[Closed] Springer Spaniels?

Looking forward to reading the replys as we are thinking along the same lines except it will be left alone in the house a little longer than yours .... wife works till 2 ish ..

Well I think a springer is a good choice but I would say that as I have a 10 yr old called Heidi and have done since a puppy. They're pretty clever dogs and been good so far with children she has come across. She was easy to train and is pretty obedient. Getting them as a pup is good as you can train them and they require plenty of exercise as you know , but keep on top of this they are well stimulated and make a good family pet and a rewarding dog to own. Just my opinion...oh and they are bonkers but good fun. Heidi is 10 but you'd think she was 4.... Good luck!!

Edit - we are out at work from 7pm but now have a dog walker who comes in at midday and takes her out for an hour until the other half is home at about 4. She is ok with this as an older dog but as a puppy or younger dog I'd say they need company. Thankfully Heidi has never chewed or destroyed a thing in the house. I think that's more good luck!!

stumpy_m4 - Member
Looking forward to reading the replys as we are thinking along the same lines except it will be left alone in the house a little longer than yours .... wife works till 2 ish .

For the day's i cannot take him, i'm looking at building a run in the back garden - just need to have a gander around to see what other folks have built and copy 😆

Thanks Si, just the advice i was looking for 8) Do you take her out with you on the bike, if so how far does she run?

Millhouse to the thread.

I did when she was younger however not too far , no more than 6 miles but she's been on walks in the lakes and peaks and probably walks twice as much as I do! She comes out on shorter runs now a days up to 3 miles and has ran 10k's with me. My mate has just got a puppy springer and he has been out with us on the bikes of rides up to 10 miles and has been ok but I'm a bit weary as he likes to run along side the bike and I often fear he will go under the wheels! I'd prefer to leave her on bike rides but happy to take her on big walks and runs. Springers are prone to arthritis in older age so you can put doggy equivalent of glucosamine and chondriten in their food.

Springers... lovely dogs but a but Duracell Bunny like.... "Busy Busy Work Work Bang Bang"... can tick constantly if not completly knackered out.

They grow out of this by about the age of 11 or 12

No advice to add really, but any excuse for a Springer photo.

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EDIT. Pablo in the background there is nearly 11 and hasn't grown out of anything yet.

Just be careful with the excercise when they are young, don't get them doing too much too soon. a huge percentage of spaniel dogs have problems with their bones, so be very very careful with them. I and my friend both have springers (different parents) but you can't let them do too much of things like throwing and retrieving balls. They end up limping badly.

Lovely dogs, intelligent and clever, I have a 4 year old male dog and although he's cost me thousands of pounds in repairs He's still an amazing dog.

Again we work and my dogs left alone till 3, he's brilliant but he was crated when he was young to ensure he didn't cause any issues. (better to not let him get into any trouble you have to tell him off for)

Used to ride with mine from the age of 1 year but retired him at 5 years as he had a back spasm at Cwm Carn.
He's nearly 8 now and still as energetic as ever although he's ruptured both cruciate's in the last year which has cost just shy of £5k, fortunately he's insured. He's just being let off the lead again after 7 weeks of rehab.
He'll only play fight with me and ignores the kids (6 and 4) and had a nibble at two table legs when really small. Give it plenty of toys and it'll not be interested in kids toys.
Springers aren't stupid, just daft.
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[i]For the day's i cannot take him, i'm looking at building a run in the back garden - just need to have a gander around to see what other folks have built and copy [/i]

You'll need 6' and nothing for him to 'launch' over. Based on the 2y/o we've just got as company for our Working Cocker.

I left them both in the courtyard, and got home to the Springer sat outside...

Previously we had this for the Cocker.

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Great choice ....they will get used to what ever exercise you give them ...but it will have to be daily
Great on the trail ....very clever ...will want to be top dog all the time ...just keep them in check ...very loving with children ...they're prob better with people than other dogs though ..strangely ..go to puppy training if you can and get some more training advice when they are older ..they love to please .....oh and get a crate for training and keep their mind active as much as their body
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/47638700@N06/6612901737/ ]photo[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/47638700@N06/ ]jerrypc69[/url], on Flickr

Great dogs. Give them the exercise they want and they'll be fine. Here's mine, ones 8 the others 2. [IMG] [/IMG]
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And a couple of silly ones. [IMG] [/IMG] [IMG] [/IMG]

Oh I agree if you're building a run to make sure they don't get over the top, mines climbed out of 10' buildings!!!

I want another now after looking at this thread ........

Thanks guys, exactly what i am after.

B R - surely the springer never escaped from that run/cage? 😆 if it did i better re-think my strategy! 😆

[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8383/8493590268_c4f1588d4b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8383/8493590268_c4f1588d4b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53805002@N03/8493590268/ ]IMG_2843sml[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53805002@N03/ ]OwenP2010[/url], on Flickr

Indy - she's 4 and a half and not slowing down at all!

I've never had a dog before but my wife grew up with springers. So when we (she) decided we wanted one it was the default breed to go for. We ended up with Alice, a King Charles/Springer cross (the KC got lucky). 😉

I have to say she's brilliant and was quite easy to train, she's still learning as she 3 in April. She can walk to the park of the lead now, which I think is pretty good as we live in London.

She's also fantastic with kids (other people's ours is due in a week) we had a party with all our friends and their kids (6months -10 years). Alice really worked the crowd, getting pats and playing with the kids, sampling their cakes. The whole day went without incident. She does get a bit kicky sometimes but she was great.

Her one bad point is she's greedy, but she's so lovely she can get away with it. She doesn't steal food she'll just stre at you until you cave in and give her some.

As for exercise, we don't think we've found her limit yet.

Your going to have so much fun, post up a pic when you get him.

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had springers for well over 20 years now. great dogs, fab with the kids, hate squirrels. I would echo the not too much charging around when a pup. Keep them off the stairs for instance. Enjoy

I had one once but it ate the kitchen then chased a rabbit, over the edge of an 80ft quarry face.
The bloody things have masses of energy but you need just as much.

We have had ours for just over a year now, had him from a pup and to be honest he still is a pup.

My god is he as mad as a box of frogs though !!!

He has a couple of "traits" I find strange.

First when ever someone comes to the house he gets all excited and wee's over their feet when they stroke him ??

Also he likes to "bring" you something when you first come home, like a shoe or soemthing!

He is also very quick to go upstairs and nick the kids teddys !!

love him to bits though !!

Say Hello Oakley......

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Didn't see this thread, this I just wrote on another thread. Anyhoos I had two, both brothers, Banger and Mashy, Banger was the impatient one, Mashy was the lazy one. Both most excellent companions and I miss both like mad, but I'll never forget the times we spent together..

"Back in the day" I used to take one of my Springers out, he'd run off in front which was fine as I could see him, then he'd dart off into the undergrowth and I'd loose him, Springers are a bit like that. I had many a fine hour playing in the woods and forests around where I used to live, I miss that dawg something rotten. Funny, his brother never really wanted to come out, I mean he did of course, but big brother used to be chomping at the bit each time I got home.
I did get worried during Bramble and Ivy seasons, his paws would wear out a bit and sometimes bleed between the toes, but he seemed happy enough to want to come out, so that was it really.
As time went on we both got used to pacing each other, he'd either follow or off out in front, if it was somewhere new then he'd naturally follow, somewhere we both knew and he'd be off in front..
Proper dog Banger was, proper dog. Miss him like crayzeeey.

we have a 9 year old - Reginald ...
Liver and white
Bought from a breeder in Germany - long story, when he was about 18 months old

Suffered badly from separation anxiety - as he wasn't socialised in the first year.
Still has the annoying habit of howling when left. Very attached to wifey.

Oh, and he is very rare - he is the lazy version. He will only break into a trot if it involves food !!
Love him to bits though!

Don't have a Springer, but Springador bred for being a gun dog. Bit bigger than a Springer but much smaller than a lab. Admittedly he's crazy crossed with crazier, but he's friendly and get on great with all kids. He never stops running when we're out...would love a dog pedometer to see how much ground he covers...his stamina is incredible.

Renton-don't worry my Alfie does exactly the same! At least yours wees on others feet...my Alfie sits beside me and pees all over me!

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this one currently feeling a bit sorry for herself as she cut her leg today. field spaniel x welsh springer called Meg, and TBH she's a sweetheart, though in front of others i routinely refer to her as 'the horrible dog'. mostly very mellow, but has her 'funny five minutes', every now and then. she'll run with the bike but very definitely has 'a' speed at which she's happy to trot on routes she knows, and will not go any faster unless the mood takes her. wouldn't have it any other way. means she gets her exercise before or after rides, but she does get at least an hour a day, more regularly 2-3 hours, and at least once a week she's out all day when i'm on trail build days. she's a top dog and i wouldn't change her. though it'd be better if she didn't kick off at other dogs from time to time, despite extensive socialisation when younger, and she's a bit wary of teenage lads for some reason, though this seems to have improved in the past year or so.
i would strongly recommend a cross breed of some sort.
friend has a springer/pointer cross who's lovely - very sweet natured and also short haired ( more desirable than you could possibly imagine right now i suspect! ). beautiful dog.

[i]B R - surely the springer never escaped from that run/cage? if it did i better re-think my strategy! [/i]

No, that was the Working Cockers' cage at our old house.

tbh As a first dog I'd suggest a Working Cocker is a 'better' one than the Springer. Can be just as manic, but smaller so feels less hassle. Happy to MTB too.

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Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated!

b r - Member
B R - surely the springer never escaped from that run/cage? if it did i better re-think my strategy!

No, that was the Working Cockers' cage at our old house.

tbh As a first dog I'd suggest a Working Cocker is a 'better' one than the Springer. Can be just as manic, but smaller so feels less hassle. Happy to MTB too.

They seem like hens teeth up here in Scotland at the moment. The springer we're going to look at is off working gun springers, both parents work - also both of the parents are smallish springers so this also ticks our box..

What route did you guys use to train your spaniels, clicker? common commands or even whistle?

Thanks again guys..

Whistle is an absolute must. Get him/her trained to return to the whistle 100% of the time and your life will be much much easier.
Usual stuff, call the dog over and give a quick peep on the whistle then give dog a small treat. After a little while you will be able to use just the whistle.
don't mess with stupid silent whistles, get an Acme:
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They come in a number of pitches. 210.5 is the most popular so go for a different one!! And buy two or three.

Our Springer came from a good working line, his father was/is a field trial champ and both of them are small.

However our dog is the biggest Springer I have ever come across!!

Springers are ace!
My pup Tyne is almost 10 months.. She's my first dog and I wouldn't be without her.. She's at home from around 9 until 5, but is out for at least an hour mid day with a dog walker if one of us isn't home. She's been absolutely fine with that and just sleeps!

If you get a puppy they will chew things (laptop chargers.. cables.. shoes..) but Tyne grew out of that quickly once her puppy teeth dropped out.

She does have a crate, but other than when she was very small we haven't used it much unless she's sleeping away from home (friends / hotels etc)

We made a massive effort to socialise her with people, dogs, kids as soon as she was vaccinated and I think it's worked well... she's never shown aggression to anyone - default reaction to other dogs is "come play!"

Jeff

Hope this works.. first time trying to add pics!
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Tyne - the pup

We had a gorgeous Springer called Meg. She was totally mad though and very excitable...if anyone came to the door she would go ape and get so excited that she'd wee everywhere!

Had loads of energy, bred from working dogs but was gun shy and prone to catching pheasants herself. We lived in the middle of the Dalby forest when we had her, so her and the collie Tip would accompany me and my sister playing in the forest. We tried to take her with us when we moved in with my grandparents after my mum passed away but she would not be contained in their garden, despite it being massive so she went back to the breeders who happened to be friends.

They are lovely dogs and you certainly see where they get their name from when they're in long grass.

Steve

[i]They seem like hens teeth up here in Scotland at the moment. The springer we're going to look at is off working gun springers, both parents work - also both of the parents are smallish springers so this also ticks our box..[/i]

We're in the Borders and got the Springer from a chap nearby, he runs a rescue-type place, along with breeding working dogs. Said if the one we got wasn't right, he got plenty of Spaniels.

We have a 4yr old springer bitch called daisy who is pretty manic when we are out walking but she practically falls asleep the second she walks back in through the front door. She barks a bit when someone comes to the door but id rather she did that than ignored it. It's useful anyway as our door bell doesn't work.
We have trained her fairly well. She's not keen on being on the lead and will tend to pull a bit but will walk perfectly to heal when not on the lead.
She is absolutely brilliant with kids. We have a 3yr old son who she is brilliant with but we also have nephews and other friends with kids who visit regularly and generally she will go and find a quiet place to have a kip. She puts up with quite a lot (3yr olds tend to be rather un-subtle) and have never once shown any sign of getting upset by it.
Not all springers are crackers. We have met other dogs from the same litter as daisy who are crackers 24/7 but I think a lot of it is down to how you train them and let them behave.
She has always been fine when left alone during the day but comes to work with me now and spends most of the day with her paws up stacking z's.

As others have said, resist long walks for the first 6 months or so and don't start her running with you and the bike for at least a year. Be mindful that they are very keen on rummaging through hedgerows and so if they have a full tail this can/will get cut quite a bit. Daisy has a full tail and its her most common injury. She gets plenty of injuries.

our dog is a pointer crossed with some springer and a bit of terrier (pointers = stubborn, terrier = stubborn, springer = daft and loving 😀 )

if it wasn't for the springer in him i dont think mrsconsequence could cope with him.

lovely dogs, get recall nailed with a whistle from early age and you're most of the way there.

Nothing to add except I have Springer envy.

We have a Border Terrier and I really want a Spring as a friend for Dottie as I think they would go well together. Sadley Mrs MM isn't so keen. 🙁

Steve,
Our puppy trainer once made the comment "Having a springer as your first dog is like learning to drive in a ferrari"

6 years on I don't totally agree with that but the sentiment is correct, they are high energy, active and intelligent dogs but in my limited experience dog ownership operates on a similar basis regardless of the breed.

Meeting other people with their dogs has made me so grateful we got the basic training engrained whilst she was a puppy, especially recall.
Maintaining concistency of commands is important, if anyone is looking after our springer we give them a list of commands that she recognises, otherwise you may as well talk a different language (same for all breeds).

My folks had a springer so I though I knew what I was in for, totally wrong and I now realise I had the luxury of borrowing the dog on a part time basis and not the responsibility of two walks a day, restrictions on travel and holidays.

Whilst it won't give you the long term ownership experience could you borrow a springer for the weekend or stay with friends who have one ?

We don't leave ours for more than 6 hours at a time, self imposed guideline and we've never had any problems.

As others have said, resist long walks for the first 6 months or so and don't start her running with you and the bike for at least a year. Be mindful that they are very keen on rummaging through hedgerows and so if they have a full tail this can/will get cut quite a bit. Daisy has a full tail and its her most common injury. She gets plenty of injuries.

True, Alice the intrepid explorer she is has got herself caught in Brambles and had to be rescued (by my wife) luckiing one of the people she was walking with had a torch and a knife (this in North Wales and not the mean streets of Leyton).

She's also ripped a hole in her chest on barbed wire last summer and at christmas she manage to slice the fornt leg open on god knows what. It didn't faze her one bit she was running around with a 4 inch slit on her leg with the underlying muscle and tendon on show for all to see.

Both the above required trips to the vets and the chest gash required an over night stay.

When we walk her in the woods she can often been seen running around dragging buts of shrubbery that have caught up in the tail feathers.

On the positive side that big hairy tale does make an excellent fan in summer

[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8434172349_cf31c3334a_n.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8434172349_cf31c3334a_n.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/84573430@N03/8434172349/ ]Paddy[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/84573430@N03/ ]JasonDStapleton[/url], on Flickr

6 months now and embedded firmly with the family. At work with us during the day and I think that has helped with bonding and experiencing new things. As said above, ours does have an "excited pee-on-shoes" issue which can be embarrassing when clients pop in for a meeting 🙂 He also loves to show off his bedding, toys etc.

To be honest, I wish we had borrowed a friend’s dog for a while to see how it would impact on family life/routine etc as it sure has - but mostly in a completely positive way.

He is ace with kids, our cat and has been nothing but a joy and long may it continue.

Good luck finding the right dog.

My mum is planning to breed her working Cockers this year and we've been promised the picks of the litter. Can't wait! Spaniels are great dogs.

Brilliant guys, all the information is really helping us.

Going to see the dog Tom night, so all going well we will get him on the 16th..

We're on our 4th springer at the moment.
We had Rolo as a 13 week old puppy from the [url= http://www.englishspringerrescue.org.uk/ ]NWESSR[/url] (the 3rd we've had from them) and this is what he looked like a couple of hours after we picked him up
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He celebrated his 1st birthday last week and this is him from a couple of weeks ago
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You're never alone with a springer, they just seem to attract people when out walking.

It's worth spending some time training them as the rewards are well worth the effort

Paddy- our rescue springer- has a few issues but is a proper dog- will do anything to keep you happy.
Racks up the vet bills mind cus he crashes through all sorts without any thought to his health!

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/60449858@N07/5971012531/ ]Paddy[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/60449858@N07/ ]Larkin Pop[/url], on Flickr

Roxy

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She's been with us 12 days now. Found as stray in Ireland, now in Scotland. She was nervous of pretty much everything at first (including me), but is settling in well.

We bought her a new bed.

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It's still new.

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Here's Riley back in August when we first got him:

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimbosussexmtb/7766877584/ ]upload[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/jimbosussexmtb/ ]www.sussex-mtb.com[/url], on Flickr

Here he is now (8months):

[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8220/8262663732_1dfe72b9d4.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8220/8262663732_1dfe72b9d4.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimbosussexmtb/8262663732/ ]PC120013[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/jimbosussexmtb/ ]www.sussex-mtb.com[/url], on Flickr

He's totally bonkers, wees on people's shoes when they visit! But is awesome with the kids, will run with a bike and is well behaved as long as he's had some exercise.

Proved to be a good escape artist from his crate when we're out. We had to beef up the security! Now he can open the front and back doors so we have to keep them locked.

Fabulous dogs guys, keep the pics coming!!

Absolutely love our Springer, his odd traits just make him more lovable. No sense of self preservation though, he'll jump off/over/through pretty much anything.
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[i]he can open the front and back doors so we have to keep them locked. [/i]

Yep. Last night the wife was complaining the house was cold, and Charlie had opened the front door...

Here is a picture of the springer, getting her 2 weeks today..

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We actually got one locally and got a bitch instead of a dog. Really need to get my finger out and get a list of things i need to buy - quickly! 😆

What size of cages do you guys use for the springers?

Cheers 🙂

Had 3 springers, 2 were great but the first one was the most useless dog ever - too highly bred, cost us a small fortune to buy, was allergic to everything including dust and human hair! She was the greediest dog I've ever seen and we couldn't get here to do anything. Cost us a fortune in various vet bills - in the end we eventually had to have her put down aged 9 as she went blind and deaf and various other issues which meant she was living a life of misery - was the saddest day of my life...

Other 2 were great dogs though - intelligent and gentle. Only issue we had with one was he managed to snag his tail in a barbed wire fence when out walking and we were unable to find him for 2 days. Hunted high and low for him and it was only when we took his brother out on the second day to look for him, he managed to locate him. He was really dehydrated but made a full recovery - wouldn't have happened if we were still allowed to dock their tales as pups!

Current dog is the first mongrel we've owned - bought from a farm and supposed to be a King Charles Cross, but she is the size of a Cocker, looks like one, but slightly longer legged. She's almost 4 and been the best dog ever - incredibly gentle. She hasn't missed a cross country run (3 x per week) with me since she was 5 or 6 months old. Never put her on the lead and she will run alongside me. If she stays behind to wee, when I hear her running behind me I put either the left or right hand out to tell her what side to overtake me on!
I never shut our driveway gates yet she never leaves the garden unless I tell her to. Started taking her out when biking to trail centers and she stays on my rear wheel the whole time without a lead. Haven't been more than about 15 miles on a bike run with her in case she gets too tired out, but I've yet to see her tire. Funny thing is she is quite happy to lounge about the house all day if I'm not in the mood for exercising too. My only criticism of her is she is a bit of a coward with other dogs - perhaps that's what comes with being so gentle. Maybe I've just been lucky with this one, but when I compare her lack of breeding and cheap price of £200 it makes you wonder what all the fuss about breeding is!
Managed to get Rachel Atherton cooing over her too at Fort William this year too - bonus 😀