My Cocker Spaniel Forum - Blogs

Hoshi's Enemy

manuel — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:33:23 GMT

I won't be walking for a while but I wanted to tell you about someone who Hoshi is very afraid of. The Big Boy!:ph34r: There's a restaurant near my house called Big Boy. Every time we walk by Hoshi goes bonkers and warns me about the dangerous big boy by barking his head off. Even after we pass by Hoshi keeps looking back to make sure he's not following us.

Junior is too smart for his britches

Hersh'sMom — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:57:25 GMT

I had him in my shop again today to rest up his rear left leg which seems to be getting a little better. Now it only bothers him after he's been laying around and then he gets up to move.
Anyways, today after I was done working and waiting on a customer to pick up their dogs, I decided to see how long it'd take me to train Jr a little. Amazingly he caught onto sit like it was nothing, then we tried down. In less than five miinutes he had these two down. We started working on the stand up on command as well. He's picking up on it too. Will practice some more tomorrow!

Neighbor told us to leave

manuel — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:13:26 GMT

I was walking Hoshi before I left for work. Hoshi was doing #2 on my neighbor's grass. The neighbor opened his window and said, "Excuse me! What are you doing!?" I held up my grocery bag and said, "I'll pick it up." I said it as friendly as I could. He said, "Never mind. Get going. " Well, I picked it up and left. We've lived here 13 years and this was our 1st encounter. I think he moved in his parents' house during that time.

Hoshi meets skunk

manuel — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:49:09 GMT

I just walked Hoshi. I was reading the forum on my Droid when Hoshi pulled me by the leash. I figured it was a bunny or a cat. It was a skunk in someone's front yard! This thing was not shy in the least! It actually started heading towards us then walked away . It's almost like it was taunting Hoshi to come at him so it could spray us. Hoshi wanted to chase it so badly. He kept crying the whole time.

Hoshi's Bath and Haircut

manuel — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:47:24 GMT

I gave Hoshi a bath yesterday. He had been scratching (fleas I suspect) so I wanted to bath him before his Frontline treatment. I shaved him down again except for his ears. It's been so hot lately so I figured he wouldn't mind. I found a flea on him. I think we have rampant fleas in my area because we have so many rodents (squirrels, bunnies, ect.). Hoshi is just like Gabby and doesn't like his front paws done. He growled every time I came near him with the scissors. He even begged--tried to get on me and lick me begging me to skip the paws. I let him have his way last trim but not this time. He slept like a baby afterwards. Those fleas must have worn him out.

Hoshi's Training

manuel — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:10:28 GMT

I have been training Hoshi in the hopes of keeping him off the road. This is in case he should ever get loose again. We have bee practicing our sit stays at the curb of the street using a 15' lead. I leave him at the curb and walk across the street. Hoshi does real well with that. I'm also using sit stays on at the borders of our property. I'm hoping he gets the idea that a our front yard has boundaries he should not cross. I'm also using off-leash sit stays in the front yard in a controlled setting with correction. I want him to learn being off leash in the front yard is serious business--he's not allowed in the front yard off leash--this is just in case he gets loose.

It not all about restrictions. I'm also teaching Hoshi fetch. My goal is Hoshi will fetch his leash whenever he wants to go out the front door. It's a slow go teaching him fetch. I'm using a training dumbbell except he can't figure out the concept to retrieve it. The most I can do is reward him for putting the dumbbell in his mouth. I'll try using a ball next time--that might be more fun for him.

Official Dog Show Report

KLADCkrs — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:46:51 GMT

This is a dog show weekend report, in layman's terms (hopefully). The weekend consisted of four all-breed dog shows (Friday through Monday) and two Specialties. A Specialty is a limited breed dog show - usually limited to a single breed. In our case, we had the American Cocker Spaniel Club of Canada National specialty (the premiere show for our breed in Canada for 2010) and the Midwest Cocker Spaniel Club specialty.

I had hired a handler to show Jack for me, so that I could concentrate on showing Grace in obedience and rally obedience. My handler ended up not showing Jack in the end, so on Friday I showed him in conformation (beauty pageant) and showed Grace in two Rally trials. I was running around like crazy! In between the trips into the ring, I had to groom Jack and get other stuff done too.

Saturday I showed Grace in Rally and obedience, then showed Jack in the Specialty show. Jackie showed him in the regular show, and I helped show some other dogs. Saturday night I was totally wiped. Saturday was the National specialty, which took most of the day. My 5 year old niece came and showed my old dog Farley in Junior Handling (a special class for kids, non-competitive). Everybody enjoyed that - they made a very cute team.

Sunday I groomed Jack and showed him in the Specialty. I showed Grace in two obedience trials, but skipped the regular show. I was just too tired.

Monday I skipped the show altogether and drove home. Smartest move I ever made, since it rained at the dog show, and I got home a day early.

Jack Jack won his class every time he was shown, but got no points. Those darned teeth aren�t helping things at all L He showed well and had fun, even though he wasn�t feeling well. I noticed that his mouth smelled bad, but never thought to check it. Turns out his lower lip folds are infected (especially on one side). I feel so bad for not noticing sooner, poor guy. I went to wipe his mouth on Tuesday night and he cried. I�ve been cleaning it and it seems to be improving a bit, but I�m taking him to the vet today in case he needs antibiotics. Poor little dude.

Grace was a superstar. She passed two out of three rally trials. She would have passed the third one (and earned a new title), but her stupid handler (me!) missed a station, so we failed. In obedience, she passed all three trials with awesome scores (equal to around 90% if you look at it that way) and won two High in Trials. That means that out of all of the Cockers that competed, she had the best scores. I was so proud of her � you have NO idea! I never expected that we�d have such an awesome result. She got some really large ribbons and some lovely prizes, so that was nice.

Overall it was a good weekend, but very exhausting. Lots of grooming and tons of prep work for the cookies and goody bags for each exhibitor and stuff. I am still pretty tired, but a few more nights of good sleep will help with that.

Attached Thumbnails

Hoshi Recuperating

manuel — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:31:25 GMT

I can't tell you how glad I am to have Hoshi here sleeping by me. I'm sure he's sore and I'll be keeping an eye on him for any problems. They sent him home with liquid Tramadol. Hoshi couldn't stand it. He wouldn't let me get it to him--shook his head every time he tasted it. It was bitter. They gave me pills instead. Hoshi's real good about taking pills. I just cover them with peanut butter. We won't be able to go for walks for whole week. Well, that's a small price to pay to have Hoshi with me safe and sound. I've included Hoshi's discharge papers for you to see:

http://mycockerspaniel.com/hoshi/mot...e_accident.pdf

Chat upgraded for iPhone and Droid

manuel — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:42:03 GMT

Chat now supports iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android (Google Phone),and Droid. I need your feedback if you like it. I'll keep it if you think you'll use it. I logged onto chat right now with my Droid and it appears to work. The screen is a lot more basic though.

EDIT: There is no additional software to install.

Finally updating MyCockerSpaniel.com

manuel — Sun, 16 May 2010 08:12:43 GMT

I've been dragging my feet updating this site because my publishing software no longer exists. It's been about 4 years since I planned a switch to new software. I hate reading! It was a necessary evil to learn the new software. It's funny too because the new software has changed 3 versions since then! Just as I finished one textbook another one would come out. :P The new software is extremely useful though. It will allow me to update every page with a simple click of the mouse. I'll start planning the upcoming changes.

Thank You Gracie

KLADCkrs — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:20:14 GMT

:)It's been a long, long time since I did a Thankful Thursday post. I know I've said this before, but I felt like they were becoming trite and contrived (no, I didn't read the thesaurus before writing this post!), and so they weren't fun to write anymore. But today I feel inspired again.

Today I'm thankful for Gracie-Lou-Who, my little girl dog. Grace is the quiet, mellow one in the bunch. She is content to be loved, and even if she's not getting your full attention, she's content to be noticed. She's a very gentle, loving soul.

When I first started training her in obedience, she was a marshmallow. If I applied any pressure at all (not physical corrections ever, but even just a verbal reminder), she'd shut right down. It wasn't very easy for either of us, but I couldn't let it go. Eventually I started clicker training her, and it was the answer for both of us. She started to enjoy training, and I started to enjoy training her.

She has since earned a rally novice title, as well as a pre-novice obedience title. For all of the trials we competed in, her head was up, her tail was wagging, and her eyes were sparkling. She wasn't perfect (handicapped by her handler), but she was happy. And a happy dog is always fun to watch. Now we are gearing up to compete for her novice obedience title and a rally advanced title. Every day when I reach for the training bag, she races to the front door, with a doggy smile. She runs out the door with zeal, and is eager to work with me.

I am so thankful that this girl is always forgiving me. She has forgiven me for not teaching her things right the first time, and she has forgiven me when I've given my attention to somebody or something else. Instead of pouting, she simply forgives and forgets, and loves with her entire soul.

When I look into her deep, brown eyes, I see only love, trust and devotion. No matter how late I am from work, or how long I make her wait for supper, she always shows those same feelings. And for that, I am thankful.

Kids Say The Funniest Things!

KLADCkrs — Mon, 10 May 2010 21:31:42 GMT

I want to start out by wishing all of the moms out there a happy Mothers' Day. Whether your kids are human or furry, I hope you had some special time with them yesterday. My dogs were very sweet - they got me a card and gave me some money to buy myself (or possibly them!) a treat. Such thoughtful dogs. I didn't even know they got an allowance! I'm cutting off their treat and toy supply until they pony up some money.

But really, today I wanted to write about a couple of very funny things my 5 year old niece has said over the last little while. She really does have a wicked sense of humour. A few weeks ago she was up visiting us for my company's Family Fun Day (around the time of the "And Police" post). She was walking around with my mom, sticking her belly out as much as possible. For those of you that haven't seen my mom, she's a bit overweight. Whatever, no big deal. Anyhow, when my mom asked my niece what she was doing, she replied that she was walking like Baba. OMG, I almost wet my pants when I heard that! And of course, you can't laugh, because you don't want her saying that kind of thing to just anybody. Anyhow, my mom just kind of laughed it off, and we forgot about it.

This past weekend my mom and I went to visit my brother, his girlfriend and my niece (and the dogs, let's not forget the dogs!). My niece ended up staying overnight in the hotel room with my mom and I, as a special treat. She shared the bed with my mom (let's face it - I've been single a LONG time, and I just can not share my bed with anybody other than a Cocker Spaniel). She was sprawled on the bed as my mom got ready, and my mom told her to move over. She looked at my mom (I was in another room - the hotel room was a suite) and said "Is that because you're kind of big, Baba?" Again, I'm crying with laughter, but trying to be quiet. My mom just said "Yes, it's because I'm kind of big."

We want to discourage her from saying stuff like that, since the general population doesn't appreciate comments about their weight or the size of their belly (although being a cute 5 year old takes a bit of the sting out). However, she's not saying it meanly, just matter of factly, so how do we explain the nuances of social acceptability? It's not easy.

Anyhow, my abs are still a bit sore from laughing (does that count as exercise?) so I wanted to share with my faithful readers. Enjoy!

ほしこ (Hoshiko)

manuel — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:02:30 GMT

No album of ほしこ (Hoshiko) would be complete without a picture of him surrounded by cherry blossoms and a little enka music in the background. :)

Click to enlarge

Smartphone users: Tapatalk Updated

manuel — Sun, 02 May 2010 16:09:38 GMT

First off, Tapatalk is a smart phone app for the iPhone, Droid, Nokia, and Blackberry. It customizes our forum on your phone. If you're already a tapatalk user you may have noticed recent improvements. I've noticed substantial improvements on my Droid. For those of you interested in a demo please watch the video. Please realize the video is 8 months old and features like picture upload are not mentioned.

It's Official

KLADCkrs — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:19:53 GMT

I'm a nerd. Now, those of you that have known me a long time will not be surprised by this comment. For those of you that are surprised, let me just say that it's only because we haven't known each other that long. I try hard to be cool (who doesn't??), but my nerdiness does shine through on a regular basis.

Last night was Week 2 of my Certificate in Digital Photography course. On the way to class, I wasn't as excited as I'd hoped. I'm really, really busy, and I was feeling tired and wanting to go to bed. Boy, am I glad I didn't skip the class! Last night we focused on Exposure - lighting, shutter speed, aperture (the size of the hole that the camera takes the picture through) and sensitivity (ISO - film speed). You wouldn't think that talking about that stuff could take 3 hours, but it did. In fact, we went over the allotted course time AND didn't get through everything.

I think the most exciting thing for me last night was taking a picture with my camera set on Manual. Now, for most photographers (at least semi-serious) this isn't anything to get excited about. But for me, who's always used idiot-proof cameras, it gave me a real feeling of empowerment and excitement. Not only did I shoot in Manual, but I understood how and why!
The other simple pleasure for me was the critique of the photo that I submitted for the Week 1 assignment. We were told to take a picture of an ordinary object in an unusual way. I had a lot of trouble with this assignment - I just couldn't get inspired. On Sunday, while photographing Jack Jack in the backyard, I started taking pictures of an orange tennis ball among the grass and dead leaves. I did a recomposition shot (focussed on the ball, kept the shutter button pressed halfway down, and then re-framed the picture so the ball was in the lower left quadrant of the frame). It turned out well, but I kind of thought it lacked inspiration. Well, the teacher said he thought it was quite good, so I felt good about that.

Next week we'll be talking about creative composition of photos, and I can't wait to see what I learn from that!