Around 250 BC, the forefathers and foremothers of the Welsh Springer Spaniel developed into the Agassian hunting dog that belonged to wild, tattooed-backed tribes of Roman-occupied Briton. Fast forward to the Renaissance, and the “Land Spaniel,” a Welsh Springer-type dog with red and white markings, was used for retrieving. We know from tapestries from that era that the dog was very similar to the Welsh Springer, and was already instrumental as a hunting dog and companion. In time, the dogs were introduced into Welsh valleys where local sportsman and hunters further developed them to a pure state, but it really wasn’t until 1900 when Mr. A. T. Williams won the team stake at the Sporting Spaniel Club Trials by defeating eight well known teams with his Welsh Springers that the breed got the attention it deserved. Williams continued winning over a number of successive years with his dogs, all Welsh Springer Spaniels. Authors, Chester Arthur Phillip and R. Claude Cane were so impressed by this feat that they wrote about the accomplishment in their book, The Sporting Spaniel, written in 1906.
Image: “Andy,” a Welsh Springer Spaniel by Tamara Burnett
www.tamaraburnett.com/