
The Clumber Spaniel
- in the right hands a dream dog! ..... but still so often underestimated
and misunderstood.
The Clumber
Spaniel is highly intelligent, generous, friendly, willing to
work and possess a natural dignity. Prudently and deliberately
responding and acting it is considered very strong-nerved. The
Clumber is unflappable. - Just a big-hearted, highly intelligent
Stoic.
The Clumber
Spaniel thoroughly signalizes a thoughtful expression ........
a certain seriousness. It is (or should be) a harmoniously proportioned
dog with a strong, heavy bone structure; nevertheless it is very
active, athletic and persevering.
This dog always radiates - whether in motion or at rest –
strength.
The Clumber
is more cautious than other Spaniels and shows up often rather
indifferent towards strangers on the way.
Visitors are usually but joyfully welcomed and sometimes even
gladly monopolized........ it parades its favourite toys. To its
holder,..... its family this kid-friendly dog has a very close
relationship. With cats and other pets, there are usually no problems,
au contraire, it likes to adopt all.
As already
described in Velvet's portrait, is the "stubborn skull "
the clumber is rumoured to be, better explained as a misunderstanding
of his enormous ability to concentrate ** and the time they claims
to optimize and to complete the order in the best sense –
in a kind of "effort-benefit-analysis" :-) ....- you
sometimes have the impression as if you could see how it works
behind its forehead - and of course due to their tendency to work
independently ...... their cognitive abilities.
* Because
the breed is so "scent-controlled / driven", Clumber
Spaniels tend to switch off their ears when the nose starts to
work / peak performance and this can be very misleading for inexperienced
owners and trainers. **
As flushing
dog and retriever Clumber Spaniels would like to be employed species-appropriately.
The Clumber is a quiet worker with an excellent nose, ........reliable
and steady. They want not only outdoor exercises, but should also
get the opportunity its excellent natural abilities need. If one
offers this possibility to the clumber, for example by work with
the dummy and tracking, will be surprised his dog can do.
For people
who have fun at work with the dog in nature, the Clumber Spaniel
is certainly a positive surprise. With motivation and fun at "work"
it is very easy to teach this dog with a great willingness to
learn..... if it makes sense to itself,. 0)
Although
its appearance may leave the impression: For people who are looking
for a "Just-sofa-dog", which is contented with short
walks without species-appropriate activity, a Clumber is definitely
the wrong dog.
One should
.... No, one must satisfy its natural abilities! ... Everything
else would be a loss/damage for the breed.
A few words
about the way of working of the Clumber Spaniels:
The differences to other Spaniel breeds are not the job itself
or the training, but the way they go about their job. The natural
style of the Clumber Spaniels is using that unbelievable nose
to work .......a little bit slower, a bit more methodically.......but
as well effectively.
Who’s
already seen Clumbers clearing stone walls and hurdles with ease
and making quite difficult retrieves – gets impressively
visualized what these cracking dogs are able to do. Clumber Spaniels
are hard working, clever, easily trainable, and ever willing to
please. Whether working in the beating line, picking up, tracking
or retrieving - this breed shows a great versatility. More
about....
Clumber Spaniels
doesn’t give mouth on the hunt, a "silent" hunter,
so they aren´t handled as a hunting dog in Germany till
this day. In Great Britain and Scandinavia they are used for hunting
in the field and very appreciated for their excellent tracking
features, their steadiness and stamina. In the United States they
are withal for their incredible "nose", ...... their
excellent sense of smell used as drug sniffer dogs.
By the way,
the statement a Clumber from a working line is more difficult
to train, is not true – au contraire. At last, only the
Clumber Spaniel which forms a good team with its attachment figure,
is an successful Gundog, what is certainly respected even at breeding.
If I read
today in breed descriptions something of the kind: "it slavers,
snores and gasps," it makes me not only angry at the author
- who has unfortunately failed to visualize a complete picture
of this breed, but also sad that the persons responsible for breeding
allowed that these wonderful dogs were narrowed to it.
It is also
wrong if the impression is given that the Clumber's favorite pastimes
are "eating and sleeping" ..... or what one reads now
and then "digging" ..... of course they do it when they
are bored ..... if they are underutilised physically and / or
mentally. In addition to affection and care. Such an intelligent
dog needs employment too, .... a task, otherwise it looks for
one or it withers away.
As with dog
training, the same applies here: one should start troubleshooting
by oneself!
The consequences
of suboptimal dog keeping and false expectations raised by a lack
of information or misinformation are - as so often - simply negatively
charged to the breed itself ...... this lot the Clumber Spaniel
shares with many other working dog breeds.
Because in
Germany unfortunately only an onesided and often a wrong picture
of the breed is shown – the Clumber is only known as a show
dog - it bears repeating to advert to the other more unknown side.
Also here – how already at another place on this website
– a few links to "Working Clumber Spaniels" in
action, like we know Velvetchen too:




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