🐕 Medium · United Kingdom (England)
A friendly, eager-to-work flushing dog with pronounced exercise and enrichment needs, whose drop ears require regular checking.
The English Springer Spaniel is friendly, sociable, and rarely aggressive, with a strong work drive inherited from its gundog heritage. It bonds closely with its family and generally gets along well with other dogs.
This breed needs daily, extensive exercise along with scent work, retrieving games, or dummy training, ideally supplemented by hunting or sporting activities. Lack of stimulation often shows up as restlessness or excessive barking.
The medium-length, silky coat with feathering on the ears, legs, and tail must be brushed regularly to prevent matting. Because of reduced air circulation, the drop ears should be checked regularly for infections.
The high exercise and enrichment needs, along with a pronounced prey drive, call for owners who can invest active time. When given sufficient stimulation, the breed is considered eager to learn and forgiving of mistakes.
Breed-typical conditions include hip dysplasia (HD), elbow dysplasia (ED), and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). A rare, breed-specific phosphofructokinase deficiency, a hereditary red blood cell enzyme defect, has also been described.
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This information is for general guidance and does not replace veterinary or breeder advice. Temperament and health vary individually within every breed.
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