BREED HEALTH SURVEY LAUNCHED
In 2024 the Breed Health Coordinator (BHC), Mrs Pat Butler-Holley, in conjunction with the Royal Kennel Club (RKC) and supported by the four UK Breed Clubs undertook the biggest survey of health in the history of the breed within the UK. The purpose of the survey was to get a better understanding of the health conditions affecting the Welsh Springer Spaniel, past and present.
The survey closed for responses in late 2024 with the health details of 938 dogs being submitted. The BHC and the RKC reviewed and validated the data submitted. The BHC (assisted by her husband, Mike) then compiled the results into a template supplied by the RKC, with the initial draft being in excess of 100 pages of data. With the help of the RKC the final survey results have been combined and compacted into a 54 page document.
On 12th May 2025 the RKC gave the final approval for the survey results to be published.
PLEASE CLICK HERE to view the results in PDF format - the link will open in a new window in your browser and/or from there you can download it to your own computer.
In the PDF you can use the icons in the toolbar to open each page to full screen and zoom in and out to be able to see the content more clearly. There are also icons to enable you to download the PDF and/or print it out.
The RKC commented:
It’s a great summary and brilliant to get a current picture of the breed and its health!
The Officers and Committee of the Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of South Wales, on behalf of the members, wish to thank Pat and Mike for all the time and effort put in to launch and compile this survey on behalf of the breed.
We would also like to recognise the essential input at the start of the project from Mrs Arlene Tester, who sadly recently passed away and to whom we are grateful for her work and dedication to the breed.
