Cherrie Spring - From English Springer Spaniels to Talking with the Animals

Handing her English Springer Spaniel to professional handler Gary Zayac at the National, vaulted Cherrie Spring into the world of dog shows.  Balance in dogs, and balance with and through her skills as an animal communicator was not always easy.  But just as show dogs learn to use themselves well, Cherrie has honed her communication skills to answer questions between owners and animals.

In addition to her work as an animal communicator, Cherrie Spring has a long, diverse history involved with purebred dogs. She agreed to share some of her most powerful lessons with our PureDogTalk listeners.

Enjoy this wonderful tribute to her mentors! Laura Reeves

Words of Wisdom from my Mentors

...as remembered by Cherrie Spring

Wisdom comes in as many forms as there are teachers. I will share some of the more memorable from the great teachers in my life, recognizing that in saying this I am leaving out many people.

From Debbie Ritter  - Pedigrees

I learned that, in reading pedigrees, you must consider the grandparent’s influence as if you are not breeding the two you are considering, but the four behind them. If any of those four, in your estimation, should not be bred, for any reason, the breeding should not be done.

When breeding from a dominant bitch line to an outcross you should never expect to go forward in that generation alone. Only keep out of the litter what your vision is going forward. When breeding to a line-bred dog, you must always consider his stamina, drive and temperament as the foremost component of what you are trying to achieve.

You absolutely, without exception, must know the faults in make and shape and genetic abnormalities that all animals in the first three generations have to make an educated and responsible decision in a considered breeding.

She taught me how to read a pedigree like no one before her or since. She understood our breed (English Springer Spaniel) and the individuals in it that well.

From Karen Prickett Miller - English Springer Spaniels

I learned, you cannot shorten the muzzle of an English Springer Spaniel without compromising everything in head structure which makes the Springer head unique. A shoved in foreface creates a round eye and lack of correct chiseling around the eye and to include the muzzle that is specifically stated in the standard. This shortening also causes the upper lid to lose its shape and become round, another fault addressed in the standard. The loss of length of foreface also creates a lack of room for pre molars. A Springer head with these proportions and faults has no strength or stamina to carry game in its mouth correctly.

You cannot have a short headed dog and have a dog that is proportioned to the standard, as measurements starts with the length of the head. Bone on a Springer is flat. It is not round. Round bones are heavier than flat bones. Make your bones flat and wide, not round and dense. This really applies to legs and rib cage.

Teach them to go (move) on their own. They must go as they stand in profile.

Four Qualities in Breeding Animals

There are four qualities that every breeding animal should have. Strong character appropriate to their breed. Deep underjaws in breeds that are to have a scissor or level bite. Straight front legs. Breed appropriate feet. The down fall of these mark the downfall of the breed.

I have had Anne Clarke tell Gary and I the same things.

From Denis Springer I learned:

You have to be tough as nails on the outside, with hands that are trusted and gentle guided by your love of the dog and the fancy.

He would tell me, “Toughen up Red, regroup and show them what is really inside.”

You must let your hands tell you what your eye lies to you about.