Page 250 - Showsight March 2013

employed or can become bored and destructive, they are best suited for
an active lifestyle spending time with their owners. A Field responds
well to positive and motivational training techniques that include toys,
food, and drive. They quickly learn right or wrong. Minimal corrections
are sufficient. Exposure to harsh train methods can cause a Field Spaniel
to totally shut down. Their intelligence can fool them into thinking
they know what you want, before you ask for it, offering behaviors you
may not want. They admire and need a confident leader who is fun!
They will challenge every moment to live life to the fullest, so you
must be one step ahead of them in the thinking process. The bond you
create with your Field Spaniel through play, training, exercise, disci-
pline, and trust will follow through in any performance arena.
Obedience with a Field can be rewarding for both dog and trainer.
Baseline training before 6 months old is so crucial, it imprints on them
for life. Reserved by nature, they need to be socialized with many people
and dogs during this time. Most can learn and pass the CGC, Canine
Good Citizen test, as a puppy and are very capable of competing at all
levels of rally and obedience. Fields prefer rally obedience because of the
versatility of exercises and the ability to praise, and interact with them
while working. Although their ability to scent retrieve, jump, and focus
for long periods of time, have allowed them to be great working util-
ity dogs. One must always remember that
they are spaniels with a working nose. This
can lead to occasional sniffing in obedience
or rally, tracking the dog before them or
hunting the area to free it from critters.
Field Spaniels love all aspects of agil-
ity and the constant course changes make
them want more. Add a few extra tunnels
and it increases their excitement. The tun-
nels draw them in full speed ahead, and
they come out smiling. The quickness of
the sport is highly contagious for handler
and dog. A beautiful, comical sight is a
photo of a Field flying over a jump with
their ears flying like wings. Their sense of
fun and desire to make you laugh will sure-
ly entertain in agility and make you think
they forgot everything they have learned.
“A BEAUTIFUL,
COMICAL SIgHT
is a photo of a Field flying over a jump
with their ears flying like wings.”
250 • ShowSight Magazine, March 2013