any springer owners out there?

[Don Krag]

I have an 8 1/2 mo old English Springer spaniel, field version. He's coming along good on filed work. I was hoping to get him to retrieve ducks. He seems to have a real aversion to water, though. Flushing small game out of 8" deep mud and water are no big deal to him...diving in water he wants nothing to do with.

 I used to have a coonhound that was the same. We started taking him to the lake and he'd follow us out into the water and play. he eventually got to where we couldn't keep him out of water. My springer will just sit at the shore, running back and forth barking and will never get more than belly deep.

Any suggestions? Trail of hot dogs into deeper water?


We had some feral hog problems on our property. My 8 yr old accidentally let out the pup. I was shocked how well he handled a 200 lb boar! I don't think I've ever seen him "furred up" like that after anything.

[NONYA]

All of my springers were in the water at 6 mo,I would find spots where there is deeper water between the shore and an island and wade out,make him follow you and he will loose his fear.

[stymie]

have a yr old springer and she loves water will be going to hunt some pheasants grouse and chukars

[NONYA]

Just got another female pup,she followed my male right in at 7 WEEKS,try using another dog that loves water to break yours of water fear.

[Ray Ford]

Nonya, how ya doing?

BTW, my wife's niece has a stepson who owns and hunts a Springer.  He's a good looking dog.

[NONYA]

Doin alright Ray,waterfowl/trapping season in  full swing,Ill be out in the early am to whack ducks and check my otter sets,things could be worse!No better all around huntin dog in my opinion,they will hunt waterfowl/upland/squirrels/deer/ anything you want to shoot they are more than happy to retrieve and/or track.

[halfacop]

Mines like a damn otter - Can't keep her out of the water if you tried.

Just start with short throws in the shallows, then work it out slowly. My dog was hesitant when she was young but I threw it out on a drop off once and she didn't realize it, after she paddled back, lots of praise and she never looked back.

[The Gamemaster]

Our dog Katie loved water, but you have to remember that a Springer Spaniel is not a water dog.

It was bread for chasing birds out of thickets, crops etc.  That's where it gets it's name from - SPRINGER spaniel.  It springs on its prey.

The other thing you have to remember is that most Retrieving dogs - such as Labs have a heavy coat in the wintertime and are made for water sports - especially when it is cold outside.

Your dog has a thin coat and gets cold easier than a Retrieving dog and if it lives in the house - makes it twice as bad when it comes to trying to get it to jump into cold water.

Our dog wouldn't even retrieve a bird unless it wanted to.  Even then, it wouldn't bring it right back to you.  That might be all a part of its training or breeding, but our dog loved to fetch dummies and apples and sticks and anything else that you could throw.  But a live bird, all it wanted to do was catch it and keep it from getting away.

[NONYA]

They got their name from the way they jump up out of cover to see where they are going,my springers hunt ducks and geese all through Jan over water filled with ice and slush,never has slowed them down.

[hicntry]

Question? I don't bird hunt but how early do you guys introduce the dogs to water? Seems the longer you wait, the harder it is going to be unless the dog has a natural penchant for the water.

[Don Krag]

Nice to hear from other springer owners!

Our springer is now 14 months old. His latest fancy is rabbit hunting. It's an absolute riot to watch him scent and flush rabbits...bouncing around in the high grass. They run into brush piles and he pulls a point...more or less...and looks back at me like "what are you waiting for?", then dives in and chases them out.

He's pretty good with cutting naturally. He works out about 25-30 yards in front in wide sweeping arcs and started doing it with hardly any coaching. He's still a complete spazz with the attention span of a gnat, but a great dog.

Now that he seems to not mind the creek on our land, I was going to take to some parks with ponds. Unfortunately a couple weeks back he had to have his tail amputated due to an injury and subsequent infection. He's now docked like a rottie, but well onto his way to recovery. they oulled the stitches yesterday, but said to still keep him out of water and calm. Calm....yeah, right! We passed a baby feral hog running along the roadside down the road from us on the way back from the vet. I thought he was going to out the window with me attached to the leash dragging behind!