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Cosmo, our 4yr old Springer was pretty typical: bonkers/stark raving nuts and MEGA hard work for his first 2 years.
Then, he 'matured' i.e calmed down a little, and is now a fantastic, obedient dog.
We gave up on ALL the dog training classes we attended - even those specially suited to gun dogs. We could get no sense from him whatsoever until we went to a super expensive (£60 per hour) local trainer. Boy, was it worth it.
Our springer was our first dog.
Would I get another Springer: Yes.
Would I recommend one as a first dog: Absolutely not.
(Unless you are a super-chilled out couple, prepared to put in a lot of hard work and can afford the very best training regimen - and STICK to it!)
Oh - and get good insurance.
Springers are notorious for injuring themselves - cuts, scrapes, barbed wire fences etc.
Ours ate a small foam ball when he was 4 months old - requiring surgery, then was hit by a car when he was 9 months old - requiring surgery, then sliced his chest open at 18 months old.... by the time he was 2yrs old he had racked up over £5.5k in vets bills.
I kid you not.
I have the receipts to prove!
Have you thought of a Cocker instead? A show cocker is a little less full on mental (a working cocker, on the other hand, is a total nutcase). I have a show cocker (steady), a 50/50 (show dad, working mother, needs about 4x the exercise of the first one) and I occasionally dogsit a working cocker (mental, never wears out). Just thought cockers might be a better bet as a first dog / spaniel.
Perhaps I should add - never thought I'd ever have spaniels (always a border fan), now I can't imagine ever having anything else.
Got a Springer and a Cocker and wil always have Spaniels
forgot add my vote for crate training. Unless you want sh*t everywhere its a no brainer.
Agreed. Worked fantastically well with my cocker (not one accident) but honestly thought the Springer would do himself an injury. Gave up and yep took a ruined carpet and many many weeks to train
how is Springer on the lead
TERRIBLE but that is our fault. In every other respect brilliant though.
Nb For those who have had experiences with chewing, then your dog might be bored/ under stimulated?..I work shifts and my Wife is PT so the dogs never have more than 4 hours alone and get good off lead walks every day. (Wouldn't have got them otherwise)
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We have had a golden cocker for the past four years......arrived just before the birth of our first child.........great timing! Agree with the mental bit and needing LOTS of exercise. we only got him knowing that father-in-law would be giving him decent walks every day. Unfortunately over the past year there were a number of incidents when he snapped at the hands of either the 2 or 4 year old when he was provoked...... is brilliant at all other times but we couldn't take the risk with that small degree of unpredictability. Has gone to live with father in law indefinitaley 🙁
Another vote for a springer. We've a Welsh one and have often wondered if she's slightly more bonkers as her lineage is show dog. But maybe not. I'll admit she has her moments - compete ignorance of the whistle when chasing small animals, and yes on the lead she's not the best, which is prob out fault. Though she will walk to heal without. But I wouldn't swap. Springers are very loveable, loyal dogs with bags of personality, who will always bring a smile to the face.
Lead traning is very simple . Best place is take your dog to aplace were there are no distractions ,call it name and say heal if he bolts forward give a sharp tug on it's lead and walk in the other direction and call heal at the same time , if it goes left you go right but allways call heal when you change direction .some dogs learn faster than others ,but it's up to you to inforce it. 20 mins doing this daily the penny finally drops if he kicks of and and it turn into a wresling match grab the scruf of his neck push his head to the ground and give him a big NO never hit your dog and If you lose you cool go home and start again the next day
My brother had a springer and a good friend took him for a walk (the dog), the guy was recovering from a serious leg injury , when man and dog reached the local park their were kids feeding the swans ,dog chases swans swans swim off dog leaps into water and follows .mucho red face man with sore leg "war veteran" limps away
also they are cat killers
I loved that dog
My wife's mate has just told us she's getting a "speagle". A quick google will tell you its a cross beteween a spaniel and a beagle. This is their first dog. Does this sound like insanity?
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This is our 2 year old Sporting Cocker.
Br that is a beautiful dog..Is a Sporting Cocker Different to The Working Cocker then..not heard of that one..
Well and truly Scared now
not a good story from me:
we had a beautiful springer. absolutely beautiful...
rescued her at 4 months, kept her for nine months or so... she had some aggression and health issues from the outset, the health issues cleared up as she gained stength etc from exercising with me, however the aggression got worse and worse with her growing bigger and stronger.
she saw some very experienced trainers, handlers etc but her aggression towards humans was ultimately intolerable and we had to let her go.
saddest day of my life probably. (is that bad?)
did everything we could for her... but symptoms along this line http://www.vetinfo.com/daggressp.html
were just too much.
i have grown up with a good few family and working dogs, and i have never seen one quite as scarey and aggressive as ours.
I have a 7yr old from NESSR.NET a local springer rehoming charity, they have loads of springers as people dont realise the commitment.
They will occasionally drive you insane but mostly they make you laugh and smile.
Mine can be really naughty but normally if we havent had time to give him the exercise he really needs. He normally has about 30 mins in morning - lunchtime let out and early evening 40 - 60 mins. All running round like a nutter. Weekend hikes and leisure walking to the beach etc.
He had his back broken and hip smashed when he was ran over in October - he is now back to full exercise after only 3 months.
They all love Mud, tennis balls, socks, gloves, shoes, lakes and rivers.
Mine only really dislikes fireworks and gunshots being a failed gundog.
Get one they are ace.
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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/4194265811_0161ca9da9_b.jpg [/img][img] http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2452/3942352670_3d11065d67_o.jpg [/img][img] http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2372429288_2938b9ff3e_o.jp g"/> [/img]Its really hard to give a balanced answer on this
We have a springer spaniel. My wife did the choosing. I'd have chosen no dog
We read on a website 2 hours a day of excercise and that works. By the age of 2 with 2 hours a day he is fine.
So her routine
30 min walk with wife at 6 o'clock
left at home at 8:00
1 hour walk we pay for during the day (both companies we use say she is a delight on or off her lead and they find he easy to work with)
my son gets in between 4 and 5
I'll do another 30 mins when i get in
then she'll sleep under the sofa for the rest of the day
she's never damaged anything when we were out
when she was younger it was less walking more playing. If she didn't get her playing she'd steal things
I don' think we were great at training. She chases rabbits and you can't let her off with sheep.
But she never pulls on her lead and always comes back at the places she knows she needs to on her regular walks
she loves following me when I'm cycling
They are a popuar pet and suitable for house dogs. They just need to run around and burn off energy. I think she would make our lives hell on 2 30 min walks every day, but you can do almst no walking now and again and get away with it
any more specicfic questions then please ask
i have a springer and luckily never needed to train her. she is terrified of other dogs, she is terrified of guns, (and shes a gun dog) and whenever a car comes you tell her to come to you and she lays down wherever she is, (including the middles of the road). she never chases sheep, never runs of, always comes to let you put her lead on and is perfect for hiking. she does get alot stuck in her fur though so we have to keep it quite short. apart from that springers are fantastic 
dont hestitate to get one
Br that is a beautiful dog..Is a Sporting Cocker Different to The Working Cocker then..not heard of that one..
Agreed....... lovely looking dog. We've got 2 x working cockers and they're absolutely fab but they're getting on now 🙁
I'm tempted to have a springer next time (Dad always had springers, and yes we both shot/shoot), but I think the working cockers combines the best bits of the springer with a little less activity required [sometimes].
Sporting cocker? I presume this is just another name for a working cocker.
NagsNog - both the same I think, very hardy...
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this is a picture of my springer
Meet Dave
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Here are my 2p's worth
First of all get the book the Dog Listener. It has some useful information and tips particularly lead training and understanding how a dog see's itself within a household. Basic common sense that can actually be easy to miss.
What ever dog your getting its best if you can get them young and meet both the parents. If you find the parents are nice calm well adjusted dogs then your puppy will likely grow into the same. If the parents are nightmares then thats what you've got coming. If the parents aren't available to meet then you've got to ask yourself why.
Springer and many other working dogs are bred for 2 reasons
1- as working dogs
2- as show dogs
Springer bred to work tend to be a lot smaller. They are far and a way the best dog to have for someone with an outdoor lifestyle. Breading for showing is about appearence and not for function unfortunately and imo is the cause of most undesirable traits in dogs. Its common sense, a working dog needs to be fit, inteligent, and genetically healthy.
Dave's pretty calm on the whole. He's very much a people dog and is just happy to be part of the gang. He gets riduculously excited when new people turn up but soon calms down. When i worked from home he spent the day at my feet under the desk. When working at outdoor centres he was like having an extra member of staff there.
Decide how you want your dog to fit into your life and be diligent in training then to fit that way. The people who often have the problems are the ones that let the dog dictate the lifestyle or they dont put in the effort in the early phase. Its not rocket science but it is time consuming to start off with. Once the groundwork is laid though its pretty easy.
An out of control springer is one of the worst dogs in the world as they have the intelligence and stamina to rip the world apart
A well trainer happy springer is the perfect dog in my opinion. Small enough not to take over the house, tough as an old boot, will keep up all day on the hill on foot or on bike (Dave has done 90km days in Scotland) and is completley part of the family.
Hope this helps
Ian