The Spaniel Annals

working and living with performance spaniels

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about

I’m a retired English instructor, now devoted full-time to training, showing and enjoying my spaniels in many sports.
I’m an English college instructor by trade, a dog trainer by vocation. And lifelong baseball fan.

About

This blog is about life with my Spaniels, who are my companions and team members in various performance events.  Obedience trialing is one of our main sports, where the dogs are evaluated on their heeling, retrieving, jumping and complex distance exercises.   The other is freestyle, where we perform a complex routine of tricks and movement behaviors set to music. We also compete in tracking tests, and occasionally enjoy hunt tests, dock diving and barn hunting. Sometimes we dabble in conformation, which is the “beauty show” of the world of dogs.

My current spaniels are:

Kerrie is my young English Springer Spaniel, out of VinEwood kennel in Minnesota. I had been talking to the breeder for literally years with the idea of getting a springer from her “someday,” until “someday became “now.” I’m so pleased with Kerrie, who is a friend to all and shows all the work ethic, energy and enthusiasm in her work that I could hope for. We’re currently training in obedience, freestyle and tracking, and hope to do some dock-diving soon, as she comes from a dock-diving family of springers.

Brian is a blue roan English cocker who is a nephew to Robbie. In his first 3 years, he has displayed wonderful work ethic and athleticism, as well as being a delightful companion who loves his ball.  He’s earned his Tracking Dog title, his CD (novice obedience) and Intermediate Freestyle Dog.  Lots of fun in his future!

Robbie is a delightful English Cocker Spaniel I got as an adult.  He excels as a companion (if only we gave titles for that), and he also enjoyed obedience and freestyle.  From 2017, he sadly struggled with numerous health issues that we were unable to get to the bottom of.  Despite the mysteriousness of his health, Robbie earned his show championship, a CDX, a novice freestyle title, and a senior barnhunt title.  In 2021, we finally had an answer on Robbie’s health issues: he has Addisons, a disease that attacks the adrenal system.  He is now on medication and doing so much better, but in the meantime clearly indicated to me that he was done doing performance work and just wanted to be my best buddy.  Now age 12, so he is!

9 responses to “About”

  1. The Natural Retrieve: Intensity « The Spaniel Annals Avatar
    The Natural Retrieve: Intensity « The Spaniel Annals

    […] About […]

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  2. Diane Bartlett Avatar
    Diane Bartlett

    Laura,

    I found your blog quite by accident, and I’m so glad I did.
    We have corresponded before, I am owned by
    Tory, Tripleb-Milestone’s Keepsake UD JH RN NA OM1, my gordon bitch. Tory has 6 UDX legs (she is
    7 1/2) and I’m also busy with my one year old sheltie
    bitch Payton, Prelude’s Wild at Heart.

    I’m just starting to think about getting a gordon pup, hopefully using my frozen semen from Tory’s
    dad Ch. Bob CDX JH RN. It’s fun to watch your
    videos, and I can hardly wait to catch up on your earlier blog entries, especially since there is so much I want to do different (better) with my next Gordon!!

    Diane Bartlett

    Reply
    1. ballylynnspaniels Avatar
      ballylynnspaniels

      Hi Diane,
      I’m so glad you wrote! Keep me posted on your UDX journey with Tory. Vita just couldn’t pull it off; she finally told me pretty clearly that she liked birds better than obedience. I’m really hoping this new puppy will have more drive, and I so want to do right by her. So far she’s a ball of fire, just what I wanted. Let’s stay in touch!
      Laura

      Reply
  3. Diane Bartlett Avatar
    Diane Bartlett

    Tory’s dad Bob was a Hobie grandson, and Bob was
    dual bred on both sides. He had work ethic to
    burn, so I think you’ll be pretty happy with your
    new girl, who is her sire?

    Tory is a nice bitch, but inconsistent and a bit lazy
    too. I go back and forth about boy vs girl and I can’t say I love one over the other. Tory is not
    “into” other dogs or people, so she isn’t easily distracted. Bob was high energy, and loved to work
    but his nose got him into trouble. Both of them were/are sweetest, nicest pets you could have.

    I’ll keep you posted. We just showed last weekend, and are done until later this summer. Time to take some stuff apart and fix those things that have
    “unraveled”. It has taken 17 shows for 6 UDX legs.
    I am hoping to have the “final four” by the end of this year. It has been an interesting process and I’ve
    learned so much, it is amazing. (Tory is my first UD
    dog and “B” class dog.

    Diane

    Reply
    1. ballylynnspaniels Avatar
      ballylynnspaniels

      Diane,
      Sounds like our dogs are pretty closely related. The sire is Ch Gordon Hill October Sky CD JH, so Gael has Hobie on both sides. “Sky” is out of Ch Gordon Hill Sea Gem Sportster and FC Gordon Hill Leeward Ho.

      I’m very impressed by your 6 UDX legs. I’ve had three UD dogs now, and my current springer, Kani, is the first one that I think will go on. I put some boogie monsters into the training of my first UD, and the second was Vita, who didn’t like obedience much (although I tried!) and also had some health issues. Hopefully Kani will be my breakthrough dog, but right now we’re in a valley where she’s flunking one thing here and there. We’re having to go to “no cookie” boot camp, because I think she’s thinking about her cookies and not her work.:-) It’s an interesting journey to take her on, because I’m finally getting the mistakes in practice that I’ve been getting in the ring. She’ll go back in the ring in August.

      I’d love to hear more about what you’ve learned in the UDX process. It’s a great accomplishment!

      Reply
  4. Diane Bartlett Avatar
    Diane Bartlett

    Laura,

    This is my instructor’s website: http://www.lauraromanik.com/index.html
    I’m lucky that she is less than 90 minutes
    from me. I take a private lesson from her
    monthly. I see that will be doing a seminar
    in your neck of the woods next year. I think
    you might like it. She does alot of work with
    people who need to get the treats cut down.
    I initially went to her local seminar “bridging the
    gap from training to showing”. Since then
    I have been working with her for about 18 months.
    She has helped me with warm up procedures,
    handling, and things to do to keep my dog up and
    focused between excercises as well the actual
    training of the exercises. I went to her with my UD
    already, and she is now working with me to start
    my sheltie.
    Tory isn’t overly thrilled with obedience, but I’ve told
    her that she is done after the 2011 national
    in Ohio and she gets that 10th UDX leg !!! The B
    class folks around here are incredibly talented and very nice so I’ve gotten alot of support and helpful hints and great trainers to watch show, handle and
    warm up too.
    The biggest “trick” to getting the best runs with Tory is to be sure she is committed in the ring and
    in her warm up, and NOT doing what I call “phoning
    it in”. When she does that, she can get thru an
    excercise, because she well proofed, but she isn’t thinking, just going through the motions. Those are
    the runs where she won’t work her front, she’ll just
    land somewhere at my feet, she won’t heel, just wander about on my left side etc. After a utility run just like that last Sunday morning, I figured we had
    nothing to loose in Open, so I actually put a training collar on her and gave her a few light corrections,
    and made her commit to setting up quickly, trying to
    find front, and putting some effort forth. She went in, did a nice job, got 195.5. I’m LEARNING how to warm up the dog I take out of crate at each show, since she isn’t always the same, and the day two Tory can be very different from the day one Tory!!

    Reply
  5. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    It is very fun to see your spaniels and they are beautiful! We have a springer named Reagan and he is the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. Also, it is cool to get to see see some more of David Hopkin’s dogs(he’s a cousin). They are always beautiful!

    Reply
    1. ballylynnspaniels Avatar
      ballylynnspaniels

      Hi Christine,
      yes, I remember the Presidential litter. Reagan must be close in age to Rozzie and Reardon. Thanks so much for writing! Laura

      Reply
      1. christine Avatar
        christine

        Ironically our Reagan isn’t from the Melcris line………..we lived on the west coast and my husband on a whim bought our Reagan. He’s 4 now and a perfect angel to our 10 month old daughter. Out of our three dogs he’s the only one she “talks to” by name!

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