Hi! My name is "Laz R.Us", and I'm an English Springer Spaniel. Welcome to our place in the beautiful, southern Colorado town of Pagosa Springs, in the San Juan mountains. Please, 'bear with us', for it might take longer for each page to load, but, really! I think you'll find the wait very worthwhile! This site has long been a dream of my "Mom's", with her main desire just being-sharing "the wonderful joy of Springer Spaniels". Thanks for waiting for the slow page downloads, but my owners just can't pass up the great enjoyment of spending time observing and playing with us instead of doing the re-organizing this site needs; (I'd say 'sorry', but really, I'm not.)
My owners' highest, most heartfelt desire has been that they only do what is best for their beloved Springer breed, and felt they could do that by also bringing into the world some good 'baby examples' of what they're totally convinced is the 'best pooch' God ever made. Our first wonderful first litter adventure was back in the Fall of '06 when I was born. My folks said it was such a beautiful experience ("natch!") that they thought they'd like to do it again! So finally in Dec.'09 I got to be a daddy of five little beauties. Our very favorite people to meet are those who delightfully exclaim: "Oh! You have Springers?!" for they're usually always people who have had one at some time in their lives--'our kind of folks'! (We Springer Spaniels should come with a warning label: "one will get 'addicted to' us after having just one.") We hope you enjoy looking at our Springer Spaniel 'family'. My folks know we are one of God's most beautiful, endearing creations. Revelation 4:11; Jeremiah 27:5, James 1:17
taken back when I was a 'teen-ager'...(I've even perfected' this pathetic
'begging face' since then.)
I've had a camera in my face since I came out into the world (literally). So now I 'love hamming it up for the camera'.
"Maybe if we look really look desperate'she will hurry up and open the door." I've been wanting to tell you a funny-but it's hard to describe: Laz 'gives me lip' when he's in a hurry--sort of snap/rolls his mouth and his tongue in a very quick circle: "SLURP-CHOMP!" Laz asked me to tell you
he means it like
"PLEASE, do hurry."
Laz: "Here I am with my little 'bride "Ari"
Laz (above,left) and Puddin' (left) and with Barney( above) "We keep Mom from 'taking herself and/or life too seriously'--with us there is always something to smile/laugh about."
"WHOOPEE! Poppa's home!" (We have run to meet him at the door). My 'Dad', Barney, is looking at me funny, isn't he?...wonder what I said? Or maybe it was another time of Dad saying: "PULLEEEASE-use your INdoor voice."
Don't be afraid to do "Home BREEDING" (But just do some research first):
I finally came to the amazing realization that in 'today's world', most all of us have accepted the propaganda that
"home breeder=puppy mill"--that the word 'breeder' is BAD. I almost did buy into that too, but as an ex-biology teacher, realized that if some people (like me and some conscientious, ESS-loving, people whom I do know well) don't have some puppies each year, (and, yes, after careful study and selection of their sire and dam), then all the ESS that are left will be like my first nutty, "fruitcake" of an ESS that I got at the Humane Society over 40 years ago. (I still did love him very dearly, and even being a 'problem-child', he got me 'hooked' on Springers ever after.) If we truly love this beautiful breed, then it is so important that someone does attempt TO carefully breed with the goal of preserving its best qualities--especially good temperament and health. Also, sadly, I've heard that sometimes there are 'rescues' having a long time of waiting, or even 'rescues' who won't 'adopt out' to 'older' people. (Now that is one of the dumbest things I've heard yet! The older, retired generation is the one that has the time to spend on loving, training, & giving them the companionship that Springers absolutely crave. How good for them to have 'mature' folks to spend the day with and not be left at home alone.)
So with that 'established' then: I'll proceed to share with you: that our dogs are primarily 'bench bred'--showing more of their 'bench' background than 'field' background. I really researched pedigrees when we decided to breed again, looking for a lady or two with 'just the right blend of genetic lines' for my goals. (I'm not claiming to be an 'expert' and may be wrong, but have come to a 'studied belief' over these 45 "Springer years", that 'blends' (of bench and field) will help keep the breed healthier and stronger with fewer recessive genes coming out; There has been some, what is called 'inbreeding', in both bench and field backgrounds, (and done in all other breeds too) which is risky, easily making unhealthy, recessive genetic traits show up.) So we chose Ari who had bench champions in her sire, Bentley's side, and good 'field' in her dam's side. (Her champion relatives came out of "line" (the usual way -often the best), or 'outcross' breeding, without any apparent 'inbreeding'.) Ari and Laz produced a beautiful litter confirming these things and we had SO hoped to breed her cousin Hannah but just plainly ran out of time in our search for a good stud for her out here in the wilderness. If we are never able to breed another litter, don't you guys out there with beautiful Springers with healthy genetics (best you can find out)--EVER hesitate to. The U.S. needs more Springers--the home breeders, (no not puppy mills), seem to be diminishing so seriously consider helping us out. Just have your doggies checked for genetic eye, hips and elbows problems before breeding. Your vet will give you a 'certification' that you can present for your wise buyers.
I am called a"liver/white/tan- 'tri-color' "
We're very affectionate, loyal poochies. Uncle Danny, in the back, can tell when Poppa's coming when the car is still down the street a ways.
We love to play and we love to love. Laz: "wow! way to go, Dad!"
'Puppy family reunion' at age 8 months: taken as three siblings of our first litter are reunited at the home in which they were created/born, downtown Pagosa Springs, CO.-- a happy day!
Laz : "Here I am with my sister, Esther, (left). See her again below in 'puppy reunion' & again toward bottom of page .
Ma Puddin: "Wow! It really is you and Bo/Max, too."
Brother Laz: "Could it be you, Esther?"
Puddin' (to right): "Hold up, girl! You sure do 'look' familiar!"
"Remember me? I'm your ma!"
"See?!"
"All right! You do remember!"
"Whoopee!" group hug with my 'babies'
Brother (black/white/tan guy to left): "I'm now called "Max". I know I was called "Bo" before you left us. ("Bo" was short for "Boaz" in the Bible. The black/white sister was called "Ruth" to match (from that book of the Bible. However, she was adopted along with Max's brother Samson, so they changed hers to "Delilah" ...as you know--another "Biblical name" :O)
Speaking of those times: we see in these photos, "Old Times" in their historic old house, in which they were conceived and born in 2006; in 'downtown' by the park in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
"Uncle" Danny: "Well, I'll be a ...('puppy's uncle'!)-- they can do this outside,too?"
Note from Carolyn and George: "Barney and Puddin' produced this bunch of 'magnificent seven', (pardon me, but they really were :O). There were two (tri) liver/white/tan boys; two (tri) black/white/tan boys, one liver/white girl; one black/white girl. We didn't even advertise but God had already provided great folks to adopt them...fine folks who understood and didn't get insulted answering our 'questionaire'--of what kind of conditions our baby would go to, should they adopt them. Some had asked before we even bred. We do understand for they make outstanding pets whether for the 'couch' (lap) or field' (hunting). We kept one tri liver/white/tan fella. (our wonderful Laz)
''Answering the question: SO How Did You Guys Decide To Have More than Two or Three Springers? (and/or "why would you want to?")
In case you're ever thinking of having your own babies, (and I still highly recommend it), I hope you benefit as I share my first, painful experience. That was was seeing them go?...most especially, "Yes!", but hardest was losing "Esther"; the family that asked for a liver/white girl before the breeding had thought she was then 'promised' to them; (Puddin' had two girls,and the other little gal was black/white); however, I'd always been very careful to make the point with all interested buyers, that we were keeping 'the pick' of this litter'--whether male or female, preferably female though, since we were spaying Puddin' as a precaution for her health; but I 'succumbed to' the little kids' faces in this family; I believed them when they eagerly agreed to send us some pictures and updates of her.Well, even if that didn't happen, it turned out just as good for us that we also dearly loved her brother, Lazarus, whom we felt, "tied for the pick-of-the-litter position" and happily kept him but, therefore, needed later to get a bride for him as soon as we could afford to buy a little bigger place to live; That's how we discovered the joy of having even 'more Springers'! I later 'found' Esther again, seeing a sign out by a main road--that she'd had puppies so drove over, happily saw all of them out in the yard and took my own pictures. (see way on down). More to the answer: "It's easy and no kidding: Having more Springers equals having much 'more to love' and more beauty to observe."
I give you a 'close-up' so as to see where the other typical 'tan' markings appear on a 'tri-color' Springer, besides the face :O)
Here I am 'helping' Poppa clean up 'something-or-nother'
So now it's off for a good, fun romp... just like old times...
our AKC "Ari Rru Rru Ruth", born March '08
Website designed by Carolyn Y.Daniels --All Rights Reserved
Their most favorite toy:?... ah, the rubber toothbrush? ...the little rattle ball?...the squeaky
bone? NAH! these little angelic-looking "ruffians" loved the sock of Poppa's that they pulled off as he stepped out of the box, as well as the leash that brother "Bo" (later "Max") pulled from the wall. (right) :O) Even at 3-4 week, they thought they were "big stuff!"
Barney and Laz
(We are "Pagosa springers" ; not a site where they are sold, but where we share our continuing wonderful, joyFULL, adventures with our delightful English Springer Spaniels.)
'for some reason', (actually 'several'), we identify with this, very well illustrated--so well put, print by Vincent Strangio . We've included some of his prints with his permission in several spots, for we know they will 'touch a fond cord' with you ...especially if you already have Springers.
We bought these collars, above, for our doggies after hearing a tragic story from a lady, (not a 'sales' lady), here in town. So we wanted to present you with these links above for your consideration.
Esther really did seem to remember . even leaving us at 8 weeks old..
Laz's dad, Barney, now is training a new ball player/ recruit as of Oct.
09: baby "Hannah"
Laz say "cheese". Laz: "Sure! I'll say anything
for cheese!".
Laz: "I have fun bringing you smiles and with lots of affection, too!"
And we bet you didn't know 4 of our doggies are big 'screen stars'!
(we had fun doing this JibJab for some laughs)
(and, please, don't call the ASPCA.) We sent out this video of our poochies to our friends during the Christmas '07 season. Left to right: Barney, Laz, Puddin, and Danny. We just took pictures of the screen as we watched as you can see by the poor quality, but I thought you might get a chuckle-even with these 'stills'--just for some silly fun. (We think they've finally forgiven us for this now. )
"Somebody want to flip the light off, please?"
Here below are some Other Favorite Activities of Springer Spaniels:
(in addition to being great 'lap and feet warmers')
Other ESS activities: Flushing game for you... being your swimming buddy. (However, please note: Most all Springers adore water & love to swim, but we've had a couple that weren't 'as good' swimmers and needed xtra looking after, even a life jacket :O.)
Running Agility Races
Doing Search and Rescue
Six of these pics (immediately above) are from Dog Fancy Magazine's "America's Favorite Dogs" Special Ed featuring the ESS Vol.41
The ESS are of 'world renown': above are 2 English Springer rescue dogs with their Japanese handlers in a Chinese earthquake area.
Here's Laz, the 'lap-dog' (right, & with his momma Puddin' left) , doing one of our favorite 'activities' with our ESS: "Springer -coffee time". Springer affection sure starts your day out 'right' ;O)
This was back when I was in high school. Back then I didn't know he was an ESS. His name was "Louie", and he and his owner/trainer, Bob Williams, were on the Ed Sullivan Show and here (on the link) on the Bing Crosby hosted "Hollywood Palace Christmas" show in '65:
And... speaking of 'screen stars', I hope you'll watch this clip below which shows the first Springer I ever saw and immediately fell in love with. (We think that they 'frizzed his hair' for the act:):
What you feed your dog DOES make a big difference! We have found putting more money into a higher quality dogfood has made a significant difference for our Springers health over the years. After much research and trial and error, we have settled upon the Fromm's and Great Life and these other brands, feeling they good quality'. No, we don't get anything from these companies, but for your dog's sake we wanted to share that we have had observably good results using these to right. Most importantly, having said that, neither we nor our dogs eat anything, without our first asking the Lord to bless it. So He deserves the thanks first. :O)W
"Lazarus" our 'baby boy'- sure grew up!
Below are a few pictures of our second litter born Dec.13,'09.
God blessed us, through Ari and Laz's litter, with five beauties that exceeded our highest hopes and expectations for which we're very grateful to Him. At top- left is 'day one'; top right: after week 1, &the rest are on their fifth week 'birthday'.
Laz and Ari had 5 babies: a boy and girl--both liver/white/tan; another boy and girl-both black/white/tan,
and a very 'benchy', handsome black/white fella.
In Loving Memory of our
Beloved "Danny Dog"
March 25, 1996-April 2, 2010
We draw much consolation from God's Holy Word, the Bible, to us. for example: Revelation 21:4 "and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain..."
(and yes, we have a lot of tears for we miss him so much. )
We thank the Lord for the 14 years full of love and happy memories Danny gave us.
a 'tribute' in honor of a very special Springer: "Uncle" Danny-Dog
His 'bang' trick
"Elvi"-his Elvis impersonation
He loved his frisbee and Kong
But most of all, Danny just loved being with us--wherever we were, so we know he's awaiting our arrival in Heaven for the 7-year 'wedding celebration', for the Scripture (1Cor.2:9) promises that " eye hath not seen , nor ear heard , neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for those who love Him." And we do love Him and realize it'd be no big thing for Him to prepare--that beloved doggies who've already gone on would be there waiting our arrival, and He is the loving, only God Who would do such a thing for His sheep.
God is loving, holy, and just. When mankind decided to act independently from, and disobey, Him in the Garden, that was the entering in of ' sin' into the world, and with sin ,death entered too. Romans 5:12. Not making us like will-less robots, God had already planned a way to save those who choose to trust Him, at the same time satisfying His just requirement-that of not ignoring 'sin' but requiring responsibility for it; From the beginning He knew He'd have to save us by providing a sinless, spotless, substitute for us helpless ones, born with the Adamic sin nature. Only that sinless One could take our place--So God in tremendous love for us did it Himself, giving us His only Son. I hope you'll read 1Peter 1:18-21 and 2Timothy 1: 9-10 says Jesus "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel ". And you'll also love what He did for us, reading Hebrews 2: 9-15.
If you're not one of "His flock" and we could help you come to know Him and , thus, how to enter His kingdom, feel free to contact us; better yet! get a Bible out and ask Him to show you, especially in the New Testament, for example in the books of Romans and John. He rewards the real seeker...with Himself! --the 'BEST GIFT' to all mankind. Hebrews 11:6
He loved for you to rub his paws and legs.
See this little girl on left side of this picture at upper right? Look below and at right at how beautiful "Lilly" is already at 8 mos
The black and white fella above with white tipped tail is our "Ted D." (below) on his 1rst birthday Dec. 13, '10
Gracie and Ted D. with Mama Ari.
"The girls"& Laz in middle, March '11, intently waiting for the signal to head outside; I'd thought of using 'clicker training' which is good, but our doggies have always been great at watching your hands. (ok, maybe they're not 'trained', but certainly do love their Honey Nut Cheerios treats; also, they don't 'do wheat' as well as they 'do oats'.)
l.to r. Lilly, Milo, Beau
"Beau"
with part of 'his' great family & a birthday cake, too!
"Milo"
"Gracie"
"Gracie,... Milo, Lilly, and Ted D."
left: we just want to share these harnesses--they're very good, easy and fun to use. Our pooches and we love them.
Video on how to give CPR to doggies:
Please, I hope you'll seriously consider what is presented in the links below, siting many doctors of veterinary medicine, researchers, etc. about "vaccinosis": the serious health hazards in many vaccinations, especially yearly ones. (be sure and see part 2 of this first one,also)
"Baby Esther" with her new family--now named "Maggie"
"Lilly"
SpringerTime in the Rockies
This is a difficult thing to think on but I want to give you warning about a very common problem with the breed--"separation anxiety". It can happen fast when left without their family. They will cry and chew things-- this beautiful girl from our first litter, later died after eating a rug while her family of 5 kids she had been with since age 6 weeks, were off on a long vacation. I know her keeper did the best they could but it was a sad tragedy. Please try and keep them with you always (or 'for Pete's sake': get a cat!)
we have observed better health in our dogs giving them this: it helps them better digest their foods especially as they get older.
helping Papa clean 'something or other'
Get you a vet that provides a rabies vac that doesn't have thimerosol (mercury) linked to adverse reactions, in it like one made by Merial.
I love and recommend highly a great website called dogsnaturallymagazine.com (www)
Nutrisource
