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: puppy training

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • A triumph for Gael

    Yesterday Gael made a major transition in her training.  It might sound like a little transition, but not to me and Gael!  In the past several months, Gael has developed a phobia about training at shopping centers.  I routinely train at places like outlet malls and shopping strips because they provide distraction and usually have a…

  • Puppy natural retrieving

    When Susan Desilver described Gael’s litter to me over the phone, one of my first questions was, “which puppy likes to carry things around in her mouth?”  What I was looking for were early signs of a natural retrieve.  In my earlier posts about the natural retrieve, I talk about how much it reveals in…

  • Learning to Learn

    The most important thing a puppy can learn is how to learn–that learning is fun, that it comes in relationship to a human, and that it’s something she is good at.  After 6 days with me, I’m so impressed at Gael’s attitude, drive and intelligence.  Beyond the socializing I need to give her in the first…