A Springer is a flusher. You don't want the dog hunting 30yrds out. You will never get a shot because the bird will be 35-40yrds when it gets up. The more they hunt at that distance, the harder it is to break them. It is better to start atclose and then range out. A pointer will point the bird and hold. A springer at 7mo old has to be trained to stay and hunt near you. That is where the 10ft cord comes in. This means you have to do the quartering with the dog giving left and right hand signals until he knows what he is to do. Once he is quartering left and right then you increase the length. I can go on and on, but I suggest buying the book.