The English Springer Spaniel is a breed of gun dog in

the Spaniel family traditionally used for flushing and

retrieving game. It is an affectionate, excitable breed with

a typical lifespan of twelve to fourteen years. They are very

similar to the Welsh Springer Spaniel and are descended

from the Norfolk or Shropshire Spaniels ofthe mid-19th

century; the breed has diverged into separate show and

working lines. It is closely related to the Welsh Springer

Spaniel and very closely to the English Cocker Spaniel; less

than a century ago, springers and cockers would come

from the same litter. The smaller "cockers"

hunted woodcock while the larger littermates were used to

flush, or "spring", game. In 1902, The Kennel Club 

recognized the English Springer Spaniel as a distinct

breed. They are used as sniffer dogs on a widespread

basis. The term Springer comes from the historic hunting

role, where the dog would flush (spring) birds into the air.

The English physician John Caius described the spaniel in

his book the reatise of Englishe Dogs published in 1576.

His book was the first work to describe the various British

breeds by function. By 1801, Sydenham Edwards explained

in the Cynographia Britannica that the land spaniel

should be split into two kinds, the Springing, Hawking

Spaniel, or Starter; and the Cocking or Cocker Spaniel. At

this point, both cocker spaniels and springer spaniels

were born in the same litters. The purpose of the breed

was to serve as a hunting dog. The smaller cockers were

used to hunt woodcock, while their larger littermates, the

springer spaniels, would "spring"—or flush—

the gamebird into the air where a trained falcon or hawk

would bring it to the handler.

Many spaniel breeds were developed during the 19th

century, and often named after the counties in which they

were developed, or after their owners, who were usually

nobility. Two strains of larger land spaniel were

predominant and were said to have been of "true springer

type." These were the Norfolk and the Shropshire spaniels,

and by the 1850s, these were shown under the breed name

of Norfolk spaniel. In January 1899, the Spaniel Club of

England and the Sporting Spaniel Society held their trials

together for the first time. Three years later, in 1902, a

combination of the physical standard from the Spaniel

Club of England and the ability standard from the

Sporting Spaniel Society led to the English Springer

Spaniel breed being officially recognized by the English

Kennel Club. The American Kennel Club followed in 1910. In

1914, the first English Field Champion was crowned, FTC

Rivington Sam, whose dam was a registered cocker

spaniel, Rivington Riband. Sam is considered one of the

foundation sires for modern field lines.