Field Bred Springer

Lots of pictures with a beak out one side of their mouth, feet out the other side and lots of feathers in between. What do I know, Im just a simpleton.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Besides physical characteristics & family tree full of trial dogs, how do you tell a field bred springer from a bench bred one?

For example, if a "serious hobby breeder" says the sire & dam of a litter are both field bred dogs, how might that be confirmed?
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I think physical characteristics are a big clue. Field bred and bench Springers look entirely different. Almost like two different breeds. Bench dogs are larger, have longer ears and longer hair. Your best bet is to buy from a proven field bred Springer breeder like FCSpringer on this site. If I was looking for a field bred Springer I would look no further than Ken's dogs. And he's not far from you as he is in the Alexandria, MN area. Here' his web site. http://www.bluerivergundogs.com/ I see from his site that he is having a litter this month.
 
As a lab guy I feel the bench and field dogs have evolved to nearly 2 different breeds in physical appearance as well as temperament. I think the same has happened to springers. Typically even serious hobby breeder's pedigrees will be stacked with field titled dogs back a generation or so. Dont let one FC\AFC dog back 5 generations in a pedigree fool you as they aren't contributing much to the gene pool anymore.
 
The physical characteristics ARE the dead give away. If you can read a pedigree and know the lines that may give you a clue before you even see a picture, but overwhelmingly they are completely different looking animals. Bench dogs are generally bigger/bulkier, longer hair, longer ears, blocky heads and muzzle as can be seen on the left photo vs field Springer on the right. Of course if your buying from backyard breeding then it's always possible you may have both mixed in there.


Our family had a Bench Springer when I was growing up and she was quite big at 55 lbs.

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Great shots of the late, great, Buzz!

All the comments are spot on; think of a canine comparison between a full back and a wide receiver.

As for disposition, my limited experience between the two breedings is that the Field Springer is more congenial, but that's from a small set of data.


Enjoy the search.:thumbsup:
 
I have a line on a litter that hopefully will happen about April 1. Breeder that I trust (not a pro). Dam would be Buzz's sister. To me, that's a very good thing.

Potential sire will be a dog in Colorado the breeder knows well. They say he's field bred, but his pedigree means nothing to me, as it doesn't have the designations FC, NFC, AFC, or anything of the sort. Just normal old dogs.

So short of trying to research the dogs listed on his pedigree (& basically go by hearsay & what people might remember about the dogs), physical appearance is the BEST I have to go by? And probably meeting the sire?
 
I would talk to FCSpringer and see if he can shed any light on the pedigree.

That said, regardless of pedigree there is nothing like seeing dog flesh in person. Some things a pedigree can't tell tell you, such as temperament, demeanor etc..I know it's a long way to travel, but would it be worth it to you to arrange a visit to see the sire in person and maybe even see him work?
 
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birdshooter said:
I would talk to FCSpringer and see if he can shed any light on the pedigree.
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Yes, I'd really appreciate any input from him. But.....I get why he'd hesitate to give advice on how to buy a dog from somebody he might see as competition. (possibly even the type of competition he'd rather see vanish from the face of the earth)
 
PM fc and FLDBRED also. Or post a picture of the pedigree I'm sure somebody knows something about the kennel names and maybe some of the dogs in the pedigree.
 
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A5 Sweet 16 said:
Yes, I'd really appreciate any input from him. But.....I get why he'd hesitate to give advice on how to buy a dog from somebody he might see as competition. (possibly even the type of competition he'd rather see vanish from the face of the earth)
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You can always try. If he'd rather not comment than that's ok to.

I have Shorthairs, but I visited two Breeders for my last two dogs and decided on one. I scheduled a visit to see the Dam and the Sire and even some of the sons of the Sire work the Field. There is NO way I could have seen the Sire's demeanor or his traits from reading his pedigree. After watching him work and the Dam (remember each parent contribute 50/50) I was convinced and put down my deposit before leaving. To this day I am still glad I chose who I did.
 
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A5 Sweet 16 said:
Yes, I'd really appreciate any input from him. But.....I get why he'd hesitate to give advice on how to buy a dog from somebody he might see as competition. (possibly even the type of competition he'd rather see vanish from the face of the earth)
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I really don't think that would be the case with FCSpringer. I'd shoot him a PM as I don't think he is on the site a lot anymore.

Why wouldn't you consider a pup out of the planned litter FCSpringer is having? He's close and has excellent field bred dogs.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Why wouldn't you consider a pup out of the planned litter FCSpringer is having? He's close and has excellent field bred dogs.
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I definitely would, as everything I've heard about his dogs (no doubt a reflection of the man himself) is that they're wonderful! But I'm not there yet.

Not trying to start the "you get what you pay for" discussion. But I'm the type who doesn't want to spend that kind of $$ for a dog if I don't have to. Of the 2 dogs I've owned, one cost $200 & one cost $350. And both of them have turned out to be almost EXACTLY what I'm after in a dog, in terms of being a pheasant master, as well as best buddies to every member of my family (especially me). Maybe it was pure luck, but I know I CAN end up w/ a spectacular dog for less money. At this point, I don't want to pay that much to hedge my bets.

That, and Buzz had the most friendly, happiest temperament of any dog I've ever met. He loved everything & everybody. I think he even liked pheasants, although he sure didn't shy away from putting them in the bag. (Whereas I'm pretty sure my 1st dog Walt despised pheasants. Understandable, since they're rather vile creatures.) Buzz never quit smiling & wagging his tail. EXCEPT....for black olives. Didn't like 'em. He'd pick 'em up if I asked him too, but he'd go spit it out somewhere he didn't think I'd notice. I know part of that was his upbringing, but some of it has to be genetic too. Getting a pup from Buzz's sister (same breeder), I know the upbringing would be the same from day 1 & some of the gene pool should be there too. So I'm trying to hedge my bets that way.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
I know part of that was his upbringing, but some of it has to be genetic too. Getting a pup from Buzz's sister (same breeder), I know the upbringing would be the same from day 1 & some of the gene pool should be there too. So I'm trying to hedge my bets that way.
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I certainly wouldn't discourage you from getting a pup from Buzz's littermate. I myself have done the same, going back to the same genetics for follow-on dogs. There's a strong attraction to doing so when you've had a really good dog. It provides a level of comfort and confidence in the choosing of a new pup.

I would just say that probably we all know that even dogs from the same litter don't always turn out exactly (or even nearly) the same. This new pup will be an individual with his/her own traits and characteristics.

I wish you the best of luck with the new pup.
 
Chestle said:
I certainly wouldn't discourage you from getting a pup from Buzz's littermate. I myself have done the same, going back to the same genetics for follow-on dogs. There's a strong attraction to doing so when you've had a really good dog. It provides a level of comfort and confidence in the choosing of a new pup.

I would just say that probably we all know that even dogs from the same litter don't always turn out exactly (or even nearly) the same. This new pup will be an individual with his/her own traits and characteristics.

I wish you the best of luck with the new pup.
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True. That's why it's called breeding not cloning.

I will say when a breeder has line bred off the same bloodline you generally get a consistency from litter to litter so you pretty much know the TYPE of dog your going to get. Then occasionally you may bring in an outcross to bolster the bloodline with something you feel it's lacking. Sometimes that outcross works to your favor and sometimes it may not. It's not a science.
 
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