Meet Fletcher, the new member of the chaos :)

http://www.geocities.com/dogsbody_grooming/fletcher.jpg

You'll probably have to cut and paste that.

He's a 6 month old springer, dumped on a family last Thursday because the woman couldn't cope - probably something to do with 7 kids and not training him at all, beyond a basic 'sit'.  Thursday night he was given to another family just as I arrived to pick him up - last night he came back because they'd left him in a room unsupervised with a child tormenting him and he'd bitten the child.  I went to get him, Remy frightened him and he bolted through an iron gate somehow - what you see in the pic is post-shower and sleep!  We spent an hour trying to get him through orchards, fields and country lanes in the pitch black - eventually he ran into someone's garden, luckily securely fenced so we could trap him and coax him to us.  Very doggy people too, I got bombarded with questions about how I'd look after him - it seems the family he was dumped on aren't very nice so these people were very worried about him.  Anyhoo, he's here to stay - not the planned 'wait till I'm moved then look for a dobe' but my plans never go to, well, plan!

Apparently he's KC reg, I'm just waiting on the paperwork.  I'll know if he's chipped then as well, once I'm up north he'll be chipped if needed, tattooed and new tags made.

what a stunner how can people behave like this.

oh bless, he looks worried too

Aww, well your footnote is right ....'Fletcher turned up' and looks gorgeous too.
good luck to you all.
Karen

Bless you for taking him in after such a bad start.  Hope he goes from strength to strength. Why do people do this????

Oh I hope he settles in well. Lucky boy will be well looked after now.

Well, sometimes fate brings us something different to what we thought, from Dobe to Springer I guess it was meant to be!

I guess he has been originally purchased by people who do not understand Springers and just liked the look of him:rolleyes: To then be passed on to a family with 7 children (I wonder how many of them were under 7 too, Fletcher must have thought he was in hell)

Springers are first and foremost gundogs, trained for their athletic bodies and quick thinking, not a family cuddly pet, although they can be but they are soon bored, soon becoming hyperactive in the wrong hands.  Unfortunately they frequently are in the wrong hands. :-( Well trained Springers are fab dogs, stick with young Fletcher and work with him, the rewards will be untold. I pray he has a good, longterm home now Nikita, he is a smashing looking dog and deserves an owner who will understand him.

He is gorgeous what a babe he landed on all four paws now I hope you have years of happiness together

> from Dobe to Springer I guess it was meant to be!Oh, I'm still hooked on dobes and I'll still get my little red girl one day - just not as soon as I'd hoped!!

The 7 kid family was his first home - then on to the kicking child.  It must've seemed like going from bad to worse for the poor little guy, frying pans and fires and whatnot.  I've just been doing a little bit of work with him, just the basics - he is bright as a button, and perfectly happy to work for kibble as well!  His sit is getting good, still got lazy hips to sort out though :p And he's picking up the down very quickly.

I'm wondering if he took to hiding to get away from the children - he likes to sleep under things.  Right now he's under my desk, earlier he was under the piano stool (I was using it as a dinner table - had to put my drink elsewhere!), and last night he slept under my bed.

I think he's going to be a cracking dog, and I've got a real advantage in that I've made the first timer mistakes with Remy and Opi and overcome them - so with Fletch I'm in a much better position to know how to go about training him and what not to do.  I'm also fortunate to be on a course with quite a few springer owners, I think at least one of them trains hers for field trials - so I've got help if I need it.  And of course a big garden in two weeks!

Poor boy :( Well done for taking him, things should come right for him now he's found his forever home :) How did you find out about him? Haven't looked at the link, as computer is playing up at the mo, might try tomorrow, but I'm sure he's gorgeous (springers just are :D).

My brother called me up the first time he was dumped, he was left with a family two doors down from my brother's place.  One of his step-kids is friends with the girl of the family and is very keen on dogs, I'm guessing the girl told the step-daughter who then told my brother - knowing her she probably said to ring me as well knowing I'd say yes!

Still no paperwork - does anyone here know about coat development, difference in working springers/show springers etc?  Just wondering what to expect really, on the grooming front and working drive front.  Trouble is I haven't seen many springers, and the ones I have are workers (I'm on a placement at a hydrotherapy centre, run by two people who work sniffer dogs).  The best I can find on the web is that workers are a little longer and more wiry, with shorter coats and usually more white.  Fletch is mostly white but his liver patches are quite big, and as he's only 6 months I don't know how his coat's going to turn out.  Given my complete lack of springer experience beyond my knackered ageing cross years ago I also don't know if his immense energy is working immense or just normal!

If he's a working springer the immense energy is quite normal :D  I grew up with two Springers (one after the other) the first was a working dog the second a show dog.  The first used to run and run, the only time I ever saw her really tired was after an 8 mile walk across the downs on the Isle of Wight where she spent 4 hours running and running when we got back she crashed on the sofa.  The working dog was smaller, and with a lot more energy her idea of a good time was a long walk with lots of undergrowth to run through.  The show dog was much more laid back she still liked the long walks and the undergrowth but didn't run as much or as fast.

The one problem with the working dog (apart from the energy :rolleyes:) was you had to check her paws for seeds etc I seem to remember her having to have 3 ops to remove seeds that we'd missed

He certainly seems calmer today, which is really quite nice :D size-wise he is (after a bit of a struggle) 18.75" to the whithers, so I'm guessing something like 20-22" fully grown?  Currently weighs 19.35kg, he is ever so slightly on the plump side but it's not noticeable unless you get hands-on with his ribcage :).  He was very good getting on the scales though, sat nicely once I'd got his bum in the right place!  I think his biggest issue is strangers, we were out for half an hour earlier and every person had to be thoroughly looked at or sniffed if he had half a chance.  Quite frustrasting on market day, took us forever to get through town :rolleyes:

I'm going to invest in a halti harness for him, as the one I have is far too big.  I'll try my walkezee on him as well to see if it'll go small enough - that's what finally got Remy's brain in gear re. leash walking, so here's hoping!