English Springer Spaniel
A flushing spaniel of about 40 to 50 pounds, bred in England to quarter within gun range, flush, and retrieve.
The springer is the classic flushing dog. It hunts back and forth in front of the gun, puts the bird in the air, and brings it back. It was well down Project Upland's 2026 survey, at 2.8 percent, but California has spaniel history: the first AKC spaniel hunting test was held at Pescadero, on the San Mateo County coast, in 1988. Neither of us runs a springer. Peter's English cocker is the nearest dog we know, and this page leans on the breed club and on the writers who run springers.
An English springer spaniel runs down birds across a stubble field. Photo: Joseywales1961 / CC BY-SA 4.0 — source
The Springer at a Glance
Type: flushing spaniel.
Size: the AKC standard's ideal is 20 inches and about 50 pounds for dogs, 19 inches and about 40 pounds for bitches. Working springers often run lighter: Gun Dog puts "a 35 to 45-pound dog" as the norm for field dogs.
Coat: an outer coat over an undercoat that, per the standard, makes the dog "substantially waterproof, weatherproof and thorn proof." Trimming the head, ears, neck, and feet is allowed.
Range: within gun range, always. The AKC's hunt-test guidelines put that at "about 30 to 40 yards."
Where they're tested: AKC spaniel field trials and hunt tests (Junior, Senior, and Master Hunter), and the parent club's national championship, first held in 1947.
Health clearances the parent club lists: hips, elbows, an eye exam by a board-certified ophthalmologist, a DNA test for PRA (cord1), and a DNA sample banked with the OFA. Tests for fucosidosis, PFK deficiency, degenerative myelopathy, thyroid, and cardiac are recommended but optional.
Parent club: English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association
Checked against the AKC breed standard and the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association's health statement on Oct. 15, 2026.
How They Hunt
A springer works a quartering pattern in front of the gun and flushes "boldly and without urging," in the parent club's judging guide. Gun Dog's spaniel writer thinks springers "excel when hunting pheasants, or perhaps any other running bird," and are "less able to navigate tight and low-slung brush" than the smaller cocker.
The breed split long ago. The AKC's own history of spaniel field trials says that breeding for the American show ring "produced an entirely different dog" from the field-trial springer. Project Upland draws the same line between bench-bred and field-bred dogs.
In California Country
Foxtails. Spaniels are the foxtail breeds. A UK study of veterinary records found spaniel types 7.7 times more likely than retriever types to be seen for a grass-seed foreign body. Foxtail Season for California Bird Dogs: A Handler's Prevention and First-Aid Plan is our prevention plan, and the breed standard, helpfully, allows trimming the ears and feet.
Heat. A 2020 UK study of veterinary records on exertional heat-related illness found springer spaniels at increased odds. A spaniel that hunts flat out in September needs a plan, and ours is Heat, Shade, and Water Strategy: Don't Cook Your Dog on Sept 1.
Cover. Gun Dog's spaniel writer sees springers at their best on pheasant and other running birds, which in California means Sacramento Valley ditch banks, tule edges, and rice-country cover. In low, tight chamise, by the same account, the smaller cocker has the edge.
Choosing One in California
Field-bred. For hunting, the field-bred springer is the dog, by the account of both the AKC's trial history and Project Upland. The parents' field record is the question.
Clearances. A DNA test for PRA (cord1), an eye exam, hips, and elbows are the parent club's minimum for every breeding. Results are public in the OFA database.
Where to see them. Spaniel field trials still run in California each winter. The English Springer Spaniel Club of Southern California held an AKC field trial near Porterville in January 2026.
What We've Written on Dogs
Choosing a dog
Keeping one going in California
Foxtail Season for California Bird Dogs: A Handler's Prevention and First-Aid Plan
Heat Safety for Bird Dogs: California Off-Season Conditioning as Temps Rise
Heat, Shade, and Water Strategy: Don't Cook Your Dog on Sept 1
The Four Weeks That Decide October: Quail Prep While Dove Is Still Open
In the field with Alan
What I Carry for Alan: A California Bird-Dog Kit That Actually Works
Hunting the Overlap: Sooty Grouse, Band-Tails, and Quail in the High Sierra in September
From a Dove Field Back to Quail: Peter Burnham on The Upland Social
More in our Dogs archive and the dog section of Hunting Resources.
Other Breeds
German shorthaired pointer · Brittany · English setter · Pointer · German wirehaired pointer · Labrador retriever · English cocker spaniel · All breeds
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Photo credit: English springer spaniel — Joseywales1961 / CC BY-SA 4.0 — source