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German Spaniel
Sweet natured, energetic, waggy and bright. From Germany.
Sportingmedium breedGermanyStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
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Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the German Spaniel
Germany produced the German Spaniel, a medium sized flushing spaniel bred to work close to the gun, flushing game from hedgerows and cover and retrieving it. A spaniel's nose runs its day: give it country walks and scent games and you get a merry, settled house dog in return.
History
Spaniels are among the oldest gundog types, split over the centuries into land and water varieties by the work each district asked of them. The FCI recognizes the breed, and its standard is the reference used across most of the world.
Personality
Sweet natured, energetic, waggy and bright is the record's German Spaniel, the Deutscher Wachtelhund: Germany's only spaniel breed, the forest hunter's versatile flushing dog, famous for a superb nose, passionate hunting drive and spaniel sweetness in equal measure. Wachtelhunds are merry, capable and deeply devoted, busier and more game driven than the English spaniels, bred to hunt all game in dense woodland. Puppies are bright, brown charmers; adults are compact, talented partners. Owners describe the complete German forest dog: all nose, all heart, all enthusiasm.
Temperament and traits
Energy (5/5)
Trainability (4/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (3/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: Not ideal
Coat and care
Coat: Strong, wavy to curly, long coat with a dense undercoat, water resistant for work in cover and marsh. It sheds moderately and needs regular brushing to clear burrs and mats.
Colors: Standard colors: solid Brown/red.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. Check the long ears after every wet walk and keep them clean and dry inside; spaniel ears are the breed's one predictable weak spot.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
Sixty to ninety minutes a day of woodland exercise: the German Spaniel, the Deutscher Wachtelhund, is Germany's quail dog, the country's only true spaniel, bred to hunt in dense forest for feather, fur and blood trailing after the shot. A spaniel's nose runs its day, per the overview: give it country walks and scent games and you get a merry, settled house dog in return. Spaniels flush rather than point, so the exercise is close, busy quartering in cover. Puppies build up gradually. The Wachtelhund is traditionally sold only to hunters in Germany, which tells you the energy is genuine forest level.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes, working through the strong, wavy brown coat and its feathering, more after forest days when seeds and burrs ride home. Check the long ears after every wet walk and keep them clean and dry inside; spaniel ears are the breed's one predictable weak spot, in the notes' exact words. Nails need trims, teeth benefit from brushing. Puppies need kind ear and foot handling habits. Owners rate the weekly baseline as easy; the forest days add the brushing.
Training and daily life
Training
German Spaniels are capable, willing pupils with a train score near this site's top, learning flushing, retrieving and blood trailing beautifully under reward based, structured training with spaniel enthusiasm. Teach clearly, proof patiently against game scent, and keep sessions lively. Priorities are recall proofed against game, a reliable delivery, a settle, lead manners, and socialisation that keeps the merriness confident. Many Wachtelhunds work as genuine forest hunting dogs across Germany. Owners describe a talented, joyful partnership with a very professional nose.
Living with a German Spaniel
The German Spaniel suits active rural hunting households that want an authentic German Wachtelhund: sweet natured, energetic and waggy in the record's words, good with children, good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, it rates apartments as not ideal because the forest engine needs real country work. Expect a merry, busy dog that quarters your walks like forest rides and adores its family entirely. Owners describe the hunter's spaniel: a dog bred by and for German foresters, whose enthusiasm for a woodland day is bottomless and whose home affection is total.
What a German Spaniel costs
Food cost
About $32 per month for a typical 48 lb adult eating roughly 3.0 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 60 to 90 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $36 to $65 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $381 for food and $432 to $780 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 6 to 8 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 13 to 18 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 21 to 29 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 30 to 41 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 35 to 48 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 40 to 55 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 40 to 55 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation, ear care habituation, protected joints while growing and early gun dog foundations built as manners. Adolescents are at maximum hunting enthusiasm, and structured field training carries the household through. Adults enjoy a long, vigorous prime: eleven to fourteen years. Keep ears clean and dry, weight lean and the forest walks coming. Senior status arrives around nine to ten: twice yearly checks with hip and eye awareness, joint friendly exercise and continued gentle quartering. Old Wachtelhunds stay merry, waggy and devoted.
Health
Hip and elbow scoring and annual eye checks are the backbone of gundog health testing, and most gundog breeds also have DNA tests for the conditions found in their lines. Ask the breeder for the full panel, not just a vet checked claim.
Conditions to know about
- Hip and elbow dysplasia: Hip and elbow scoring is the backbone of gundog health testing, per the record. Ask the breeder for the full panel, not just a vet checked claim, in the record's direct advice.
- Eye conditions: Annual eye checks complete the backbone named in the record. Ask for current certificates for both parents.
- DNA screened conditions: Most gundog breeds also have DNA tests for the conditions found in their lines, per the record. Ask which panels the breeder runs and see the results.
Facts follow the German Spaniel breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for German Spaniel owners
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German Spaniel questions
How long do German Spaniels live?
A typical lifespan is 11 to 14 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a German Spaniel?
Food for a typical adult runs about $32 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $36 and $65 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are German Spaniels good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a German Spaniel need?
Plan on 60 to 90 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Why is the Wachtelhund called the quail dog?
Wachtel is quail in German: the breed was the forest hunter's dog for quail and other small game, and it remains Germany's only spaniel, bred for dense woodland hunting and blood tracking.
German Spaniel or Field Spaniel, what is the difference?
Woodland cousins: the Wachtelhund is the busier, more game driven German forest dog, historically sold only to hunters. The Field Spaniel is the calmer English show type. Both are sweet, merry spaniels.
Can Wachtelhunds be pets?
In Germany they are traditionally placed with hunters only. Elsewhere they need hunting level exercise, scent work and training to thrive as companions.