23/02/2026
Owning spaniels is one of our greatest learning journeys. We don’t just own working spaniels — we learn from them every single day. What we love most is that no two are ever the same. Even within the same breed, their minds, drives, sensitivities, and problem-solving styles can be worlds apart.
Take the Harley and Cooper. On paper, they’re both sprocker spaniels. They're bred to quarter ground, flush game, and work closely with a handler. In reality? Harley throws herself into every bush, bramble and bit of cover come what may and Cooper will be found sitting down waiting for us to remove a leaf from his fur before he can continue working. Harley is high energy and acts first, Cooper will sit look and watch before doing it himself. They couldn't be more opposite yet they're the same crossbreed.
That constant contrast forces us to grow and really focus on looking at every single dog and not making assumptions based on breed.
Our spaniels teach us to adapt.
Like a lot of breeds, working spaniels are intelligent and sensitive. If we try to use the same handling style with all of them, it simply doesn’t work. One dog may need calm reassurance; another needs clear boundaries and direction. They push us to refine timing, tone, consistency — and most of all, self-awareness.
They deepen our understanding of learning.
Luckily for us Amie is halfway through a Masters in Clinical Education, she spends a lot of her time looking at educational theories and yes, they can be adapted to dogs too (more of that another day).
But because they are bred for independent thinking in the field, working dogs are natural problem-solvers. They don’t just follow instructions; they interpret them.
That means we are used to looking at the dogs we meet and observing behaviour which includes:
- What motivates this dog?
- What are their relationships like?
- How do they react to different situations?
- When does excitement tip into over-arousal?
- How quickly do they recover?
Each dog becomes a study in behaviour, drive, and emotional regulation. We're constantly learning about each dog and building a bigger picture of them throughout the time with them and take a holistic view of them the environment and the things they do.
Our dogs keep us humble.
Nothing teaches humility like a spaniel who can outsmart you. Sometimes training Cooper feels like you're two steps away from checkmate. He's a cheeky chappy who picks things up quickly. His current trick is to jump ontop of his crate because he was asked to once to sit up there to make it easier to brush his ears. Now he volunteers this behaviour because he likes the fuss that comes with it.
If something doesn't go to plan in training, honestly it’s rarely the dog — it’s communication. The spaniels remind us that leadership isn’t about control; it’s about connection and clear communication.
They show us personality with purpose.
What fascinates us most is how strong individual personalities shine through a shared working instinct. The genetic blueprint may be similar, but expression is entirely unique. Cooper thrives on direction from us, he looks at us when training or working to guide him to what to do next. Harley thrives on freedom and being able to follow her instincts. They are both fantastic working dogs, but we have to embrace their different styles. If given full freedom, Cooper would sit to wait for direction.
That diversity keeps our minds open. It prevents us from becoming rigid and using a one size fits all approach to dogs. It challenges any temptation to label or generalise.
Loving our working spaniels isn’t just about the work they do in the field. It’s about the education they give us in patience, psychology, emotional intelligence, and adaptability.
They aren’t just working dogs.
They’re teachers and it makes us all the better at what we do for owning them.
And this is specifically looking at the differences in dogs of the same breed, we haven't even begun to talk about how vast the differences become when we are looking at the different breeds we own and work with.
