Collected rescue Springer Spaniel. Ongoing advice needed.

child359

Hi there,

I am collecting my rescue Springer Spaniel on Friday:j :j She is 3.5 yrs old and absolutely gorgeous:D

I have bought a brush, water and food bowl, dog shampoo (to get the smell of kennels off her!) a flinger ball and 2 other rubber toys which she has already played with yesterday so she can recognise the smell when she comes to our house for the 1st time. I have got a bag of complete dog food too.
I have also bought a collar and a lead and someone is giving me a dog basket and blankets for it for her to sleep in.

I am getting a name tag for her and she comes micro chipped. She has 6 weeks insurance from PetPlan. I am also going to get nappy bags and some dog treats.

Are there any other essentials that I am missing that I should get her to get her through at least the first few weeks?

Any other hints and tips at settling a rescue dog or a Springer Spaniel in particular?

Any hints and tips gratefully received.

Loopy_Girl

I am soooooo jealous!!! Hopefully I should hear about a rescue dog soon...I want a King Charles so know I have to be patient...not one of my virtues it has to be said!!!!!:o

Springers are mad:eek: You are going to have your hands full there!!!

Small thing but get a placemat to put under the food and water bowls....spaniels inhale their food and the ears flop in the water (you're sooo lucky...I'm soooo jealous!!!) just to keep your floors a bit cleaner really!!:T

It it a blue or chocolate one and what is her name?

(did I mention I was jealous?!!!!!!!):o

child359

She is liver and white. Mainly liver on her head, white on her body and then spotty white and liver on her legs:rolleyes:

Her name is Sally. I am getting her from Jerry Green dog rescue. I was VERY lucky as we went the day she was brought in!!

I had 2 hours of getting to know her yesterday and she is adorable. She was cuddling up really quickly and never stopped enjoying the ball being thrown to her. My DS immediately fell in love with her too:o

MrsTinks

As mentioned spaniels tend to get their ears in their water and food... if you want them (don't laugh!) a soft hair band might help to keep the ears back at feeding time and therefor avoid getting any food stuck in the very soft fur and possibly irritating the skin
First few days let her go at her pace - make sure there is somewhere she can go to get away from all the attention and if you leave her get a kong and fill it with goodies to distract her. If you can make leaving a positive thing early on you're going to avoid a whole host of possible problems

child359

MrsTine wrote: »

As mentioned spaniels tend to get their ears in their water and food... if you want them (don't laugh!) a soft hair band might help to keep the ears back at feeding time and therefor avoid getting any food stuck in the very soft fur and possibly irritating the skin
First few days let her go at her pace - make sure there is somewhere she can go to get away from all the attention and if you leave her get a kong and fill it with goodies to distract her. If you can make leaving a positive thing early on you're going to avoid a whole host of possible problems

Thanks for that. Is the Kong the one you fill with treats and it takes them ages to get them out?
Thanks for the tip about leaving them, I really appreciate that.:A

I may even get the hair band;)

Loopy_Girl

MrsTine wrote: »

As mentioned spaniels tend to get their ears in their water and food... if you want them (don't laugh!) a soft hair band might help to keep the ears back at feeding time

Tee hee!!!!!:rotfl: :rotfl: Visions of Sally chowing down at tea time with a scrunchie in her hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

child359

MrsTine wrote: »

if you leave her get a kong and fill it with goodies to distract her. If you can make leaving a positive thing early on you're going to avoid a whole host of possible problems

Thanks MrsTine. :T

I have just ordered a Kong online with the treats to fill it with. I hope she likes it.

Thanks again:A

trudij

I had a springer for years - she was gorgeous, but the exception to the mental springer thoughts - she was completely neurotic and terrified of everything unless I was with her (then she was ok, but only if the other dog was out too - then shed send him down lanes first just in case....!) made her very easy to train for obedience, but was a nightmare in the grand scheme of things because she worried so much.

We hairbanded her ears when I was showing her lots, you can also get special spaniel bowls that are designed a bit like a volcano, the idea being that their ears dont go in the bowl when their noses do.

Best of luck, and Im very jealous - she sounds gorgeous,hope she brings you years of fun!!

pboae

Have you checked what food she is on at the moment? It's best not to change it too quickly if you can avoid it.

How are you bringing her home? Ideally you want a crate or cage for the car, but failing that a seat belt harness is better than nothing (it'll help if you have an accident but not if *she* had an accident!).

If you are going to see her again before she comes to you, ask if you can leave something with her, a t-shirt you have slept in, or something similar, to help her get used to your smell. Also when you bring her home, if she has any bedding or a blanket bring it with you if you can. If it's really filthy just cut a little piece off it for her. Don't be too quick to bath her, or otherwise change her smell, she's got a lot of new things to get used to.

Finally have a look at http://www.itsaspringthing.co.uk/ they have a great springer forum there too, and they'll be able to answer any springer related q's I'd imagine.

lil_me

My neighbours used to use a pair of pop socks to put their spaniels ears in :rotfl: did the trick but they looked hilarious.

You'll need WALKING BOOTS they have loads of energy, they do need a lot of stimulation so plenty of toys and fuss.

MrsTinks

Yep that's the kongs I'm on about And yes hairbands look hillarious... :rotfl: but because the fur and skin on their ears are so soft it's a nightmare if they do get food stuck in them - they get really sore very quickly The reason for using the popsocks outdoors is probably to stop the ears catching on thorns and what not as they can bleed like the devil if they get scratched! Practical but highly comical!
As for the Kong - you might find until she susses how it works something like cream cheese, peanut butter and even some cheap pate might work best - just smear it round the inside so she has to lick it loads - it doesn't take a lot of it to keep them entertained
My dog now gets most of meals in hers as she's very hard to keep entertained... (GSD/BC cross) and she's a master in getting food out! I have taken to freezing the kongs when the filling is in and it takes her AGES to get her food out now hehehehe but it's great for stimulating their brains