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Clumber Spaniel

mellow / amusing / gentlemanly
Sporting Group >>

Average sizes and life
expectancy of the breed.

Height

18-20 inches (male)

17-19 inches (female)

Weight

70-85 pounds (male)

55-70 pounds (female)

Life Expectancy

10–12 years

Breed Traits & Characteristics

Affectionate With Family
  • Independent Lovey-Dovey
    80% 80%
How affectionate a breed is likely to be with family members, or other people he knows well. Some breeds can be aloof with everyone but their owner, while other breeds treat everyone they know like their best friend.
Good With Young Children
  • Not Recommended Good With Children
    60% 60%
A breed's level of tolerance and patience with childrens' behavior, and overall family-friendly nature. Dogs should always be supervised around young children, or children of any age who have little exposure to dogs.
GOOD WITH OTHER DOGS
  • Not Recommended Good With Other Dogs
    60% 60%
How generally friendly a breed is towards other dogs. Dogs should always be supervised for interactions and introductions with other dogs, but some breeds are innately more likely to get along with other dogs, both at home and in public.

Shedding Level

  • No Shedding Hair Everywhere
    60% 60%
How much fur and hair you can expect the breed to leave behind. Breeds with high shedding will need to be brushed more frequently, are more likely to trigger certain types of allergies, and are more likely to require more consistent vacuuming and lint-rolling.

Coat Grooming Frequency

  • Monthly Daily
    40% 40%
How frequently a breed requires bathing, brushing, trimming, or other kinds of coat maintenance. Consider how much time, patience, and budget you have for this type of care when looking at the grooming effort needed. All breeds require regular nail trimming.

Drooling Level

  • Less Likely to Drool Always Have a Towel
    80% 80%
How drool-prone a breed tends to be. If you're a neat freak, dogs that can leave ropes of slobber on your arm or big wet spots on your clothes may not be the right choice for you.

Coat Type

Corded
Curly
Double
Hairless
Rough
Silky
Smooth
Wavy
Wiry
Canine coats come in many different types, depending on the breed's purpose. Each coat type comes with different grooming needs, allergen potential, and shedding level. You may also just prefer the look or feel of certain coat types over others when choosing a family pet.

Coat Length

Long
Medium
Short
How long the breed's coat is expected to be. Some long-haired breeds can be trimmed short, but this will require additional upkeep to maintain.

Openness To Strangers

  • Reserved Everyone Is My Best Friend
    80% 80%
How welcoming a breed is likely to be towards strangers. Some breeds will be reserved or cautious around all strangers, regardless of the location, while other breeds will be happy to meet a new human whenever one is around!

Playfulness Level

  • Only When You Want To Play Non-Stop
    60% 60%
How enthusiastic about play a breed is likely to be, even past the age of puppyhood. Some breeds will continue wanting to play tug-of-war or fetch well into their adult years, while others will be happy to just relax on the couch with you most of the time.

Watchdog/Protective Nature

  • What's Mine Is Yours Vigilant
    60% 60%
A breed's tendency to alert you that strangers are around. These breeds are more likely to react to any potential threat, whether it's the mailman or a squirrel outside the window. These breeds are likely to warm to strangers who enter the house and are accepted by their family.

Adaptability Level

  • Lives For Routine Highly Adaptable
    80% 80%
How easily a breed handles change. This can include changes in living conditions, noise, weather, daily schedule, and other variations in day-to-day life.

Trainability Level

  • Self-Willed Eager to Please
    80% 80%
How easy it will be to train your dog, and how willing your dog will be to learn new things. Some breeds just want to make their owner proud, while others prefer to do what they want, when they want to, wherever they want!

Energy Level

  • Couch Potato High Energy
    60% 60%
The amount of exercise and mental stimulation a breed needs. High energy breeds are ready to go and eager for their next adventure. They'll spend their time running, jumping, and playing throughout the day. Low energy breeds are like couch potatoes - they're happy to simply lay around and snooze.

Barking Level

  • Only To Alert Very Vocal
    20% 20%
How often this breed vocalizes, whether it's with barks or howls. While some breeds will bark at every passer-by or bird in the window, others will only bark in particular situations. Some barkless breeds can still be vocal, using other sounds to express themselves.

Mental Stimulation Needs

  • Happy to Lounge Needs a Job or Activity
    60% 60%
How much mental stimulation a breed needs to stay happy and healthy. Purpose-bred dogs can have jobs that require decision-making, problem-solving, concentration, or other qualities, and without the brain exercise they need, they'll create their own projects to keep their minds busy -- and they probably won't be the kind of projects you'd like.

Affectionate With Family

  • Independent Lovey-Dovey
    80% 80%

How affectionate a breed is likely to be with family members, or other people he knows well. Some breeds can be aloof with everyone but their owner, while other breeds treat everyone they know like their best friend.

Good With Young Children

  • Not Recommended Good With Children
    60% 60%
A breed's level of tolerance and patience with childrens' behavior, and overall family-friendly nature. Dogs should always be supervised around young children, or children of any age who have little exposure to dogs.

GOOD WITH OTHER DOGS

  • Not Recommended Good With Other Dogs
    60% 60%
How generally friendly a breed is towards other dogs. Dogs should always be supervised for interactions and introductions with other dogs, but some breeds are innately more likely to get along with other dogs, both at home and in public.

Shedding Level

  • No Shedding Hair Everywhere
    60% 60%
How much fur and hair you can expect the breed to leave behind. Breeds with high shedding will need to be brushed more frequently, are more likely to trigger certain types of allergies, and are more likely to require more consistent vacuuming and lint-rolling.

Coat Grooming Frequency

  • Monthly Daily
    40% 40%
How frequently a breed requires bathing, brushing, trimming, or other kinds of coat maintenance. Consider how much time, patience, and budget you have for this type of care when looking at the grooming effort needed. All breeds require regular nail trimming.

Drooling Level

  • Less Likely to Drool Always Have a Towel
    80% 80%
How drool-prone a breed tends to be. If you're a neat freak, dogs that can leave ropes of slobber on your arm or big wet spots on your clothes may not be the right choice for you.

Coat Type

Corded
Curly
Double
Hairless
Rough
Silky
Smooth
Wavy
Wiry
Canine coats come in many different types, depending on the breed's purpose. Each coat type comes with different grooming needs, allergen potential, and shedding level. You may also just prefer the look or feel of certain coat types over others when choosing a family pet.

Coat Length

Long
Medium
Short
How long the breed's coat is expected to be. Some long-haired breeds can be trimmed short, but this will require additional upkeep to maintain.

Openness To Strangers

  • Reserved Everyone Is My Best Friend
    80% 80%
How welcoming a breed is likely to be towards strangers. Some breeds will be reserved or cautious around all strangers, regardless of the location, while other breeds will be happy to meet a new human whenever one is around!

Playfulness Level

  • Only When You Want To Play Non-Stop
    60% 60%
How enthusiastic about play a breed is likely to be, even past the age of puppyhood. Some breeds will continue wanting to play tug-of-war or fetch well into their adult years, while others will be happy to just relax on the couch with you most of the time.

Watchdog/Protective Nature

  • What's Mine Is Yours Vigilant
    60% 60%
A breed's tendency to alert you that strangers are around. These breeds are more likely to react to any potential threat, whether it's the mailman or a squirrel outside the window. These breeds are likely to warm to strangers who enter the house and are accepted by their family.

Adaptability Level

  • Lives For Routine Highly Adaptable
    80% 80%
How easily a breed handles change. This can include changes in living conditions, noise, weather, daily schedule, and other variations in day-to-day life.

Trainability Level

  • Self-Willed Eager to Please
    80% 80%
How easy it will be to train your dog, and how willing your dog will be to learn new things. Some breeds just want to make their owner proud, while others prefer to do what they want, when they want to, wherever they want!

Energy Level

  • Couch Potato High Energy
    60% 60%
The amount of exercise and mental stimulation a breed needs. High energy breeds are ready to go and eager for their next adventure. They'll spend their time running, jumping, and playing throughout the day. Low energy breeds are like couch potatoes - they're happy to simply lay around and snooze.

Barking Level

  • Only To Alert Very Vocal
    20% 20%
How often this breed vocalizes, whether it's with barks or howls. While some breeds will bark at every passer-by or bird in the window, others will only bark in particular situations. Some barkless breeds can still be vocal, using other sounds to express themselves.

Mental Stimulation Needs

  • Happy to Lounge Needs a Job or Activity
    60% 60%
How much mental stimulation a breed needs to stay happy and healthy. Purpose-bred dogs can have jobs that require decision-making, problem-solving, concentration, or other qualities, and without the brain exercise they need, they'll create their own projects to keep their minds busy -- and they probably won't be the kind of projects you'd like.

About the Breed

The Clumber Spaniel, the largest of the AKC flushing spaniels, is a dignified and laid-back hunting companion of royalty. The friendly Clumber is a funny best buddy and a gentlemanly flatmate for people who don’t mind some shedding and drooling. Clumber Spaniels are strong, heavily-boned, long, and low-built bird dogs with enormous heads. A little female may weigh 55 pounds, while a huge male may weigh 85 pounds. They measure 17 to 20 inches tall. Clumber movement is loose and effortless despite being designed to push through dense cover in the field. White dominates the dense coat, with sporadic lemon or orange patterns. Clumbers are kind and laid-back at home, but these adventurous guys may be persistent when it comes to smell.

Clumbers are intelligent and eager to please, and they learn quickly. Clumbers are amiable dogs, however, they can be a little reserved around strangers. They only bark when they have something to say, so they don’t make very good watchdogs. They provide reliable playmates for kids and enjoy swimming and fetching.

 

What To Expect When Caring For a Clumber Spaniel

Owning a dog is not just a privilege; it’s a responsibility. They depend on us for, at minimum, food and shelter, and deserve much more. When you take a dog into your life, you need to understand the commitment that dog ownership entails.

Health

Clumbers are mostly a healthy breed, although some diseases can occur, such as hypothyroidism, which can cause skin and ear problems, as well as entropion or ectropion, which causes the eyelids to turn in one direction or the other. Like many other large breeds, Clumber puppies who grow too quickly may develop eosinophilic panosteitis, which they often outgrow. The breed is also prone to hip dysplasia. The length of the Clumber body makes them somewhat more susceptible to intervertebral disc disorders (cervical and thoracic). Some Clumbers have experienced immune-mediated hemolytic anemia; all should abstain from using sulfa medications.
Recommended Health Tests From the National Breed Club:
  • Hip Evaluation
  • Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Phosphatase 1 Deficiency (PDP1) DNA Test
  • Elbow Evaluation
  • Ophthalmologist Evaluation

Grooming

Regular ear cleaning is essential for all breeds with hefty, lowset ears to prevent ear infections. Regular wipings with a damp cloth are needed to remove the thick wrinkles on the head. If wrinkles are not kept dry, it is simple for a yeast infection to develop, which is unpleasant for the dog and has a foul odor. Monthly trims are recommended to maintain short nails. For a dog who isn't working often in the field, once a month is typically plenty to bathe them. Clumbers don't need a lot of trimming; their coat is very easy to care for and only has to be thoroughly groomed once or twice a week with a brush and a medium comb.

Exercise

The Clumber, despite their stooped appearance, can be a very energetic dog. They will benefit from extended walks with periodic sniffing pauses. Clumbers enjoy retrieving, so they can get plenty of exercise while running after a tennis ball in their own garden and spending time with their owner.

Training

The Clumber is dependable and steady, thorough and persistent. Because of their propensity to pause and consider things before acting, they can occasionally be difficult to train. Make training sessions engaging to prevent trainees from looking for more enjoyable activities and diverting their focus from what they are learning. Most people need a justification to follow instructions. However, they do not respond well to a strict trainer.

Nutrition

It is crucial that a Clumber maintain a healthy weight because being overweight puts stress on the bones and joints that support the breed's powerful, substantial structure. All the nutrients required by the breed should be present in premium dog food that is appropriate for his stage of life (puppy, adult, or senior). You might need to feed your dog low-calorie dog food if your veterinarian suspects that it is getting overweight. Clumbers have a strong focus on eating. If you choose to utilize rewards during training, use them sparingly. Never give your pet any cooked bones or fatty table items.

History

We can pick up a trustworthy trail in the late 1700s at Nottinghamshire, England. According to one researcher, early Clumber history is “lost in a tangled web of folklore and misinformation.” There, the Duke of Newcastle and his gamekeeper developed a hefty spaniel that they named Clumber Park after the duke’s sizable estate.
Clumbers became a favorite among the many titled families and landed gentry gamebird hunters in the area. Since the duke’s time, British royals have enjoyed Clumbers, including Edward VII and George V (an influential Clumber breeder in his day). By the standards of the breed’s supporters, the Clumber is cheeky, mischievous, stubborn, devoted, and entertaining, but he never loses the air of regal dignity that distinguishes him as a companion of crowned heads. Clumbers were on the scene for the very first British dog shows, held in the mid-1800s. They were introduced to America, by way of Canada, around the same time.