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Part
5 -
1st March
(You can read
Part 1 here)
Gundog Club founder and author Pippa
Mattinson takes a long look at the 'lot' of the
working Springer Spaniel in modern society
In this series, we
have looked at the ways in which owners of working
Springer Spaniels can get into difficulties with
their dog and have discussed various ways in which
people can tackle their current problems and avoid
having problems in the future. In this concluding
instalment, we are going to look at what the working
gundog community can do, to help reduce the number
of working bred springers that end up being
abandoned, or causing serious problems for their
owners
What
can the working gundog community do?
The vast majority
of puppies sold to so-called working homes will be
primarily pets. The numbers of people involved in
trialling and in working tests is tiny. Most
working Springers will spend much of their lives
asleep in front of the fire, and an hour or so each
day outdoors. A small proportion will spend maybe a
dozen days each winter chasing pheasants around in
the beating line of their local shoot, an even
smaller proportion will be used for a little walked
up rough shooting.
The fact remains
that most Springers end up as pets, and for some
families with some springers this works out fine.
But sadly for many other families the dog is nothing
short of a disaster. The family often struggles on
for a miserable year or two before passing the dog
on to another family or the local rescue centre.
So what can we do, what can the working gundog
community do, to help stem the flow of Springers
into rescue centres, and to help the people that
buy these tremendous little dogs get to grips with
them at an early age.
The two key issues are:
The
right homes for working Springer puppies
The number of homes suited to a working bred
Springer is fairly limited. For this reason, responsible,
breeding is vital. We need to avoid the
over-production of working Springer pups in general.
Responsible breeding is an entire topic in itself,
but it not only involves the proper care and
management of the bitch and her puppies, it also
ensures that puppies are allocated to homes where
they will thrive and be raised and trained
appropriately.
It is very
important to avoid breeding too many ‘high octane’
intensely hard-hunting Springers as any surplus will
inevitably filter into pet homes. Avoiding surplus
puppies is particularly important with this type of
working Springer because, as we have seen, they are
not always ideally suited for life as a pet.
Surplus puppies
tempt even the best breeders to slacken their
principles and select less appropriate homes, but of
course, they cannot be avoided altogether. Even top
triallers breeding a litter of high quality pups,
to a full order book of experienced working homes,
will sometimes be left with a surplus pup or two.
This is unlikely to be a problem to the serious
trainer/breeder as he or she can simply ‘bring on’
any surplus puppies, train or part-train them, and
then sell them to experienced handlers at a later
date. However, for the first time or occasional
breeder that would simply like to have a litter
from their own bitch, things may not be quite so
straight forward. The thought of being ‘stuck’
with half a dozen twelve week old spaniels tearing
about the house is enough to make many many a good
person’s principles slide.
We can never make
all potential breeders responsible. There will
always be those that think breeding a litter will
earn them a few pounds whilst having little interest in the
welfare of the dogs that they produce. But most
people’s hearts are in the right place, and with
the right information, they will make the right
decision.
Experienced gundog
trainers and breeders within the working gundog
community can help by spreading information about
responsible breeding and most importantly by
restricting the services of their stud dogs to
owners of bitches that are clearly well informed and
competent to breed responsibly.
Let's make sure
people know just how much it costs to plan
(including health checks) and raise a litter of
puppies, the risks involved, and the work involved.
Responsible breeding is a big subject but we will
give a brief summary below that you can point people
towards.
Thinking of breeding from your
bitch?
For those of you
that have a lovely Springer bitch and are tempted to
breed from her, there are a few points that you
might like to consider.
A common factor
that compels a dog owner to consider having a
litter from their bitch is to make another 'just
like her'. So it is worth explaining at this point
that the best way, genetically speaking, to get a
dog just like your own, is to find a brother or
sister. This is because siblings share more genetic
material than other relations. If a mating is
successful, many breeders will repeat it, using
the same dog and the same bitch, even though it is a
different litter from the one your bitch was born
into, the puppies in it will still be full
siblings. If you know the person that bred your
bitch is still breeding from her mother, this is
your best chance to get another bitch like
yours.
Here are some
things to consider before you breed from your pet
bitch
-
Are you sure
your bitch is the right age, healthy and in top
condition
-
Are you sure
the stud dog is suitable for siring pet puppies
-
Can you afford
to pay for health checks and to lose a lot of
money
-
Do you have an
experienced ‘mentor’ to help with pregnancy,
whelping and afterwards
-
Can you be at
home all day for several weeks?
-
Are you capable
of raising and training any surplus puppies?
Obviously there is
far more to breeding than this list, and we will be
looking into this subject in more detail in a
further article. If you are tempted to breed from
your bitch, please get advice from an experienced
breeder before you have her mated. There are health
checks which should be carried out in advance of
mating, and you may want to change your mind once
you know what is involved. You will certainly need
some assistance.
Be aware, that just
like humans, pregnancy can be dangerous. You need
to know the risks and pitfalls long before you go
anywhere near a stud dog. Remember that your
insurance will not cover pregnancy and whelping.
Can you afford to pay for a caesarian section for
example? It is unusual for a bitch to die
whelping, but it happens. It is however quite
common for one or more puppies to be stillborn
or sickly. There is a lot to think about.
Crossing your bitch
with a stud dog that you do not know intimately,
and whose lines you are not familiar with, without
extensive knowledge of canine genetics and working
Springer pedigrees is a complete lottery. The
resulting puppies will have only have half the
genetic material from your bitch and may have all of
her faults and none of her qualities. In fact it is
highly probable that a quarter of the litter will be
nothing like her, and you will not know which is
which!
If you use a Field
Trial Champion for a stud dog, he is likely to be a
fast, hard-hunting dog. He may not necessarily
be the type of dog that is easily trained or managed
by someone inexperienced. You need to consider this
before passing on his puppies to unsuspecting pet
homes. Talk to an experienced trainer, not
the owner of the stud dog concerned, but one that
has nothing to gain from the mating, and try and
get some unbiased advice before you use any dog on
your bitch.
Lets be discriminating!
When it comes to
selling puppies, lets see what can be done to make
sure that puppies go into the right homes. Lets be
more discriminating.
If your dogs are
hard hunting ‘intense’ springers, please think very
hard before selling their puppies to pet homes. It
is quite clear from our telephone records and from
the records of Rescue Societies, that this practice
is causing problems.
The chances of a
young working Springer being rehomed in the first
two years of it’s life are high. Rehoming causes
great distress to the family, especially where there
are children involved, and is no fun for the dog.
Whilst the best of breeders undertake to rehome any
dog they have bred at any time in its life,
this offer does not always avert a tragedy. Many
people that need to rehome their dog are too
embarrassed to return to the breeder, or to admit to
what they see as a terrible failure on their part.
Remember that
people buying a pet usually expect a family walk to
be relaxing, and are not prepared to focus on a dog
the whole time they are out. As experienced trainers
we often forget just how much we focus automatically
on our spaniels, and that most people are simply
not willing or able to do this. We need to be
honest and tell buyers that those that want a dog to
take for walks each day whilst they admire the view
and chat to friends, might be better off with a less
determined hunting dog to share their lives.
The second
crucial way we can help Springers is to give out
appropriate advice to new owners. The key to
managing a hunting dog is correct training, but many
new owners do not know this.
Giving new owners the right advice
Once a sale is
agreed there is always opportunity for the breeder
to pass on the right information. Not just about
food and veterinary care, but about training too.
Get your new puppy owners started early. Most
people buying a working Springer puppy may not
actually want to compete, but they are interested in
gundog training. Tell your puppy buyers about the
Gundog Club’s Graded Training Scheme and encourage
them to get started with their training at an early
age.
Be aware that
people nowadays do not normally want to use much
force in training, and that they will therefore need
appropriate information on managing their puppy
outdoors. They will need information on keeping
their puppy away from game and other wild animals,
and strategies for getting their puppy focused on
them.
For breeders that
do not enjoy writing out information sheets, they
have the option of purchasing
puppy packs of
‘The Right Start’, our guide to raising a
gundog puppy responsibly and appropriately. Where
breeders can’t offer training advice to puppy buyers
on a personal level, they can put their buyers in
touch with an instructor where they will receive
appropriate training and advice for their dog. Many
Gundog Club Instructors offer specialised
Puppy Sessions aimed at getting new owners
off on the right foot. These can take place once
vaccinations are complete and can be booked in
advance, as soon as the puppy arrives in its new
home.
Early training
One thing that serious trainers often do, is to
overemphasise the importance of hunting to new
owner. This is not appropriate advice for
inexperienced trainers of quality working puppies.
Most well bred working Springers will hunt
themselves off the face of the planet, without any
encouragement whatsoever. What novice owners need
desperately is some control.
Advice to put off
heelwork is appropriate only to those with
experience or with a dog with low hunting drive and
lacking in confidence, and is really only vitally
important to those intending to trial their dogs.
Let’s get new owners the advice they really need,
help them to keep their friend and protégé close. We
all have a responsibility for telling new owners
that it is not in their Spaniel’s best interest to
be ‘walked every day’ without control, especially
in areas where there are strong distractions such as
game for much of the time. We should warn people
that many spaniels will need to be taught a ‘stop to
flush’ and permitted only controlled hunting in
order to prevent a nasty chasing habit developing.
They should know that this is not a simple matter
and may require
professional advice and some lessons with an
experienced trainer. Specifically they
should know that if they allow a chasing habit to
develop they will need to use force to correct it.
Most people are
simply not aware of this fact. Breeders and anyone
else offering advice to a potential puppy buyer or
new owner, should provide this information.
If someone you know has just bought a Springer
Spaniel puppy, help them to get the necessary
control in early. Encourage them to teach the dog to
walk to heel right from the start (shock horror!)
It is important that the new owner gets their
pup trotting willingly at heel before it weighs a
40lbs and pulls like a train.
You might
know how to sort the pulling out in a couple of
sessions in six months time, but the chances are
they will not be willing or able to use the
techniques necessary.
Whilst
some field trial enthusiasts believe that
excessive heelwork may have the potential to take
the ‘edge’ off a trial dog, many do not agree, and
this commonly trotted out piece of advice is of
no help at all to those that are going to end up
struggling with control issues in just a few short
months time. Which includes most new Springer
owners
If as a result of all this, one spaniel with a
faultless pedigree fails to make it to Field Trial
champion? Well, he can always sit on a peg, or
snooze on someone’s hearth rug. Would that be so
awful? It certainly isn’t going to result in the
dog being passed from pillar to post for the rest of
its life. I shall not lose any sleep over it, and
neither should you.
Our responsibility
I believe that we
in the shooting community do some working Springer
Spaniels a great disservice when we sell or
recommend, very intense little dogs to people who
haven’t a clue how to go about managing them whilst
failing to provide them with the information and
support that they need. We also do a disservice to
many of the unsuspecting souls that set off home
with an eight week old puppy and such hope in their
hearts. Only to have that hope dashed within a few
short months. Unless we change our approach to
advising new owners, the steady trickle of abandoned
Springers throughout the UK will continue.
The truth is that
the kind of focus and concentration required to keep
these hard-hunting and sometimes self-centred little
dogs safely under control is completely at odds with
the expectations of many pet dog owners, and for
this reason alone, it is my belief that sadly, these
beautiful little dogs often make poor pets, and a
poor first gundog for any novice gundog owner that
does not have ready access to experienced help.
If we make some
changes in the way we view working bred Springers
and in the way we communicate with those that want
to own them, there may ultimately be less demand for
working Springer puppies. But actually, that’s ok.
Because working
Springers are very special dogs. To those that
love them, and that love to work them, they
are the ultimate shooting dog. And in my view,
they deserve a special place in the world with
people that are able and prepared to offer them the
life that they were born and bred for.
~
Update
to this article - October 2010
The
Gundog Club directors have decided to donate the
Graded Training Scheme to a brand new charity
dedicated to the welfare of working gundogs.
Training is a particularly vital welfare issue for
our hunting breeds. Correct training started
at an early age avoids so many of the problems that
lead to abandonment of working springers
Please
help us to launch this new charity by making a small
donation to
The Gundog Trust.
You can
read all about it by clicking on the link above.
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We hope you have enjoyed this series and would like
to thank all those that have written in with their
kind comments.
Since this series was begun, we have been
contacted by the English Springer Spaniel Welfare
Society who tell us that they see a disturbing
amount of behavioural problems in working-bred
Springers. It can be a long road to
rehabilitate these dogs and good homes from people
with the time and patience to invest in helping an
abandoned dog are always in demand. They also
sometimes have dogs without problems waiting for
adoption. If you would like to visit their website
to make a donation toward caring for abandoned
Springers, or for more information or advice
about adopting or caring for Springer please click
the link below
Visit the English Springer Spaniel Welfare
society
Having
problems with a Springer? Get help now
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