Appearance
The Welshie as a small, solidly built dog. They were bred for hard work and endurance. By looking at them, their length can be quite deceiving. This is due to their obliquely angled forequarters and developed hindquarters. When checking, the length of the dog should be slightly greater than the height at the withers. They have brown and yellow eyes. Their ears are small, dangling, and vine-shaped. Their noses are either black or any shade of brown. Although the Welsh Springer Spaniel and the English Springer Spaniel are almost identical, there are marked differences. For one the former is slightly smaller and has a reddish marking on a white background, while the latter have black or liver-colored markings.
History
Due to its hazy origins, the actual date of origin of the Welsh Springer Spaniel, or Welshie, is unknown. However, there are depictions of this particular breed that dates as far back as 7000 BC near the coastlines of Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland during the Mesolithic Age. This was known to the time when man employed the first hunting dog. These breed is said to be the ancestor of today’s domestic hunting dogs. The popularity of the English Springer and other spaniels replaced the Welsh Springer Spaniel during the 1800s. After a trend in selective breeding, they were eventually brought back the breed to Victorian England, and competed in the same class with the English Springer. The Welshie was then imported to America in the late 1800s and was recognized by the American Kennel Clun in 1906. The breed was almost non-existent in the US during the World Wars, but returned to prominence by importing them and founding a parent club in 1961.
