peek-at Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hi, I love spaniels and have owned one as a pet many years ago before starting shift work. I have always said that I would get another when I retired both as a pet and also hopefully to take rabbit shooting. I shoot with a rifle once a week (or so) and the dog would retrieve for me. Time has passed and although Im still on shifts my wife now works part time so there is only a max of two consecutive days in every 5 weeks when the house is empty 8am-5pm There is a chance that I may be offered a 2 year old Chocolate'Sprocker' dog whose owner has not worked him, although he seems to have had ample stimulation and time outdoors. He seems very well adjusted and calm. he sits & lies down on command and his recall seems good from what I have seen. He is in good health but is due to have his 'Nads' removed soon, which leads me to suspect he has dominance issues, although I have seen no eveidence of this myself. I need to know from those more experienced than myself if there are any obvious drawbacks/pitfalls/things to consider before taking the dog (if offered) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arwen3513 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 you would need to determine if the dog likes to carry things, if it does then you can move onto retrieve training. if he likes to play ball, this can be trained into a steady retriever with some patience. there could be many reasons for the owner deciding to have the dog castrated besides dominance, and is a question you need to ask. if it is dominance it doesnt mean the dog would necessarily be dominant with a different owner. final thing to check do you both like the dog? jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson_tom Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 dont worry about the two days you are out, my collie stays at home for that length of time a few days a week no problems probably a bit longer actually and my springer will be doing the same when she is old enough. I would not worry about the castration thing we did ours to calm him down a little bit and stopping him running after bitches in season. Also my dad had a bitch that had not been done so decided to get him done so we did not have any surprise pups. Nothing to do with dominance what so ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Yes, if he has already hunted even self hunting when out on walks he will be no use with the rifle. You need to pretty much bring up the dog from the off as a no-slip retriever, as such i should guess too hard to steady up for rifle work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom&Dexter Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 I would agree with Kent If you got it at 8W it would be a hard enough challenge let alone 2Y down the line when it knows what life is all about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I have 3 sprockers, 2 bitches, 1 dog, the dog had his nuts off and it didnt make any difference to his temperant, one thing i will say is dont train the spaniels in short grass ! they get board and start to range out too far and hunt by eye, then they get "skylark" fever, keep them in cover or long grass for retreiving training. Spaniels were developed for putting up birds for hawking in Spain hence the name a derevation of "espaniol" so if trained in large fields with short grass they will revert to type ! I swear at them constantly but will never be without sprockers in my kennells ditchman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian1513 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi mate, Although I agree if the dog has been free hunting he will be more difficult to train, it doesn't mean he can't be trained. It all comes down to how much you are willing to put in to the dog. It will not be an over night thing and will require patience and maybe even professional help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi mate, Although I agree if the dog has been free hunting he will be more difficult to train, it doesn't mean he can't be trained. It all comes down to how much you are willing to put in to the dog. It will not be an over night thing and will require patience and maybe even professional help. Jee, i recon the guy will need profesional help for sure if this is tried ( and not the dog trainer type) How many times does someone let a spanner get out too far too soon and struggle to get it back within shotgun range? Keep it tight to heel for rifle work? I can feel a call to the samaritans comming on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian1513 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Jee, i recon the guy will need profesional help for sure if this is tried ( and not the dog trainer type) How many times does someone let a spanner get out too far too soon and struggle to get it back within shotgun range? Keep it tight to heel for rifle work? I can feel a call to the samaritans comming on Lol, I know, not something I would relish training myself but I was just making the point that it could be done but would take the patience of a saint!!! I do quite like the problem dogs though, seeing the end results is a bit more satisfying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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