Spring Spaniel puppies and their doggie parents have tremendously floppy ears, it makes them adorable and goofing looking, but don’t let the ears fool you, these dogs are smart, extremely talented, and have one of the world’s most powerful sniffers.

First off, let’s get this out of the way, there are two main breeds of Spring Spaniel, the English Spaniel and Welsh, and while they appear very much the same there are a few differences that have been noted, the most common being that the Welsh version is a tad smaller and has less color variation than the English.

Their temperament is extremely affectionate, which is pronounced by their wagging tail and expectant look in their eyes, a look that says, pet me, I’m being a good boy, right?  And, they typically are.

They’re great companions, which is partially what they were bred for, they were bred to be companions, not in the home necessarily but for the hunt.  They’re what are called gun dogs, dogs that have been specially bred over the last two hundred years or so in order to assist gun hunters as they hunt for water fowl –ducks, pheasants, and other varieties.

Their tasks in the field are to flush the birds out of the reeds or to retrieve the birds when they are shot, or both.  They are particularly good at these tasks and take very well to the water well. And, they’re fairly agile for their weight, which is an average of around 50 – 55 pounds when fully grown.

Springer Spaniels are often broken down further into two other notable groups, besides English and Welsh, they are often marked as either show dogs or field dogs.  The field Springer is much more useful on the hunt, and its show dog cousins are bred for shows, theirs is the life of the show room and the roar of the crowd.

These dogs live to be about 12 – 14 years, which is about the average for a medium sized dog, their ancestors were called Norfolk Spaniels, although there are probably several other breeds which have fed into this line.

What many people don’t realize is that beyond the show room and the field these dogs have an amazing nose, a nose that is particularly useful to us in sniffing out “contraband”.  In some countries you will find these dogs in the airports or with police units, as they sniff for drugs and bombs, that sort of nasty business.  So, they are definitely very versatile in nature and most talented.

The colors of Springer Spaniel puppies are usually what we refer to as Brindle, which means a mish mash of a few  different colors, twisted about into blotchy patterns.  Because they are eager to obey, loyal, and smart they do make a wonderful family dog.

In order to locate the perfect puppy to raise in your home it’s a great idea to network with other Spaniel owners, either online or in your town, this way you will be able to find the perfect local breeder.