English Springer's and Protectiveness/Guarding?

As you all know i'm new to the breed, Ralph being my first English Springer. No matter where i look i can never find any information on English Springers guarding/protective instincts, and it's something that does interest me. Ralph is very much a protective dog..he is very soppy as a springer should, but he is also very protective..when people first come into the house he does the usual coming to sit infront of me thing, ditto for when out walking and someone walks over/past. He's also very 'in key' with people going past the house, coming to the door etc etc..he always tends to have to go and investigate every noise or things that are out of place.
So my question, are english springer's actually quite protective?
And do they/would they ever make a half decent watch/guard dog?
The latter question is something thats always interested me, i suspect they would be quite off putting for an 'intruder' as a lot of people when out walking tend to be put off by their natural all over the placeness too..

Hi Luke.

Springers can be very possessive of both 'their' people and their belongings. Also with food they can be aggressively possessive.

It is not something I would encourage as they could become to over possessive. They are not naturally guarding dogs, their breeding is to naturally flush game and work, so your best of channeling their energy into activities that stimulate their mind. Mine will bark when someone comes to the door or sets foot on our drive. And will growl quietly if they are not sure who it is, but will shut up when told.

Thanks both-by no means is it being enforced, nor do i think the post come across that way. I'm quite aware what the breed was intent for and Ralph has been in gundog training for quite a while, my question was merely is it quite a common thing for them to be quite protective
I think its quite likely as they are a breed so 'in tune' with their owners so i guess they would pick up on any feelings of caution/wariness.

Yes - it's common for them to be protective as they are very loyal and will do anything for you. I've never had a Springer that was agressive in terms of being protective but I have had a Springer that was agressive in terms of being possessive.

Although they can behave in the same way, being protective and being possessive are very different things.

In my experience Springers can be quite dominant. If Ralph starts to show any over protective/possessive behaviour your best bet is looking into the usual methods of dealing with a dominant dog rather than thinking it's a springer thing.

Phil

Charlie is half springer and he is very possesive and protective over 'his' things including the house/garden, toys, food, owner and even the other dogs, 'his bitches'!

my springer sam is completely the opposite! he's not protective of his food, toys etc. i can take anything off him and so can my springer bitch bronte and he doesn't bat an eyelid. he'll willingly go and say hello to anyone who comes into the house (and when we're out walking), whether he's seen them before or not, whereas bronte will hold back and stand with me and bark. dont know if its because he's a rescue dog or not i just dont know. all i know is he's very friendly (prob too friendly)!!!!

Thats an interesting question Luke and actually one that we had here not so long ago. When we were researching what breed to buy, we consciously steered clear of known guarding or 'barking' dogs. Now of course all dogs bark but you know what i mean hopefully, some are renowned for not having an off button. We didnt really want that and were advised that Springers hardly bark at all. My sister lives in Yorkshire and owns a Springer (a welsh) and hers doesnt bark at all-ever!

Tigger on the other hand will bark if he hears someone coming to our door, also if there are people shouting loudly outside(we live near a school and if parents are telling youngsters to get a move on :smt002 , he barks his protest) However, when someone opens our front door to someone he curls around them, stranger or friend, like a flippin cat rubbing themselves around your leg! He doesnt assume I or OH need looking after and doesnt sit infront of us either-obviously would rather get a tummy tickle than watch out for us!

He is SO friendly its funny sometimes-I suppose that could be offputting in itself. Scare the intruder away with unwanted affection. This temperament that he has seems to lure me into thinking he is a real sofite but when another dog started fighting with him recently (for no apparent reason, just ran up in wide open field and went for it!) Tigger certainly didnt back down and it opened my eyes as to how potentially scary all dogs 'can' be if provoked.

I also have noticed that he has a tendency to be possessive, of my OH. LOL Obviously has no sense. :smt002 Until recently he would push between us if we were hugging or saying goodbye! Cheeky little sod-soon put a stop to that. Now he sits patiently as if to imply 'Can i have him back when youve finished with him?' Fine with food, always has been although I put a lot of work into making sure he was. Fetch is interesting, he has a new definition of it, yeah sure he'll go run after something but youre lucky if you get it back to your feet or hand, more like six feet infront of you. He is possessive but not aggressively so with some toys, mainly soft ones which he shreds.
I do get a dominant vibe off him sometimes and i think its important to be consistent as i sense if i gave an inch he would grasp a mile.

So its possessive and not much protection here, although guarding -quite possibly as the people outside dont know he is a complete wuss!

Springers should not be possessive in any way, which is why you cant find info on it. They should show NO signs of aggression at all. We find if they do, they can be a real major problem.
Dawn.

Very interesting folks I think with Springers they tend to be *whispers* All Mouth And No Trousers, and just like the sound of their own voice!

*thinks to self how the breed sound more and more alike to someone by the second*

Would this mean then that you would expect a Springer to avoid confrontation with another dog? Would that be an exception to seeing aggression?

Would it be classed as being possessive if when asked to fetch they found and retrieved the object but was reluctant to give/drop?


and Luke, are you sure you want to liken yourself (i may assume wrongly?) to that description? 'No trousers!'

I think Springers have a tendancy to be more of a warning sort of dog rather than an aggressive/possesive type. Or at least they should be, any dog in a breed will differ depending on nature/nurtre etc.

I do agree with Dawn however in that Springers really shouldn't be possesive or agressive, it's a big no no for me with the breed. There are some Springers in the village with tendancies towards possessiveness and they're a big problem to other dog owners/walkers as they're generally walked off lead.

All the Springers we've had will happily sit at the window and observe and occasionally bark at passers by, but that's it. It just serves as a warning, rather than aggression/possession.

Bonnie would bark more as she got older and went senile, but Isla doesn't even bark at the doorbell. She really is all mouth and no trousers as they say!

the 2 male springers i've had really didnt bark all that much. benson used to bark if someone came to the door but other than that not very much at all. sam just doesn't bark at all. (apart from when he's chasing cats in the garden ). bronte is a different kettle of fish and she barks at anything and everything!!!!

This is what is written down as the Springers breed standard for temperament.

Temperament
Friendly, happy disposition, biddable. Timidity or aggression highly undesirable.

Thats how I see it. Relunctancy to drop is fine providing there is NO growling or showing of the teeth etc.. Your other question, yes, I would NOT like to see a dog aggressive Springer, its extremely alien to the breed.
Dawn.

While he is quite 'aloof' with strangers..not in the sense 'im going to rip you apart', he still loves nothing more than covering innocent passers by in mud and spangle kisses!! He's more 'reserved' when in foregin territory, then again..he still bombs around the place like a rocket up the bum!
As for dog agression, must confess Ralph is a total whimp when it comes to fighting..hes been attacked a small number of time, i think of only one time it was a proper scrap-all the others he's ran back to me to sort it out, typical springer!
Sadly i have seen a few 'snappy' springers-also a few very skittish ones which really does sadden me.

My oldest springer can be a bit of a dominant so and so when it comes to other dogs but only when they keep bugging her. She will show all signs of warnings before barking at them. She doesn't rush over (not that she can now she's getting on a bit!) to other dogs to have a go, but will stand up for herself if they bug her. She is 100% around people, of all ages though.

Pippa, my other springers, will bark at people going past the window (which doesn't happen very often here), but if I let her out, she would just go up for a fuss. She is fine around other dogs, but again, if one is getting a bit too boisterous around her, she will gently put them in their place. I do trust her around other dogs 100% though.

Rob's two springers are as soft as mud around people and dogs. Tia, is a bit of a barker but I think that has something to do with her being brought up with gsd's?

I have heard more and more of people having problems with their springers being food/toy possessive. I don't know if it's becoming more common or I am just hearing more about it.

My sister had a springer who was a nightmare around other dogs. It did stem from her being attacked by a dog and it was a really difficult problem to sort out. She managed but it got worse when she started to go deaf and blind.

When on shoots, I have been in the back of a beaters wagon with up to 10 springers and 12 owners. Not a grumble out of any of them - the dogs as well .

Helen

Oh, I hope I didnt imply that Tigger is dog aggressive. He certainly isnt-not in the way I understand the term anyway. I wouldnt call it dog aggressive to defend. He has never growled at a person or dog-he has growled at a log floating in the river but I let that one go!
The other day in the vets there were two toddlers mithering the life out of him, even though I had told their dad he had not had much prior interaction with kids that young and was keeping him sat between my knees, hand on collar. He laid down and wiggled his bum as they stroked him and he sprinkled all over the floor with excitement (as they do, apparently-noone warned me about that!) The little ones thought that was so funny. I was so proud of him. He was incredibly gentle and the vet receptionist complimented him on his temperament.

I asked about fighting because the dog that ran up to us in the field launched straight off into an attack. I was useless as I hadnt seen the situation arising-he was on the other side of the field. Tigger wagged when he approached but the other dog went for him. Tigs backed off at this point but the second time the dog nipped him he retaliated and they fought. Should I be concerned about this? I certainly didnt know Springers should back down or run away from confrontation. I obviously have my terminology wrong here then as I wouldnt have classed that as dog aggressive-I thought that was basically what the other dog did to Tigger! Guess I may have some work to do then.

You cant blame a dog for defending himself, we are talking more of dogs that start problems.
Dawn.

my old girl bronte will definitely defend herself although she wouldn't start it. she hates puppies fussing around her and will bark at them. if they push it with her though she will bare her teeth at them, but thats about it. sam was dog aggressive when he came to me. i dont know what his history is though to know what happened to him before i got him. it seems to be dark coloured labrador type dogs he doesn't like. i just avoid them if i see them whilst out walking. he has attacked a couple of dogs while i've had him though, but both dogs have been on-lead and it was over as quick as it started. he is getting better and better though at tolerating dogs being close to him and will work quite happily in class with lots of different dogs around him. he is fine with bitches though and is actually quite submissive with them. my other springer benson used to just chase dogs away he didnt like, but he never had any fights. he was also very protective of bronte and used to push in-between her and another dog if it went over sniffing her!

Phew! Thats alright then, thought I had completely misunderstood the concept of dog aggression for a minute or two then.
Tigger thinks all dogs are happy as larry and just looking forward to playing with him--which poses its own problems. LOL