For the last 70 years Springers have been bred for either the field or the show ring.  A litter of Springers will only produce one specific type of dog, either dogs for show or dogs for the field.  That does not mean that a show dog can not accompany you hunting.  It means that his true identity in the Springer world was for show.  Just like everyone can sing, but not everyone can be a singer! 

 

To find out your Springer’s true identity, you need to look no further than his AKC registration.  If his parents and grandparents are registered with the title Ch preceding their name, that means they are a Show Champion.  Therefore, your Springer was bred for show! 

 

If you find the title of AFC, FC, NAFC, NFC preceding his parents and grandparents’ name, then you have a field Springer.  All of these titles are for Field Champions!  Four titles are awarded by the AKC Field Trials.  AFC means Amateur Field Champion.  This title is awarded to a dog whose owner trains and runs his own dog and is not in the business of training field dogs for a living.  FC means Field Champion.  While an amateur can run his own dog for this title, he will be competing with professional trainers.

 

NAFC and NFC are titles from the National Event that is held once each year.  NAFC means National Amateur Field Champion and NFC means National Field Champion.  To compete in the nationals you must have won a field trial within the last year.  The Nationals only award one Springer the coveted title each year!  

 

Other titles you may find are CFC (Canadian Field Champion) or NCFC (National Canadian Field Champion) or FTCH (which is the UK’s field champion title).

 

These working titles follow the dog’s name, CD, CDX, UD, TX, TDX (all of these are obedience titles) and JH (Junior Hunter), SH (Senior Hunter), MH (Master Hunter). 

 

The last dual champion Springer was a Show Champion and a Field Champion in 1947, as the standards for show Springers and field Springers are constantly spreading in different directions.

Tags: afc, akc registraton, amateur field champion, canadian field champion, cfc, fc, field breed, field champion, field springer, field trial, ftch, nafc, national amateur field champion, national canadian field champion, national field champion, ncfc, nfc, obedience titles, show breed

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 11:37 am and is filed under Springer Tails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.