A Q for the Dog owners - Rescue Springer what do I need to know?

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A Q for the Dog owners - Rescue Springer what do I need to know?

19 posts & 13 voices | Started 9 months ago by mysterymove | Latest reply from I_did_dab

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mysterymove - Member

We've decided to rescue a springer spaniel. Before I get flamed, we've thought about it for a long time and no it's not my first dog and yes i know they're hyper.

We've a found a 1 yr old male who's been with the RSPCA for most of it's life unfortunately. He's been homed twice but too hyper for family home life so i'm guessing he'll fit in our house quite well!

He's house trained, comes back when you call his name and knows the sit command & that's about it! There's some bad points, he's super possessive with toys, he's has had some bad experiences with other dogs and he pulls like an ox when on the lead, but i know we can work on this when he arrives. We've already booked him into dog skool and thinking about starting fly ball oh and were going to crate train him too...

With your wealth of knowledge - What else do i need to know about Springers? (we've already been warned to hide our shoes :wink:)

So pending the RSPCA home visit we'll have him by the weekend

Cheers Ben

Posted 9 months ago #
anagallis_arvensis - Member

Not much advice other than good luck and give himplenty of exercise. I reckon crate training could be tricky with an older dog.

Posted 9 months ago #
CountZero - Member

Lots of running around chasing balls and stuff, tire the little so'n'so out. We sometimes have my brother's dog, a golden Lab, and she's always been played with, and is very strong, but my dad, who's in his 80's, just sits out the back throwing a ball for her all day until she gives up panting for breath and crashes. Little effort on his part, and keeps the mutt amused and occupied. I know they're different dogs, but show me a dog that won't go nuts for a ball.a springer probably won't destroy tennis balls in minutes like Honey does, either!

Posted 9 months ago #
hp_source - Member

Our springer came from a rescue (although only 4months old-ish), sounds like you know what to expect, ours doesn't care for shoes, but does like skirting boards/door frames.

Plenty exercise, frisbee's tend to last longer than tennis balls and don't get affected as much by doggy drool. Try to socialise him with other dogs too, ours gets a run out with the same bunch of dogs 3-4 times a week and they'll play for ages whilst you stand and chat.

Jenson still pulls a bit even after training, not too much nowadays, but a good scent or distraction and he's off!

Posted 9 months ago #
bullheart - Member

Crate is a must, if only for the dog's sake; somewhere to chill out in.

Plenty of exercise, but remember that Springers are sly buggers, so mental stimulation is the key to wearing them out.

He will run off. A sniff of something exciting and he'll be gone. But they always come back.

a springer probably won't destroy tennis balls in minutes like Honey does, either!

Not any more. Max has moved on to destroying Kong's in minutes instead!

Posted 9 months ago #
bjj.andy.w - Member

Sounds like you've got everything covered. If there's kids in the household ask the RSPCA if the dog may have any issues with this. Taking him/her to dog school would be good in regards to the issues with other dogs. socialization takes time and effort but persevere and it will help the dog loads. Flyball will help keep it's mind active aswell. At 12 months old it's just coming into " the teenage years" so it my get worse before it gets better. Once asked a springer owner if they ever fully calm down. His response ? " oh yeh, about 1/2 an hour before they die of old age" Good luck and have fun.

Posted 9 months ago #
skiprat - Member

Work him mentally too. We have a pointer cross (he's an old man now and was from the RSPCA) who could go for days and days running, and be ready for more given 15 mins sleep.
Give him both physical and mental stuff - flyball - and that would wear him out for days.
Classes are good to introduce him to other dogs.

A woman i used to know used to train dogs for the blind. She used to go to the sea side and walk up and down the beach all day long with the dog off the lead. She used to carry a bean bag and when the dog got distracted and was about to bolt, she would throw the bag next to the dog. This would distract the dog and it would forget what it was looking at in the first place. A day of this (don't let the dog win) and they would be walking to heel without the lead and not bother about other stuff. Does work but you need to break the dog, not the dog break you.

Good luck and stick with it, they are worth all the hard work.

Posted 9 months ago #
spacemonkey - Member

Lots of running around chasing balls and stuff, tire the little so'n'so out.

Nope, not always the best move when they're young. You can easily cause damage now that will lead to arthritis and other joint/ligament problems.

Speak to other Spaniel owners if you can, preferably people you know/trust. Also speak to at least 2-3 local vets. Get a consensus, not just A SINGLE opinion. And check out any spaniel forum(s).

We have a 6 yr old and he's bonkers, but there's a learning curve as with many animals.

Posted 9 months ago #
bikebouy - Member

Ohhh, good luck.

I had two springers from the same litter, both male. One of them was bonkers and the other placid as a soft thing.

SO the bonkers one (Banger) I had to constantly stimulate him by taking him out with me on the bike in the forest where he could run wild and find stuff/chase birds/rabbits/badgers etc. whilstt he other dog (Mashy) would quite happily stay at home on the sofa.

I foumd if I didn't excersise banger everyday he would just go mad and do loops of the garden all day wearing out our lawn and creating havoc, then he'd chew stuff, anything (including 3 sofa arms and bed legs/curtains etc) SO it was a must that I got him out with me on the bike, which was great fun actually. He'd always come back, very loyal, even if he'd scuttled off across the river.. I ended up taking him back to the farmer we had them both off for some training and that was amazing. He was happy in a pack hunting and once back home would just get bored and the whole scenario would enfold. I ended up taking back to the farmer because he was just happier there in the pack (that was a sad day I can tell you)

However, mashy was soft as, didn't want nor need anywhere near the attention banger did. In fact he was quite docile. I thought there was something wrong with him so once again a trip back to the farmer and he said that there was nothing wrong, in fact he was actually a very well balanced dog. So mashy would come out with me on the bike but he'd just trot along behind me. He'd sometime run off, but that was normally where the badgers were but again would always come back. unfortunatly we lost him when he jumped over our large fence and got squished by a truck going down the hill (it was a very steep hill and the trucks brakes failed, only a lane, not a main road) That too was a sad day.

I've chosen not to have anyomre Springers. Shame as some of my bestmemories were having fun in the woods, but with both of us working means they'd be locked up all day and I kinda like sofa/furniture I have at the moment.

All I would add is stimulation, hunting particularly. SOmething where they have to forrage and run off then return, hide stuff for them or at the very least throw frisbees/balls into reeds or forest undergrowth.. worked well for me that.

Posted 9 months ago #
PeterStarkiss - Member

On a practical note we have found a harness to attach the lead to is far better than attaching the lead to the collar.

Gives you a far more secure hold of the dog and does not strangle the dog.

I know there are various schools of thoughts on collars / chains etc but for us the harness is the best option. Also good for securing the dog in a car, unfortunately I have tested this with a head on crash whilst our springer was on the back seat. No damage done to her but the car was written off.

Totally agree with the mental and physical stimulation, biscuits hidden in kongs or knotted socks are good.

A few minutes training every day is useful, ours loves learning new tricks / commands and is really keen to please.

Posted 9 months ago #
midlifecrashes - Member

Our 11 year old is now slowing down due to arthritis, we got him from RSPCA at 4. With any rescue dog I'd be wary of how he is with strangers and other dogs at first, consider a muzzle. We have a rescue Saluki too who is of a nervous disposition and will snap at people/dogs when startled, a muzzle lets him exercise properly and be safe to others. Our Springer is just the best natured dog I have ever met anywhere, and we've seen plenty having done loads of training, displays and comps when we had border collies. The right food can make a big difference to a hyper dog, all about protein ratios and stuff, plenty of info on web. Ours has been happy on standard Bakers though.

Posted 9 months ago #
mysterymove - Member

Wow thanks guy's, I was expecting the normal response of
you must be mad getting a springer they're bonkers!

Some useful stuff in here.

He's already had some crate training, so we'll start from day one when we pick him up. It'll be hard work but probably one of the easier challenges!

I've heard about the bean bag thing, will have to try it and see what happens.

Will definitely be running and biking with him so that's the brawn sorted, just need to figure out the Brain! I've used the Knog toy's before and it worked with my old Collie / lab cross. Lot's of playing in the park & we'll either do fly ball or agility so hopefully that'll be enough?

His handler at the RSPCA has been using a halti? (I think that's what it is) collar. She says he responds to this quite well so we'll probably carry on with this. Past experiences of harnesses hasn't been great, one minute walking to heel, next minute your just holding a harness!

I'm hopeful he won't destroy too much stuff, the RSPCA have said he's not that destructive, but does look depressed when left on his own and unusually his bed was in one piece when we went to go look at him yesterday. My girlfriends going back today to take him for a walk and drop off some of our old clothes. Home visit is tomorrow - fingers crossed it all goes well...

Posted 9 months ago #
bikebouy - Member

Brilliant stuff. Like the familiarisation stuff with the clothes and the like, excellent idea.

Carpets, another chompathon, make sure he'll not dig the corners up and chew them. I used smelling salts littered in the corner of the rooms and near the cellar door, worked out fine.

Good Luck.. You seem to know what you are doing.

Posted 9 months ago #
spacemonkey - Member

I take it you're going to work/exercise him sensibly while he's still young? IME I wouldn't go running or biking with a 1-2 yr old Springer unless the pace was slow enough for him to be within his zone.

Posted 9 months ago #
mysterymove - Member

Don't worry spacemonkey, I'm sure the dog will be faster than me

Posted 9 months ago #
McHamish - Member

Our dog when I was growing up was a Springer...great dogs but a little barmy!

He was 'enthusiastic' as a puppy and tried to assert himself as the alpha male when it was just my mum and me and my brothers (when we were boys). He only really behaved himself when Dad was home.

He used to pull...if you gave his lead a pull and told him to heel, he would but only for a short time until he got bored or distracted. My Mum took him to a respected dog trainer who recommended cutting his balls off and using a halti (it works like a choke chain, but rather than choking the dog when he pulls it forces their mouth shut which they don't like)...and lots of training of course (conversely the vet recommended putting him down). He would take the halti off his nose if you stopped for a bit but never managed to get it off completely. I once had an argument with some goody-two shoes at the newsagents who angrily confronted me about why our gentle springer had a muzzle (the halti goes over their snout) when he obviously wasn't dangerous.

He was as good as gold after his balls went and he eventually knew his place in the family. I'm not sure how much that had to do with me and my brothers growing up, or the behaviour training.

Oh, and he ate everything...my Mum once left a chicken carcass in a bin bag on the back step - when we got home George (our dog) has chewed and smashed his way through the back door and he had the mangled cat flap wedged on his shoulders. The chicken carcass was gone...as was most of a mouldy melon.

Posted 9 months ago #
PeterStarkiss - Member

Ben,

Re Harnesses, we had the same issue until we went to a stall at Westonbirt where a lady was making modular harnesses to fit your dog perfectly. She selected the three parts we needed ( which are adjustable ) and whilst it was not cheap, it's a milion times better than the webbing spider type.

http://dog-games-shop.co.uk/perfect-fit-fleece-dog-harness

The halti device I believe goes around the muzzle, if it's working that's great.

Springers do a great line in looking sad when they think you are leaving them. We leave ours for up to five hours, wouldn't want to leave her any longer, four years on we have never had a problem with her chewing anything other than her toys.

Posted 9 months ago #
bikebouy - Member

I only used to use a collar (we did have a harness, but I couldn't be bothered using it) THe collar was sufficient for walks into the village (10mins down the valley) but in the main I used to let them run wild as it were.
I also had a dog grate in the rear of the car, Banger would be fine for about 20mins and them start whining, Mashy though was sick pretty much as soon as the car pulled out of the drive.

Posted 9 months ago #
I_did_dab - Member

Spaniels have ~90% of their brain connected to their nose, so understand that their ears stop working when they are on a scent. The better nose they have the more likely they are to roll in disgustingly smelly stuff (e.g. rotting fish). As he loves his toys, hide and seek will be a good game. Fly-ball may be a little to repetitive for a spaniel, agility is good fun though. Some spaniels are good retrievers, ours has never been that bothered.
Working spaniels do their stuff with minimal input from their handler, so forget close obedience training (leave that to the shepherding dogs that like to be bossed about). These dogs like to be left to get on with it.
Pulling on the lead is a common spaniel trait. Our cocker prefers to be about 10-20 meters in front off the lead, a springer may run even further (springers flush in open countryside as opposed to woods). A handful of treats helps them learn to heel. Don't pull back on the lead when they pull, this gives positive feedback, instead just stop and make the dog sit. As soon as he understand that a slack lead means forward, you'll be laughing.
Have fun...

Posted 9 months ago #

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