Springer Spaniels... tell me more about them!! General Chat

ok - my dog millie is a springer spaniel x border collie - she looks like a springer but has markings of a collie

ive never owned anything but collies before - didn intend to get another breed except a collie!!!

so basically ive heard that springers have tendancies to bog off chasing rabbit sents etc - my mates dog ran off for 3 hours once and wouldnt come back because it had the scent of a rabbit.....it was a well trained dog as well

so basically what are the chance id loose millie the first itime i let her off her lead??

what health problems do springers have?/

anything else i should know about this breed and the training of them???

thank you!!!!

p.s i do know about dogs - this isnt my first dog - but am clueless about the spaniel breed!!!

My Springer has an excellent recall, he goes a bit deaf when swimming is involved but thats natural! He has been off the lead and reliable since 10 weeks old, he has problems with being on the lead and pulling though...but his recall is good!
Springers work well on a high reward basis, as they are tarts who love to please-so praise um, give um food etc..they will do anything!
I would say work on 'water control' having some amount of control when off swimming as i find this a problem with Ralph.
A lovely breed, can be hard work though..and crossed with a collie sounds like the owner will need calmer downer pills for the next 15 odd years!

tell me about it!!!

as much as i love her - for the first couple of weeks i was seriously like what have i done!!!!!

but 4 hours a morning at the yard and shes zonked all afternoon!!!!!




and then another 2 hours at night and she sleeps..... all night!

I would be careful with that amount of exercise for such a young puppy, don't want to apply too much pressure to those growing bones/joints.
However, everyone says the '5 minutes per month' rule-i personally didn't stick by it as I know, and my vet agreed, it wasn't enough. I used to give Ralph a mini version of what we do now, but it was more so spent playing games etc over the fields and him learning to swim [the joys of a summer puppy]

whats the 5 minutes per rule month??

shes 13 weeks now - shes not going back to the yard tonight - shes had enough exercise today

she plays in the garden when she wants with the other dogs

A lot of people stick to the 5 minute per month rule, so say a dog is 5 months they would get 5 x 5minutes, 9 months-9 x 5minutes etc.
I personally don't use this as found it insufficient exercise, however many on board do and it seemingly has worked for them

Hi suze
How old is your pup?
My springer is 9 months old now and he was my first ever dog, so Ive had a *very* steep learning curve!

There are a fair few myths about Springers, mine also has excellent recall. We use a whistle but to be fair, he will come back for anything edible (greedy guts) I think the lead problems are quite common in springers, as Tigger is 100% more biddable offlead.
Also he is great at retrieving so we tire him out that way. I think its also pretty important to tire them out mentally-so maybe look into a training class or teach something yourself at home. (I would have thought this is doubly important as you have the double whammy of working dog x 2 there-raring to serve you!)

There are a few expert springer owners on here so youll get some really good advice I reckon.
Good luck ..and welcome to springer madness.

Aye, you don't have to be barmy and welly clad-but it sure does help!
Phil,Het, Rips & Helen are some other springer owners on board..oh and springer girl of course. Het and Rips have been my saviours in hours of need!

SPRINGER SPANIEL FOR SALE::
MAD AS A HATTER.....


tigger2 - shes 3 months and 1 week old - just over 2 months and she goes to be spade! poor little thing!!!!

she does see cars - thats the only time she gets walked near the road - to get used to traffic - id rather walk her around the fields - i cant stand leadwork around streets - bores me

It will be better in summer - she can come down the yard with me at 6 - sort the horse out - run round the fields - swim in the pond down the field - go home, sleep and the same again in the night time!!

I see you have 2 collies as well as Millie, which I presume would help in training her, presuming they are well trained and obedient.
Its up to you whether to progress with the leadwork, Tigger doesnt spend an awful lot of time onlead. However, I take him to training so that he is able to pay attention whilst onlead IF he has to. My OH hardly ever has him onlead-its me that used to get pulled all over the place but he's getting better. I have trained him to circle me it I say 'Round'. I say this when he is pulling me, as just stopping didnt work for us. It looks like a neat 'Heel' except he doesnt actually know heel!
Lucky you to have somewhere Millie can run offlead and swim.

theres a field down the yard - but were moving so it wont be there much longer

but where i live - in the country - were surrounded by fields - so u cant gt away from them - so she can still run anywhere lol!!!

and the farm im looking at im moving2 has a big long track that she can run down - with fields on either side

so really shes never going to be on her lead much

but i will teach her what heel means though cos when and if she does have to go n the lead - i dont like to be dragged round the place lol!!

Lets hope its her collie half thats on duty the day youre teaching Heel, then!

Find this thread very interesting. I have 2 bcs and when we rehomed our last dog we were told he was a bc. and around 2 yrs old. Since having him I think he is probably younger as he has grown quite tall , plus he is now looking more like a spaniel x collie than a bc! He is very energetic and looks like pics of sprollies (bc x spaniel) I have seen. He does have some collie traits but not as many as my other dogs. He is very bright but in a different way to my collies and reading about spaniels he reacts very like them.
Fortunately having already got collies I am used to high energy dogs who need mental stimulation as well so am hoping we are doing all the right things with him.

Would be interested to hear from other people who have spaniel x collies.

our 6 month welsh springer has worked well off lead from 12 weeks, and although we have not done the 5 minute rule - two good off lead walks a day with lots of running around plus some training games seems to work really well for her - she is better off lead than on it and yes food and big cuddles definitiely does it for her more than over exercising
training to whistle in the fields also seems to work well - enjoy !!