A lot of shooting mag articles and country sayings about spaniels eg: “Bitches are a nuisance twice a year but dogs are a nuisance all the damn time” or “A bitch works for you but a dog works for himself” suggest there’s a difference. Also, I can’t recall the exact figures, but the ratio of female to male field trial champion spaniels is something like 8 to 1. Obviously any dog can be trained, but male spaniels are known to be harder work than females, especially if they still have their balls. Apparently it’s the same with Pointers, but the the opposite is true with Labs.
I had 2 girls and they were chalk and cheese One would be gone in the hedge This one above right by your side in case she missed any food Both loved tennis balls that one above would do anything for the ball the other was easily distracted The one above would walk behind me I trained her to stay behind me the only time she was allowed in front was a couple metres from front door and I would signal for her to go.
My Scoob is bat shit mental but its helped enormously (i think) having two trained spaniels already that he can copy/imitate. Still doesnt stop him stepping in his own shite and trailing it back through the house mind. Heart the size of a monument though
Hehe yeah my beagle is a handful at times but with the two labs who are good as, she's slowly learned most things and think keeps her calm too. Recall off the lead, and foraging in our bins however I gave up. Tried and tried but sadly she is genetically pre-programmed to put nose down and shut ears off so as others mentioned I know which battles I might get somewhere with, but love her no matter what she does. They all have character and trying to change that too much wouldnt be a good thing - sure it was said above but its us daft humans that need to change and be trained just as much!
I read something recently which said that dogs that are allowed to stop, sniff and pee for as long as they want are happier and display fewer signs of stress than dogs that aren't allowed to express those natural instincts. All that sniffing and peeing must be like their equivalent of scrolling and posting on social media and it probably gives them the same addictive little endorphin hits that us humans can't resist. Hence, unless I'm in a particular hurry to get somewhere, I pretty much go at Iggy's pace when he's walking on the lead.
Yeah i try and go at there pace, most walks are time out from the home office so usually not in a hurry but for some reason never realised about it from there point of view so good pointer there
Did a shorter loop with our old boy today, dropped him back home then took the German Shepherd and Great Dane for a longer faster walk. Think they enjoyed that, but the old boy keeps giving me dirty looks or ignores me now. Definitely not going to fall asleep on the sofa today, in case he takes revenge.
I think we made a bit of a breakthrough today, its the first time in months that Kenny hasnt dawdled on the lead and although he still looks a bit stiff at times (mainly mornings and after a nap on the couch) the limping and licking of the paw has stopped and hes been a lot happier and active over the fields. Hugely impressed if this is a result of the tablets (got all my fingers and toes crossed it continues along this pattern!).
Aah, I think that will be it, my subscription ran out last week, I’m on it thanks (and what an amazing member benefit I might add )
Took dumb and dumber out for a walk across the road from us, great place to clear the head and stretch their legs… Mouse and Lila (Lee-Lah) , mum and daughter duo who are absolute feckin loons.. These bottom two pics are them in full flight at 30mpg… bloody terrifying as they do this very last second swerve avoidance when belting straight at you, sometimes an inch may as well be a mile as you fly arse over tit with your feet above your head
