The Spaniel Annals

working and living with performance spaniels

recent posts

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.

“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

The Pool!

July 13, 2020

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:

Well, Uncle Robbie seems to like it?

Wait, waaah???!!?

Think I’ll just stay out here….

After this, Brian managed to find a hole in the fence, and the entire activity devolved into grabbing puppy before he runs off to the front of the house. I’m not ready to life-test his recall yet. Suffice to say the next priority is plugging up that hole…

Brian’s other “new” introduction over the weekend was to the “2-ball game,” which teaches him to play with two toys, releasing one to go to the other. It develops the basis for “outing” an object more naturally. While I don’t have any pictures for this, I soon realized he was not ready to have both a retrieve and switch to a new toy all at once (he started picking up the new thrown toy and immediately dropping it), so we are backing up to just playing and tugging, switching back and forth between two toys at play. I’ll try to have some video later today. I’m looking forward to getting more adventurous once Brian has his next set of shots next week.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Back to tracking

July 8, 2020

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 very distracting environment. I’m sure that will change, as right now he’s pretty dependent on me. Adolescence will hit at some point in the coming months…

Today we headed back to the tracking fields, and Brian got to have a bit more of a walk. He did not show any amphibian tendencies…

He enjoyed exploring more, despite the loud noises of the fertilizer spreader…

And he proudly took charge of walking on leash…

Another good day for the puppy!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Box Game!

July 7, 2020

Today Brian got to play a box game, where he has to find the cookie in the box. I discovered he’s just a little small for these boxes, and so will need to cut off the tops, but he has a good nose and seemed to enjoy this activity. You can see he is really into offering me sits right now (not a bad problem to have), so a game where he has to work independently is a good thing.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Off to school!

July 6, 2020

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 baby recalls and focus work, and simply be in a new place for training.

First he learns to wait his turn to train! He cried a little at first, but then settled down while I trained Robbie nearby.

Some of what I wanted to do involved Brian getting up on new surfaces (safely). I discovered this playground equipment wasn’t really good for that, but we did find one step:

Climbing down from one level to the next:

After this, we did some baby recalls on leash in the grass, and then I saw a man with two dogs (leashed) coming towards us, so I decided we were done. A good adventure for Brian, new worlds, all good things.
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Training in the building

July 5, 2020

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 his turn. I did learn that covering his crate so he can’t watch also helped. He is a very quick learner and loves to “do stuff.”

In our first session, I unfortunately blocked the camera, so here’s a partial session from the next day. (The entire session was maybe 8 minutes, with lots of play, cuddles, and silliness.) We started with engagement–just me and him, no toys or food–then shaping onto a platform. I’m still learning about shaping, so my timing isn’t always the greatest, but he caught on quickly. Then we played with his natural retrieve. When the dog is so willingly bringing it back, I don’t want to always be taking the object from him immediately, hence the chasing around and petting him with the toy in his mouth. He’s a great little guy!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

The Pasture!

July 5, 2020

Next adventure was Brian’s first experience of our pasture. Of course I tried to get photos of him running through the wildflowers, but my timing and his constant movement didn’t always come together. So far, nothing gets him down!

There was always the opportunity for a little baby recall practice:

And Brian first got to meet the other dogs on his own. They are being very patient so far:
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Tracking practice!

July 4, 2020

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 very first time. In a few weeks, he’ll start baby tracking too!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

1st day at home

July 4, 2020

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 and young dogs:

Stairs up to the training building:

Plus we played with puppy recalls:

And somehow he always ended up right here:

A very good first day!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Brian

July 3, 2020

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 inadvertent distractions, jumped right into the scent game, and in general showed boldness mixed with strong attraction to people. Afterwards, I simply could not stop thinking about him. When I walked into Michelle’s grooming shop the next day to play with him some more, and secretly to persuade Michelle to let me crash her owner list, she immediately said, “I think there’s a male home available!” The previous home had backed out. My next 2 playdates with Brian supported the findings of the test. And so the universe arranged for this pup to meet up with me at just the right time.

By the way, the name has a special origin for me: Brian Boru was the first king to unite all of Ireland in the 9th century, and so was the first “High King.” I’ve kept this male name in waiting for years, and it has at last found its owner.

My rather ambitious plan is to introduce Brian to new places, people, sounds, and events for the next 100 days, and to jumpstart this blog, I plan to post as many photos and records of this socialization journey as possible. I might not hit every single day, but if you enjoy cute English Cocker pictures, stay tuned!
“When violence begins, training ends”
Anonymous

Change

July 1, 2020

Our house has seen dramatic change in the past year, with one dominant personality leaving us last November with Reardon’s passing, and then we lost Journey in March, after a valiant battle with cancer that was diagnosed in January. For some weeks it was clear she wanted very much to stay with us, but in the last days, she was not eating and multiple times collapsed in front of me. The disintegration of an animal with so much vitality and intelligence was deeply painful to watch. She is the best obedience trial dog I’ve ever had, and I’m grateful for every moment we had together. She is my first UDX dog and nearly made it to an OTCH with 71 points out of the necessary 100, with many High in Trials and High Combined awards. In these months afterward, I can still feel a gut punch realizing that this amazing presence is truly gone.

Ch. Whistlestop’s Journey To Freedom, UDX, JH, RN

And so we have become a three-pack: Rozzie, Robbie and Gael. Rozzie, at 12.5, has had a blossoming with the more dominating dogs gone (especially Reardon), and loves playing scentwork games in the training building. Robbie is working on his CDX (with 2 legs completed before the COVID-19 shutdown), and Gael…well, Gael loves running in her pasture. It has been peaceful and just a little sad, especially with all the turmoil in the world today. It has been a useful time for me to reflect on my life in dogs, and consider where I will focus my energies next, as retirement from my “real” job approaches. Journey took me on a such a wondrous journey of partnership and attainment; what journeys await me and with who?