A working spaniel's week, on one page
A Welsh Springer Spaniel is a devoted, energetic gundog in a rich red-and-white coat, and its weekly checklist should read like a working dog's diary: serious exercise, ear care after wet work, coat attention around the feathering, and training woven through everything. Keep daily anchors simple — meals, water, a proper outing morning and evening, and a settle routine — then hang the weekly jobs on fixed days so nothing competes with the dog's main business, which is being out in fields, hedgerows and water whenever possible.
Ears earn a permanent line
Those long, pendant spaniel ears trap moisture and debris, so ear care is not a monthly extra for a Welsh Springer — it is a weekly checklist item in its own right, and a quick daily look after wet or muddy walks. Lift each ear, check for redness, smell and gunk, and dry the ear flap after swimming or rain before the dog settles. Write down which ear looked dirty and when; a pattern of one-sided head-shaking, scratching or a sour smell is a vet call, and a dated note of when it started is far more useful than a guess at the surgery door.
Coat and feathering on a schedule
The Welsh Springer's silky coat sheds moderately and the feathering on legs, chest and tail picks up burrs, seeds and mud in direct proportion to how good the walk was. Schedule two brush-throughs a week, more in seed season, working the feathering gently and checking between the toes for grass seeds, which are a genuine seasonal hazard for a dog that quarters rough ground. Add a weekly bath judgement rather than an automatic bath, nail checks — active spaniels wear nails unevenly — and a paw inspection after every longer outing, logged in one short line.
Exercise and training written as sessions
A Welsh Springer needs more than a pavement stroll: plan the week with named sessions — a long countryside walk, a retrieving game, and short training slots on recall, whistle stops and steady lead walking. This breed bonds intensely and can shadow its people, so include planned settle-alone practice in small doses on the list, building independence kindly rather than discovering separation worry later. Rotate who runs which session, tick each off as it happens, and note the training point that needs work next week while it is still fresh.
The weekly health pass and review
Fix one day for hands-on checks: teeth and gums, eyes bright and clear, skin under the coat, body condition by rib feel under the feathering, and a monthly weight entry on the same day. Log appetite, energy and stools in a notes line; a spaniel that leaves food, tires unusually or limps after rest should see the vet promptly rather than completing another checklist week first. Review the whole list weekly as a household and adjust routes, grooming frequency and training targets. KinsLe's Care Teams helps a Welsh Springer household share that load, with every ear check, brush-through and training session owned by someone and time-stamped when done.