Brittany vs Springer

[jcaff1019]

I don't have any personal experience with either of these breeds; but from what I have read, these dogs seem very similar to one another. The only real difference I noticed was that a Brit is more of a pointer, while the Springer is more of a flusher. I might be splitting hairs, but does anyone with personal experience notice any differences between the two?


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[ezzy333]

The Brit is a pointer and the Springer Spaniel is a flusher. The Brit is taller, less coat, higher set and smaller ears, shorter cobby build, most are colored different. They do share the happy disposition but are quite different in most ways. Both are great smaller dogs but you need to decide what you want from a dog before getting one as they are completely different dogs in the field.

[deseeker]

I have owned both breeds--springers(field) before 1988 & britts after 1988. The Springers are flushers that are trained to hunt within shotgun range. The britts are pointers that hunt outside of shotgun range that are trained to find the birds outside of shotgun range and point it until you kick it up or realease them to get it up. The britts will cover more hunting ground since they are hunting at a wider range. Both dogs are good house dogs, both dogs shed about the same. In my opinion Springers are a more NATURAL retriever than britts are.
Brittanys are supposed to be a dual type dog(looks and field) so it is usually easier to find a britt that hunts than it is to find a Springer that hunts because Springers have kind of been broken into 2 types-- field(who are great hunters) & show who look good but struggle a little in the field. The field Springers are a lot more mellow around kids--a lot of the show stuff can be snippy
around kids and strangers.
These are just my opinions :roll: But I'm sure there will be a lot of people telling me I'm wrong--but that is their opinion :roll:
Don't try to change me--I'm to old to change now

[DougB]

There are now two kinds of English Springer. Field bred and bench bred. Been years since there was a dual champion. Both dogs will hunt, but the field bred is the way to go if you want a hunter. More stamina, more drive, more hunting built in. Yes, I am biased. If you want a high energy dog that points and goes all day but makes an excellent pet, the Brit is excellent. If you want a high energy dog that likes to slog into a swamp, bust brush, go all day and flush birds but makes an excellent pet, go ESS. Either will attract coeds at the dog park, if that is important to you. Wish I had known 50 years ago.

[RockyDog]

I have had two field-bred Springers that were magnificent hunting dogs. I am currently looking into getting a new pup.

I have never had a Brittany but I know many who hunt with them and they like them very much.

The answer to your question depends on (1) What types of birds do you want to hunt and (2) What style of hunting you want to do.

If you want to hunt pheasant, grouse, or snipe, I would definitely get a Springer.

For quail, woodcock, or chukars, I give a slight edge to Brittanys.

For retrieving dove, ducks or geese, a Springer is best. But they don't like to sit still in a blind while you wait for ducks to fly in. They can handle the retrieving quite well, but can be a total pain in the "bleep" in the blind.

But Springers are great to have in the dove field. In fact I prefer a Springer over a Lab for doves.