# My Springer will not calm down...HELP!



## ILOVETABBYS

Hello, was wondering if there was anyone on here who could help me. I have an English Springer Spaniel called Poppy, i got her as a pup and she has just turned 2. She is generally well behaved, sits when told to etc but she is just so bloody 'mad'! she will not calm down, she has ruined my garden (mud bath now!) and always wees on peoples feet when they come to visit! Oh, and the worst of it all has to be when she runs through her own poo, i mean thats just horrid!
I walk her everyday and love her very much but dont know what to do with her!!!
Please help! thanks x


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## Guest

Hi and welcome 
I think this is pretty normal for a spaniel, they are very energetic dogs, someone who knows more about spaniels will be along soon and help u out.

Have u tried keeping her mind occupied as they are very intelligent. Maybe try hiding things and getting her to find them, they have great noses. 

The weeing on peoples feet is probably her getting too excited with new people coming into the house. Try and not let people pet her until they have been in the house for a while and she is a bit calmer.


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## Guest

Has she been spayed -? if not is she due in season


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## ILOVETABBYS

Hi, she is not in season (was in july) and i will try the things you suggested thank you, as for the poo skidding trick she does, it is really turning my stomach!


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## Guest

ILOVETABBYS said:


> Hi, she is not in season (was in july) and i will try the things you suggested thank you, as for the poo skidding trick she does, it is really turning my stomach!


You may just have to try and pick it up quickly everytime she goes to the toilet


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## Sgurr

You probably will not like me - but that does not matter.
Please pick up her poo because she cannot. If it is picked up, she cannot run through it, and so on.
Yes ,Springers need to have mental and physical stimulation. If she is still weeing from excitement with visitors at two either this is learned behaviour that you have not checked before or she does not meet many people. In neither case is it her fault.
Please take a step back and think about you and your dog and where to go from here.
She is biddable given the right situatuion - that's what you have have said.
Are you giving her the right situation?

Sgurr


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## ILOVETABBYS

Sgurr said:


> You probably will not like me - but that does not matter.
> Please pick up her poo because she cannot. If it is picked up, she cannot run through it, and so on.
> Yes ,Springers need to have mental and physical stimulation. If she is still weeing from excitement with visitors at two either this is learned behaviour that you have not checked before or she does not meet many people. In neither case is it her fault.
> Please take a step back and think about you and your dog and where to go from here.
> She is biddable given the right situatuion - that's what you have have said.
> Are you giving her the right situation?
> 
> Sgurr


I pick her poo up as soon as i see it, but when im out doing things like picking my son up from school, etc i can not always be there to get it up asap. I apriciate what you are saying tho. As for 'giving her the right situation', can you please elaborate. thanks x


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## Guest

Springers need to be mentally challenged at all times otherwise they get terrible bored and end up bouncing around, Do you take her to training or agility classes at all?
Also I noticed on another thread u are looking at getting 2 kittens u do realise springers have a very high prey drive if not brought up with cats? Do you have any other cats?
I only mentioned this as I used to board a springer and my cats had to be put upstairs when he came otherwise he would have killed them not because he is mean but just because thats how springers are x


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## andrea 35

I know a few people with springers and i must say they are all very energetic dogs , sometimes i think people buy these dogs because of thier size and because they are so cute looking ( not saying this is you ) but what has to be taken into consideration is that for a small dog they need loads of exercise both mentally and physically , they are game retrieving dogs sent out to flush birds ect from the long grass and as such have emense staminar . A lead walk may not be anywhere near enough she needs to be off lead with lots of fetch stimulus ( as long as her recall is good) if not good at recall then an extendable lead is the next best thing.
Mental stimlation can be in the form of sniffing out treats hidden in the garden or rond the house or toys hat you can put treats in .
Springers also love water so swimming is also good exercise . Given that your giving enough physical and mental exercise she should be more content but often these dogs need more than you can give , you could also try agillity classes as this will give her focuss . You have on your hands a duracell bunny and may never calm down that much untill age makes her slow , 
Another thing to look at though is food what do you feed , some dry foods are the equivalent of giving kids smarties and can make them hyper .
Poo skidding lol just pick it up as soon as possible , when she is racing round the garden letting off steam she wont see the poo or care that she has run through it .
The weeing thing is over excitement , ask people to ignore her when they come in no eye contact or speaking to her no matter how much she jumps up , untill she is calmer.
or try having her in another room till she has calmed down . 
Good luck with your little bundle of energy.


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## terriermaid

she sounds like a normal springer to me give her another 8 years and she might start to settle


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## Tasha

running round in circles suggests stress..... could you not walk her up to get your son?? I worked with Thames Valley Police Dog Section and I have to say the experience put me right off the breed!!! try an indestuctaball a kong and a tornado

visit Pet Supplies, Pet Food, and Pet Products on Sale Now at zooplus.co.uk

dogs

activity and agility

good luck these animals can work 12HOURS and still bounce off the walls


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## Sgurr

What do I mean by the right situation for your Poppy so she can calm down?

Well, first I'd ensure she has her own space - crate - for sleeping and quiet times. It's not a place of punishment it's a refuge in a busy household and when the dog is in the crate, leave her there. The door is open through the day and you choose whether to close it at night.

Next I'd have a look at her food, first at the protein content and then at additives. She's fully grown now so the protein content only needs to be around 20 per cent. People sometimes buy Springers a 'Working dog' food as it does not carry VAT and there is a pic of Springer on the sack usually - these are much too high in protein for a pet Springer. Also, try to get a food with no artificial additives, especially colourants as these can get dogs hyper, so if it looks all reds, blues and greens, leave it alone. You can get free sample packs from many dog food manufacturers and they have helplines too.

Look at exercise - physical and mental - and combine them both. If there is a training class nearby, take her along as she will be getting social interaction with other dogs and their owners as well as the challenge of the training - Good Citizen Dog Schemes are widely available. Even if you don't get to training class, do more training at home and on your walk. Make the walk more interesting and challenging for Poppy. So start on the lead at normal speed (heel) and do twenty metres then get her to sit. Run the next twenty metres, (quick quick) end with a sit. Do turns, stops, slow, down so she gets a mixture of things and never knows what is coming next. Then if you have a safe place where she can run off lead (and her recall is OK) she can have some 'free time' just to run around for 10 to 15 minutes and then walk her back home on the lead with exercises as before.

Work at stay, so you can put her at stay in one room and go out of sight into another room - you need to work up to it and this is where a training class is great. Also, she does not get any treats unless she works for them - a puzzle ball or a stuffed Kong is good. In fact, if you are feeding kibble, you could put her main food in a puzzle ball and that will keep her occupied for some time. So put the puzzle ball in the crate and leave her to get on with it.

As for the weeing, this is either excitement or a submissive reaction or both. When the door bell rings (or whatever) tell Poppy to go to her crate - close the door if necessary and then bring your visitors in (no fuss, no eye contact as in the earlier post). When you and they are ready, invite Poppy out of the crate either by opening the door or looking at her. If she prefers to say in the crate, leave her there, you have not called her so she's not disobeyed a command. If she is submissive, she may well feel happier in the crate, if she's coming out to greet people, put her into a sit immediately and she only gets a fuss when she is sitting. Most dogs don't wee when they are sitting, that's the point of the sit here.

As for the gardening, maybe an area where she is allowed to dig, an area for her to go
and fence the rest of it off. A friend of mine with two Springers has three or four sheep hurdles to fence off her back door, the dogs have access to this area (hardstanding) when they want during mild weather and only go into the main garden when she is with them. The hardstanding is easily cleaned of messes.

Also, if she is good in the car, take her when you go to pick up your son from school, etc. Even a short trip can give quick a lot of mental stimulation.

I've got 3 Springers from very hard wired field trialling lines and I also have severe asthma so I just can't take them out to burn off the energy, we have to work at things at home.

My apologies for being so sharp in my last post. I was annoyed about something else on the forum that I head read a little earlier and very unjustly chanelled my irritation to this thread. Sorry.

Sgurr


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## JasperCarrot

terriermaid said:


> she sounds like a normal springer to me give her another 8 years and she might start to settle


I HATE It When People Say Things Like That ! ^

.. Okay Then Should I Say Yeh Its Normal For Staffordshire Bull Terriers To Attack You And Try To Eat You .. No Because Its Not True .

Can I Ask Have You Every Had The Pleasure Of Owning A Springer Spaniel ? Or Are You Just Speaking Out of No Where ..

My ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL Jasper .. Does Not Require Constant Mental / Physical Excersise , He Just Happily Naps On His Bed . I Walk Him Twice A Week And He Never Chews Anything He Is Not Suppose To .. And The Other Day We Went To Marmaris And There Had Been A Car Crash On The Main Road On Our Way Back Home And Jasper Was Left For 6 Hours And He Diddnt Toilet In The House Or Chew Anything x

Im Not Saying Any Of That Is Ideal At All !! It Is / Was Our Current Circumstance .

So Please Dont Just Judge A Breed .. Yes Maybe Some If Not Most Springers Due Require Alot Of Excersise And Mental Stimulation .. Dosent Mean All Do ..

Maybe I Snapped A Little I Dunno ? Im Sorry ..

I Wish You Good Luck With Your Springer Poppy 'ILOVETABBYS'


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## Guest

MOST SPRINGERS DO WHAT THEIR NAMES SAYS!!!!

you are clearly lucky with having a non bouncy springer, but can i ask why u walk your dog twice a week?x


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## Guest

I cant see ANY dog making do with twice a week. I have a heinz 57 who would happily sleep 23/7 but that extra hour is her walking time. She would get the right hump if she never got that daily 1 hour walk.


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## jackson

JasperCarrot said:


> I HATE It When People Say Things Like That ! ^
> 
> .. Okay Then Should I Say Yeh Its Normal For Staffordshire Bull Terriers To Attack You And Try To Eat You .. No Because Its Not True .
> 
> Can I Ask Have You Every Had The Pleasure Of Owning A Springer Spaniel ? Or Are You Just Speaking Out of No Where ..
> 
> My ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL Jasper .. Does Not Require Constant Mental / Physical Excersise , He Just Happily Naps On His Bed . I Walk Him Twice A Week And He Never Chews Anything He Is Not Suppose To .. And The Other Day We Went To Marmaris And There Had Been A Car Crash On The Main Road On Our Way Back Home And Jasper Was Left For 6 Hours And He Diddnt Toilet In The House Or Chew Anything x
> 
> Im Not Saying Any Of That Is Ideal At All !! It Is / Was Our Current Circumstance .
> 
> So Please Dont Just Judge A Breed .. Yes Maybe Some If Not Most Springers Due Require Alot Of Excersise And Mental Stimulation .. Dosent Mean All Do ..
> 
> Maybe I Snapped A Little I Dunno ? Im Sorry ..
> 
> I Wish You Good Luck With Your Springer Poppy 'ILOVETABBYS'


It is something people say about Goldens all the time, that they grow up at about 8, if you're lucky. 

I don't tink Terriermaid meant anything offensive and it does seem like Jasper is the exception to the rule. Most people get Springers because they liek the breed characteristics, and yes, the clue is in the name.


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## cassie01

Hi. we have a hyper loon in our house too, thankfully he has calmed down a little (hes now 4) id take a look at the food you feed her, get something low in energy, adatives and e numbers etc. id also suggest doing a lot of training exercises, games etc to wear her out. agility would be great to do and you can make your own jumps etc fairly cheap. i dont know about you but ours knows his training but when he gets excited its like he doesnt know whats goin on around him. we call it the red mist, even treats are of no interest. id just wear he out a lot, mentally and physically, that way she doesnt have the time and energy for anything else


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## Guest

jackson said:


> It is something people say about Goldens all the time, that they grow up at about 8, if you're lucky.
> 
> I don't tink Terriermaid meant anything offensive and it does seem like Jasper is the exception to the rule. Most people get Springers because they liek the breed characteristics, and yes, the clue is in the name.


Goldens grow up at 8? LOL Wish I never read that bit


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## jackson

mrsdusty said:


> I cant see ANY dog making do with twice a week. I have a heinz 57 who would happily sleep 23/7 but that extra hour is her walking time. She would get the right hump if she never got that daily 1 hour walk.


Mine would make do with twice a week, but that is all it would be, making do, I don't think they'd really be happy, although thet might outwardly appear to be.

Walking isn't just about exercise for dogs, it is about them getting to sniff and see and hear different things.


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## jackson

mrsdusty said:


> Goldens grow up at 8? LOL Wish I never read that bit


Some don't!


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## ILOVETABBYS

Sgurr said:


> My apologies for being so sharp in my last post. I was annoyed about something else on the forum that I head read a little earlier and very unjustly chanelled my irritation to this thread. Sorry.
> 
> Sgurr


Its ok, i appriciate th eapology and your advice. I walk her everyday over the fields behind my house, they are very large, and she runs for over an hour a day. I take her to my local recreation area where there is a large lake every week and she loves to swim there! She loves to fetch her rubber chicken out of the water! When we are over the fields I have one of those 'throwers' that launch tennis balls a fair distance. She really is obsessed in fetching which is so much fun!
As for food, i feed her 'James Wellbelloved' the turkey one. There are no colours in this food at all and she does seem to do ok on it. 
As for mental stimulation, I think that is where I have been failing. I am going to talk to my father to see if he can make me something for the back garden and will deffo try the treat hiding game for her! 
I think you were all right about the weeing, it does seem only to happen when the visitors instantly come in and go all goo goo over her! I will remind them all not to make eye contact with her straight away. She does not have a crate but has a kenel and loves to go and chill in there. 
I do pick her poo up as soon as i see it, but i guess if she is running around she will not see/nor care that it is there. 
I really appriciate all the advice on here, and as for her killing my new kittens, We have already had a cat, and i always have next doors 3 cats in and she does not bother with them at all, so am not worried about her with the kittens, but thanks for the concern anyway. xx


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## Ladywiccana

*Huni Calm and Springer Just do NOT go together I know i've got one too! Lol. Oz is 8 months old and is like a bottle of pop! I've been told springers do not settle until around 2/3 years of age lol, so ya nearly there mate! Just hold on and you'll be fine! As for the poo bit, at least she dont try and eat it, but oz has just grown out of that stage now thankfully!
They do need a lot of fun and exercise, and agillity was made for them!
I'm goint to take oz when he is about 2 cos he will have finished growing and forming all muscle by then!
I take my boy out 3 times a day and that still aint enuf lol. I guess it depends on the dog how much they like!
Good luck with her tho*


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## JasperCarrot

I Walk Jasper Twice A Week Because Of The Street Dogs Here , I Cant Walk Him Alone And My Mum And Dad Both Work So On The Weekends We All Go Out Together For A Few Hours With Him 


I Miss Just Being Able To Pop His Lead On And Jog Around The Block ..


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## JasperCarrot

jackson said:


> It is something people say about Goldens all the time, that they grow up at about 8, if you're lucky.
> 
> I don't tink Terriermaid meant anything offensive and it does seem like Jasper is the exception to the rule. Most people get Springers because they liek the breed characteristics, and yes, the clue is in the name.


I Understand Now x

Im Sorry Terriermaid For My AHEM .. Moment ?  Its Just So Many People Shout It All Out When They Hear The Word Springer ( Spaniel ) , I Thought Of It Before As People Putting Down The Breed .. I Dunno x

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Sorry This Has Gone Off Topic. Good Luck With Your Springer !!


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## Lambchop

hello

Just a couple of quick suggestions to throw into the mix.

1) You could try getting some Dorwest Scullcap and valerian Tablets. They are herbal and seem to be helping with my hyperactive one! They are not a cure though could be used alongside the other things people have suggested (plenty of exercise, good food and promoting a calm atmoshere in the home). You can buy online.
2) Clicker Training is fantastic for mental stimulation. Dogs often go to sleep for a long rest after and mentally challenging clicker training session. 

Good luck

Lambchop


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## catzndogz

hi we have'd springers for 20 years and they don't ever calm down fully. at present i've an 11 year old male & 10 year old bitch, they love to play ball, swim when we can get to seaside or river. we hide toys etc for them to find.
we also have 4 cats 2 of which are kittens they never chased them or tried to kill them as someone else posted. i've never know springers kill cats they will chase but never kill. at prsent my youngest kitten is curled up with my bitch.
the poo thing can't be helped if you can't clean it up stright away. you could always put plastic bags over paws  
don't give up


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## JasperCarrot

Yup Jaspers The Same ,

He Goes Mad When You Say The Word Cats And If There Is A Cat In The Garden He Will Chase It But If The Cat Just Stays There And Wont Move He Will Sniff It Nudge It With His Nose And Bark At It , He Does The Same Thing With Chickens   

Haha Though That Might Be Another One Of His Un Springer Like Character  No But Honestly Im On A Springer Forum Too And Quite A Few People Own Cats Too And They Are Fine Together Though I Think They Have All Been Brought Up Together


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## ILOVETABBYS

Lambchop said:


> hello
> 
> .
> 2) Clicker Training is fantastic for mental stimulation. Dogs often go to sleep for a long rest after and mentally challenging clicker training session.


I will deffo look into this, as i think it will do her the world of good! I woould never give up, I love her too much! The poo thing does turn my heart, but if im not there (which i cant always be) it cant be helped!

Thanks for the advice everyone, I feel so much better now i know what i can do to help the situation. x


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## Lexi-puppy

i recommed agility for all hyper breeds.its a great sport
iaslo recomend flyball and heelwor to music all of these are fntastic stimulation


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## ILOVETABBYS

Lexi-puppy said:


> i recommed agility for all hyper breeds.its a great sport
> iaslo recomend flyball and heelwor to music all of these are fntastic stimulation


Will deffo look into this, thank you. xx


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