In Part III, we’ll consider English Springer Spaniel proportion.

Proportion is the relationship of length to height.  In the early 1990’s, US breed scholars made a case that the “old” 1970’s language (in the standard) was not only imprecise, but incorrect – describing the wrong height/length measuring points and essentially creating a malformed dog.  So we changed it, with the support of the American Kennel Club.

Here’s what the standard (1994 revision) says:

The length of the body (measured from point of shoulder to point of buttock) is slightly greater than the height at the withers. The dog too long in body, especially when long in the loin, tires easily and lacks the compact outline characteristic of the breed. A dog too short in body for the length of his legs, a condition which destroys balance and restricts gait, is equally undesirable.

Correct proportion lives in the measurement points found in the bones.

Bones provide the measuring points for length and height, the two principal components of outline.  Bones are the architecture – the vaulted arch, the framework.  Muscles are the plaster that covers the framework and holds it together.

The English Springer Spaniel is somewhat longer than tall.  I’ve been surprised, in my travels here in the US and in England, to learn how few of us actually measure our Springers to discern their length and height.   Until you measure, you are relying on perception, not reality, to tell if your dogs are of correct breed type.  Unless you have objective data, you cannot say whether your Springers are correct or incorrect.  You cannot know if they possess the most basic element of Springer type, correct outline, based on proportion, found in the bones.

If we are not measuring our dogs, we don’t know how much we don’t know about them.

• Measure LENGTH from the point of shoulder to the ischium (point of buttock).
• Measure HEIGHT from the withers to the ground.

These are the measuring points directed by the breed standard.   Measure as best you can from the midpoint of the bone, not its tip.  All of what we do as observers and analysts is imprecise, but as livestock breeders we use the tools that we have.  Start measuring your dogs; keep records; use your records to make informed breeding decisions.

The “length line” on almost all show Springers in the US and on a growing number of English Springers abroad as well, is no longer horizontal to the ground; rather, it is diagonal.  The length line slants upward from the point of shoulder.  We have altered outline (a key element of breed type) over time.  This alteration has allowed a number of anomalies, including steeply sloping backs, flattened croups, upright tail carriages, and over-extension of the rear quarters. We even groom our showdogs to accentuate some of these faults. Hopefully, an increasing awareness might move us to restore correct English Springer Spaniel backlines, croups, tail sets, and tail carriages.