Don't Buy An English Springer Spaniel!!

DON'T BUY AN ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL!!

Interested in buying a Sringer? You must be or you wouldn't be reading this.

You've already heard how marvelous Sringers are. Well, I think you should also hear, before it's too late, that SPRINGERS ARE NOT THE PERFECT BREED FOR EVERYONE. As a breed they have a few features that some people find charming, but that some people find mildly unpleasant and some people find downright intolerable.

The appearance of the Springers you have seen in the show ring is the product of many hours of bathing and grooming. This carefully constructed beauty is fleeting: a few minutes of freedom, romping through the fields or strolling in the rain restores the natural look.

 The natural look of a Springer is that of a medium size, shaggy  dog, usually with some dirt and weeds clinging to his tousled coat. His esthetics are those of an unmade bed.  The true beauty of the Springer lies in his character, not in his appearance.   Some of the other long-coated and most of the short-coated breeds' appearances are less dependent on grooming than is that of the Springer. (See also the section on grooming below.)

Originally bred as hunting dogs that work alongside their owner in the field, Springers need to be part of the family, rather than being an outdoor dog. They thrive on companionship and they want to be wherever you are. They are happiest living with you in your house and going with you when you go out. While they usually tolerate being left at home by themselves (preferably with a dog-door giving access to the fenced yard), they should not be relegated to the backyard or kennel. A puppy exiled from the house is likely to grow up to be unsociable (fearful and/or unprovokedly aggressive), unruly, and unhappy. He may well develop pastimes, such as digging or barking, that will displease you and/or your neighbors. An adult so exiled will be miserable too.

If you don't strongly prefer to have your dog's companionship as much as possible, enjoying having him sleep in your bedroom at night and sharing many of your activities by day, you should choose a breed less oriented to human companionship. Likewise if your job or other obligations prevent you from spending much time with your dog. No dog is really happy without companionship but the pack hounds are more tolerant of being kenneled or yarded so long as it is in groups of 2 or more. A better choice would be a cat, as they are solitary by nature.

Basic obedience and household rules training are NOT optional for the Springer. As an absolute minimum, you must teach him to reliably respond to commands to come, to lie down, to stay, and to walk at your side, on or off leash, regardless of temptations.

You must also teach him to respect your household rules: e.g. is he allowed to get on the furniture? is he allowed to beg at the table?

 What you allow or forbid is unimportant; but it is *critical* that you, not the dog, make these choices and that you enforce your rules consistently.

You must commit yourself to attending an 8 to 10 week series of weekly lessons at a local obedience club or professional trainer and to doing one or two short (5 to 20 minutes) homework sessions per day.

As commands are learned, they must be integrated into your daily life by being used whenever appropriate and enforced consistently. Young Springer puppies are  easy to train: they are eager to please, intelligent, and calm-natured, with a  good attention span. Once a Springer has learned something, he retains it well. 

Almost every Springer that is rescued out of a Pound or Shelter shows the effects of many months of non-grooming, resulting in massive matting and horrendous filthiness, sometimes with urine and feces cemented into the rear portions of the coat. It appears that unwillingness to keep up with coat care is a primary cause of abandonment.  Many other breeds of dog require less grooming; short coated breeds require very little.

DON'T BUY A SPRINGER IF YOU DISLIKE DAILY PHYSICAL EXERCISE.

Springers need exercise to maintain  health and muscle tone.  An adult Springer should have a morning outing of a mile or more, as you walk briskly, jog, or bicycle beside him, and a similar evening outing.

For puppies, shorter and slower walks, several times a day are preferred for exercise and housebreaking. All dogs need daily exercise of greater or lesser length and vigor.

If providing this exercise is beyond you, physically or temperamentally, then choose one of the many small and energetic breeds that can exercise itself within your fenced yard. Most of the Toys and Terriers fit this description, but don't be surprised if a Terrier is inclined to dig in the earth since digging out critters is the job that they were bred to do.

Cats can be exercised indoors with mouse-on-a-string toys. Hamster will exercise themselves on a wire wheel. House plants don't need exercise.

DON'T BUY A SPRINGER IF YOU BELIEVE THAT DOGS SHOULD RUN "FREE".

Whether you live in town or country, no dog can safely be left to run "free" outside your fenced property and without your direct supervision and control. The price of such "freedom" is inevitably injury or death: from dogfights, from automobiles, from the Pound or from justifiably irate neighbors.

 If you don't want the responsibility of confining and supervising your pet, then no breed of dog is suitable for you. A neutered cat will survive such irresponsibly given "freedom" somewhat longer than a dog, but will eventually come to grief.

 A better answer for those who crave a "free" pet is to set out feeding stations for some of the indigenous wildlife, such as raccoons, which will visit for handouts and which may eventually tolerate your close observation.

DON'T BUY A SPRINGER IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO BUY, FEED, AND PROVIDE HEALTHCARE FOR ONE.

Springers are not a cheap breed to buy, as running a careful breeding program with due regard for temperament, trainability, and physical soundness  cannot be done cheaply. The time the breeder should put into each puppy's "pre-school" and socialization is also costly. The "bargain" puppy from a "back-yard breeder" who unselectively mates any two Springers who happen to be of opposite sex may well prove to be extremely costly in terms of bad temperament, bad health, and lack of essential socialization.

In contrast, the occasional adult or older pup is available at modest price from a disenchanted owner or from a breeder, shelter, or rescuer to whom the dog was abandoned; most of these "used" Springers are capable of becoming a marvelous dog for you if you can provide training, leadership, and understanding.

 Whatever the initial cost of your Springer, the upkeep will not be cheap. Spaying or neutering is an essential expense for virtually all pet Springers, prevents serious health problems in later life, and makes the dog a more pleasant companion.

Professional grooming, if you use it, is expensive. An adequate set of grooming tools for use at home adds up to a tidy sum, but once purchased will last many dog-lifetimes.

Finally, the modest fee for participation in a series of basic obedience training classes is an essential investment in harmonious living with your dog; such fees are the same for all breeds.

The modest annual outlays for immunizations and for local licensing are generally the same for all breeds, though some counties have a lower license fee for spayed/neutered dogs.

 All dogs, of whatever breed and however cheaply acquired, require significant upkeep costs and all are subject to highly expensive veterinary emergencies.   Likewise all cats.