doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The Excietment of an English Springer Spaniel !

George, that sounds more like jealousy than rage--I don't think spaniels can claim any monopoly on that. My folks tell me of their dog "pooh" sitting on the ground in front of a swingset, and every time I (as a baby) swung forward Pooh would snap at my toes...sounds similar, parents suddenly spending more time with the new "puppy" and all. Sorry to hear, although I have also heard many good things about cockers of late, apparently they have bodies the size of a kick-me dog, a heart the size of a mastiff and are a pile of fun to hunt over!

Early socialization has a lot to do with response later on. Because I help train Springers, I've got to watch a number develop. Recently, I worked with 2 litters (same sire same dam), one litter grew up with considerable contact with families and children; the second were raised more or less in isolation. In training and trialing, there are a lot of similarities between the litters; but that second litter is strikingly unsocialized.

I'm raising our first springer after owning several labs. Labs are sweet dogs and great hunting partners as are many of my friends' setters and pointers. However, none of them that I've been around had the drive, the personality, the bird nose, or the flamboyant reckless courage that our springer has. At 35 pounds she would retrieve an oil drum if I could throw it. She is great around the house and her tail has never stopped wagging since we picked her up. I don't have my new Shooting Sportsman yet but can't wait to see the ESS on the cover. I love these dogs.

My two English Cockers (Katie and Jessie) are the thrill of our lives. Katie is a very good quail dog but I have retired her. She is still the dynamo that she was ten years ago but she takes longer to recover now. Jessie doesn't hunt but is strong on a tennis ball.

I think the only difference between a Springer and an Englis Cocker is weight. Both of my females weigh in at 30 lbs. each

Regards, Gordon

Gordon, a friend of mine has trained ESS for the last 25 years. He is one of the best trainers around. He told me recently that he is starting to work with English Cockers and would like to start his own line. He says they are a real blast.

Parker, I know what you mean about heart. My dog Zach is 11 and still hunts quite strong. A year or two ago I shot a rooster that fell on the other side of a 10 or 15 yard wide running stream. Old Zach had no problem swimming across that stream and climbing up the ice on the other side to get the downed bird. While he was over there he flushed another bird which I also shot. He tried so hard to pick up both birds but just could not get a good grip. He finally came back with just one and as soon as I took it from him he turned and jumped back into the half frozen water and went and got the second. He made a bunch more trips across that stream that day and never refused a retrieve.

K & J. You're right about the origins of Cockers. Originally in England the smaller dogs were used for woodcock (hence "Cocker") and were not consided a separate breed for a long period of time. Every so often you hear unsubstantiated reports of someone breeding a springer to to field bred cocker in order to get a bigger, harder-running dog. Of course, no one would ever admit to it.

I am in a Springer rage that I no longer have my Springer, Pete. I loved Pete, leaping in the air looking for scent or in mid-air after a bird flushed. Pete had a sense of humor better than most people. Pete was better looking. Pete was kind and gentle with my wild four year old daughter. Pete had the bad judgment to think that he could whip a Rottweiler who challenged his Alpha dog position. Pete and I were bloody but unbowed in these encounters. He died in 2002 of an auto-immune disease fairly common among Springers (hemolytic anemia). I miss Pete. Springers are great.

C Parker, you've certainly hit the Springer personality on the head.

Kate and Jesse, you are correct that Springers and Cockers came from the same litters in the 19th century. Over the 20th century the breeds have split a fair bit, and many trainers say that Cockers (as a group) are more hard-headed than Springers. (That does not mean that they are bad dogs, but simply that they require sterner correction--as a group.) I've only seen 4 or 5 Cockers in training, and while they were more hard-headed than most (but not all) Springers that I've seen, it's a pretty small personal sample.

Lorne

You are certinally right about the hard head. Katie has a block of solid iron between her ears. I love her with all my heart but I sure get frustated when she gives me that "Talk to the paw" look.

Jessie on the other hand wants to please and is not a problem with authouity at all.

Regards, Gordon