The Clumber Spaniel - in the right hands a dream dog! ..... but still so often underestimated and misunderstood.

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.

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.

However, not only to do justice to his abilities and intelligence - his mental abilities - but also with regard to his physical health is movement through species-appropriate activity is enormously important. His heavy body structure is depending on a healthy musculature...a healthy supporting and postural muscles to prevent diseases of the musculoskeletal system.....more about in: Why....

   
One should .... No, one must satisfy its natural abilities! ... Everything else would be detrimental and a loss/damage for the breed.

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.
In the meantime, it has also been proven by studies that the pure working lines have an advantage over the show lines in terms of trainability - one of the examined properties with the highest heritability.
This higher trainability includes behaviors such as the willingness to cooperate with humans, how quickly a dog can learn in new situations, how high he can concentrate on a task and there are overlaps with impulse control.. More about in: Why....

   
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. **

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)

   
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.

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.

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: