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.

Category: English Cocker

  • Toy retrieve is back!

    Brian’s play retrieve went on hiatus the last few weeks, which I chalked up to teething issues.  It’s back this morning!  The lighting is awful for this video, but he’s picking it up and bringing it all the way in.  Yay!  He did 3 of them, and I included the one where he falls over…

  • 14th week!

    Brian hit his 14th week birthday this Wednesday, and has had lots of adventures that I have been lax about posting!  A play visit with his sister and a haircut, some spaniel training parties, more tracking and his new online obedience class starting.  This weekend he’s off to a hunt test training event, where he’ll…

  • Puppy tracking

    Brian joined in on our tracking session today, with his 3rd baby track.  He had moments of distraction, but also had good moments of finding the yummies on the track.

  • The Pool!

    Brian’s weekend adventure was an introduction to water with a wading pool.  After looking at all the dog pools on Amazon for $100 on up, we opted for the Fred Meyer $10 special.  Brian’s first reaction to water was, shall we say, underwhelming:   After this, Brian managed to find a hole in the fence,…

  • Back to tracking

    Yesterday Robbie trained at the hardware store and Brian came along.  I took Brian into an outdoor area of the store where I’ve never seen many dogs, so I felt safe in doing some engagement work, playing with a toy and other basic exercises.  I was really pleased with his attention on me despite the…

  • Off to school!

    Yesterday we took off for a nearby elementary school to let Brian explore the world while Robbie worked away from the property.  With COVID-19, I’ve been training far too much at home, and Robbie really needs that work in new(er) places.  So of course Brian came along to play on the playground equipment, do some…

  • Training in the building

    Another new adventure was coming along with the big dogs to the training building, and having Brian’s first little training session.  While watching the other dogs train, the first day Brian put up quite a shriek of protest, and I had to just wait him out for a quiet moment in order to give him…

  • Tracking practice!

    Brian’s second day of adventures meant coming along to Robbie’s tracking practice, which I’m starting up for the summer with a friend who wants to track her young Irish Water Spaniel.  So Brian got to meet Martha, a new human, get his feet muddy and see the wide world of the Snoqualmie Valley for the…

  • 1st day at home

    I’m already behind on posting Brian’s adventures.  For now, his “new experiences” simply mean being exposed to new areas of our property, and the first one is the dog yard that opens out onto our pasture.  He certainly showed no concern about… the ramp leading down from the deck that Jeff added on for old…

  • Brian

    And to respond to the question of the last post, the answer is: “BRIAN” QUINLAN’S HIGH KING DOB: April 29, 2020 I was originally just the temperament tester for this litter, as all the pups were spoken for.  Brian was exceptional in the testing: handled the restraints well, retrieved at first attempt, followed despite some…