Page 13 - ShowSight Presents The Clumber Spaniel

THE CLUMBER SPANIEL
By Cindy Brizes
It is believed that the Clumber Spaniel was the result of cross- ing some form of the Alpine Spaniel and a type of Basset Hound. When training the Clumber, these traits can be seen
and should be adjusted for. While many of the other Spaniel breeds will naturally stay close while hunting and take easily to the quartering pattern that is typical of many of other Spaniel’s hunting styles, the Clumber will rely much more on its nose. In a hunt test, you can often see a Clum- ber make a bee line to a bird that it had scented many yards away. And the long, low, sturdy build of the Clumber is perfect for pushing through the thickest cover, as it was bred for in England. While some of the other Spaniels may be hesitant to enter a thick patch of briars or underbrush, the Clumber will plow right in.
I often tell potential Clumber Spaniels owners that while the Clumber Spaniel is 178 • SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2014
the couch potato of the Sporting Group, this is a relative term. While Clumbers do not have the energy of an English Springer Spaniel, the pointers, or the set- ters, that doesn’t mean it spends its life just laying around doing nothing every day. A well-bred Clumber Spaniel needs to be structurally sound enough to hunt thick fields of cover all day. In addition to structure, there are other traits that were bred into the Clumber to help it with the work it was meant to do—coat color and texture, amount of loose skin, and eye shape are some of these traits. Many new Clumber puppy owners are surprised at the amount of energy that a Clumber can have and, as with other sporting breeds, this energy needs to be channeled to keep it from becoming destructive. Clumbers can get bored doing the same activity over and over again so it can be a lot of fun for the dog and owner to try differ- ent venues. While I have trained and
competed with Clumbers in most AKC venues including conformation, obedi- ence, rally, tracking, hunting and agility, the Clumbers especially excel in tracking and hunting.
There aren’t many Clumbers that par- ticipate in obedience or agility but it can be done. Again, training needs to be struc- tured to work with the spaniel/hound background. At times, the Clumber can appear to suffer from attention deficit dis- order. But, if you can keep the training interesting and minimize boring drills, you can excel in obedience and agility with a Clumber Spaniel.
In tracking and hunting you can really see the superior nose and birdiness of the breed. You need a well-structured dog to compete in these events—a Clumber with the proper structure will have no prob- lem covering rough terrain in all types of weather to succeed in tracking and hunt- ing. Clumber puppies are quick learners