We’re skipping the usual round-up post this week to make some space for a pet project of mine (quite literally, in this case).
The Background:
A year ago, before Didy was the internet celebrity spaniel that he has now become, he was one of the huge number of dogs that were stuck in the back of a shelter because they were considered ‘unadoptable’. There were several factors that led to this conclusion in Didy’s case.
-He is a springer spaniel, and springers have a mixed reputation as pets.
-He was two years old, well beyond the ‘adoptable’ dog age.
-He was fearful, distrustful, and wasn’t a huge fan of people.
When I got him he wasn’t a huge fan of me. He wasn’t a huge fan of anything, honestly. And even now that he’s come out of his shell, he still has some moments of total panic and anxiety that can be hard to deal with.
So Why Am I Posting About This?
I was browsing the internet the other day, and looking through the English Springer Spaniel Rescue site, which is an amazing organization that coordinates foster homes for abandoned springers nationwide. I came across this dog. His name is Tanner, and he’s on paper virtually the same dog that Didy was a year ago.
This dog has been on my mind ever since. I thought about spreading the word about him, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. However, after talking to some very smart people and doing a lot of thinking, I’ve come to the conclusion that rescue springer ownership is kind of like marketing.
It all comes down to Right People (or in this case, Right Owners).
I got lucky that I stumbled across Didy, because I truly can’t imagine my life without him. I feel sure that if he could talk, he would say the same about me. This dog is in a foster home in Iowa though, and will have an even harder time finding the right owner. So since it’s Friday, I thought I’d try and help the process along a little and talk some about springer ownership in hopes that the perfect person for Tanner will read it.
Life With A Springer Spaniel, Uncensored:
Springers have a mixed reputation as pets for several reasons. They’re ridiculously smart, stupidly stubborn, opinionated, and require constant contact and interaction with their chosen person. Training a springer isn’t so much about enforcing a certain set of rules as exploring boundaries and finding somewhere to meet in the middle. If you try and enforce a behavior through harsh training methods, you may find that you wish that you hadn’t.
Early on I decided to crack down on the issue of Didy barking. I researched several traditional training methods, and it all worked until one day he started making these horribly loud howling noises that make him sound like Chewbacca from Star Wars. He doesn’t bark (because he knows he’s not supposed to) but he’s also learned how to get around it in a way where I can’t technically enforce any noise restrictions. Now every time he does this I’m not sure whether to be completely annoyed or impressed by his intelligence.
When people say that springers thrive on constant contact, they aren’t joking. Many days, Didy will even lie on the bathmat while I shower to make sure he’s in the same room as me. He’s fine when I go out now, but when I first got him he had very bad separation anxiety and would shake when I left the house. He worked through it, but he still gets a bit edgy when I’m not in the immediate area.
However, if you’re someone who doesn’t mind putting some time and work into raising a true companion animal, springers are the best dogs out there. They’re even better for people who like to walk or run outside, because of their amazing athleticism and huge amounts of energy. I once called Didy back to me at my parent’s house while he was off exploring, and he jumped up over a five foot embankment to get to me with very little effort. He’s happiest with me when he’s running or walking several miles on the trail through town on a daily basis. If I don’t want to run, he does, and he’ll literally nag me out the door to get some exercise.
Finally, despite all of the stories about how springers don’t train well, or don’t follow commands well, I’ve had the opposite experience with Didy. He’s consistently learned complex commands, sometimes without me technically teaching them to him. His response rate to my commands is 100%, even when he’s scared or stressed out. If you respect their boundaries, rescue springers are so happy to have found a home that they will do almost anything that you ask them to without complaining. Even better, they’ll love you just for wanting to teach them new things, and they’ll appreciate that you think they’re intelligent enough to learn.
With the right kind of owner, a springer spaniel can be the best dog that you’ll ever own. Especially an ‘unadoptable’ one. If you don’t believe me, just check out the picture.
Have a great weekend everyone, and we’ll be back on Monday with more posts about marketing and even possibly a new infoproduct!
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