Springer spaniel

Bettyboop

I am taking care of a springer puppy for a relative till they move into their new house,which will be very soon hopefully.I have the puppy 2 wks. now and it feels like 2yrs. Dont get me wrong I love dogs but this puppy is a lot of work.She is going to be trained to be a gun dog as their other springer is now retired.I have 4 shih-tzus and a kitten myself and its like noahs ark here at times.The puppy hates been outside and whenever i lock her out the back garden to wee and stuff she goes bonkers trying to get through the flap.I have no experience with these dogs at all,and wonder how she is going to cope after she leaves my house! She hides when you make a sudden noise and needs company almost 24/7 she cries when you leave the room even to go to the toilet she waits outside.To me she is no gun dog but how can I tell?Does anyone have any advice?As her new owners say if she is gun shy they will have to find her a new home.Of course I will step in and take her as I am attached to her as it is but
as I said a lot of work,are these dogs easy to train?Are they always hyper?etc.
Any advice good or bad would be appreciated.
Thanks
A pic of Sally

Ruu_Old

Wrong forum dear, I've reported it to be moved.

awhir

i have 1 and yes i can say they need 24/7 service.my springer is no gun dog but he goes for a nice little rambble every day and has caused allout of trouble.but to be truthfull alll the dog wants to do is to play 24/7 and to catch the friggen ball.oh and i find "sam"quite stupied when he wants to be and quite intellagent also lol.i had a small bit of trouble trying to train him.

hope that helps also i think u will also fall in love with this dog once u spend some time with him like i have.

awhir

also just seen the pic never seen a black springer before.:D

Dilbert75

Man she's a beauty!

I'd expect that, given her age and breed, she'll be fairly lively for the next 8 months at least. She would need a fair old walk each day to use up all that excess energy. No idea of whether she will be a good gundog though.

junkyard

I'd sooner see her as a pet than a gun dog anyday, I hope it works out for both of ye. She looks to me to be an English Springer Spaniel, also available in brown and white.:)

SuzyS1972

Just something I picked up on there but maybe if you go out with her when she needs her wee it would be better - sounds like she's a nervous dog to me and being locked out in a garden prolly makes her worse.

Stay with her a while or just randomly go out for a potter and bring her with you. That way she will soon realise that there's nothing much to be afraid of.

Springers are a classic working dog and as lively as a bag of jumping beans. I just hope that she gets some good pro-active and steady training soon - her time now is crucial for learning .

Sigma Force

Doesn't sound like the pup would make a good gun dog, the minute a gun goes off she might cower. Mabey talk with the owners about the situation when they get back, they might realise it themselves.

Off topic.. awhir..had to laugh at your sig. being a huge Nintendo fan I don't like Playstation, no particular reason but I think a lot of people like one or the other. Nintendo rules!

iguana

This is long, ever since I got mine I have turned into a big Springer nerd. Should I ever end up divorced and childless I will end up as one of those middle-aged ladies who you see on Crufts jazz dancing with their dogs.:o
Here are mine on the first night we got them, 10 long weeks ago.


I have two springer puppies and they are EXTREMELY intelligent dogs. (This is high praise from me as I've grown up with Border Collies). They were 10 weeks old when I got them and had lived in a barn on a farm in Wales until then. Within two days they had the hang of toilet training. There were still a few accidents and one of them still suffers from "Springer Sprinkle.*" But they definitely knew we wanted them to pee outside and would come to us and then walk to the door when they needed to go. (And we only ever had one indoor poo when one was really sick).

However they are traditionally working dogs, they need regular stimulation, long walks and regular off lead time where they can run loose. They are literally like a released spring when you tell them go. They also need quite a firm hand, they follow orders well but they desperately need consistancy. But if they haven't had enough exercise they can be impossible to deal with as they have just too much energy. They will want to please you, but will not be able to sit still. If the dog has more white than black/brown then it is working stock rather than show stock and will therefore be even more energetic.

They are very social animals and need a pack, I once had to leave one of them all alone for a few hours while I took the sick one to the vet and it took him about a month to get fully back to himself. While the sick one was ok within a week despite being left in hospital overnight. They absolutely love to socialise, and they react more enthusiasticly to other springers than to other dogs. (I assume maybe they still have some memory of their parents or littermates). Our vet has two springer pups a few weeks younger than ours and each time we visit they have a good play. They are the only dogs I know who are disappointed whenever we walk past the vets and don't go in.:rolleyes:

How old is the pup, she looks about 5 months in that picture? Mine have never had problems with loud noises, is it possible that someone or another dog reacted in fear from a loud noise around this puppy. The first few times mine heard a firework they looked to me and when they saw that I ignored it, they ignored it. However I'm sure that if I or a nearby dog had acted worried they would have learned to be worried. This could be worked on by normalising your behaviour when you hear a loud noise and acting like something fun is happening. Or even making a loud noise = a treat. (It could also be possible that she has an ear infection. Does she lie on the floor and rub her ears? Springers are very prone to ear infections which will leave them uncomfortable and harder to train).

However this dog may never make a gundog. And if it's owners decide to give her away then you have to ask yourself if taking her on is really the right thing for both you and her. You have 4 dogs already and unless your ****zus are very unusual they will need less exercise put together than a springer. Mine even at 12 weeks went on a 5 hour walk and were running around like crazy 3 hours later. A springer may not suit your lifestyle and the adjustments you make to be fair to her may not be fair to your other dogs. Take a look on www.itsaspringthing.co.uk for advice or to chat.

*Springer pups can be slightly incontinent when excited or scared in their first year



eta: 1000th post, W00T!:p

Bettyboop

Hi iguana
just seen your reply now,5 hrs. walk! I wouldnt have the time for that.
her new owners collected her today and are bringing her back tonight,
She didnt want to go and cowered behind me.I realise she needs lots of exercise
and I have brought her for long walks and let her lose on the beach also.
She is a very loving dog and I will miss her when she goes.However her new owners insist she will be a gun dog and will change once she is trained to hunt.
If they feel that she is of no use to them I will take her back.She wont have a bad life with me she will be well cared for and sleep with my other dogs on their
own futon.I know she will be hard work I will train her myself probably letting my heart rule my head here but I would hate never seeing her again as we are best buddies now.Will update you when she goes to her new home and hopefully she will settle after a while,I will get to see her as often as I like
thanks for the info appreciate it,though 5 hrs of a walk sticks in my head:D

peasant

sorry to butt in here ...

iguana wrote:

Mine even at 12 weeks went on a 5 hour walk and were running around like crazy 3 hours later.

I know, they're working dogs and very energetic and all that ...

But ...jeez ...5 hour walks with a 12 week old pup ...are you mad??

That is waaay too much stress and strain for growing muscles and joints, you could do serious damage there !

For your and their sakes ...take it easy.

Young dogs (and bundles of energy like Springers especially) don't know their boundaries ...they'll keep going until they drop. It's your responsibility to keep them safe and healthy. Two or three times 20 mins per day is plenty excercise at that age ...bit of indoor play, training and mental stimulation thrown in on top of it, that's more than enough.


And another thing ...the more you wind a dog like that up, the more it will demand. Set yourself and your dogs some limits or you will end up with two adrenalin junkies that won't know the meaning of "quiet time" and you will never ever get a minute of peace in your daily routine.

iguana

peasant wrote:

I know, they're working dogs and very energetic and all that ...

But ...jeez ...5 hour walks with a 12 week old pup ...are you mad??

That is waaay too much stress and strain for growing muscles and joints, you could do serious damage there !

In fairness the 5 hour walk had lots of rests and even a nap in the middle. But these were pups who had spent the majority of lives in rural Wales having complete run of a very large area. Adjusting them to an urban life in London means giving them plenty of times where they have the opportunity to run in a space bigger than our garden.

peasant

iguana wrote:

Adjusting them to an urban life in London means giving them plenty of times where they have the opportunity to run in a space bigger than our garden.

Yes, yes ...but not at 12 weeks and not for five hours.

(You wouldn't take a two year old child on a 10k run either, would you? Even if its parents, grandparents and five generations before them had all been marathon runners ...from Wales or elsewhere )

Besides possibly doing harm to the little ones you're preparing yourself for a nice self-fulfilling prophecy there. "I've got Springer Spaniels, they are energetic, therefore I must use all my energy to help them spend theirs."

Slow down, woman ...or else these two will have you run ragged within a year.
They will eventually have more stamina than you and if you start now with hyping them up to the hilt, there will be no stopping them once they're fully grown and you won't be able to cope any more ...especially not in the middle of London with a normal life to run besides entertaining two wound up dogs.

Even Springer Spaniels can doze away a day quite contently ...if they're used to it.

Make sure they are.

And just as a hint ...learning new things like good behaviour and possibly a trick or two can tire a dog much more than just running along a field ...channel some of their energy into being "clever" instead of "energetic" and you're winning.

iguana

peasant wrote:

Even Springer Spaniels can doze away a day quite contently ...if they're used to it.

Make sure they are.

And just as a hint ...learning new things like good behaviour and possibly a trick or two can tire a dog much more than just running along a field ...channel some of their energy into being "clever" instead of "energetic" and you're winning.

I know, when Dinny was sick they were both "grounded" for 3 weeks, (no walks, garden exercise and trips to the vets only, and they coped just fine. They've only been back on walks for the last two weeks. 80% of the time they are house angels, just ocassionally a bit squabbly over who has the chewier hide bone, when they are in the house.

Outside they can be nuts, but within reason. They know where they are allowed let loose and where they have to walk quietly and they have super recall. Like I said the 5 hour walk, was five hours outside in an area where they could run around or sit down and rest or have a nap when the need took them.

They are going to get gun dog training in the spring. Not because I want to take them hunting, but because I want them to learn how to do the things that they were literally born to do. There is training available that lets them flush out and retrieve dummies.

And at present we are in a springer group where we go on walks with big groups of other springers of all ages. And our vet has a pair of springer pups a little younger than ours so we have lots of great training and socailisation advice and practice for them. They are also the only dogs I've ever known who are disappointed whenever we walk past the vets without going in as every visit ends with a run around the surgery with the vets dogs.:rolleyes:

peasant

sorry ...me ...again ...:D

Why give them gun dog training, when they are living in the city and will never go hunting?

You might trigger instincts there that are totally unsuitable to city living. (I don't think the ducks in Hyde Park appreciate being flushed out and retrieved)
Especially the flushing out thing is somthing I would supress rather than encourage in daily life.


Just because they are "gun dogs", they don't need gun dog training.

I've got two shepherds at home and the last thing I'd do is train them to work on sheep ...took me ages to teach them to leave them alone.


Edit:
I appreciate that you love your dogs and that you are very enthusiastic about them and only want their best, etc ...

but ....

This whole "Springer group", "Springer training", meeting other Springers, etc .. to me smacks a bit of "breedism" ..the pet form of racism.

I don't want to accuse you of anything nasty here, but I have seen it happen with many breeds of dog in many different places.

Peope only ever focus on their breed, surround themselves with people who have the same breed dog, take part in "breed specific" activities etc.

Nothing wrong with that in principle, but as usual where people are involved, things tend to go in the wrong direction.

The breed standard becomes the bible, everything that was ever written or said about the breed and its specific behaviour is gospel and the dogs have to conform and perform accordingly.

In Germany, there are hundreds of city dwelling Border Collies being carted to the countryside every weekend to take part in ""herding classes" where they have to drive a specially rented flock of sheep round some meadow.

And because they're border collies, the dogs are supposed to "enjoy" this activity, have "fun" doing it and the owners get that warm, fuzzy feeling that they are "occuping" their dog according to what they were bred for.

Balderdash !

Herding experience to a city dwelling BC is about as useful as a bicycle to a fish.
If anything, it is a hindrance, because it awakens and sharpens instincts that are totally counterproductive for a dog that for the rest of the week is supposed to fit into cramped city life.

Another side effect of "breedism" (and once again, I'm not accusing you personally of anything here) is that owners tend to think that their breed is superior to anything else and look down on other, "lesser" dogs.

This ususally has the consequence that their dogs are not allowed multiple doggy contacts but only get to meet their bretheren, who are already more or less screwed up by having to live up to mostly false expectations.

What am I getting at here?

A dog is a dog ... and as such first and foremost an individual. Don't fall into the pitfalls of "breedism" ...give your dogs the chance to be the individuals they are. They *may* be the perfect "Springer" as by breed description ...but chances are that they have many other talents as well.

Don't force them down the gundog-funnel, allow them to develop their own abilities (and restrictions) according to your normal, day to day lifestyle, as opposed to the romantic, tweedy countryside image of the perfect gundog.

After all ..they're not living on some vast estate, are they?

If you'd rather walk around London in tweed all day, with wellies and a shotgun at the ready ...feel free to do so, just don't force it on your dogs.