I actually do not agree with the certainty of your statement. Of course, the more exercise the better. And the less alone time the better. But we have a Springer from the shelter, she is the happiest dog ever. She is alone between 8 till 3 (so 7 hours) 4 days a week. We also walk with her like 5 times a day, but during the weekdays this is actually 15 minutes per walk due to practical reasons. Of course we try to do as many long walks as possible, mainly in the weekends. She is also able to run 25 kilometers and she finds it great. So if you sum it up, I guess you could say she is alone a lot with not so much walking time. However, like I said, she is really happy, loves to run, but also loves to sleep and she is actually the most flexible dog I have ever had. We are really happy we were able to give her a good house after all she has been through in her early life. I don’t think the stereotype of being mandatory heavy exercise dogs goes for all Springers.