“These dogs are what Springers are supposed to be.”
Many people claim to know Springers. The breed itself in my opinions is simply the most versatile dog an all-around outdoorsman could ask for. Having had Springers as a hunter and a breeder for 30 plus years, we have had our fair share of dogs.
We have had dogs from the top “breedings” in the country from breeders that claim the pups produced will be the second coming…when in reality no one really know what they will produce. In many cases they produce dogs that lack natural things a Springer should be great at…an eagerness to please.
We expect Springers, to first be extremely willing to please their owners, the other things are very important speed, nose, drive, and retrieve are the other traits we seek. Dave at Citari, has a similar view of Springers. He wants to produce dogs that people love for, their personality first as well as their skill set in the field.
While many breeders claim to want this, they simply don’t produce it. Having recently brought 2 pups from Citari home for myself and a client. Dave has produced what we discussed and I expected in his breedings. Dogs that are people pleasers, they develop their skills naturally from their genetics and naturally ability, they don’t need heavy training techniques like e- collars and force fetching, and they are just great dogs to be around. I trust Dave to give an honest opinion of what his dogs should be, and the greater thing in my opinion, I would trust that Dave would admit if he was wrong about a breeding. Which we have all done, when we didn’t produce what we expect in a litter. Dave would make it right.
My 6 and 3 year old kids have full control over Echo at 4 months of age. He heels, hups, and kennels on their commands. Sits with them in the yard, as the pet and love on him for hours. Yet in the field he turns it on with all his natural ability at such a young age and does everything he is taught to perform. Our client that has one of Dave’s recent pups, and has had Springers for 70 plus years summed it up best. “These dogs are what Springers are supposed to be”
Jared Knipper
