Spaniel-like dogs have existed centuries, dogs of this type thought to have originated in Spain and possibly introduced to ancient Britons by Roman legions. The first of the Springer Spaniels were land spaniels that evolved in the latter part of the 14th century, and from 16th and 17th century art work, we know that dogs similar to today’s English Springer Spaniel (some with docked tails) were used to hunt both feathered and fur bearing animals.  They flushed game birds by “springing” at them (hence, the breed’s name) and driving them into the open so they could be caught by hounds, hunting hawks, coursing hounds, or from nets flung over them. With the invention of the wheel lock firearm in the 17th century, spaniels proved to be especially talented at flushing game for shooters.

The breed became more distinct in the 1800’s. A breeding program for them specifically was created by the Duke of Norfolk who called them (wait for it) Norfolk Spaniels (though some cynologists now suspect that Norfolk’s dogs were King Charles Spaniels, a breed that was used by many for hunting). It’s a toss up as to who coined the names we know today. Around 1801, Sydenham Edwards wrote in the Cynographia Britannica that land spaniels could be divided into two kinds, the Springing, Hawking Spaniel or Starter, and the Cocking, or Cocking spaniel. But Thomas Bewicke also used the apellations, “Springer” and “Cocker” in the 19th century to describe the specific kinds of spaniels.

Whatever. In 1900, the name changed to the English Springer Spaniel, but in those days, dogs in the same litter were categorized not only by their hunting use (as opposed to their breed), but also by their size, and some say by their color. Edwards’ and Bewicke’s descriptions carried: Smaller dogs that would be used to hunt woodcock were called “Cockers,” while larger pups in the same litter would be used to flush game and were therefore called “Springers.”

The Sporting Spaniel Society of Britain decided upon the name “Springer” in 1902, and that same year, England’s Kennel Club granted a special place in their Stud Book for the English Springer Spaniel. In 1907, the first Springers were imported to America by Ernest Wells for Robert Dumont Foote, of Morristown, NJ. It didn’t take long for the breed to gain a firm foothold among hunters who valued its prowess in the field, and other who esteemed its beauty and character. The AKC registered the first Springer, a bitch named, “Denne Lucy” in 1910, and twelve years later, the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association was founded and later recognized by the AKC as the parent club for the breed. The breed standard written 1932 was modeled on the English version and adopted by the AKC (with subsequent revisions over the years).

English Springer Spaniel by Edwin Megargee (1883–1958)