The breeds · gun dog · flushing
AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 126
Welsh Springer Spaniel.
An active flushing spaniel of ancient Welsh origin, compact and built for hard work and endurance; the name comes from its hunting style (springing game), not from a relationship to other springers.
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Centre = midpoint of the ideal band.
Weight
Same basis as the male row.
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived: a medium-length dense coat with feathering is scored as a medium coat (3). The standard does not describe an undercoat.
How long they live, and what they cost
Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.
Median lifespan
UK dogs. Among the longest-lived gundogs on the table.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
RKC exercise band 'More than 2 hours per day' = 150 min by the ruled mapping. The RKC lists the breed as a vulnerable native breed.
Energy
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming load
RKC grooming band = 3. The standard discourages coat so excessive it hinders field work and asks that obvious barbering be avoided.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
Primary game
The WSSCA hunting-style statement speaks of 'birds for the gun' without naming species; no club or registry source names a primary bird. Fewer than three sources behind this value.
Range
Search pattern
Field trial standard
The breed runs in AKC spaniel hunting tests; no breed-specific trial.
Water work
The standard says waterproof; the hunting-style statement speaks of retrieving generally. Fewer than three sources behind this value.
Cold water
Derived from the standard's coat description (no undercoat described) and the breed's upland job.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA's own current breed statistics (disease statistics data service). Cross-checks: Oberbauer et al. 2017, summed from its S3 Table (code WS), gives 2,102 evaluations 1975 to 2014 and 10.8% borderline through severe (re-summed by the second key, reproduces); the OFA table for Jan 1974 to Dec 2013 as reproduced by K9 Carts gives 2,050 and 11.3%. The UK club's 2024 survey had 18 owner-reported hip dysplasia cases among 171 dogs with a musculoskeletal condition. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock.
Elbow dysplasia
OFA's own current breed statistics (disease statistics data service). Cross-check: Oberbauer et al. 2017 Table 2 prints 'Welsh springer spaniel' 1.4% (763 evaluations 1990 to 2014 per its S3 Table); the figure has held.
Most common disorders
Owner-reported club survey compiled with the RKC; counts are dogs reporting, not prevalence with CIs. The breed is below the 200-dog floor for the breed tables in the Kennel Club 2014 survey paper (Wiles 2017, n = 180). No VetCompass paper.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
- USThyroid evaluationOFA · American Kennel Club, Sporting Group health testing requirements (CHIC)
- USOphthalmologist evaluationACVO / OFA CAER · American Kennel Club, Sporting Group health testing requirements (CHIC)
- USElbow evaluationOFA · American Kennel Club, Sporting Group health testing requirements (CHIC)
- USHip evaluationOFA · American Kennel Club, Sporting Group health testing requirements (CHIC)
- USCode of Ethics: radiographic hip status and eye condition of breeding stock determined by a licensed or certified veterinary professional, results shared and submitted to OFA/CHICOFA / CHIC · Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America, Puppy and litter information (recommended health tests and Code of Ethics)
- UKHip scoring (best practice)BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme · The Royal Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z: Spaniel (Welsh Springer)
- UKEye testing including gonioscopy for PLA (good practice)BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme · The Royal Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z: Spaniel (Welsh Springer)
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 9 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Welshie, WSS, Welsh Springer
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour welsh springer spaniel, on the record.
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