The Picardy Spaniel health picture at a glance
The Picardy Spaniel, the Epagneul Picard, is one of France's oldest spaniel types — a calm, powerful gun dog made for cold water and dense cover in northern wetlands. It remains a comparatively uncommercial breed, kept largely by hunters who breed for working ability, and that history shows in a health profile that is mercifully short. The conditions that do appear follow logically from the dog's shape and job.
Ears built for cold water, prone to infection
A Picardy working in marsh and reed beds spends its day with wet, feather-covered ears pressed over the canal, and that warm, sealed environment is the breed's most predictable trouble spot. Head shaking after a shoot day, a sour smell under the feathering, or sensitivity when an ear is handled are early warnings most owners can catch themselves. Drying ears thoroughly after water work and keeping the hair beneath the flap tidy enough for air to circulate prevents far more infections than any after-the-fact treatment.
Hips in a heavy, powerful retriever
Hip dysplasia is the main inherited concern recorded for the breed, unsurprising in a substantial dog that launches into cold water and hauls heavy birds through mud. A Picardy that starts sitting crookedly, struggles to rise after a long retrieve day, or loses muscle over the hindquarters is showing the pattern owners should report early. Choosing parents with good hip scores, keeping youngsters from repetitive jumping while they grow, and holding adult weight down all protect those joints.
Weight gain when the shooting season ends
Picardies have healthy appetites and a calmer household manner than many spaniels, and the combination means weight creeps on easily outside the working season — quietly worsening any hip weakness and adding strain everywhere else. Ribs should be findable under a thin fat cover, and a visible waist should survive the winter. Adjusting food to the season's actual workload, rather than feeding the hunting ration all year, is the single most effective health habit for this breed.
Checks and records that protect a Picardy Spaniel
Ask for hip scores on both parents and whether close relatives stayed sound into old age, since working lines prize durability and honest breeders discuss it. At home, make ear checks part of the post-shoot routine alongside drying the coat, weigh the dog at season's end and again mid-winter, and note any change in willingness to jump or swim. A yearly vet visit with hips, ears and eyes on the agenda suits this breed's short watch-list well.
When to contact a vet about a Picardy Spaniel
A Picardy Spaniel that shakes its head persistently, holds one ear tenderly, or produces dark discharge needs a vet before the infection deepens. Refusal to retrieve or swim from a dog that loves water, new hindquarter weakness, a red or watery eye with the lid rolling inward, or rapid weight gain despite measured feeding are all reasons to book promptly rather than wait for the next routine visit. Logging the season-by-season weights and ear checks in KinsLe in the Pet Passport turns this breed's two predictable issues into trends you can act on early.