English Springer Spaniel
The English Springer Spaniel is the tallest of the land spaniels and the one from which several others were separated, bred to find and spring game from cover and then retrieve…
About the English Springer Spaniel
The English Springer Spaniel is the tallest of the land spaniels and the one from which several others were separated, bred to find and spring game from cover and then retrieve it. It is a hunting dog first, and even a pet Springer will quarter a field on its own initiative.
The working strain and the show strain are so different that some enthusiasts treat them as two breeds. Working Springers are compact, lightly feathered and driven; show Springers are taller, with more bone, a longer ear and a heavier coat. Dogs stand around 51 cm. Colours are liver and white or black and white, with or without tan.
Ask a Springer stud owner about hip scores and a current eye certificate, and about the DNA tests that matter in the breed: phosphofructokinase deficiency, fucosidosis and cord1-PRA. Fucosidosis is rare now precisely because breeders tested for it, which is the argument for continuing to do so. Ear care and a history free of recurrent ear infection are worth a question as well.
Health & breeding
We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Breed Right’s summary — under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard
Health tests for the English Springer Spaniel
This panel is Breed Right’s summary of the testing that matters for the breed under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard. The Health Standard is the Royal Kennel Club’s guidance for breeders, not a registration rule. It describes tests to ask about — it is not a report on any individual dog. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.
Good Practice — the Royal Kennel Club’s minimum before breeding
The tests the Royal Kennel Club says breeders should, at a minimum, complete before breeding.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip score (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Total of both hips, 0–106. Lower is better. |
| Elbow grading (BVA/KC) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC | Grade 0–3. The dog is graded on the worse of the two elbows. |
| Eye testing (BVA/KC/ISDS) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC/ISDS | Result printed on the eye certificate. |
| Gonioscopy (BVA/KC/ISDS) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC/ISDS | Grade 1–3 on the certificate; 1 is normal or mild. |
Best Practice — further tests it recommends
Completing these as well as the Good Practice tests is what the Royal Kennel Club calls Best Practice.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| DNA test — AMS (Acral Mutilation Syndrome) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — cord1-PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy, cone-rod dystrophy 1) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — DAMS (Dyserythropoietic Anaemia and Myopathy Syndrome) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — Fuco (Fucosidosis) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
| DNA test — PFK (Phosphofructokinase Deficiency) | DNA test | Laboratory | The result printed on the laboratory certificate. |
Breed hip median
Breed median 9 (BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme breed statistics 2025 — 5 years, 369 dogs scored). Lower is better. Source · How hip scores work
At stud now
English Springer Spaniel stud dogs
No English Springer Spaniel studs are listed right now
When an English Springer Spaniel on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register is listed at stud, it will appear here.
Also available
English Springer Spaniel litters
No English Springer Spaniel litters are listed right now
Litters appear here as breeders list them. Check back soon, or browse other breeds.
