Author: Phil

The older the springer, then the more likely a stroke becomes. The symproms are much like those in a human being, and prevention is similar. There are drugs – I take aspirin every day to keep my blood thin and reduce the risk of clotting. Strokes do happen to dogs – you can find out more about prevention in this news story which I came across:

http://www.freepressrelease.com/stroke-dogs-prevention-cure/154653/

I have no association or link with the author, but he writes well about strokes in dogs.

On March1st, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, a dog handler with the British Royal Army Veterinary Corps, was killed in Afghanistan. Less than 24 hrs later, his springer spaniel Theo (a bomb sniffer), died from a seizure. Their bodies were repatriated to the UK on 10th March 2011.

The full story is at Fox News, here:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/10/uk-army-dog-died-broken-heart-1606316739/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Marks

If you are considering springer spaniel adoption, then there are steps you must take to prepare your family, to choose the best dog, and to follow through with if you want to avoid problems in the future. Adoption may involve a dog from a rescue centre, a private adoption (maybe through a newpaper ad) or from someone in your family. Problems with adopting dogs can involve behaviour, training and health issues. The risks of these problems can be avoided or reduced if you go about the adoption with a careful approach.

Basics

If you are looking for a dog to show, then unless you are an expert, adoption is not the best way to go. It can work if you are adopting a springer you know, maybe from a friend or relative. It’s definitely worth looking at a few springers and comparing them – it can be difficult and even emotional, but is a sensible route to go.

How to Prepare for Springer Spaniel Adoption

Make checklist before you visit the springer spaniel, whether at a rescue centre or private home. A rescue centre will be able to give you an unbiased opinion about the springer spaniel (and a veterinarian’s report), whilst a private adoption may not be as ‘open’ – say if the dog is troublesome or sick. If it is a private adoption then question the motive of the current owner carefully.

Age and Sex of the Dog

Do you want a pup, adolescent or mature dog? Whichever you choose, there will be different challenges to face. Which sex (most rescue centre dogs will have been sterilised)?.

Rescue Centres

Dogs from rescue centres will probably not have pedigree papers but a private adoption may have them available. You should get a health report from a rescue centre. Specialist Breed Rescue Centres are more likely to have pedigree papers for the dog.

The Rescue Centre will usually want to know if yours is a suitable home for a springer spaniel. You can expect to be asked about your ability to look after the dog, whether you have enough open space available and there will be a fee to pay.

Behavioural Problems

You should check that the springer does not have a behavioural problem – they may have been ill-treated in a previous home. The rescue centre staff should give you an opinion on the springer’s behaviour.

If the springer has been previously abused, then it may have difficulty trusting you and your family. If you have young children then their safety comes first and you will need to satisfy yourself that you can trust the springer spaniel – it’s a two way street.

Training

An adopted springer spaniel may not have been properly trained, and if the springer is older then training will be more difficult than with a puppy. Check that the dog will obey basic commands. Springer spaniels are eager to please, and this assists training. If an older dog has been properly trained, then you will not have to go through the house-training phase, though initial nervousness might lead to a few accidents.

Checking the Dog

Take the dog for a short walk. Observe how the springer reacts as you approach – does he cower, is he nervous or welcoming? Does he jump at you (this could indicate poor, if any, training)? How does he react as you walk past other dog pens? Is the walk nervous or cowering? His gait can give clues to maybe leg or hip injuries or to internal discomfort. Rescue centre staff will give you guidance – they would not want the dog to be returned.

One final tip – until you are sure about the springer, then don’t take the kids along to meet him. If the dog turns out to be unsuitable then there could be huge disappointment for your children if they have ‘fallen for’ the springer spaniel.

The author has kept English and Welsh Springer
Spaniels
for many years, including an English Springer Spaniel adoption dog from a rescue centre – find out more now about rescue dogs and how to find, choose and nurture one of these great dogs – and have a whole lot of fun too!

There are five main Springer spaniels eye problems – some are hereditary and some may occur because of the shape of the eye and lids. Most are treatable, and even laser surgery is used.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (“PRA”)
This also affects some other breeds, and is a degenerative condition affecting the eyesight and can lead to partial or total blindness in its various forms. The gene can skip a generation and therefore it is almost impossible to know whether your dog will suffer from it.

Retinal Dysplasia
This again is an eye condition which can vary from unnoticeable to total blindness. This is widely tested for and test results should be on the pedigree papers.

Entropion
This is the eyelashes growing inwards and irritating the eyeball with varying degrees of severity. This can be cured by removal of some eyelashes at its simplest, or surgery (and more recently, laser) if it is more severe. It is usually apparent in a pup by the age of 6 weeks (congenital) and can also be caused later in life by a damaged eyelid healing improperly, for example. This condition can also occur on the lower eyelashes. If your dog is mature and you notice red eyes, then check his eyelids. If left untreated, ulceration and serious eye damage may result. This condition is sometimes known as ‘redeye’.

Ectropion
Ectropion is less common than entropion, and is the outward rolling of the lower eyelids. Corrective surgery is possible.

Cataracts
These are apparent by a milky whiteness of the iris and can lead to total blindness. Besides a hereditary cause, cataracts can occur for other reasons, including as a consequence of other diseases (e.g. diabetes) or treatment for other conditions such as radiation for cancer. Surgery is possible and some veterinarians recommend implants.

Avoiding and Treating these Problems
As with most genetic defects, a good place to start is with the parents, so when you consider buying a springer spaniel, then seeing the parents first is always a good step, if possible. Check the pup’s pedigree papers for the obvious.

If you are unfortunate to have a dog with one of these problems, then treatment is possible, but could be expensive particularly if you are referred to a specialist veterinary eye surgeon who may be in another city. So, pet insurance could be a worthwhile investment, but check the policy terms and conditions carefully to ensure that specific problems or treatments (such as laser surgery or implants) are not excluded.

Of course, whatever dog you buy will be susceptible to health issues – they age seven times as fast as we do and age inevitably brings problems.

Springer spaniel eye problems are part of the range of health issues which your spaniel may face, but on the whole springers are reasonably fortunate – after all, breeders are keen to breed out these issues from their stock.

(C) 2010 Phil Marks

Springer spaniels are in general active, loyal, affectionate and biddable. ‘Biddable’ means that they are ready and willing to follow commands, as you would hope and expect from a retriever.

The level of activity can be high in some dogs – they love exercise and need to be moving about. Of course this may not suit all owners, and if that is the case then the dog will be unhappy.

There are slight differences between the Welsh and English Springers (their genes diverged several centuries ago); there are even slight differences between the show dog and working lines of the English Springer.

Let’s have a look at each in turn:

Welsh Springer Spaniel

The Welsh Springer Spaniel (“Welshie”) has the soft-eyed faithfulness of spaniels in general, and are very devoted to their families. They are high-spirited and good-natured companions. They are people-orientated dogs but can be a bit shy with strangers at first. However, they will never show any aggression, except perhaps in the company of other dogs of the same gender.

They mix well with children and other household pets, but can be boisterous so a rough and tumble with very young children is not to be encouraged (though I never had any problems with my 1, 2 and 4 year old daughters. They are family dogs and need company, so they are best treated as part of the family.

English Springer Spaniel

The typical English Springer is an extrovert by nature, friendly, eager to please, easy and quick to train and willing to obey. Springers continue to develop and mature until they are 2 years old. Aggression and dominance are not common but can be a problem if not handled carefully when young.

Generally English Springers are good companions and family dogs, well-behaved and quick to learn and respond. Some of the less well-bred dogs of this breed can be stubborn or timid. It is said that some even resort to nipping and growling so check a pup’s parents before you buy, if you can. If you are considering a rescue dog then you should check the dog’s behaviour carefully, though this is not always easy. This behaviour is the exception, and I never observed it in my dogs (I’ve kept both English and Welsh Springers), but some people do report such problems. The show dog line of the English Springer appears to be less excitable and more placid than the working strain – but that is what you would expect. Excitable show-dogs are not easy to handle in a show ring, and you certainly don’t want a lazy dog when you are flushing game and retrieving.

Fun

The other aspect common to both breeds is their love of fun. This is really good in a family environment, and their love of play is great for children. Do avoid games like tug of war with very young children for reasons mentioned earlier.

Guard Dogs

Their temperament does not make them the best guard dogs, but their shyness with strangers does mean that they will raise the alarm; in the last analysis their loyalty also means that they will defend the family.

Summary

In summary then their temperament makes them great family dogs, but they do need lots of exercise. They are happiest when not left alone all day, and with some garden or yard space to move around in.

If you have behaviour issues with your dog – maybe chews the furniture, barks excessively, digs up your flowerbed, jumps on visitors, soils indiscriminately (the list goes on) – then there are solutions. They are too detailed to go in to here. Maybe you’ve heard of Dr Dennis Fetko – ‘Dr Dog’ as he’s more widely known?  He has a book available which will help you tackle any of these problems head on. See what you think: Dr Dog’s Fast, Easy, Fun Behaviour Solutions.

(c) 2010-11 Phil Marks

Training springer spaniels is a rewarding task for you and the dog because they are intelligent, and eager to learn and please; their natural traits to hunt and retrieve make for a lot of variety and fun. It is important though to understand the various aspects of training, and to be clear about your objectives. If this is your first time, then you will also have learn to be a trainer.

Training can be grouped as follows:

* Initial house training
* Obedience
* Field Training
* Rescue dog training
* Socialisation

Initial House Training

Initial house training is the training undertaken with a puppy, so that he or she learns to control their bowels and do their business in an allotted place (hopefully following a regular pattern – on waking, after meals and so on – and not indoors. Some rescue dogs may require initial house training – this is more about getting them out of bad habits and instilling good ones.

Obedience Training

Obedience training teaches the dog to obey spoken commands, whistles and body (usually hand, but stance is important too) signals. This should start when the young dog is 5-6 months old and bonding and trust between you has been established. Getting the dog used to hearing a specific set of commands can start on day 1, though don’t expect or push for any progress this early. You and the family need to agree your set of commands, so that the dog does not get confused. Besides his name, commands should ideally be single words: No, Come, Sit, Stay, Heel, Fetch and of course, two words ‘Good Boy/Dog/Girl’, which are not a command but very important. Some owners also use ‘Bad Dog’ as a chastisement.

Field Training

Training your dog for springer spaniel field trials is very specialized and is outside the scope of this article. Field training is a specialised area and depends on what type of work the dog will be involved in and what country, as the field trials take different forms. It is so specialised that some gundog owners will buy their dogs ready-trained, or have them trained for them.

Rescue Dog Training

Although rescue dogs are usually mature, training might include initial house training (rarely, but depending on the dog’s background); in some cases rescue dogs will not have had any obedience training and will have bad habits which need to be eliminated, and good habits instilled in their place.

The training ‘course’ for a specific rescue dog will need to be tailored to that dog’s personality – is it overly aggressive, too passive and lacking confidence, and so on. There are techniques for dealing with each of these likely issues, and the owner will need to think carefully (and perhaps liaise with the rescue centre) about the training scheme for the dog. The springer spaniel is a very intelligent breed and therefore learns quickly if taught properly, but does get bored with too much repetition.

Social Training

Bound in with all this training is also the need to socialise the springer. Dogs are naturally pack animals, but they need to be taught how to meet other people, other dogs and other animals, and behave in an acceptable way in many situations (for example not pulling through an opening door or gate, or jumping up at people).

Finally, you, as the trainer, will need to understand the use of your body language, including hand signals, as a means of communicating with your dog in addition to words. Dogs can read faces and body language, and also have that ability to sense people emotions.

If all this seems a bit too much, then you can always check with your veterinary clinic, local pet shops and the local library to find out when any dog training classes are held in your area. That way, you can both learn effectively and your springer gets used to being with other dogs too!

Pecking Order

Dogs are pack animals and live within a clear pecking order in their wild condition. Within the family, you need to instil the pecking order into the dog, so that he or she understands their position, behind all human beings and especially the children. This makes life easier for all, removing competition and uncertainty from the dog.

So, there is quite a lot to think about and prepare for, and you have start at the right time, be very patient and set realistic training objectives and timescales for your dog. If you want to see how it’s done by the experts, then check out Dr Dennis Fetko – ‘Dr Dog’ as he’s more widely known – maybe you’ve heard of him already? He has a book and audio available which will help you tackle any training problems head on. See what you think: Dr Dog’s Fast, Easy, Fun Behaviour Solutions.

Spaniel weight depends on a number of factors across the various breeds. For a springer spaniel it depends on whether the springer spaniel is of English or Welsh pedigree. The Welsh Springer has a slightly different build to the English Springer, with the Welsh dog being slightly longer, and having a lower height. English Springers tend to have bodies which are square – their height at the withers (shoulders) being much the same as their overall length. By contrast, the Welsh pedigree’s body is more elongated and less inclined to squareness. These build differences affect spaniel weight.

One other factor of note is that in Welsh springers, there is no distinction between the show dog bloodline and the working dog bloodline; these bloodlines are distinct for the English springer spaniel, with the working dog being more slender and having a finer bone structure.

Also, of course, the bitch has a smaller, lighter build than the dog but is more susceptible to weight variations.

Springers, as all dogs do, will of course vary in weight and height slightly from day to day, as we all do. So the weights quoted have a tolerance typically of 5 lbs (2kg) in the dog and more in the bitch.

If the height of the your dog is in the right range, then the dog should appear proportionately built, without excessive flesh, though appearances can be deceptive. In the adult springer, the flesh covering can be masked by generous feathering, but running the hand over the ribs will give an indication. Ribs should not be visible, but should be easily felt to a light touch, without undue fleshiness.

For English Springer Spaniels, the heights/weights are typically as follows:

Dog:  Height 18-20” (46-51 cm) Weight 50-55 lb (23-25 kg)
Bitch: Height 17-19” (43-48 cm) Weight 35-45 lb (16-20 kg)

For Welsh Springer Spaniels:

Dog:  Height 18-19” (46-48 cm) Weight 40-45 lbs (18-20 kg)
Bitch: Height 17-18” (43-46 cm) Weight 35-40 lbs (16-18 kg)

Springer Spaniels are generally healthy dogs but as they age they will required fewer calories and less fat and protein. It sometimes helps older dogs to cut their meals in half and feed them twice daily – this put less load on their digestion.

If your dog does develop a weight problem and you cannot adjust it with diet and exercise (remembering always to ensure that dietary adjustments are balanced), then check that he has been wormed recently.

Also, it is always worth checking that the children are not giving him extra food or secret treats which can add weight slowly but surely. This happens quite often and secretly in families. If the children want to give him treats then get a supply of proper dog treats which taste good to him but don’t have many calories.

Also families get into a habit where everyone leaves a bit of supper for ‘Sammy’ and he ends up with an extra meal. If you do want to give him scraps, then keep them till his next regular meal and add them in, ensuring that the overall quantity is not increased. Also, check that your neighbours are not feeding him treats – this does happen but is more common with cats who can wander more easily. The whole family has to commit to keeping his weight healthy!

If after all this your springer still has a weight problem, then it is worth discussing it with your veterinarian; most of the reasons for weight gain (excluding the possibility that ‘Sally’ is expecting pups!) lead to a slow increase in weight, but any rapid weight increase should be checked immediately.