English Spring Spaniel

[BerryBye]

I’ve been continuing to look through rescue sites and a “new to me” breed I’ve stumbled upon is the English Spring Spaniel. They sound like wonderful, smart and friendly dogs. Could anyone who has experience with this breed either good or bad give me some pointers?
I read about the supposed “rage” syndrome, how common is that?
It also warns they can be too clingy, leading to SA, any experience with that?
They appear to need lots of exercise, which is fine – but how trustworthy are they “off leash”?
Any big differences between males and females?
Thank you again!
BB

[bubbatd]

My cousins always had Springer Spaniels .... flaky but loving ! Always had an odor though !

[SpringerLover]

ESSFTA: Inherited Epilepsy

Rage Syndrome Article

I have two... and adore them. Neither has seizures or Separation Anxiety. One does have Dog Aggression issues that are managed. In a hurry right now, but the links above will give you some good information about "rage."

Feel free to PM me with more questions.

[Lauren17]

several of my neighbors have or have had springer spaniels. When I first moved in the developers had one that was just the most friendly, loveable dog you could imagine, named Clifford. Absolutely loved kids, got along with other dogs, the only problem his owners had was keeping him at home (but he wasnt neutered). He spent his time going from one house to the next to see who wanted to play. Now that he has passed away one of my other neighbors has two of his pups(they are half brittany) that act a lot like him, but are trained more and stay at home. and another neighbor has a springer that is just like Clifford, not related though. What I've noticed about these dogs is that they are very friendly, love kids, like to swim, very energetic, and just very happy dogs. The only thing bad about these dogs was getting them to stay home, and they were/are not good to have around small animals.

[Zoom]

They are very sweet and very high energy. Because they have such long heavy ears, they are prone to ear infections, so a high quality diet and proper ear care is a MUST. Many people take them to the groomers to keep them looking sleek, others learn how to groom at home. They do need brushing quite often because their coats are pretty feathery (much like cocker spaniels). They are bird dogs and can be difficult to train for off-leash reliability, but it can be done with loving patience and consistancy.

[bubbatd]

Bird dogs yes !!! Snoopy on the shores of Lake Ontario after the gulls was a riot !!! He also thought that he could dig to China in the sand ! Agree with the ears ....I think that's why they smelled !

[Sweet72947]

In my area BYB pump out a lot of ESS, so a lot of the ESS you meet around here are DA, snappish, and high strung.

However, the well bred ESS I have met have been very friendly dogs. They are a breed that likes to show their front teeth to you with a submissive "grin" or "smile". This isn't uncommon most in hunting/sporting breeds. At the old house my neighbor had an ESS who was a lovely dog. He was a blue, I'm not sure if the color is called that. He was very friendly, intelligent and obedient.