The typical Spaniel is friendly, eager to please, quick to learn and willing to obey. In the right circumstances, it can be an affectionate and easy-going family dog. Its alertness and attentiveness make it a good hunting companion. A typical Springer Spaniel will often choose one person in the family to be most loyal to and stick with that person as much as possible, they are often referred to as a 'velcro dog'. The English Springer Spaniel ranks 13th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs and is considered an excellent working dog. It has exceptional stamina and needs moderate amounts of activity, to focus its mind and to provide exercise, although this is different for each dog. Blind Retrieve An adequately trained and experienced working springer can be expected to use all of the aforementioned attributes to be conducted by hand, whistle and command to a position whereby an unmarked lost game bird can be picked and retrieved to hand.