Clumber Spaniel (Comprehensive Owner's Guide) - Softcover

Blackman, Ricky

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593782241 ISBN 13: 9781593782245

Publisher: Kennel Club Books Inc, 2006

Synopsis

A virtually unknown spaniel breed that has been around for over 150 years, the Clumber Spaniel achieved a moment of modern-day fame when ""Brady" won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in 1996. When that handsome dog smiled into the TV cameras, many Americans got their first glimpse of this charming companion dog. Named for the Duke of Newcastle's Clumber Park estate in Nottinghamshire, England, the Clumber Spaniel is prized not only for his skill and acumen as a hunting dog but for his clownlike antics and bubbling personality. Breeder Ricky Blackman has written an excellent introduction to the breed in this Comprehensive Owner's Guide that retraces the breed's history in England and America, describes the breed's many unique characteristics (both physical and personality), and offers potential owners sensible advice about the selection, care, and training of a Clumber Spaniel.

New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a reputable breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with photographs of handsome adults and puppies. In all, there are over 135 full-color photographs in this useful and reliable volume. The author's advice on obedience training will help the reader better mold and train into the most well-mannered dog in the neighborhood. The extensive and lavishly illustrated chapter on healthcare provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, preventing and dealing with parasites, infectious diseases, and more. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as historical dogs, breeders, or kennels, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

This Special Rare Breed Edition dedicated to the Clumber Spaniel is the only book of its kind on this lesser known Gundog breed. Given the limited amount of information available in print on this breed, this much needed book offers owners and potential owners of the Clumber Spaniel specific instructions on rearing, caring for and training the breed. Prized for his hunting acumen and his weather-proof silky coat, the Clumber Spaniel excels as a home companion, ever charming with his clown-like personality and unerring sense of fun. Surely new owners discover a well-kept secret in the delightful sportsman known as the Clumber Spaniel. Written by long-time breeder Ricky Blackman, Clumber Spaniel provides chapters on the breed history, attributes and characteristics and the official breed standard, as well as puppy acquisition, training, health care and showing. This book combines the expertise of breed specialists, veterinary surgeons, trainers and behaviourists with a team of experienced book designers, photographers and illustrators to create a resourceful and accurate guide for all Clumber Spaniel owners. Illustrated with over 135 colour photographs, the book proves to be as attractive as it is informative. Innovations of modern science have enabled the publisher to present never-before-seen scanning electron micrograph images produced exclusively for this limited-edition series.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

The Clumber Spaniel as a distinct breed has been a part of the English canine tradition since the 18th century. Early examples of dogs that looked like Clumber Spaniels have been unearthed in countries over the years, but no actual independent or co-existent strain was found in France or elsewhere on the Continent. Therefore, fanciers are faced with an intriguing mystery when trying to trace the Clumber Spaniel's actual origin. We do know that the name for the breed came from Clumber Park, the seat of the Duke of Newcastle in the late 18th century. As was the custom with nobles proud of their dogs, he or someone associated with the estate named the breed after his hereditary estate. Though the grand house burned down in 1938, one can still visit the grounds of Clumber Park (which is now part of the National Trust) and find the graves of some of the Clumbers who lived on the estate. Though the Duke and his Clumber Spaniels shared the property, he was probably not responsible for the breed's evolution, or at least there is no definite evidence of it. He is shown in an early painting with dogs that are early specimens of the Clumber Spaniel, but some think that these were the dogs that he was given. Students of the breed have advanced many theories about the origin of this unique dog, but concrete evidence for any one theory is lacking.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kennel Club Books Inc
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1593782241
• ISBN 13: 9781593782245
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 152