The once-a-year rule for a Welsh Springer Spaniel
A healthy adult Welsh Springer Spaniel needs one routine checkup a year. Puppies require a run of visits through their first months, and once the dog reaches the senior stage, twice a year is the wiser pattern. The Welsh Springer is a compact, energetic gundog, generally robust, but bred to work in wet cover and water — and the ears, joints, and coat that suit that work are exactly what the annual exam needs to inspect closely.
Ears first: the spaniel signature problem
Those long, feathered ears hang close and limit airflow, so the ear canals stay warm and damp, an ideal setting for irritation and infection. At every checkup the vet looks deep into both canals, not just at the flap, and checks for redness, discharge, or a thickened canal from repeated episodes. Between visits, you are the monitor: head shaking, scratching at one ear, a yeasty smell, or a dog who suddenly dislikes having an ear touched should prompt a call within days, not a wait until the annual visit. Recurring ear problems matter beyond discomfort, because repeated inflammation changes the canal itself over time.
Mention swimming honestly at the visit. A Welsh Springer who swims weekly needs a different ear conversation from one who only paddles in summer, and drying routines after water work belong in the checkup discussion.
Hips, weight, and an athlete who loves food
The vet will feel the hips and watch this spaniel move, since hip development is a known consideration in the breed and stiffness after rest or a reluctance to keep up on long walks can be early signs. Welsh Springers are busy dogs, but they are also enthusiastic eaters, and extra weight loads hips that are already the breed's weak point. The annual weigh-in and body-condition score turn feeding into a number you can act on, and the vet can help set a daily food amount that matches the dog's actual working life rather than his ambitions at the bowl.
Eyes are checked too, including a look for cloudiness or changes that run in spaniel lines, and the mouth gets a proper inspection, since a dog who carries game, sticks, and everything else outdoors can crack or wear teeth in ways owners miss.
Puppy visits and growing joints
Welsh Springer puppies are seen several times early on to track growth, bite, heart sounds, and general development, and those visits are the time to talk exercise limits. A young spaniel's enthusiasm outruns his skeleton; steady lead walks and play beat long forced runs while he is growing, and the vet can tell you when his frame is ready for full gundog-style work.
Those early visits also set the ear habit: a puppy taught to accept ear handling and gentle cleaning becomes an adult whose canals can actually be examined and treated without a battle.
The senior Welsh Springer
Older Welsh Springers move to twice-yearly checkups, where screening blood and urine tests may be added to watch kidney, liver, and thyroid function, and where arthritis gets assessed properly rather than being written off as slowing down. A dog who lags on the second half of a walk, struggles to rise after sleeping, or stops wanting the car journey may be sore rather than stubborn, and pain management starts with the vet seeing the pattern you describe.
Keep notes between visits — ear episodes and how they resolved, changes in stamina, appetite, drinking, and weight — because a twice-yearly vet can only act on the history you bring. KinsLe's Pet Passport holds that whole spaniel story together, from ear treatments to screening results, so whichever vet you see works from the complete record.