English Cocker Adventures

ugh- its been soo long!

2009-04-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have been bad- I'll admit. But, amidst all the homebuying, wedding planning, etc I have just run out of time for blog updating. Fortunately, after the wedding and honeymoon in 3 weeks I will be back and our doggie activities will resume. We are starting an agility class in June which I am SUPER excited about!!!! I have been neglecting my dog grooming even, which normally I am a stickler for. I picked up my rescue sheltie's paw the other day and looked at her toenails and realized it had been 3 WEEKS since i had cut nails!!! *Kelly if you are reading this don't think badly of me please!* I am ready for all this wedding stuff to be over so I can go back to what I like to do on the weekend- my doggie related activities. The good news is the furbabies have settled nicely into their new home and are loving it. We are having stained concrete put in shortly after we get back from the 'moon and I am looking forward to vacuuming a little less, just hand me a swifter and I am good to go! The yard is great- size wise that is- we have a ton we want to do with it. It is basically like a blank canvas with one immature tree. We will be planting a few more trees (the fiancee' is getting me a 15ft live oak for a wedding present- swoon!) We got the living/entry way and dining room and kitchen painted as well as the master bedroom and bathroom before we pooped out on painting so needless to say the doggie room/hobby/guest room is white still : ( but hopefully once things have slowed down I can move the pups and other shtuff into the office temorarily and paint in there. We love our new home! And there is room in our master for some comfy doggie beds which are already being enjoyed. *I referenced the guest room being the doggie room earlier and for those of you who don't know already I do crate my dogs during the day while both of us are at work, I feel safer that way, no chances of anyone getting electricuted eating a cord or ingesting something otherwise that would be toxic. However,the furkids do sleep in our room at night. * Anyway...already big plans for the reliant show in Houston- hopefully Ms. Suki's front end will decide to cooperate between now and then
:p I am optimistic. I do feel like things are improving- albeit slowly, but most dogs have an 'awkward' stage no matter what so I have tried not to be discouraged. I love her like crazy even if her front end has been going a little goofy the last couple of months! The good news is she is now pretty much completely housebroken. Not to say she doesn't have the *occasional* accident but they are so far between now I feel confident saying that, I think I read somewhere that the standard is like 2 weeks or something. Anyway...basic (and I do mean basic) obedience is progressing nicely, she now knows 'wait for it', 'sit', 'off', 'come' and I built a little tunnel in our yard and have been trying to 'prep' her for agility with 'tunnel' commands. Still working on 'stay' she is just soo excited she has a very hard time keeping her wiggle butt on the ground or waiting in one place for more than 5 seconds! She will do it but protests by whining exuberently " mom, this is sooo boring! This cannont possibly be a command! I don't do anything!" I know she will need stay for agility so we will dilligently continue to work on it until june. She keeps me busy thats for sure! We moved into a very dog friendly neighborhood, which is great *however* i must say that I do not under any circumstances, even on our quiet street approve of people allowing their dogs to run loose in their front yards and yes, unfortunately, this has already been a problem. My primary issue with this is safety. Our street is quiet, but cars do come down it, and being a residential street not all of them are going to be 'on the look out' for dogs in the road. Secondly, I have a hard time getting a peaceful walk in the morning when every dog in the neighborhood runs out of their front yard and has to come smell my kids. Thirdly, and perhaps most disturbingly, the only dogs that have shown any agression are our across the street neighbor's three labs- they charged us one morning before we even got out of our driveway right after we moved in. Now, this guy is a police officer, so I would thing he, if anyone, should know our town has leash laws. *IF* and only if your dog is under complete and total verbal control do I think they should be allowed out loose in an unenclosed area. I do work my older girl with obedience in our front yard/driveway without a leash *but* and this is a big but- she is completely under my control at all times and she was well into the advaced stages of off leash work before we started doing this and if I even see a car approaching/dog approaching/person on bike/ etc. even though I am 100% confident she will do nothing but sit there, I still go and grab her collar till they have passed. As is probably obvious by the fact we got charged and I had to pick suki up and hold her in my arms to keep them from coming after her these labs are NOT under control of any type. The wife of this officer first called them repeatedly (which they paid no attention to ) and then finally trapsed across the street to try and retrieve them, which was pretty unsuccessful as she pretty much had to drag them away. You know what I got? Not even an apology, all she said to me was "well of course you can control yours they are on leashes". Umm...yes, they are and yes they are under control, I think that is the point?! Sorry to rant, its really not that big of a deal, and they have made more of an effort since then to not allow their dogs in the yard unleashed but its just infuriating to me- of all people they should be setting the example of responsible law abiding pet ownership.

Anyway....thats all for now.
I hope I can update again before the wedding but if not expect some pictures afterwards : )

Ok, some updated plans

2009-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Just some updated plans....Feb 21, I will be attending a sanctioned B match and gearing up for march. I sent in my entries today for the San Antonio Combined specialites March 7,8 (it actually is four days but I figured that would be just a bit much for Suki since she's still pretty young) on the bright side it was a major last year in bitches so maybe (?!?) you never know, if nothing else at least there will be a little competiton in the ring. THere is also a BIG show in Cleremore OK March 21,22 which I am seriously considering goint to, I believe it was also a major last year. What else to come....oh yes, we are starting our obedience training as well...the austin area club is where we will be going. I will be concentrating more heavily on my sheltie Wyatt as far as regular AKC competiton obedeince goes but will also be getting Suki going on her obedience training, I am thinking of just entering her in a RallyO class rather than a regular competition obedience class. I think she would have more fun with that, it is more laid back, more fun...and well...thats suki for sure! I am soo excited about the next couple of months! I am even thinking as far ahead as the reliant series of shows in July in Houston....I would LOVE to have her entered there in both the match and in a Rally O class! Suki inspires me everyday by how intelligent, montivated and loving she is capable of being. I am so impressed by her every day! Jordan (the fiancee') was reading an article on line the other day about the most intelligent breeds of dogs. I think shelties are ranked number six...he commented that he thought Suki picked things up just a quickly and with as much enthusiasm as either of the shelties and I am totally inclined to agree! (even though they were not ranked on the list...boo) Anyway...I need to post some updated pictures! Suki has been growing sooo much....she went slightly pigeon toed for a short period but that has almost totally self corrected and she is looking more gorgeous than ever. I really think it will be her personality and expression that make her stand out in the ring...she has that incessant wiggle butt and she just thinks shes a pricess already...(we might tell her so every now and again as well )...Oh. And I just wanted to say that I have been slowly converting my dogs to eating 75% RAW and 25% kibble. I have already seen a drastic diference in my male sheltie who just couldn't keep on weight on dog food, no matter what kind I bought! I will continue to feed 25% proplan just because on a day when for whatever reason I can't get RAW or am unable to feed it they will still be used to eating *some* kibble. I also love the fact that I actually know what I'm feeding my dogs. A turkey neck is a turkey neck, I know the amount of meat that is there...a beef neckbone is just that....I also do some supplementing with ground turkey and some veggies mixed in as this should be a small part of the diet. And, of course, some fruits. I know RAW feeding is not for everyone and at first I thought it wouldn't be very cost effective but then I just did the math and found it really won't cost me any more than buying just kibble every month. It *is* a little more time consuming. I do have to think ahead, remember to defrost things and make sure I get to the grocery store 2-3 times a week but that is the only downside I have found and I definately think it is worth the small amount of extra work. And I'll be honest, I don't like touching raw meat very much but there is something very natural about seeing my dogs with a RMB (raw meat bone)...I have done lots of reading on this and will continue to do lots more...one of my main concerns was safety, i didn't want to feed my dogs something that would make them sick. I will not feed raw Pork because of the risk of trich, but I feel pretty comfortable with poultry and beef. Anyway....thats all for now folks....

Its sure been busy!

2009-01-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh, I came on here to update and realized it has been far too long! We have been sooo busy though. We are in the process of buying our first house and planning a wedding! Both of which are very exciting but very time consuming. I had origionally entered Suki in abilene but was unfortunately not able to go( we found a house and spent the whole weekend going back and forth with offers and counter offers). We are still working hard on our 'show skills' and improving day by day. Its been muddy paws weather down here and I am thankful we have hardwood floors in our home so that the mud is not such a big issue. (mopping a floor is much easier than shampooing a carpet) in fact that was one of the major stipulations as we were house hunting. I definately did NOT want carpet in the main living areas. I am soo excited as well because the master bedroom in our new home has plenty of room to stack crates so all of our fur babies will now be able to sleep in the bedroom with us at night! I do wish the house had a little bit bigger yard but it is sufficiently sized and laid out in a way that I will be able to put in a dog run and have a seperate 'people' yard. It also has a very nice (albeit not very large) building with electricity so I can do my grooming out of the house and will have AC/heat to be more comfortable. We feel very very blessed to be able to buy a home in such a tough economy and even more blessed to be able to do the things we love (like dog shows). I am thinking it will probably be April before I get suki out again to a show( sad, I know). We will continue to go to class in the mean time. Normally my life is not nearly this hectic but frankly I just have a lot going on right now. Seeing how awesome Suki's sister did at her show this last weekened (congratulations confetti!!!!!) I am really anxious to get her out. *the worst part about missing this weekend was missing Brent Vanmeter, but he promised he would be at more shows in texas this spring and to just let me know where I would be in April and hopefully we can meet up then* Anyway....I wish I could be more places at once! I'm sure everyone feels that way sometimes. I promise I won't be so delinquent in my posting.....

B Match

2009-01-05T07:14:00.001-08:00

So, the weekend is over and I feel like it was overall a great learning experience for Suki. She did well at the B match, she was a total goof when she went in for her class but was much improved for group with all the 'big' dogs. She was once again not afraid of anything, dogs, people, things on wheels, noises, smells, she was very receptive and curious to everything which is great. I will post more inclusively about the weekend soon!

post christmas

2008-12-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

Not too much new happening since christmas, my furbabies got lots of goodies...suki did get her aformentioned clippers and subsequently a good grooming. I hadn't realized how hairy I'd let her get! Thanks to Kelly having introduced her to them(clippers) so young shaving her face and neck down were prettymuch without any excitement. Shes still a little fuzzy but definately more sculpted than she was! I have been utilizing Kelly's excellent advice as far as getting Suki to stack more solidly on the floor- it is helping! I am getting really excited about this weekend-its just a B match, but I love shows, I love especially watching the professional handlers and have found that I can pick up on a lot by monitoring what they do both when the judge is and when they aren't looking. I think most handlers really love what they do- I can't say thats true for all of them, but the really good ones do. They become surrogate parents to the dogs they handle. One of my very favorite handlers to watch is not one that is a big name handler, but he does handle dogs for a lovely sheltie kennel. There was one particular dog they were pushing who was very very shy and when he first started showing was totally shell shocked. After a few shows with his handler (and many weeks in between not at the shows with the same handler) there was a very noticable difference in his demeanor. I observed the handler would get on the ground in the ring with this dog when the judge was examining others and just play with him like they were all alone. I know of course, that the handler wants to put points on this dog, and I know that he is getting paid to promote him, but watching him on the floor just playing with and loving this little previously nervous creature always makes me smile. Since, said little male sheltie has gainted several points towareds his CH. He is a lovely dog whose qualities are undeniable but without this handler loving him so much and giving him the right environment and security to succeed in he might never have.
While I doubt very seriously if I have to worry about Suki being shy or nervous, I think the lesson I have learned from watching said handler with his protege' is that sometimes you just have to let loose and remember it isn't all about winning and it is what the showing can do for the dog that is so important. I think this holds water in all aspects of canine competition, obedience, rally, agility- anything where you may train and try and strive and still fail. Anyway....kind of long winded I know...more to come...

Christmas...

2008-12-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

I hadn't written anything in a little while so I wanted to update everyone. Suki is of course doing well...she is enjoying the 'cold' weather snap we have had lately and just seems anxious to play outside as much as possible. Her sheltie brother Wyatt shares her exuberence for the cold and they have spent countless hours chasing each other around the yard recently. Suki is getting a new pair of clippers for xmas (don't worry I have included some items she will actually be excited about as well!). Tommorow is the dallas sheltie club annual christmas party which I will be attending with Dottie. Ohh! And some big big news I want to share! Dottie has a litter of six beutiful new sheltie babies out of CH. Belmark Lo and Behold and her own amazing blue girl Ch. Matinee All that Glitters! Three blues and three tris ! Mom and puppies are all doing well and I can't express how thrilled I am for Dottie and Ruby, they deserve such a wonderful blessing more than anyone I know. I get to see them for the first time tommorow and perhaps will have some pictures to post after this weekend. Nolan River is only a few weeks away, the weekend after next, and I am excited to go, I am entering suki in the B match that saturday.

food for though

2008-11-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

I think Suki maybe one of those dogs who you don't even say the word 'cookie' to in the ring. She is soooo excited even before food is brought into the picture and then once food is brought in she goes berserk! Maybe I will just use it in very very limited quantities and only when I feel she needs a little boost, she loves doing things just because she enjoys making me happy- and what an awesome thing that is. If she can tell I'm happy with something she's doing, that just makes her day. Anyway...we will see but for now I am not baiting her with food but rather rewarding her once she has completed something I've asked her to do. For example...stay stacked up nicely on the floor for a count of twenty, she gets a cookie. If she gaits nicely down and back, she gets a cookie, and so on. She is so excited about everything and I think that is AWESOME, I honestly couldn't be more please she is enjoying herself so much because I wouldn't want to be making her do something she doesn't enjoy. I can already tell she's a ham for attention though, she's got that "look at me!!!" attitude already. Maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself by working her already but she seemed so well adjusted to Texas from the getgo I didn't see any point in delaying things. We aren't training for long, periods of ten minutes of so each evening and I always end things on a positive note, really I just wait for her to do what i am looking for once then we stop so she never has a bad association with "showing". She is definately still a puppy and I think even a month or two from now it will be a real task to get her to keep all four on the floor but hopefully if we start working on it now she will at least have an idea of what she is 'supposed' to be doing. I will likely try to make it to a few confirmation classes before January so she can get experience gaiting in a group of other dogs and having someone strange go over her. She is roadtripping with Dottie and I and Flirt(the sheltie) to Conroe TX. tommorow to just 'hang out' at the show. Anyway...so long for now.

Happy Thanksgiving~!

2008-11-27T04:50:00.001-08:00

I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year. An awesome future husband who loves me and supports everything I do with my furbabies, amazing friends who have steadily supported me through many trials and struggles, my family who never questions what I choose to do with my every weekend : ).... And of course the newest member of my clan Ms. Suki who is a total doll, and Kelly for trusting me enough to send her to me. I am also, of course, happy that my other furry ones have accepted her as their own and there has been only mild jealousy. I am thankful that in these difficult ecenomic times my fiancee' and I both have good stable jobs which allow us to focus on the things we want to do rather than stress about money. (even if I do have to choose between westminster and a caterer for our wedding!!!) I am also extremelly thankful for an awesome extended family, who has adopted me as their own and never given it a second thought. I have so much in my life to give thanks for today, and everyday.

Practice makes perfect

2008-11-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

We are 'practicing' how to patiently be groomed (although it seems Kelly must have been teaching this already) and already seem to know how to stack decently on the table, just need some practice with endurance(and not licking the face of the judge!)

It really was love at first sight......

Plans, plans, plans

2008-11-24T09:24:00.000-08:00

So, here are some prospective plans for the next couple of months: Next weekend Suki will accompany Dotti and I to the show in Conroe, she will just be hanging out and getting more used to the 'show' scene. After that we will have all of december to practice stacking up nicely, being groomed and gaiting. In january there is a show at Nolan River with a sanctioned B match I will enter her in. Then, January 17,18 the weekend she turns 6 months, I am going to enter her in the puppy class both days in Rosenburg Texas, the entries don't look like there will likely be many English Cockers but I think it will be great experience for her. Then, I think it's january 23rd and 24th is Abilene, where I will meet up with Mr. Van Meter for a hands on grooming lesson. Doesn't look like there are many cocker entries at this show either but Mr. Van meter thinks it would be a great show to attend so we are going. The next show I know for sure I am going to is Valentine's day weekend in San Marcos Texas, last year I think there were 12 cockers entered and its not too far away so I think it would be great for to be in the ring with a few more dogs. After that we will see...those are all I really have cemented so far...got lots to do over the next couple of months, priority number one is teaching Suki that shows are FUN and making her feel right at home.

First Show Visit Today

2008-11-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, some news...firstly a name change. We have decided that we are going to register her as Calypso's Just A Fortunate Suprise and that we are going to make her call name Suki. I like Suri, but my fiancee' had some quams with naming her after Tom Cruise's baby. So Suki it is, it means 'beloved' in Japanese and she is very much so already. She is known as the 'non sheltie' and 'that funny looking blue bitch' by our breeder friends but was warmly embraced by everyone who could not help comment how adorable she is. I also had the opporitunity to make some great connections at this show, Brent Vanmeter, former English Cocker breed club president and longtime breed enthusiast, who only had nice things to say about Ms. Suki and was very interested in where I had gotten her from, of course I had to tell him all about Calypso Cockers and how awesome Kelly is. We are going to stay in touch and at the end of January there is a show in abiline where he will give me a hands on grooming lesson and hopefully I can learn how to present Ms. Suki the best way possible. Suki enjoyed the heck out of being at the show, she wasn't the least bit intimidated by anyone or any dog that she came across, she was happy to give kisses and say hellp to just about everyone and had quite a few admirers by the end of the day, including several people who had bred or shown English Cockers at some point.
anyway...so much excitement for her first day in Texas, I have little doubt she will be just as well received in the ring at shows as outside of it and am already looking forward to really letting her shine.

Shes Here!!!!!

2008-11-23T05:21:00.000-08:00

I am happy to announce that Suprise made it to Texas!!! I left extremelly early to get to the airport which was good becase even though I've been to DFW numerous times I managed to get lost for over and hour, I was scared to death I'd miss her and they would send her to a boarding kennel but because I'd left so early I actually still had to wait a little while once I finally found the Continental cargo building for her to be unloaded off the plane. There were a few other people waiting for dogs off the same flight. A gentleman with a 5mo German Sheperd and a family waiting for a American Staffordshire Terrier puppy (8wks). Even though I was there late, and the agent scared me by telling me he didn't see her and I had to call poor Kelly and Make her hunt for a confirmation number, I was still there before the other people so I got to get Suprise first. The kind service woman cut open her crate and I quickly lassoed her with a slip lead to prevent her from escaping. She bounced right out of her crate, happy and enthusiastic, giving kisses and being all around jubilient. Definately didn't mind traveling!I called back Kelly to make sure she knew that all was well and Suprise was here in Texas after all, she was of course relieved and I am pretty sure I must have told her how awesome Suprise is about a million times. I also called Jordan, the fiancee', to let him know she was here and perfect, and Dottie, to whom I stated my true sentiments of "She is to DIE for!!!" After a potty break and a little play time to let her wind down just a bit from being crated for so long before being re-crated, we got in the car and headed back to Temple. We made it home safely and she rode in the car like an angel, not a peep was heard the whole ride back. Jordan, my finacee', fell in love with her just as instantaneously as I did, and could not stop admiring what a gorgeous girl she is! We spent some time playing and bonding before she got her dinner and went to bed for the evening.

This is me losing what little make up I was wearing right outside the continental building....

Early Thoughts

2008-11-22T04:20:00.000-08:00

I was contemplating what would be a really awesome way to chronicle my journey with my Surprise, who is coming today all the way from Washington state. I've never really been a fan of journaling but I think this will work out well, I get to share all my thoughts, concerns and triumphs with the world. I really wanted to come up with a way for Kelly, Surprise's breeder, to be able to see what is happening with us on a week to week basis.
Kelly of Calypso English Cocker Spaniels has been kind enough to send her gorgeous Surprise to me to be shown here in Texas. Suprise will arrive today (hopefully!) and once she acclimates to texas and we get to know one another a bit better I will be taking her out to shows. I am soo very excited to have her coming. (Thank you so much again Kelly) and I know she and my shelties will soon be fast friends. I know there will be pitfalls (probably on my part) and failures( once again most likely on my part) but I am so glad that English Cockers have a perpetually merry personality and maybe Surprise will just grin and wag her little tail and then I will have no choice but to try and be better. How can anyone say no to a persistently forgiving critic? Kelly if you are reading this I am sorry in advance, I expect there will be many many times, especially over these first few months, where you will recieve a frantic phone call from me at some odd hour in Washington, asking if I did this right, or what you would do about that. I will do my best not to make the same mistake twice, and there will never be a mistake when it comes to Surprise's health or saftey as those will always be my top priorities.
Dottie, if you are reading this, YAY!!!!!!! I am super pumped about this spring, Tinsel puppies, shows, Joanie finally getting out, we are going to have a BLAST!!! Thank you for always being my guiding light and eternally supportive 'dog show mom', there just aren't enough kind things to say about how good you have been to me (and Ruby too!) but karma rewards great people for their actions.
Sorry this has been such a long introduction, I am going to try and be religious about posting updates and pictures and hopefully before too long I will get to post exciting show news, though I am not rushing anything. I am also excited to see what this awesome girl will be able to do in obedience, not something I am going to focus on immediately but I will start laying the groundwork in case we decide to pursue it in the future.
First priorities are first though- get Surprise to Texas safe and healthy....