Let me introduce you to my loyal sidekick Schooner. Schooner is named like other springer spaniels I have had - after my good home brewed beer. Before Schooner there was Barley. I have Porter also, but he’s another story. All are field-bred. That means instead of being bred to look pretty for dog shows, they are selected for their lust for upland bird hunting, well balanced with a desire to please their master.
When they can’t hunt, the instincts shift to an obsession with carrying around a shoe or teddy bear - and hoping I’ll throw it to retrieve. Schooner does this constantly! In the middle of the night I’ll sometimes hear him whine a little for me to wake up and throw the teddy bear for him.
The retrieve is what he lives for. No treats or atta’boys are nearly so good a reward in training as just a chance to make another fetch. He’s just a born work-a-holic!
Schooners’s normal behavior: Highly attentive and waiting for something to fetch.
