50 Fun Facts About English Springer Spaniel

Springer spaniels got their name because they were used to do what to game birds?

The bird was 'sprung' so a trained falcon or hawk could bring it down to the handler.

Until the early 20th century, springers shared litters with which breed?

The smaller pups hunted woodcock while the larger littermates sprang other game.

The English Springer descends from which mid-19th-century spaniels?

By the 1850s both strains were shown under the single name Norfolk spaniel.

In what year did the Kennel Club recognise the English Springer Spaniel as a distinct breed?

The standard combined the Spaniel Club of England's physical standard with the Sporting Spaniel Society's ability standard.

In what year did the American Kennel Club recognise the breed?

Four years later the first English Field Champion, Rivington Sam, was crowned.

The first English Field Champion, FTC Rivington Sam, had a mother registered as what?

Sam is considered one of the foundation sires of modern field lines.

Which English physician described the spaniel in his 1576 Treatise of Englishe Dogs?

His book was the first to describe the British breeds by function.

In the 1801 Cynographia Britannica, the land spaniel was split into the Cocking spaniel and which other kind?

Even then both types were still being born in the same litters.

Many 19th-century spaniel breeds were named after what?

The Norfolk and Shropshire spaniels are two examples of county names.

In January 1899, which two bodies held their field trials together for the first time?

Three years later their combined standards produced Kennel Club recognition.

The English Springer is said to have the greatest divergence of any breed between which two types?

Field-bred and show-bred dogs look like different breeds but are registered together.

For roughly how long have the springer's field and show gene pools been almost completely segregated?

A field dog would not be competitive in a modern show ring, and a show dog lacks the speed and stamina for a field trial.

Compared with show springers, field-bred springers have coats that are what?

Their ears are less pendulous and they have a wirier, more feral look.

In countries that permit docking, a show springer's tail is docked to what?

Field-bred dogs may keep several inches more, and show dogs are heavier boned with dewlaps and dangling flews.

Compared with its smaller cousin's, how are an English Springer's ears set?

The Springer also has a longer muzzle, less prominent eyes and a less abundant coat than its smaller cousin.

Which of these is a recognised English Springer colour combination?

Black and white, blue or liver roan and tricolour with tan points are also allowed, and white areas may be ticked.

On a tricolour springer, where are the tan markings usually found?

The base coat is black and white or liver and white.

How tall should an English Springer Spaniel be at the withers, according to the UK breed standard?

Show-line males run 19–21 inches and 40–60 lb; females 18–20 inches and 35–55 lb.

How much does a male show-line English Springer typically weigh?

Working types can be lighter in weight and finer in bone.

A 2024 UK study gave the English Springer what average life expectancy?

That beats the 12.7-year purebred average; a 2022 study had found 11.92 years.

A UK breed club survey found what to be the most common cause of death in springers, at 26.7%?

A North American hospital study also found the breed slightly more prone to hip dysplasia than average, 4.39% against 3.52%.

One study found English Springers how many times more likely than average to develop chronic hepatitis?

The breed's form of the disease is more severe, hits younger dogs and is likelier in bitches.

A 2005 Swedish study found what share of Springer Spaniels had died by the age of 10?

That is below the 35% rate for all dogs in the study.

Which springer skin condition involves a dog mutilating its own extremities?

Otitis externa and lichenoid psoriasis-form dermatitis are also on the breed's list of predispositions.

Buster, a Dickin Medal springer, found a hidden arsenal of weapons and explosives in which country?

He served with the Royal Army Veterinary Corps alongside the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.

Police springer Jake searched Tavistock Square, Russell Square and King's Cross after which event?

He received the PDSA Gold Medal and the Blue Cross Animal Hospital Medal.

Springers have been trained to sniff out which unlikely target?

Others detect illegal immigrants, blood and the hospital superbug C. difficile.

Which Gulf state is listed among the countries using springers for drug detection?

The list also includes the US, UK, Sweden, Finland, the Isle of Man, Ireland and Canada's CBSA.

Springers work as search dogs for mountain rescue and for which other UK rescue teams?

Their willingness to work and cover rough terrain makes them an excellent choice.

Theo, a bomb-detection springer, died hours after his handler was killed in which country in 2011?

Lance Corporal Liam Tasker was shot by a Taliban sniper; Theo suffered a fatal seizure that same day and received a posthumous Dickin Medal.

How many bomb finds did Theo and Liam Tasker make in five months, a record for the theatre at the time?

They were the most successful individual working dog team in the country when they died.

Millie, the springer of George H. W. and Barbara Bush, was named after whom?

She was called 'the most famous dog in White House history'.

What position did Millie's Book, credited to the Bush springer spaniel, reach on the 1990 NYT nonfiction list?

In 1992 Bush claimed Millie knew more about foreign affairs than 'these two bozos', Clinton and Gore.

How many puppies did Millie deliver at the White House in 1989?

The litter included Spot Fetcher, who later returned to the White House with George W. Bush, and Ranger.

George W. Bush's springer Spot Fetcher was named after a player for which baseball team?

Bush owned the team before becoming Governor of Texas; the player was infielder Scott Fletcher.

What distinction does Spot Fetcher hold among all US presidential pets?

She was born in the White House to Millie under George H. W. Bush and returned with his son.

Max, a Cumbrian springer, became in 2021 the first pet dog to receive which award?

Owner Kerry Irving credited Max with giving him the will to live after a road accident, and 'Max Out in the Lake District' cheered thousands during the pandemic.

The PDSA award Max received is considered the animal equivalent of which honour?

It is normally reserved for police and service dogs, which is why a pet receiving it made headlines.

The Welsh Springer Spaniel gained its modern name after Kennel Club recognition in which year?

It had earlier been called both the Welsh Spaniel and the Welsh Cocker Spaniel, and comes in only one colour: red and white.

In which seasons do English Springers normally shed?

They shed occasionally in autumn too, and field dogs' shorter, coarser coats drop less.

What are field-bred springers selected for, rather than appearance?

That selection has produced a wiry dog that would look out of place in a show ring.

Who helped Millie deliver her White House litter in 1989?

Stephen Caldwell did the honours; one pup, Ranger, stayed with the elder Bushes and died of cancer in 1993.

In 1992, George H. W. Bush said Millie knew more about foreign affairs than which 'two bozos'?

The jab came during his failed re-election bid; Millie was later called the most famous dog in White House history.

Millie the Bush springer made a 1996 cameo, jogging alongside the ex-president, in which animated series?

The episode was 'Two Bad Neighbors', in which George Bush moves in across the street from the family; Millie also appeared on Murphy Brown and Wings.

Millie died in 1997, aged 12, at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport of what?

Her son Ranger, who became George H. W. Bush's own dog, had been euthanised in 1993 because of cancer.

A dog park named after Millie, the Bush family springer spaniel, is in which US city?

Houston was the Bushes' long-time home city, and Millie herself was named for family friend Mildred Kerr.

Which video game added legendary gloves called 'Tasker & Theo' in tribute to the springer and his handler?

The gloves boost the pets of whoever wears them, and their flavour text tells of a master who died fighting beside his favourite hound.

When Theo died in 2011, he was which British Army dog to die in the Afghanistan conflict?

He suffered a seizure hours after his handler was shot; his ashes were repatriated so the pair could be buried together.

Theo's handler, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, came from which Scottish town?

Tasker had joined the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in 2007 and was assigned Theo only two weeks before deployment after two earlier dogs did not work out.

A North American study of over a million veterinary cases found what share of English Springers had hip dysplasia?

That compared with 3.52% of dogs overall across the 27 teaching hospitals surveyed, marking the breed as predisposed to the condition.