English Springer Spaniel

Springers enjoy as much exercise as you can give them. They need lots of it to be happy. They should have chances to take daily long walks or jogs where the dog is made to heel beside or behind the human, never in front, as in a dog's mind, the leader leads the way. They will also benefit from a run and play off the leash. They love to retrieve and swim. These dogs perform very well in both agility skills trials and obedience competitions.

Easy Training: It is very intelligent and eager to please. Obedience training is recommended. The English Springer Spaniel can learn a wide variety of hunting skills, such as following hand signals, ‘Scenting’ (tracking prey by smell), ‘Flushing’ (flushing birds in a zigzag pattern), ‘Quarter’ (remaining in gun range), ‘Soft Mouth’ (holding a bird in the mouth without biting it), and ‘Retrieve to Hand’ (delivering to the hunter on command).

The English Springer Spaniel is compactly built, upstanding with proud carriage, slightly longer than tall but with fairly long legs and a deep body. Its build should suggest a combination of strength, agility and endurance, a dog capable of hunting tirelessly under the most difficult of conditions. The outer coat is of medium length, either flat or wavy, and the undercoat is soft and dense. This combination protects the dog from weather, water and thorns. The gait is long and ground-covering. The expression — alert, kindly and trusting — is an essential feature of springer type.

Friendly, affectionate and easily trained. These qualities are essential when being trained for the field or shown in the ring. The Springer’s long ears, soft expression and happy disposition clearly show him to be a member of the ancient family of spaniels. It is uncharacteristic for a gun dog to be aggressive towards other dogs or people, therefore aggression is unacceptable behavior. Tentativeness is to be equally penalized with allowances for young puppies.