Springer Spaniel Essentials

You will need to ensure you have the following Springer Spaniel essentials before you pick up your new addition to your family.

Dog bed

Decide how many you are going to have, and where you will locate them. My Spaniel, George, has two beds, one in the living room and one on the landing outside our bedroom, at the top of the stairs. Admitedly we were given one of the beds by a friend, a bed has to rate as the most important of the Springer Spaniel essentials I recommend. As you can see George loves his bed.

Food

Decide what food you will feed your Springer, can I recommend the diet pages I have written as part of your Springer Spaniel essentials. You will find the link at the top left of this page. To help you make this decision, ask the breeder about the diet your puppy has been on, you may wish to follow the same diet, or at least incorporate elements into his new diet as he settles into your home.

Bowls

You will also need to invest in separate water and food bowls, I cannot recommend the Spaniel bowls, pictured above, highly enough, they keep Spaniel ears clean during mealtimes.

Chew Toys

Collars

Your puppy will grow through a few collars before he settles on the one that will be his size so don't go for expensive accessories at this early stage. Guide to Collars for Springers Check out my complete guide to the different types of collars to help you choose.

Other items

You will need a good quality lead, and I would recommend that you get an identity tag for the collar. Top Tip though is not to put the dog's name on the tag, just a contact number. That way if your dog is stolen, God forbid, it is harder for the thief to get away with the crime, as the thief will not know the dog's name if challenged.

Microchipping

It is relatively simple to get your new family member chipped and it is worth its weight in gold. With the rise in dognapping to order, a pedigree Spaniel is becoming higher on the list of wanted dogs by people who don't want to pay the going rate for their dog. Simply speaking, the chip will have your contact details and the puppy's name on it, therefore there is no requirement to have his name on a collar tag.

Once you have chosen your puppy, liaise with the breeder to find out if they will do the initial jabs for you before you collect your new household addition, most breeders will, but expect to be charged for the Vets fees. Otherwise one of the first things you will have to do when you get your puppy home is to book him or her in for their jabs.