Springer Spaniel help

[typoqueen]

long story short, son's ex g/f drove 150 miles to dumped the dog they bought together on my doorstep, we as a family have decided to keep him but having no experience of Springers I need some advice regarding feeding, he is 9 months old, and he stinks, he farts endlessly and it is pure evil, he is walked 3+ times a day and manages to poop 3/4 times on each walk and the odd accident indoors, is this normal for this breed? He was always on pedigree chum so its the food I have continued to give him, he has 1 can + biscuits divided into 2 meals morning and evening, should I change the food? please help we are being totally gassed out here

Someone with more experience will be along shortly I'm sure. But I didn't want to read and run.
Feeding twice a day soudns fine at 9 months old. I would say he needs to be on a puppy food at that age or at least a junior food to make sure he gets the right nutrients for development. I don't feel that Pedigree is a good food and it might be making him poop more (the more fillers in a food the more poop). Try this website to decide what to feed him based on your budget and whether you want to go grain free etc.
(As an aside we feed our 5 month SpringerX wainright's puppy food and he poops once after each meal and once in the morning so about 4 times a day as he is given 3 meals. His occasional farts do still stink though, not sure much can be done about that!)
He shouldn't be pooping that often but it may not be just the food that is causing that. He's probably a bit anxious as he's just been moved home and he might miss your son/ son's ex. So his toilet habits may change as he gets more settled. It seems like you are walking him plenty, though at 9 months he shouldn't be getting much more than 1-1.5 hours a day because of his joints still developing (again someone more knowledgeable might be able to advise).
Springers need mental stimulation too as they're an intelligent breed. Some clicker training might reduce the amount you need to excercise him as he'll be more worn out mentally and thus calmer. It will also help you to develop a good bond with him.

I would take him to the vet to be checked over and ask them about feeding etc. They might give you a free check over.

This dog training page is run by registered dog behaviourists and they can help with any questions as well as putting you in touch with good trainers in the area.

Hope that helps :)

Personally, I think pedigree chum is rubbish. My dog (Springer cross) lets off the odd stinky dart but she only poo's twice a day and it's nice and solid. We feed Autarky puppy food. It's about £20 a sack. It's not the most expensive, we've also used James Wellbeloved which is good quality. But dpup loves the autarky and is thriving on it. She's 7 months.

We were told by our vet when we got our rescue dog that wet food, particularly pedigree chum isn't very good. Dry food is much better in terms of nutrition as well as looking after teeth,
Unfortunately the rescue dog was very picky and would rather starve than eat dry food, although the who we have now have only ever knowin dry food and are fine on it. Pooing that often certainly doesn't sound normal and I agree that he might be better off with junior food at the moment.

Move him off of chum ( it's poor quality and makes them stink ), they are crazy dogs, full of beans and need a lot of training but are also very loyal and loving, the amount of poop should reduce if you change his food.

Autarky dog food is great for working breads ( and other breads ) and is reasonably priced.

Go on the website MostAmused linked to and look for a dry food, pedigree isn't a good food at all.

A good quality grain free food and no treats will clear the farting and excessive poos.

We use Millies Wolfheart (suitable for puppies) and rarely get smelly wind (when he's had extra treats) and he does just two small firm poos a day.

be careful with dry food they only need a bit, I gave my springer/lab cross James Wellbeloved dry but I would fill his bowl 1/3rd full and each night he would puke it back up. I now soak it overnight and it swells up so much that 1/3 full bowl fills up to a full bowl. So make sure you don't give them too much. BTW he poos twice a day solid not runny and doesn't fart

Thank you everyone for you replies, I will certainly be looking at changing his food now, I always thought Pedigree chum was one of the good ones, possibly change him to a good quality dry food as you all suggested, as I said before I have no experience of this particular breed, so ill probably be back with more questions :) he has only been with us a week but we have all grown to love him despite his stinky butt :) xx

Springers are beautiful dogs. We have fed all of ours burns. Like others have said, a dry food with little or no wheat or maize based ingredients.

I currently have an eight month old puppy who has half and half puppy and sensitive.

I've had a springer spaniel for 6 years now, I would suggest move him on to dry food, I give mine wagg and add water to it otherwise it will expand in his stomach. When he gets to a year old feed him once a day. If your going to give him wet food try him on chappie it's cheap too! My dogs farted too and they smell like the sewers so don't worry!

A grain free quality dry food will not swell in your dogs stomach. It's the cheap grain fillers that swell.

Human doctor not vet, but…

As everyone else has suggested, change him to a better quality food. If that doesn't settle his bowels, he needs to be checked over by a vet. Dogs can suffer from inflammatory bowel disease which could be causing his symptoms.

If you don't already have pet insurance, get it BEFORE the vet appointment - once any diagnosis is made, it is much harder to get insurance.

Our springer did fabulously well on Naturediet, one or at most two tiny solid poos a day and virtually no farting!