

46 to 51 cm

at the shoulder

Life expectancy

12 to 14 yrs

Activity estimate

120 to 150 min

editorial daily planning range

Adult-size estimate

15 months

approximate model input

Life with a English Springer Spaniel

Plan on two hours of activity a day and you will have a wonderful dog; plan on a stroll round the block and you will have a frustrated one. That is the first thing to understand about the English Springer Spaniel. The breed was developed in Britain to work close in front of the hunter, covering ground in a zigzag pattern and driving pheasant or grouse out of cover. Until the early 1900s, Springers and Cockers could turn up in the same litter and were simply sorted by size.

Two fairly distinct types exist today. Working-bred Springers are lighter, shorter-coated and intensely driven, and they dominate field trials and detection work. Show-bred dogs are heavier, carry longer ear feathering and are often slightly calmer indoors. Both share the same core personality: friendly, eager, sensitive to your tone of voice and happiest with people around them.

Inside the house, a well-exercised Springer is a soft, tail-wagging shadow that follows you from room to room. Most are good with children and other dogs. The trade-off is intensity, since this is a dog that needs to use its nose and legs every day, and one that turns noisy, chewy or anxious when that need goes unmet.

What stands out

Exercise

Most adult Springers need 90 to 120 minutes of activity daily, with part of it off lead in a safe area. Work that uses the nose tires them far faster than running alone: hide a canvas dummy in long grass, lay a short scent trail, or teach a search game in the garden. Gundog training, scentwork classes, agility and flyball all suit the breed well.

Read the full exercise guide

Activity planning estimate

120 to 150 min

editorial estimate, not a prescription

Energy

5 / 5

Playfulness 5 / 5

A great match for

active owners who walk in any weather
families with children who love outdoor games
people interested in gundog work, scentwork or agility
homes with easy access to fields or woodland

Think twice if

restless and destructive when under-exercised
long ears that trap moisture and grass seeds
a coat that collects mud and burrs
follows scent and can ignore recall
struggles when left alone for long hours

Personality and needs at a glance

Living together

Good with children

Good with other dogs

Open with strangers

Apartment friendly

Copes with alone time

Energy and character

Energy level

Playfulness

Easy to train

Barking

5 means very vocal

Care and climate

Grooming needs

Shedding

Drooling

Handles cold

Handles heat

How much an English Springer Spaniel eats

Illustrative calculations for neutered adults at midpoint breed weights, with food at 370 kcal per 100 g and 100 g per cup. These are not measured breed requirements. Use actual weight, the food label and veterinary body-condition advice.

Dog	Weight	Calories	Dry food
Female, relaxed lifestyle	21 kg	940 kcal	255 g (2.5 cups)
Female, typical pet	21 kg	1080 kcal	290 g (3 cups)
Male, typical pet	23 kg	1160 kcal	315 g (3.3 cups)
Male, very active	23 kg	1450 kcal	390 g (4 cups)

Full English Springer Spaniel feeding guide Calculate for my dog

Care guides for the English Springer Spaniel

FeedingA 22 kg (48 lb) adult Springer usually needs about 280 to 380 g of dry food per day, roughly 3 to 4 cups, with the higher figure reserved for dogs working through the shooting season. Pet dogs walking an hour or two daily sit in the middle.Read more Puppy growthSpringer puppies gain weight steadily, typically reaching 6 to 8 kg by 12 weeks and about half their adult weight around five months. Adult height usually arrives near 12 months, while the chest and muscle keep developing until 15 to 18 months.Read more GroomingBrush two or three times a week with a slicker brush and a metal comb, paying special attention to the feathering behind the ears, in the armpits and on the back legs where mats form. Many pet owners have the feathering and feet tidied every eight to ten weeks, which makes mud far easier to deal with.Read more TrainingSpringers are among the easiest gundogs to train because they genuinely want to work with you. Food, play and praise all motivate them, and they shut down quickly under harsh handling.Read more HealthThe breed is predisposed to hip and elbow dysplasia, ear infections and several inherited eye conditions, including a form of progressive retinal atrophy and goniodysplasia, which is linked to glaucoma. Two inherited metabolic conditions, fucosidosis and phosphofructokinase (PFK) deficiency, have specific DNA tests.Read more

Things owners are often surprised by

1Named for the way it springs game birds out of cover for the hunter
2Recognized in the UK as a breed separate from the Cocker Spaniel in 1902
3Working lines and show lines differ clearly in coat, build and drive
4One of the most common breeds used by police and customs as a detection dog
5Retrieves to hand from land and water

English Springer Spaniel questions

What is the difference between a working and a show English Springer Spaniel?

Working Springers are bred for field performance: lighter frames, shorter coats, higher drive and a faster pace. Show Springers are bred for the breed standard, so they are heavier, more heavily feathered and often a little calmer at home. Both make good pets for active owners, but a working-bred dog needs more daily mental work and suits people who plan to train it seriously.

Is an English Springer Spaniel a good first dog?

It can be, provided the first-time owner is genuinely active. Springers are forgiving, affectionate and quick to learn, which makes early training rewarding. The difficulty is energy rather than temperament: a novice who expects a quiet house dog will struggle. If you can give 90 minutes of exercise daily and join a puppy class, a show-bred Springer is often an easier start than a working one.

Are Springer Spaniels good with cats?

Most live happily with a cat they have grown up with, as they are not a coursing breed. They do have a strong interest in anything that moves, so introductions to an adult cat should be slow, with the dog on lead and the cat able to escape upward. Outdoor cats belonging to neighbors are a different matter, and many Springers will chase them.

Why does my Springer always carry something in its mouth?

Retrieving is bred into the Springer, and holding an object seems to soothe many of them, especially when excited. That is why yours greets you with a shoe or a cushion. Rather than fighting it, keep a basket of toys by the door so there is always a legal item to grab, and reward your dog for bringing things to you instead of running off.

Can a Springer Spaniel live in a flat?

It is possible but demanding. A Springer does not need a large house, it needs daily hard exercise and something to do. Owners in flats who manage well usually live near parks or countryside, walk twice a day for an hour or more, and add indoor scent games. Without that routine, expect barking and chewing that neighbors will notice.

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