This past weekend we ended up putting a deposit down on a puppy for the next litter of springer spaniels. The whole family is excited for the new arrival. It's been a really hard month since on Feb 16 we had to put to sleep our beautiful dog Titan. The tears have been non stop for me and i'm still very much grieving. Yet, my DH and DS have been begging for another dog and they feel it will help me get beyond my grief. The new puppy will be coming sometime in mid May.

Anyone have this breed of dog? What's your experience with it? We know that they traditionally dock the tails of this breed and have requested that ours NOT be docked. We like the look better undocked. My only concern is that it will injury it's tail down the line and then it's major surgery. We do not plan on hunting with this dog or taking it in really deep brush. However, we do have a large soybean field behind us and he will likely be taken for walks out there from time to time. Should we be concerned and go with the docking? Can the dog break it's tail if it wags it too hard and it hits a table? I'm still unsure if this is the right decision and time is ticking..the babies are due any day now..and they dock them within the first 24hrs. If we are gonna change our minds, it's gonna have to be fast. Any opinions on this?

I had a springer spaniel, but his tail was docked. I really don't see why having a tail should be a problem. I'm mean, most breads do have tails and have no problem. As far as the breed, they are very active dogs. I had little ones at the time and mine was a little hyper for me. But if you have room for him to run and play and time to go out and play with him you will probably be very happy.

Oh, I wanted to say I'm sorry hear about you losing your Titen, I lost my little girl last year and I still miss her.

I have a bit of experience with springers as my friend breeds/trains and shows them. I showed dogs also for many years. I would go for the cropped tail, but that's just me, it's a characteristic of the breed and by the time you get your pup it'll all be healed. Having said that it won't hurt him having a tail and it won't break from hitting a table. They are EXTREMELY active dogs. They are field dogs they are bred to run and hunt. Honestly I won't be surprised if I'd see you running off in the woods after him/her. They are usually sweet dogs but they have been known to have some aggression problems. You had a lab so you all should be fine if you remember your labs puppy years. I think springers are lovely dogs. PLEASE PLEASE make sure the parents of your pup are OFA (hips) and PRA (eyes) certified. I've seen far too much hip displaysia and blindness. Ask your breeder about this and ask to see the certifications.If you are paying a good sum of money for this pup that is the LEAST a breeder should do, if they don't my suggestion it go somewhere else. It's terrible to have a dog capable of living to 12 or 13 but has to be put down at 6 because of hips or blindness.

Best of luck...I LOVE ME SOME PUPPY BREATH!

I personally would not dock the tail. I have had two spanials on docked and one not docked. Puppy won't cause itself any damage from wagging or hitting the tail on anything. they were traditionally docked so that if the dog got stuck in hedgerows and brush it could be held by the stump of tail and pulled out without snapping the tail, It was a handle basically . I think they look really good with a bushy brushlike tail

Sorry to hear about your angeldoggy

Our family got our first Springer Spaniel when I was 6, almost 30 years ago. We had this wonderful dog until we had to put her down when she was almost 15. We got our next Springer 2 weeks after and she just turned 15 this past Christmas. Pepper, the current one, is the sweetest dog ever. She is very loyal and protective of all of us - even my sister and I still after we have been out of the house for over 10 years. Both were VERY easy to train and although Pepper was a bit hyper at first, she was a puppy. Mind you, I don't remember any other type of dog we had (we had an English Sheepdog from when I was born until I was 5), but I really think you will LOVE this breed. That being said, they do shed a LOT and both my husband and my sister's husband are allergic to them. My parents are away right now and since the husbands have allergies Pepper is at the "doggie spa". We are not sure how she will do since she is quite old now with arthritis in her back legs and almost completely blind and deaf. She still remembers me though when I see her and my heart will break when she is gone.

HTH - let me know if you need any other information.

Jen

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and the information.

We are anxious to get the puppy. The breeder will guarantee the health of the puppy for two years for congenital health defects and five years for epilepsy. They have been in the business of breeding springers for 26yrs. They had the parents and grandparents on site. It was hard to get a really good feel for the dogs since it was pouring buckets outside and it was soooo muddy. All their dogs are allowed to roam free on acres of farm land. They were all wet and REALLY muddy. Yet, not a single dog jumped or barked at us when we arrived on our whole visit. Actually one of them kept dropping a ball at our feet to throw it to him.lol They have a big barn where the dogs can come out of the bad weather..that's where the pups were too. They seemed very playful..which is wonderful for us. My husband wants a relatively high energy dog as he likes to take long walks, and play ball with it. So hopefully we can keep the dog happy.

Thankfully we have a fenced yard so the dog won't be going in the field without us..that is unless he can jump up 8ft over a fence.lol

The breeder told us that her dogs don't shed alot, and are very good at cleaning themselves naturally. We would likely keep the dogs coat short. We had a golden retriever beforehand so i can't imagine anymore fur than what he shed.lol So we are pretty used to having fur around..sweeping..vacumming ++

After talking with my husband last night he is dead set on getting one with it's full tail..so i guess that's settled.

I do hope that this dog will be well suited to our family. When we got our dog Titan he was already 2yrs old and obedience trained..so little work needed there. I'm a little scared about getting a puppy..it will be very new to me not having a puppy before (my husband has). At least we have experience with an older dog and know what a balanced, obedient dog should look and feel like. This puppy has big shoes to fill.lol

Thank again for all your help. I will post pictures when he arrives.

Suzanne

Here's a picture of my parents' dog at Christmas. You can see that she has a cataract in each eye that is causing the sight issues, but she really is the sweetest dog.

Jen