OK, I ADMIT IT. I HAVE always been a fan of big, old-fashioned springers, chunky cockers and labradors with substance, but I’m beginning to think that size doesn’t really matter after all. Dogs aren’t like cars, where a good big ’un will invariably beat a great little ’un. When it comes to performance, small dogs can perform as well as, and sometimes better than, bigger, more powerful animals.
I have a friend, Peter, who has owned and worked English springers for more than 50 years. Ask him which was his best dog and he will say Polly. Now, Polly was an English springer he bred himself, but she was the runt of the litter. She was sold to what should have been a good working home, but was returned after…
