The press coverage on that dog, the books about her, and the instant attention brought a nationwide following. People started buying English Springer Spaniels in great numbers. Unfortunately, many of those buyers were more concerned with trendiness and underestimated the needs of the breed. What happened too frequently was disappointment and abandonment. It reflects a more realistic understanding of the wonderful aspects and honest drawbacks of living with a premier sporting breed.
Dalmatians are another case in point.
There had been some people, pretending to be breeders, who indiscriminately produced many puppies to try to achieve quick profits. This caused an explosion in the Dalmatian numbers. Most of these people have now been culled from the market, probably moving on to other now-trendy breeds. There was a backlash against the Dalmatian when some of these poorly bred Dals did not perform well, or did not display good true Dalmatian characteristics. This seriously damaged the breed's reputation.