- Puppy Buyer's Guide
- Living With Clumbers
- Breeder Referral
- Breed Standard
- History of the Breed
- Clumber Firsts
- Clumbers Can Do It All
Once you are a Clumber owner, you will always be a Clumber owner. Few breeds return the same amount of loyalty a Clumber gives an affectionate master. His "jingle bell" personality and perceptive intelligence makes him a much-loved member of the family.
The Clumber thrives on attention. Most Clumbers love to fetch so they are not really difficult to exercise or keep amused. They also like to carry things in their mouths, often picking something off the floor to greet you with. Many Clumbers will wag their whole back ends while bending their long bodies so that the head almost touches the rear - all the while dancing a little jig. It is quite unique and captivating.
He is an excellent dog with children; ball playing and children just naturally go together. He is usually very protective of the children in the family and especially likes babies. Clumber females are usually devoted mothers to their own puppies.
The Clumber Spaniel does not respond to harsh, insincere treatment. He simply refuses to budge, causing some people to think he is dumb. On the contrary, he is intelligent enough to let you know he will not tolerate abuse. He needs a kind, but firm hand.
Some Clumbers rush to meet everyone who comes into the house, but many are aloof with strangers; not shy, but reserved and dignified. They are good watchdogs when true danger is present, but generally do not bark at everything.
Much information in the all-breed books depicts the Clumber as a slow moving dog. C. Bede Maxwell, in her book, "The Truth About Sporting Dogs", devotes much of her chapter on Clumbers to denouncing this notion. Certainly Clumbers are in no way slow, lazy, or awkward!
The Clumber's personality can be summed up in this quote from "That's a Good Dog", by Brian Ghent published in London in 1953. "A Clumber Spaniel puppy looks like a happy little bear and a full grown Clumber is a great bustling creature that reminds me of an Irish washerwoman with the same tenderness of heart and loyalty of spirit." Mr. Ghent concludes, "The chief charm of a Clumber is that he looks and goes about his job as though nature had intended him for it, a solid and sturdy worker who simply loves a day in the fields. He will carry things around as soon as he is old enough for his pudgy little legs to stagger him about and goes on doing it until the evening of his days, duck, fur, feather, anything that comes."
People continue to be intrigued with this "big-little" dog with the aristocratic air.
The CSCA is the official
AKC Parent Club for the Clumber Spaniel.
