The English Springer Spaniel was well known in Renaissance times as the prime, premier hunting dog, and its popularity as a gun dog is still potent to this day. It’s mostly used to flush out game. The English Springer Spaniel dog springs to startle birds and get them flying. It was popular even before the American Revolution in the colonies. He works well in land or water, and its good at retrieving game that's been hit too. Like most Spaniels, it’s a good family dog. The English Springer Spaniel is probably the ancestor of all Spaniels.
Even before hunters used firearms, the English Springer Spaniel dog would spring into the brush, and a trained bird-of-prey, such as a hawk, would catch the bird in mid-air. Its still great at hunting upland game, and it excels at rabbit, rodent, and varmint hunting as well. This English Springer Spaniel dog has a medium-build, drooping pendant ears, a docked tail, compact feet, kind eyes, and the coat - either wavy, feathery, distinctly flat - is either black, white, blue, liver, roan, or bi-color with black & white or liver & white. Roan simply means to have a bunch of white hairs interspersed throughout a coat of another color. These dogs are merry, cheerful, joyful, and brave. They like to wag their tails, and they love children. They're fun dogs with gusto, energy, and affection.
The English Springer Spaniel does best with lots of folks always clamoring for its attention. It feels scatter-brained and piqued if it's left alone too long. It will bark loudly and destroy things in the home. The English Springer Spaniel really needs some time with people to feel all right. If you live near water, take your English Springer Spaniel with you to enjoy it. It's very fond of splashing and jumping in mud, puddles, and shallow recesses of water. The English Springer Spaniel males have a height of 19 to 21 inches, and the females are 18 to 20 inches in height. The males weigh 45 to 55 pounds, and the females weigh 40 to 50 pounds. These dogs live a good 12 to 14 years. They need a brisk walk each day, and they enjoy time to retrieve and frolic. This dog will enjoy catch and fetch. A shallow pool in the backyard is a fun treat for it. An inflatable pool is cheap at the toy store.
The English Springer Spaniel of today will sit at the hunter's side until the command is given to search for the fallen prey. Once its strong nose locates the prey, it will retrieve it and bring it back to the hunter. Couple this great ability with its traits as a companion dog, and it's the perfect dog for the gentleman farmer. English Springer Spaniels do well with all types of pets - with the exception of birds.
