1 year old Springer won't calm down unless in his pen or crate

Hi Michelle, sorry to hear that you are having such a challenging time. First thing I will say is – go ahead and get him fixed. That WILL make a difference.
Springers are rather wild in the early years! The best advice I can give you is to make sure that he gets at least 2 hours of walking (accompanied) preferably somewhere that he can run around off the leash. Springers need to be exhausted every day – and at that age, he needs at least 2 hours a day. (Mine has half an hour in morning, at least an hour and a half in afternoon and another half hour at night) Just being outside (however much space you have) isn’t enough – he needs your company.
If you need to walk him on a lead, try taking a walking pole or a walking stick with you. Put it out, as a barrier, in front of him as you walk and say NO if he tries to move ahead of it. That worked for ours (but it did take some time)
With regard to destroying things – that’s normal behaviour for a young springer when he is left alone. They get stressed! So, putting him in a crate or confining him to one room is all that you can do to protect things – don’t feel bad about that. As long as you are spending good, quality time with him when exercising him, it will get better.
springers are also highly intelligent, so consider getting him some of these puzzle games that will keep him challenged trying to work out how to get at the treats – they are really good.
Keep going – I promise, it’s worth it – Springers are such incredibly loving dogs – but they are very high demand for exercise and attention!

Puppy hood for ESS is thru 3 yo. He is starting into adolescence now.

Exercise as stated previously is a must. We did 2 hours at dog park every day – other people & dogs – the interaction is great and it is supervised.

As for walks – try using a spoon no pull harness and a 15-20 ft trying learn both available from Walmart. Springer naturally ‘quarter’ – it’s a hunting pattern and they are flushers – they dive into stuff to make birds fly. This is natural behavior not bad behavior. They also have a natural instant to pick stuff up and carry it around. This is their nature. Have plenty of soft toys for him to do this with. Many times my entire laundry basket was emptied piece by piece and relocated around the house.

If he starts to put – just stop in place. When he stops pulling resume walking.

Heel is a “working command” useful for 1-2 minutes at most. If you need more control use an leash with a second loop much shorter. Got mine at petsmart. I think they call it a traffic lead.

YOU will lose trying to break him of natural instant. Work with his instinct and teach him what is acceptable within it.

HTH.

Sorry for the typos (spell check doing its thing

Spoon = Sporn

Training lead – 15 to 20 ft

Michelle,

Don’t lose heart. Prior to owning a Springer Spaniel, I owned and trained a variety of different dogs and I thought that a Springer was a great fit for my house. In the first year, my husband and I DEFINITELY DOUBTED the sanity of our decision, but now I would gladly take another, and would even be willing to adopt one that needs some help figuring out how to be a family member instead of a nuisance. Here’s a couple things we learned:

1. Springers need more than exercise –> Exercise is great but for a Springer, you can create a destructive marathon runner. My Springer gets a controlled 2 mile walk every day – beyond that, it depends on what I have going on. You do not have to kill yourself trying to exercise your dog. And since I know you said walking is a challenge, I will share some ideas about that below.

2. Mental Stimulation –> since exercise is not enough, what DO you do? Here’s a couple of routines we have around the house. “Hide the treat” – we make him stay in one room while we hide treats all over another room (usually the living room), at first we hid treats in plain sight but now we tuck them under throw pillows, place them at different levels, and make him work a little harder to find them. Short on time? We have been known to throw the treats wildly out into the backyard for him to hunt down. Hunting for treats is one of his favorite games and a great way for him to use his brain and nose a little to get out some of that Springer crazy. We also have things like a ball that releases dog food on a timer (Foobler), a Buster Cube, and some other treat ball. We don’t put food in these much these days because we recently adopted another dog, but since he is your only, these can keep him busy. The Buster Cube is the most indestructible and the hardest for him to get food out of –> it can keep him busy or hours, sometimes days. These can be how you feed him regularly, or a supplement to regular meals. We have a hallway that T-s at the end, we throw the tennis ball in such a way that it will ricochet to either side at the end, or back towards us. He never knows where the ball is going to go….so it keeps his brain a little busier than a traditional game of fetch.

3. Training –> We do it more on a whim now, but in the early days, we did an easy, carefree training activity for 15 minutes every evening. This does not have to be about obedience, but about spending time with him and bonding. They like to please us and learn new things. Just make it fun and exciting (but calm – since I imagine he can be over-excitable when trying to teach him new things). We started with sit, down, stay, the usuals. But have now added crawl, roll-over, sit-pretty, bang (play dead), heel (swing around to sit at your left side), sping, dance, stand, and a few others. He loves this time and loves to show off his tricks for guests. We’re also working on toy identification: blue bone vs. ball vs. a few other favorite toys.

4. Walking/Heeling –> I have a “Yup by Sporn, No Pull Harness.” This is a recent purchase but I don’t know why I didn’t get one sooner (we’ve had him 3 1/2 years now). With collar corrections on a walk he didn’t care and I felt like I was constantly giving him whiplash when he tried to run off after [insert anything exciting here]. This harness is designed to tighten up under his legs gently when he pulls. It doesn’t make him heel, but it does stop him from pulling. For heeling, I use a different strategy. If he gets ahead of me, I stop. He realizes we’re going nowhere and jumps back beside me. As soon as he does, I start walking again. In my experience, everything is about making it worthwhile for him to do what I want as he doesn’t respond to corrections or commands very well outside the comfort of our home. If there is a really exciting distraction, I ask him to sit and distract him with tricks (from our 15 minute training sessions). Some I am wise enough not to ask in a highly stimulation situation, but sit and “high-five” are ones I can rely on him to do consistently in the event of something exciting.

I hope these ideas help. My Springer drove us crazy that first year; he ate all my work shoes, and armchair, and there were days when we thought, “Will he ever let us rest? Is this going to be this way forever?” I understand now why people gave us crazy looks when we first got him, including my long-time vet, but I also know that putting in the time and work with him as been so rewarding and can honestly say he is probably the neatest dog I ever owned. Here’s a picture of him back in his glory days; the bush did not survive his puppyhood.

Yes to all the above. Springers are outside dogs – they love mud, water, running through the thickest of undergrowth and coming out covered in burrs. Jumping comes naturally to them and shouldn’t be discouraged. Try a fun game when you’re next on a walk – find a ridiculously tall wall or fence and encourage the dog to try and jump it, at that age your dog can probably quite easily scale a 6ft fence. Mine used to run up a castle moat wall like a free runner. They have no fear. If you can’t enjoy they’re amazingly athletic ability you are missing out. You own an olympic athlete.

As for the pulling on the leash. To be honest even my 9 year old spaniel does this, if she’s on the way to a walk. Once she’s run off some of the energy she walks beautifully. Your dog isn’t naughty, he’s just full of beans and ridiculously excited about life! If he’s kept in a crate all day he is under-stimulated. Dogs need new smells and walks. It’s like watching the most amazing technicolour TV show. A bored Springer spaniel is the devil incarnate.

Please don’t crate your dog unless necessary. They long to be close to their family. Surely a few dog hairs on the sofa is bearable? Crating is fine for emergencies but it doesn’t do anything to solve the issue of your gorgeous dog’s abundant energy and intelligence.

They require a lot of human interaction as they have been bred to work extremely closely alongside humans. They are not easy first dogs to own. Treat them like you would a bright 3 year old child, with the endurance of a marathon runner. They are incredibly energetic and intelligent dogs, but they are also totally insane. You have to have a sense of humour. Some can be extremely sensitive. It is common for female spaniels to pee when nervous or excited. That’s just the way they are. Often they are extremely obsessive over toys like tennis balls. They long to work for you. Mine can locate a tennis ball that has been lost in a thicket for decades. She will then find the nearest muddy puddle and lie in it looking so pleased. And if there’s a lake or a pond or a river she will play fetch with sticks or tennis balls for hours. And hours. Even if it’s -20. In fact often you have to protect them from their own insane need to work. Springers will work themselves to death. They are often used as police sniffer dogs and army dogs and unfortunately this can sometimes lead them to work themselves into early graves due to all the excitement. They simply don’t have an off switch. As the owner you have to recognise this and not over-work them. It’s a fine balance. They are the sort of dog you could walk all day with, get home and bring out a tennis ball and they’d still want to play fetch. Especially when they are the age your dog is now.

They are very doggy-dogs. Get used to your house being a bit messy from time to time. And talk to other Springer owners for advice. They don’t grow up. I own a 9 year old and it’s only now that she is calm most of the day, still if you don’t give her at least an hour off leash a day she will let you know about it. Routine works wonders, Springers have a good sense of law and order as often they work alongside other gun dogs on the moors and are kept in kennels. They may snap at other dogs who don’t follow doggie polite protocol. In that sense they can be quite serious about life.

Also getting them fixed early reduces issues. Overall though they are fun family dogs, for active dog-lovers. They want to be in the middle of everything, they crave your attention and most of all they respond to love. They are one of the loveliest dog breeds to develop a friendship with as they should look to you for commands when out and about. They long for that special human being to develop an almost psychic bond with. And you should love that. It is a special feeling when you’re out on a walk with a springer and you can literally just point in a direction and they will run that way. Or immediately come to a halt with one strong word from you. Choose simple command words that carry across distance. Make sure the whole family knows. Springers have these commands bred into them. Read up on Gun Dog traits. They naturally want to work alongside their owners.

Never treat them harshly though. They are extremely sensitive and loyal and don’t deserve punishment. They won’t understand why you’re fine with them chewing up a dog toy, but not a sock when both are on the floor. Or why it’s fine for them to eat dog food, but not cat poo. When jumping and leaping comes so naturally to them they won’t understand why they can’t leap up onto the back of the sofa to look out of the window. Just try a little patience and understanding, and give up on being house-proud!

Sorry long answer but I have grown up with spaniels and lived with them and owned them all my life, I was even named after one by my parents! They are amazing amazing dogs, but they aren’t for everyone. Good luck!

Do you have a bench springer spaniel or a field springer spaniel? I hear that the field spaniels can be very hyper as they are bred differently than bench breeds. My springer is a bench breed and is more of a couch potato but always follows me around even if I’ve gone up and down the stairs 10 times.

I’ll be honest, training my dog to not chew on our things was a hassle during his puppy months. We’ve lost quite a bit of expensive leather belts, dress shirts and sandals. Training them during their puppy stage is SO crucial. For this specific behavior, I trained him throughout the day for 10-15 minutes by sitting in front of him with one of my items I don’t want him to chew on, and some treats. I would place the item right in front of him and would tell him to leave it and used a hand gesture to go along with the tone of my voice so he knows what exactly I want from him. After doing this 4 – 5 times I’d give him a treat and let him know he’s pleasing me. If he doesn’t pay attention, I would take him out on a walk to tire him out a bit so he can be a bit more calm during his training time.

As for his pulling on the leash, I’ve had the same issue with my dog as well. I found that the easy walk harness works the absolute best on him. I’ve tried several others but this one in particular helps him know when to look back at me when I pull at the leash which is exactly what I want. If you look at my attached photo, you can see that the connector to the leash is located on the front of his chest. This allows a pull of his whole front, upper body to turn towards you when it’s time to slow down.

Welcome to the world of Springer Spaniels. As others have said, this is a crazy, energetic breed that does not even START to mellow out until about 2 or 3 years of age. But they are never going to be a completely calm dog, they will learn to be calm indoors, but outdoors you will probably always have to deal with pulling and lots of energy. Let me put it this way, on the morning my Springer was PTS, she was 12.5 years old, had a ruptured tumor that was bleeding everywhere and she DRAGGED me into the vets office and had to greet all of the employees with excitement and tail wags. It left the vet staff picking their jaws up off the floor and me laughing through my tears. This is a breed that does not really know the meaning of “quit”.

Personally, I did not give my springer run of the house until she was about a year and a half to 2 years old. Until that point she would drag a leash around the house so that I could step on it if needed. Also, I learned real fast that, unless I wanted to be looking for my Springer in the next county, she was not to be let off leash outdoors (only exception was fenced in areas or outdoor obedience competitions). Unless your dog has a good, trustworthy recall, or is in an enclosed area, off leash exercise should be out of the question.

Just be patient. Things DO get better…eventually.

I feel like I have written this post myself, may I ask how your springer is now that he’s a bit older? Mine is only 6 months but I feel like a monster when I crate her but I cannot keep her calm enough when she is out. Biting is an issue for mine, i let her out and she will jump on me the sofa everytime and bite me everytime i try touch her