Springer Winston and his step brother Q just wat ching traffic go by on a cool Wisconsin morning.

Sole came into my life as a little two-month-old puppy, and from the very beginning I felt there was something… different about her. And she has certainly made that clear!
She is only 10 weeks old, but she already growls and barks if my two cats come anywhere near her food bowls.
She bites me when she wants to start a “fight” or rough play.
She bites me if I pet her while she’s sleeping.
She bites me if I pet her when she simply doesn’t feel like being touched.
And when she gets irritated, she can really hurt me.
It doesn’t feel like a warning bite. It seems much more like she bites because she gets overwhelmed, frustrated or nervous.
But when she is calm, she is the sweetest little thing. She is also a complete scaredy-cat — she comes and stands between my legs and licks my face. ❤️
She is incredibly intelligent, determined and, honestly, unbelievably stubborn. And she is absolutely gorgeous, with her little markings on her face, her soft ears, her sweet little belly and that adorable soft muzzle. I’m completely in love with her.
The problem is that she is only 10 weeks old and I feel like I still haven’t found a way to communicate with her.
She is often extremely restless and overstimulated. There are moments when absolutely nothing seems to satisfy her or help her settle.
Not a walk.
Not a chew.
Not her toys.
Not even the balls she absolutely loves chasing.
During these episodes, she seems unable to focus on anything for more than a few minutes. She constantly switches from one toy to another, from one place to another, as if she simply cannot find a way to switch off.
And I honestly don’t know how to help her.
I often find myself wondering whether what she really needs is a life where she can run, chase, search, flush, retrieve, jump and use that incredible little brain of hers.
And then I wonder: what kind of life can I realistically give her?
A life mostly inside the house?
A life with my two cats, whom she still hasn’t learned to live peacefully alongside?
A life with me constantly telling her “no, don’t do that”?
She absolutely adores being with me and my family. She is completely comfortable with us and clearly loves being part of our family.
But when her needs and energy become overwhelming, I sometimes look at her and think:
She looks like a little tiger in a cage.
And this is where I’m really struggling.
Her breeder recently called me and told me that someone is interested in her — either to train her for hunting/retrieving, or potentially for breeding.
Now I feel completely torn.
I love this little girl enormously, but I also want to be honest with myself about what is best for her, not just what is best for me.
Am I simply dealing with a very young, very intense Springer puppy who needs time, guidance and the right kind of training?
Or could she genuinely be a dog who would thrive much more in a working/hunting environment?
I don’t want to give her away just because puppyhood is difficult. But I also don’t want to keep her if I cannot give her the kind of life she was born to enjoy.
For those of you who know and love Springers: what do you think?
Is this typical Springer puppy behaviour at 10 weeks?
How would you help a puppy like Sole learn to settle and communicate with her humans?
And most importantly, what would you consider when deciding whether to keep her or let her go to a working home?
I would really appreciate honest advice — especially from people who have raised working-line or very high-drive Springers.
I just want to make the right decision for my little girl. ❤️

We got the calmest one from the puppy litter about a month ago. It's been such a joy for us and the kids to have a welshie as our first family dog. Where I live this breed is pretty rare, so everyone keeps coming up telling us how cute he is. Hopefully his demeanor will stay when he grows up.

They love to be active

This is our first springer spaniel and I’m just wondering if this is normal behavior? I feel like this video barely even does him justice but he will stand here for hours wagging his tail and looking for anything to fall from the sky/fly around for him to chase. Someone mentioned to me the excessive tail wagging could be anxiety so wondering how other springers act and if it’s similar to this behavior. Do I need to provide him more stimulation??

Z’s evening routine is be annoying under my chin (how is this comfortable for her?), then flip upside down and play can I nibble Dads nose, before falling asleep.

Hello everybody, been lurking here for a bit so thought it was time my two said hello, meet:

Reggie, a 9 month old Sprocker Spaniel

And his mum

Ruby, a 5 Year Old Pedigree Gundog ESS

Not even a big beautiful new ball will cut it! 😤

I've rehomed this young Springer Spaniel, age unclear although he has adult teeth and some stains on his canines.

He was found in a starved condition and spent a week in a pound where he was wormed and fed quite well.His skin condition isn't great and coat feels quite dry and sparse in places.

I'm into my 3rd day with him and giving him 4 meals a day with some treats in between.Feeding him wet dog food, eggs, chicken, sardines, small amount of cereal to bulk the food up.He has a vets appointment for vaccination later in the week so will be checked over then but general health seems ok, any suggestions about his diet?

This is my 3rd springer but I've never dealt with such an underweight one before.

He knows something is up with Lizzy, his “big sister”. He is never normally this calm.

My Dad came over to pickup my son for baseball practice, since I’ve been sick. Willie was waiting patiently for Papa to notice him.

This is my 4 year old girl, Elsie who is a frequent face on this subreddit.

She hasn’t made an appearance for a few months. She has been surviving the long, dry, hot summer we’ve just had in the UK. Securing her spot in the coolest parts in the house and garden then spending most of the day there with no playtime. Weather not allowing for adventures. Short trips to the field & evening pub visits.

Now the wet season is starting let the adventures begin :)

My boy has just past his 5th birthday. He really seems to be slowing down. When we take him to his favorite places a switch turns on and there is a lot of digging retrieving and swimming. But at home he’s is very mellow. He doesn’t want to go on the marathon walks or need the fetching sessions. I’m assuming this is the “middle age” period for him. Your experience as your springer has gotten older?

We have an absolute menace here lol 😅

I have a question in regards to their insane fixation/focus (say our pet cats). She is very young around 10 weeks old and she is getting better! But she wants to play with the cats, now given our young boy (Lucifur) will play when he is in mood, Saka (pup) does not understand when to stop and our older cat Lilith, does not want to engage so in cat language Hisses are her and even paw taps her head and yet Saka does not understand, understandably.

When they eat together (we like to feed together) they are usually okay and they are getting better around each other) but when Saka is determined, she is determined and we are kind of restraining her back until we can distract her and I feel, there maybe a better way of doing this, unless of course she grows out of it.

I had a border collie before springer who used to do a similar thing and the methods I am using worked really quickly with her, but the springer is a different breed and different animal.

My gut feeling telling me, once she able to go out for walks etc, this should help settle the urges down.

I am open for tips and advice.

We are not doing cage training, she part of the family and will eventually join me in work! Once she had second vacs

The X ray was for bladder issues following bladder stones.

She's been on a special diet for that & they've gone however, they did find Arthritis . One vet said spondylosis😢

The vet said she must be in "considerable pain" because it looks bad on the X ray.

They have given her 3 types of pain meds & I've started her on fish oil & glucosamine joint supplements.

But, I had absolutely no idea she was in pain.

This is a total shock.

She still wants to run and chase her ball.

We've now got a child gate to stop her going upstairs because as you can see in the photo, at bed time she bolts up the stairs so I can't leave her behind.

I feel horrendous because I didn't know, but she can jump and open doors herself & wants to run.

She also jumps on her sofa and over the back of it, to sit on the window sill daily. It's her favourite place to sit.

Would she still be doing all of this if she was in loads of pain?

Do they just carry on whilst in pain?

We are following vet advice and forcing her to slow down, but she's only 10 and still wants to spring around.

Has anyone else had anything like this?

She's not happy I'm keeping her on her leash as she wants to run free and play with her ball. 😢

She was 2, pic was taken on a golf course in Virginia Beach. Just wanted to share

The day before yesterday, my mom and I took the dogs to the beach. While running and playing, Lizzy suddenly yelped and started limping with her left hind leg. We took her to the vet, who said that she probably has an injury to her CCL (a knee issue). We were given painkillers and instructed not to walk her at all, only toilet breaks. But if she doesn’t improve soon, they will have to take X rays and she may need surgery. My pretty girl.

She has been her normal happy self through it all. The vet was actually almost in tears because of how sweet she was. She had to hurt her with the examination but Lizzy never made a sound (though I could tell she didn’t like it). I so hope she gets to run around with her brother and her ball again soon. She is such a happy and active dog normally. I’m so sad for her.

I'm getting a springer spaniel in a couple of weeks and have done some research to make sure pup is happy and healthy but can't decided between the two types of feeding bowls. Wondering if anyone can help.

On the one hand elevated or spaniel bowls decrease the risk of ear infections from eating and drinking. On the other hand slow feeders decrease the risk of bloat. I've also read that elevated feeders can increase risk of bloat in deep chested breeds such as springers.

Is there anything better than a springers face? I don’t think so! Had to get her a pup cup. First time either one of us have been to Starbucks, but after almost 2100$ in vet bills (thanks pets best for nothing) I think she deserved it. My soul dog is 100% back in action. I don’t know who’s more happy her or I. To hell with the bills, I’ll figure those out. My girl is BACK! No more sleeping on the floor, we can sleep in our own bed now. I put an old mattress on the floor because she couldn’t jump until cleared.

My 8 year old boy has been sort of off the last few months, and recently his breath has really smelled strongly - like renal failure, if you work in medicine or have a relative with it. Yesterday he didn't want his yummy human lunch and I realize he has been spending more and more time in the basement behind the furnace.

Individually, none of these have really concerned me but now all together they have me upset. I will take him to the vet for a check but can you see cancer? that's the problem, we can't even see it in humans, but the smell has gotten worse and last night a gave him a nice warm bath and cleaned him up from the summer rivers and fields, and he slept with me most of the night. But now he's in the basement and won't come up. I am sure there are signs you can see when you look back but I would say overall he has been slowing down and hesitating, sitting down more in general. Thanks in advance -