Springer Standards

When did the old-fashioned type of English springer morph into the “weedy, whippety, mostly white” dogs of today, asks David Tomlinson

- D. Tomlinson

BY COINCIDENCE, last week I received two very similar emails within days of each other. The first one read: “I am looking for a male English springer spaniel puppy. I am not interested in a go-faster trial-type dog. What I want is a bigger, oldfashioned type of spaniel, the sort that has sadly gone out of fashion in recent years. He is going to spend 90 per cent of the time as a domestic dog, but will be trained so that he can help with dogging-in and beating on the shoot and perhaps also do some picking-up.”

The second read: “We recently lost our black-and-white springer at the age of 14. He was a big dog — twice the size and weight of some of the weedy dogs that pass for springers today. He had a wonderful big head with dark eyes, and in his prime was an outstanding picking-up dog. He will be impossible to replace, but even so we would like another big, traditional springer with lots of colour, not a white whippety-looking dog with two brown ears. Any suggestions as to where I should look will be gratefully received.”