The Welsh Springer Spaniel head is unique, and part of its singularity is its ears. Comparatively small, set approximately at eye level, and hanging close to the cheeks, the Welshie is the only AKC recognized breed whose ears are described as being shaped somewhat like a vine leaf.
Mind you, other breeds may have similar ear shapes; The Clumber Spaniel’s standard describes its ears as, “triangular in shape with a rounded lower edge, set low and attached to the skull at approximately eye level,” but as C. Bede Maxwell writes in her book, The Truth About Sporting Dogs, “Sitting in at an Annual General Meeting of the Club in England was to hear debate on the desirability of finding different wording to describe the ear. No one could come up with an exact definition to substitute, and “vine-leaf shape” remains.”
The Welsh Springer head is free from any kind of exaggeration, and if ears help frame a face, it is one element that makes the Welsh Springer Spaniel’s head unique from any other Spaniel.