Springer Spaniel advice

[merlin]

My springer lives in the house, and works, has no papers, and was last in the litter..... and he is brilliant. Clearly I'm not biased in the slightest. But get yourself a springer.

Pure energy wrapped in dog-skin when we are out shooting; but was fast asleep next to me on the sofa about half an hour ago in full "spoilt pet" mode.

Utter loon. But he is MY utter loon..... (nobody say anything at this point about dogs being like their owners )

 

[nick.308]

I grew up with a very head strong castrated springer dog that had the heart of a lion. His previous owner wanted rid of him as he was "untrainable" so we gave him a home at 2 yrs old. Several dead chickens later and a few loaves of bread stolen off the kitchen table and we managed to educate him with some basic manners. He once did the 3 yorkshire peaks and could have kept on going until he dropped.
He used to run alongside the quad bike and never ran out of steam. He never could be trusted in the beating line but it didnt matter for the type of shooting we did with him. There was one occasion we thought we had lost him for good when he tried to retrieve a duck that came down into our local river in full flood. Amazingly he came back 20 mins later with the duck in his mouth.
At lambing time we had to keep a close eye because he was known for retrieving a lamb or two. Fortunately he was soft mouthed.
Another weakness was his obsession with food.
Aged 12 he pinched some pork pies in clingfilm which caused a blockage in his guts and he ended up losing 6" of his gut.
A year later he ate a peach stone which got to the the narrowing and caused another blockage. He then lost another 6" of gut.
At 15 we said our good byes but memories of the lion heart stay with us.

Now Ive a family of my own and my first dog you guessed it was a springer. She's 4 yrs old now and probably the most loving natured dog Ive encountered. When she rides on the quad she constantly nuzzles me for a hug. When im working her its best to let her run some steam off for 30 mins before I can get any sense out of her. She works through brambles like a machine and visibly suffers the next day after a days beating. But she cant contain her excitement when she sees the guns arrive on the next shoot day.
Hopefully this next season I will let her have a litter.

Overall they are fantastic flushing/beating dogs when your labs just tend to prance around the bushes. I would agree the most important training aspect is recall and if your wife wants to have good control of a spaniel then she would be best doing the training and not be afraid to be tough.
My bitch's weakness is her retrieving but I can live with that as she makes up for it with her flushing.
Springers also generally seem very tolerant of other dogs and humans

good luck with your new companion

 

[Sika98k]

Have used mine for beating & picking up as well as finding deer. Both currently lying on their beds looking longingly at me having been fed & waiting to jump on laps!

So glad it’s not just my two.

 

[Len the dog]

Definitely not just your two.

 

[Zio65]

 

[pjkaz]

 

[pjkaz]

How time flies

 

[pjkaz]

Not a day goes past that she doesn't make us laugh. She a great worker. And are best friend. House would not be a home without a dog. Especially a Springer

 

[Dorsettaff]

Wouldn’t be without this one. A great “all
Rounder”…. Won’t win any prizes in a Trial but such a great companion.
As has been said….. do the basics right and their inherent desire to please will do the rest

 

[AMoorlen]

I grew up with a very head strong castrated springer dog that had the heart of a lion. His previous owner wanted rid of him as he was "untrainable" so we gave him a home at 2 yrs old. Several dead chickens later and a few loaves of bread stolen off the kitchen table and we managed to educate him with some basic manners. He once did the 3 yorkshire peaks and could have kept on going until he dropped.
He used to run alongside the quad bike and never ran out of steam. He never could be trusted in the beating line but it didnt matter for the type of shooting we did with him. There was one occasion we thought we had lost him for good when he tried to retrieve a duck that came down into our local river in full flood. Amazingly he came back 20 mins later with the duck in his mouth.
At lambing time we had to keep a close eye because he was known for retrieving a lamb or two. Fortunately he was soft mouthed.
Another weakness was his obsession with food.
Aged 12 he pinched some pork pies in clingfilm which caused a blockage in his guts and he ended up losing 6" of his gut.
A year later he ate a peach stone which got to the the narrowing and caused another blockage. He then lost another 6" of gut.
At 15 we said our good byes but memories of the lion heart stay with us.

Now Ive a family of my own and my first dog you guessed it was a springer. She's 4 yrs old now and probably the most loving natured dog Ive encountered. When she rides on the quad she constantly nuzzles me for a hug. When im working her its best to let her run some steam off for 30 mins before I can get any sense out of her. She works through brambles like a machine and visibly suffers the next day after a days beating. But she cant contain her excitement when she sees the guns arrive on the next shoot day.
Hopefully this next season I will let her have a litter.

Overall they are fantastic flushing/beating dogs when your labs just tend to prance around the bushes. I would agree the most important training aspect is recall and if your wife wants to have good control of a spaniel then she would be best doing the training and not be afraid to be tough.
My bitch's weakness is her retrieving but I can live with that as she makes up for it with her flushing.
Springers also generally seem very tolerant of other dogs and humans

good luck with your new companion

Yes she'd have to go to a trainer for sure, I haven't a clue how to train a spaniel. Can see the HPR training being a bit much but the Lab technique being too soft.
She's very gentle with dogs so was a bit worried if she'd end up being run round by it all the time. Although she is stubborn and that might help..

 

[nick.308]

Yes she'd have to go to a trainer for sure, I haven't a clue how to train a spaniel. Can see the HPR training being a bit much but the Lab technique being too soft.
She's very gentle with dogs so was a bit worried if she'd end up being run round by it all the time. Although she is stubborn and that might help..

For what my opinions worth I would recommend being strict from the start. We dont let the dog on the sofa and she lives in the outdoor kennel through the day and comes in for the night.
I always make her stop at the door to dry her feet. And we dont have her near the table at meal times.
As a puppy I never let her stray too far and kept good recall by giving her small treats for coming back when I called her. Chastising a naughty dog when it finally does return is not a good idea in my opinion. Even when your feeling blue. Just a stern word is enough for the dog to know.
I would reccomend your wife spends a lot of time/more time than you being with the dog and even feeding the dog. I sometimes make my dog wait before she dives into her food just so it reminds her whos boss.
I think its important that the dog sees your wife as its boss who provides the food and the fun.

When I take my spaniel out now she never strays too far as she knows that the fun is where I am.
Find what your new dog loves and use it as a reward when its good. Eg tennis ball

 

[CookM]

my best dog ever was a sprocker , something to consider if pedigree is not important to you

as mentioned before he picked me when i went to see them as pups

he made it to 15 and typing this is making me well up , still can't bring myself to get another dog soppy bugger that i am

Your posting kicked me up the Harris,l really felt for you.

 

[CookM]

So l bought the Beast of Bodmin.
I wasn't happy without a crazy in the house.

 

[CookM]

And the Reds down there....