My New Dog Charlie The Springer

[simonas]

I picked Charlie the springer up tonight, hes about 12 mths old a boy and mine is his third home which is sad. The family I got him off a couple who were pregnant having already had 2 disabled children and the wife was a high risk pregnancy hence the need to offload the dog

Hes been here for about 6 hours and settled in so well, hes a beautiful dog so friendly its untrue follows you round everywhere soft with my kids and loves a walk of which he has had two already

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

What a handsome guy! I am sure he is going to be super happy now he finally has a good home. Good on you for giving him the security he obviously needs

 

[Frazzledazzle]

Brilliant choice! He's gorgeous.

 

[micko]

Yaaaaaaay, you finally got one. Our springer is the best natured dog I've ever seen. Crazy when she gets out though but such brilliant dogs. He's a nice looking fella. What are you feeding him on? Any ideas whether his parents were gun dogs? If you can get them into it then he would definitely shine. Watch him with birds, you'll soon see. Best reward for a springer is a tennis ball.
Good luck with the new family member.

 

[Man of fish]

Aww he's a cutie.

 

[minnnt]

Brilliant Simon...

 

[simonas]

Yaaaaaaay, you finally got one. Our springer is the best natured dog I've ever seen. Crazy when she gets out though but such brilliant dogs. He's a nice looking fella. What are you feeding him on? Any ideas whether his parents were gun dogs? If you can get them into it then he would definitely shine. Watch him with birds, you'll soon see. Best reward for a springer is a tennis ball.
Good luck with the new family member.

I dont know much about his past as he was rescued by the people I got him off and they said that he was really skinny when they got him.
Just taken him for a morning walk and he is mental on the lead, he has just pulled the whole walk and Im a big lad and hes pulling me. I get the impression that maybe he wasnt walked too much by the previous owners and hopefully this pulling will go a little althouhg I know he'll always be exciteable out

Ive got pedigree chum dry food and have fed him that so far. I have tinned as well and will mix that in with his tea tonight. What would you suggest diet wise? Hes eaten what hes been given so far no bother

He must be shattered as hes been up most of the night either barking at phantom burglars or coming into my room and trying to jump on my bed which i wont allow. I dont have a door to stop him getting up the stairs so will try and find something today. I cut him some slack last night with it being his first night but he needs to learn that he sleeps in the kitchen

I love him to bits though such a cool dog cant wait to take him on a huge walk later

 

[blinky000]

Aww, he's gorgeous! Spaniels are the best. They're so loving and intuitive to your feelings. Very jealous...

 

[Tolak]

Nice looking guy! For being shuffled around so much he looks like a happy dog, once he settles in & gets used to the new sounds & routine he'll be just fine.

I'm a huge proponent of clicker training, as well as NILIF. These are the solid foundation building blocks of dog training.

This is an excellent site for lead training. It also shows some really good clicker timing.

You'll find a world of info on dog food here. The less grain in the food the better, corn is a real problem with many allergy related issues, many of the grain fillers in cheaper food are actually the byproducts and waste from other food related industries.

I love pic #2, he's smiling with the tail flying.

 

[micko]

I only use Arden Grange. Great for their coat, the dogs love it and IMO its the best.

 

[Cazgar]

Lovely dog, glad he's settling in well.
Sounds like a handful, but after the start he's had I'm not surprised, I'm sure he'll soon realise he's got a good home & be a great companion.
As for food, I'd suggest not mixing the dry & tinned food.
The dry has all the nutrients needed, you could add a drop of gravy or just hot water to moisten it a little.
I used to use James Wellbeloved, but if he does well on the Chum dry, then stick with it.

 

[Frazzledazzle]

I don't know if you're interested in using him as a gundog but it's definately not too late. He could have potential!

 

[Rummynose]

Oh, he is beautiful! He's got such a friendly face.

I have two rescue dogs myself. I believe all they really need is love, patience and consistency! Positive re-inforcement whatever that may be for each dog. For our Poppy, a Schnauzer mix, it's food, so we try to stick with carrot sticks, cucumbers and her favourite: melons, over the expensive and high calorie dog treats. For our Genny it's playtime with the ball. Genny is a Cocker Spaniel mix!

We use a firm "no" for unwanted behaviour, never use their name with an angry tone of voice and lots of praise when they do the right thing! We house-trained Poppy when she came to us at the age of four years by giving her melon whenever she did her business outside. Accidents in the house were quietly taken care of. She came to us this past June, and we haven't had any accidents to take care of for at least 3 months!

Your Charlie is still a puppy being only 12 months old, I'm sure you will do just super, and will have a happy, trusting, loyal dog in no time in your Charlie!

 

[Westwood]

Sounds like he is settling in really well!
Great dogs springers definitely my favourite!

 

[mishmash]

Beautiful dog. With lots of training he will get off the pulling thing. We had the same with our working cocker. Every time he pulls, turn around and walk in the opposite direction and give the command "heal" or whatever you choose as long as its consistent. Don't be afraid to use a rope variety choke chain. (Make sure you put it on right though). We had to do this for three weeks and the first few days we didn't get any further than past three houses down !.. Springers and cockers are best when they are running though, not walking on the lead, and he will need 45 mins to an hour of good exercise twice a day ideally. Tennis balls are great. Take out two or three and drop some and make him find them, they love to apply their minds. Don't let him win any battles that you want to win yourself (mainly doing as he is told) as spaniels like and need to know where they stand. Also, I would advise against going down the pedigree chum route and Definitely against tinned dog food. Its full of water and c r a p. (in my opinion). Ideally go for something like Royal Canin ( i found the hills science too oily for our dog), James Wellbeloved is ok too, and Oscars (this latter one is recommended by Neil, aka The Springerman... just google him).

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENJOY HIM !!! He looks a lovely fella