The Spaniel Annals

“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Gael’s groovy heeling

August 22, 2011

This past year, I’ve struggled with getting Gael to trot when she is attention heeling. I’m still using a lot of food, but no matter what, she has so much reach and drive that I could only get her into an extended walk. Finally on the suggestion of a German Shepherd friend of mine, I went back to basics: a white spoon as a target and peanut butter for Gael to lick. Voila! While at some point this big target will need to be faded, at long last she can start getting the muscle memory to consistently trot at heel.

As I was video-taping her progress, I discovered that Flip cameras have a simple movie-making program. So below is my first movie, a fun little clip of Gael playing and heeling over the past year. The initial scenes in the training building show her doing her extended walk, and the later scenes outside are more recent as she’s beginning to trot. I know they’re not the best quality, but I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to finally see her trotting!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

The Enumclaw obedience trial: too hot to handle!

August 21, 2011

After four wonderful novice performances, Reardon and I bit the dust at the Olympia Kennel Club show in Enumclaw. I just can’t seem to handle heat these days, and in 85+ degree humid heat, with a swampy brain and sweaty legs, I couldn’t handle Reardon properly in his novice class. We had 2 no-sits (which cost us 3 points each), and then some sloppiness on the off-lead heel, stemming from my inability to get myself together after that initial no-sit. A trainer I trust told me after our performance that I made handling errors that caused many of the problems. Poor Reardon!

Although this is the first problem Reardon has had with halts, it’s been a problem with my other dogs, so I’m determined to get my halt cues fixed. I have a master plan: heeling, heeling, heeling through all the commands (mostly by myself), and taping commands that I respond to as I practice. If I’m ever going to accomplish my obedience dreams, this issue has get cleared up. My dogs are too good to get a crummy handler.

I have to admit I not only came to this trial too hot and uncomfortable, but also with residual stress from a hectic summer teaching quarter and some major disappointment: my two bitches, Journey and Rozzie, who I’ve been training all summer to compete in the Labor Day Spaniel hunt tests, are both coming into season. That means they can’t run in the test, and the next tests aren’t until next spring. This also means Journey can’t compete in Open at the IWSCOPS summer specialty. Aargh!

On an uplifting note, great news came from OFA:

This is Reardon’s OFA report, giving him EXCELLENT hips! He also has normal elbows and patella. Excellent ratings are not easy to come by, so this was an exciting bit of news. Too bad Reardon had to be neutered due to an auto-immune disorder, but with his sister also earning a GOOD rating, and his brother’s OFA rating on the way, this shows good hip health across the board in this family line.

“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

We’re famous!:-)

July 17, 2011

Geeshy-peeshy. I was idly checking the new ratings published by the national obedience magazine, Front and Finish, only to find that Roz and Reardon (better known as the “R-babies”) are at the top of the national rankings for their Rally Novice titles last year. They only competed three times for their three legs, but look at the rankings for the entire Sporting Group and then for English Springers. They’re in the top 10 in the country in the Sporting Group, and the two 2 in springers! (Hint: Reardon is “Melchris Royal Bard” and Roz is “Melchris As You Like It.”)

Top 10 Sporting Group
1	Creole’s Rough Ryder CD RN S Davis (Labrador Retriever)	120
2	Creole’s Cafe Au Lait CD RN J Theisges/S Davis (Labrador Retriever)	91
3	Mrl N Dfl Whatever It Takes RN M Lindquist (Cocker Spaniel)	76
4	Sunfire’s Answer To A Prayer RN C Mcguire (Golden Retriever)	74
5	Dd’s Fairytail Princess BN RA TD OA AXJ D Spak (Golden Retriever)	68
6	Sunkissed Electric Blue L Flora/R Flora (Golden Retriever)	62
6	Comstock Honora’s Anam Cara JH NA NAJ OF N Hayes (Golden Retriever)	62
7	Honey Bear’s Red Ranger CD RA MJP4 PAX MFP T Dulock (Golden Retriever)	60
8	Melchris As You Like It RN L Burns (English Springer Spaniel)	59
8	Bdr Waitnsee At Epiphany RA A Dodd (German Shorthaired Pointer)	59
9	Garnet-Thaar’s Olympic Gold RN M Coody (Vizsla)	58
9	Goldruls Luckey Sam I Am RA R Mashaney/C Mashaney (Golden Retriever)	58
10	Adirondac’s Koura Tiki RA TDX SH NA NAJ N Light (Golden Retriever)	56
10	Melchris Royal Bard RN L Burns (English Springer Spaniel)	56

English Springer Spaniel
1	Melchris As You Like It RN L Burns (English Springer Spaniel)	59
2	Melchris Royal Bard RN L Burns (English Springer Spaniel)	56
3	Starlites Irish Patty Quinn RA C Larson (English Springer Spaniel)	43
4	Camelaird’s Time Passage C Pulliam/T Lowe/K Payton (English Springer Spaniel)	40
5	Dream’s Without Warning BN TD NA NAJ S Kucaba/T Kucaba/T Griffith (English Springer Spaniel)	31
6	Aubrey’s Run For The Roses CDX RA MX AXJ OF K Schelling (English Springer Spaniel)	30
7	Kirwin Lucky Sevens E Beinert/J Fredricks (English Springer Spaniel)	29
8	Topguns Vinewood Hott Summer Dayz CD RA SH OA OAJ K Patregnani (English Springer Spaniel)	28
8	Serenade’s Sprite CD TD JH K Spalding/A Hutchinson (English Springer Spaniel)	28
9	CH Dalin’s Let Freedom Ring RN M Nickoli/L Fong/J Fong (English Springer Spaniel)	27
10	Timbermist Accolade RA D Connelly (English Springer Spaniel)	26

Wow, way to go, R-babies!!!

“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

A triumph for Gael

July 17, 2011

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 covered walkway (great in the Northwest rain). Up until Gael first’s season, she was bold and confident in these venues. Perhaps she wasn’t always so focused, but she was a baby. Then all of a sudden, without any trigger that I know of, these shopping centers became places of danger for her. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate, her tail would be tucked, and she’d shiver and try to bolt. Obviously this was not only worrisome and inhibited any training with her, but it was also dangerous. One time she broke the lead when she tried to bolt. Fortunately she ran into a grassy area and I was able to call her to me. Once this fear period started, I had to completely revamp my goals for her in these venues. There were sessions when I simply sat with her, feeding her when she relaxed, and letting people pet her. It was great for my Starbucks addiction, but we weren’t getting any actual training done.

Yesterday morning showed a dramatic improvement. Why? I have no idea, other Gael maturing. With the help of big chunks of hot dog and a foxtail (yes, a real one), Gael played, did fronts, and heeled, all with enjoyment and much improved focus. She never got into that “fear zone” I’ve been seeing. I also made sure we stopped training before that zone hit, so our little session lasted maybe 5-7 minutes.

I remember seeing on an obedience yahoo list recently the dangers of using too much luring with food. However, I also can hear the voice of Terri Arnold in my mind from a long-ago seminar, saying, “Do whatever it takes to get the dog’s attention. Whatever it takes!” The context was young dogs in new venues, and she wasn’t referring to corrections, only to the motivators used. That was my mantra yesterday, and will be for the next several weeks as we continue to build on Gael’s new-found confidence.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

A Tale of Three Trials

June 14, 2011

I’m feeling exhausted but happy from a demanding schedule of 3 trial weekends in the last 5 weeks, occurring at the end of a school year. Roz finished us up with a bang, by earning her second novice leg yesterday at the Puyallup shows and a 1st place! Her score was a very respectable 196.

A year ago I never would have thought Roz could have handled the distracting, stressful environment of the Puyallup Fairgrounds. We’re on a second floor and the flooring can literally shake at times. There are ceiling-high red curtains at one end of the ring, and lots of echoey barking, people talking, crates being moved. Yet both Roz and Reardon showed wonderful effort in paying attention to me and doing their part.

The other issue that struck me this weekend was how discouraged I’ve felt in the past few years with all of Kani’s failures in the ring. A friend of mine with multiple OTCH dogs was surprised to hear me say this weekend how much Reardon’s CD meant to me. With all of her successes, she doesn’t realize how a long string of failures can undermine confidence. I’m certainly hoping that Reardon’s and Roz’s recent accomplishments signal a turn-around.

Another happy postscript is that Journey is now done with caring for her litter of puppies and is back home with us. While the poor girl is still heavy with milk, she seems thrilled to get back to her training. Welcome home, Journey!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Sometimes tears, sometimes joy

June 12, 2011

Life with performance animals can be such a roller coaster ride of tearful disappointment and loss and in the next moment, exhilarating joy.   In my last post, I wrote about Kani possibly having to retire. That’s now been decided. A urine culture told us that Kani is carrying FOUR pathogens, two of which are highly resistent to antibiotics.   She is now on heavy duty antibiotics for three weeks and then we do another culture. I suspect we’re on a long road of recovery and/or simply keeping the bacteria at bay, and at this point asking her to perform competitively would be too much for her.

The only one suffering anguish about this decision is me. Kani still sleeps on the pillow next to mine at night, still does a few obedience exercises in the backyard most days, and gets her daily dose of cookies and pets. Dogs are gifted with a wonderful ability to accept the Now and be fully present in it.   I’m grateful for that.

Meanwhile the roller coaster took me on another exhilarating journey this last weekend. Kani’s son, Reardon, performed in his second novice trial and won High in Trial with a score of 199 out of 200 points! While it was a small trial, there were several highly competitive OTCH dogs there, and the judge had a tough pencil.   I was thrilled with the score, but I was even more thrilled that Reardon was so  committed to doing his part.   It’s hard to articulate, but he really seemed to get that his 5 minutes in the novice ring were all about him, and that he was participating in a performance. And perform he did!

A postscript a week later: Reardon completed his Novice title with another 1st place in his class. This last leg was completed at a challenging venue for a green novice dog, so I’m very proud of how hard Reardon worked at this trial, despite some nervousness on his part. Now we’ll go back to training and cleaning up some things that have gotten sloppy in these last two weeks of trialing. There are specialities for springer spaniels coming up in July and August, and we’ll certainly be competing in them.   I’m very excited about Reardon’s debut!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

A Dream Deferred

May 24, 2011

A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Today is a waiting day. Waiting for urine and blood test results for Kani. After a winter of recuperation from some health issues, and a steady improvement in her obedience trialing this spring, Kani’s performance at this last weekend’s shows in Lynden can only be described as “crash and burn.” In a light Friday night training session before the trial, I noticed a slight loss of responsiveness from her. Then I remembered the other dogs had been smelling her rear recently, and on Thursday I had had to groom out a discharge in her rear pants that smelled odd. I immediately thought we were heading back into yet another bladder infection. A urine dipstick gave some worrisome signs: high white blood cell count, protein and nitrates in the urine. These are not only signs of an infection, but also of the kidneys not properly processing nutrients and toxins.

Yet she seemed okay otherwise, so I showed her. Saturday she reverted to her old problem of ignoring the down signal in the Utility signal exercise, and running through her drop on recall in the Open class. I returned Sunday with some careful Saturday night training and Sunday warm-up before we went in the ring. Utility was a mess, with Kani very stressed, so we skipped Open and went home.

Today I wait to hear back on lab results for blood and urine. The bladder infections have become so frequent, and her last blood test was a bit worrisome. My trusty book by Dr. Pitcairn suggests renal disease.

Kani was going to be my dog that would do it all. She had willingness, intelligence and athleticism. She would be my first OTCH and UDX dog, and show everyone the beautiful work a springer is capable of. She came to me at 5 months and we’ve been training ever since. But in all likelihood, this is the end of that journey. While she will always sleep on my bed and be my best girl, there is still a loss of special relationship, and the end of many hopes and dreams. While it’s most important that she can live for many more years with good quality of life, I am grieving for what is coming to a close.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Just A Bit Obsessed

May 14, 2011

Sometimes I realize to what degree the sport of obedience trialing requires an almost obsessive love for delayed gratification. The video below presents Reardon’s debut in the Novice Obedience ring. He did a wonderful job, winning the class and earning a 196 out of 200 points, and ½ point away from the High in Trial score.

The routine we do doesn’t look too complicated. In fact, Reardon makes it look easy. But behind this successful debut is 3 ½ years of training, starting when Reardon was a 7-week-old puppy. While we certainly didn’t train just for this set of exercises—he knows the advanced obedience exercises too, better than any novice dog I’ve trained—the degree of attention he shows, the precision on turns and sits, and the willingness to concentrate in a distracting location are all on-going projects for any dog training at this competitive level for the obedience ring.

Beyond that, I ponder the easy appearance of Reardon’s performance. Italians have a word for a kind of beautiful performance, sprezzatura, to describe a performance that is intensely complex and difficult, but is made to appear graceful and effortless by the performers. I like to think Reardon’s first novice run approaches this degree of sprezzatura. Or at least shows a glimpse of it.

Where did he lose his points? He lost 1 point by moving a foot during the judge’s exam that follows the figure 8 heeling pattern. He lost another point somewhere in the heeling on lead, but his big blooper came right at the end of the off-leash heeling, where he decided he had figured out the heeling pattern and would complete the last about-turn on his own, thank you very much! I have to laugh about it; here’s a dog who’s never been in the novice ring before, already injecting his own comments on events. He’s not being disobedient or distracted; he just wants to get on with things. That blooper cost us 2 points, but I’m happy to see him so confident right at the beginning of his showing career. Way to go, Reardon!

It’s Rozzie’s turn tomorrow, in the pouring rain if the weather reports are right. I’m glad we trained in the rain on Thursday.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Gotta train, even in the rain

May 11, 2011

It’s 2 days before Reardon and Roz debut in the novice obedience ring, in the obedience trial put on the regional German Shepherd club. Based on weather reports of a few days ago, I chose today to train at the show site, Carco Park in Renton. I figured I’d put up half of a ring, get them out on the grass, and have Kani practice her directed jumping and scent articles since she’s also entered in Saturday. Well, funny how the weatherfolks can’t seem to predict past the next hour in a wet Northwest spring. Today it’s been heavy rain all day. But this afternoon was still my only opportunity to get them to the show site. So off we go: extra pairs of shoes, winter jacket, 3 layers of shirts and a hat. And that’s just for me!

Three hours later, we’re back home, bedraggled and soaked but with a great training session behind us. Reardon and Roz had a full novice run-through, including off-leash heeling, and Kani practiced her more challenging exercises. They did great! I think I was the only one complaining, as my tennis shoes got increasingly squishy and the rain dripped off my hat. But it was worth it, giving them a chance for an upbeat session right before the trial. I’m excited to see how Reardon and Roz (referred to by a good friend and supporter as the “R babies”) will do in their first trial.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Emotional Control and the Stay

April 17, 2011

I’ve been re-reading Patricia McConnell’s great book  For the Love of a Dog, and came across the point she makes about stays: that they teach a young dog not only physical control, but also emotional control. She’s so convinced of this that she even has an addendum in the book with the details about teaching sit stays.

Recently I’ve been contemplating the need for Gael to learn more physical control. She’ll be a year old in just a few days, April 24th, and she’s bright and eager to work. I think she’s ready to handle more rigorous work with her stays and also holding a dumbbell. While I typically wouldn’t start some of this work this early with a 1-year-old springer, there’s something different about Gael–her intensity, her toughness–that tells me she’s ready. Besides, her lack of physical control is beginning to get a little over the top. She’s a strong, quick dog whose exuberance has not always been easy for this aging trainer’s body to handle. I want to keep the exuberance but get it a bit more within some boundaries.   Getting emotional control at the same time would be great!

Gael’s stays up to now have been problematic. She understands the position, but she twitches, turns, flip-flops, moves feet here and there, and generally shows no understanding of where her body is or what it means to stay still. So I’m borrowing a stay technique I’ve seen used for dogs who are nervous about stays in the ring: a box made out of PVC. The one I’m using is actually the old PVC front board for my since-passed Gordon Setter, Vita. This box provides an enclosure so that if Gael moves at all, she’ll be touching the PVC.    Surprisingly enough (or maybe I shouldn’t be surprised), it’s working beautifully! Gale is sitting quietly in her box, now for over a minute at a time, with no creeping forward or getting up:

Before this, Gael’s downstay has been even worse than her sitstay. She flip-flops over onto various hips, creeps forward, gets up, and any other possible movement she can think of. Amazingly, here she’s doing a quiet downstay for over a minute with no movement:

Interestingly, with the incorporation of this PVC stay box, Gael’s dumbbell hold has taken a leap as well. Before she was willing to hold it quietly in her mouth in a sit, but refused to get up and move. All of a sudden, she’s now willing to move forward some steps with it. Emotional self-control? I’d like to think so!

I love these training breakthroughs where I and the dog learn something new at the same time. Two “ah-ha’s” are always even better than one.