I watched a BBC documentary on pedigree dogs, suggested by the st. thomas dog owners association. There was a fair amount of time dedicated to cavaliers, specifically SM but also MVD. It really did break my heart. Maybe it is my own naviety, but I haven't found the situation in Canada to be like what the documentary described in the UK. Breeders I have spoken to, do health checks and clearances.
The documentary seemed to put the entire blame on the breeders which I don't think is entirely fair. Yes, a cavalier that won best in show was diagnosed with SM, and yes, I do think it is wrong that he went on to sire many litters. But in the opening story, the owner of a cavalier with SM, claimed she didn't know anything about the condition or that it occured in the breed. Do some research before you consider buying a dog!
Personally, I don't think buying a Cavapoo would give me any kind of health guarantees. You have to make your own opinion. I made mine based on experience and the research I did.
Documentary is free to watch here. I always encourage my students to be critical thinkers and I implore you to be one as well, whether you agree with the documentary or not.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
the season of goodwill - towards people and their furries
When I began searching for a cavalier (and the other two breeds we considered, as well), I did what I think anyone of my generation would do: I googled the breed. I knew to look for clubs and breeders associated with them (for cavaliers, the CKCSCC as well as CKC, due to breeding requirements concerning health). I read websites that taught me how to spot a "puppymill" or "backyard breeder". But, I didn't really come across any. Maybe I am naive. Or maybe my CKCSCC requirement helped me out. Or maybe it was my avoidance of GTA breeders. Or my avoidance of kijiji/classifieds. But any breeder that I contacted (and took the time to answer my bazillion questions) didn't SCREAM puppymill or backyard breeder.
It wasn't until (to somewhat appease Sean) I searched for Samoyeds that I came across my first blatently obvious puppymill website. I thought it was a joke, like that website several years ago about kittens grown in bottles. Nope, it was a "commercial breeder", with over 50 different breeds available, kept in what reviews said, disgusting conditions. Who would get a puppy from them?
My aunt and uncle rescue dogs, usually the ones that have been abused and mistreated (and therefore have some aggression issues). About a year ago, they got a 10 year old golden retriever from golden rescue (named Watson). He had come from a puppymill in Toronto. He had been kept in a crate all his life, except when he was forced to mount the female. 10 years! without exercise! without love!
I came across an article today regarding new breeding laws in the states for "commercial breeders", in particular, two states: Oklahoma and Missouri. When I personally know a story like Watson's, I can't help but think, these laws are not enough. Please give it a read
It wasn't until (to somewhat appease Sean) I searched for Samoyeds that I came across my first blatently obvious puppymill website. I thought it was a joke, like that website several years ago about kittens grown in bottles. Nope, it was a "commercial breeder", with over 50 different breeds available, kept in what reviews said, disgusting conditions. Who would get a puppy from them?
My aunt and uncle rescue dogs, usually the ones that have been abused and mistreated (and therefore have some aggression issues). About a year ago, they got a 10 year old golden retriever from golden rescue (named Watson). He had come from a puppymill in Toronto. He had been kept in a crate all his life, except when he was forced to mount the female. 10 years! without exercise! without love!
I came across an article today regarding new breeding laws in the states for "commercial breeders", in particular, two states: Oklahoma and Missouri. When I personally know a story like Watson's, I can't help but think, these laws are not enough. Please give it a read
Monday, December 20, 2010
google it
Itty bitty Roxie! She is currently driving me bonkers, splashing water everywhere while she moves her water dish 2 inches to the left, then back again. I am trying to explain to her that I wrote a loving post about her yesterday and now she is making me look bad. Such a daddy's girl.
Anyway, onto a couple of my favourite responses:
"We bred labs for 20 years but found you can only have 4 in kitchen at any one time. Cavaliers, you can have 10 on couch watching Letterman"
"I like puppies" (When asked why they breed Cavaliers... seriously, that is the exact answer)
"I guess they (puppies) can hear the tv, I never thought to ask"
"They go at 8 weeks when I put out 25 garbage bags of soiled newspapers"
"Are you going to pay $1500 for a dog then let it run loose all over the neighbourhood?"
"we have only 9 dogs"... ONLY?!?
"We'll discuss our guarantee after you buy the puppy"
"google puppies" (when asked if they had any recommendations for books/websites... google it, I dare you.)
Hope you got a chuckle or two.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
one of those adult "decision" things
Sean and I had to make a ridiculously hard decision this weekend: we were offered a puppy. It's actually taken it's toll on us, physically and mentally. Before you start thinking "um, dude, don't you want a puppy? isn't that what this entire blog is about?", let me explain!
Sean and I went to see some breeders back in November. My books had suggested visiting a couple of breeders before you REALLY finalize what breed you want. We got to visit with adult cavaliers and puppies. Visiting adult dogs is great because you can really see what to expect (puppies are only puppies for so long. They are adults for much longer). I actually found visiting with puppies much more difficult. I mean, they're puppies! They lick you and have tiny little paws and faces, and little baby yawns and itty bitty jumps, and teeny tiny barks and BIG eyes that just melt your heart! How can you not want to take all of them home and have a big snuggle pile?
So when arranging visits to see both adults and puppies, I made sure none of the puppies were available. Sean is much more level-headed than I am. I try to act with a level-head but I feel the reprecussions emotionally for much longer so it is hard not to let my emotions get involved. This was the only way I could visit with puppies.
We went to see this one breeder with a litter of 4 puppies, two boys, two girls. The breeder wanted to keep back one of the girls (pretty much standard) and the other would go to a couple who had been waiting two years for a puppy. The breeder hadn't yet decided which girl she would keep, and she still hasn't. The couple who had been waiting for a puppy, decided they didn't want to wait for the breeder to decide (which really, it was only a month longer, what is the big freakin' deal?). We were then offered one of these females. Decision time.
I wanted to act on emotion and get the puppy. Both of these girls were the sweetest little puppies. Very gentle and calm. One of them even curled up on my lap and napped while her siblings played around her (and sometimes on her). They were both beautiful black and tans, my colour preference. And, do we really need to go over how adorable puppies are?! But my brain (and Sean) knew there were certain things to consider. We had wanted to get my disability claim resolved before getting a puppy. We really wanted to get me back to work, at least teaching one 40 minute period a week. I had wanted to do more research. Yes, more! I spent 6 months thoroughly researching my car before buying it. This is a physical being we are bringing into our family! This isn't a decision to make on a whim. I have to look into puppy-proofing, training classes, vaccinations, spaying, etc. I wanted to "borrow" my cousin's cavalier for the weekend to make sure we were ready for this resposibility.
At the same time, my heart was screaming for us to get the puppy. She would've been house-trained. She was my favourite colour (and Sean's second). She was sweet. She was a sure-thing. She was perfect...
In the end, it came down to one thing: Roxie. Our cats are our babies. We picked up Roxie from a shelter when she was just an 8-week old kitten. We just went to look at the shelter but when we found Roxie, we just knew, she was meant to be in our family. But Roxie, has some health issues. Even at 8 weeks, she had this little pot-belly. Our vet was convinced she had worms; tested again and again, but she didn't. Now that Roxie is 3 years old, 22 pounds, we know that she has some hormonal issues causing her to be a big girl. She has a kind of feline herpes. She has asthma. Recently, Roxie stopped eating. The vet suspected pancreatitis. Roxie also started losing control of her bladder (like say if her sister jumped out at her, she would pee or if our niece tried to pet her, she would pee). Vet suspected her bladder or even kidney's were infected. After several months of this, Roxie is starting to get back to normal, but she isn't better yet. What would happen if we introduced a puppy when she isn't well yet? The bottom line: our girls, our current babies, our loves: they are our first priority. We made the commitment to them. It isn't fair or right to make a commitment to another animal and break the promise we already made to Roxie. The promise to care for and love that puppy would be meaningless. I don't want to be that person. I couldn't live with that.
Sean and I went to see some breeders back in November. My books had suggested visiting a couple of breeders before you REALLY finalize what breed you want. We got to visit with adult cavaliers and puppies. Visiting adult dogs is great because you can really see what to expect (puppies are only puppies for so long. They are adults for much longer). I actually found visiting with puppies much more difficult. I mean, they're puppies! They lick you and have tiny little paws and faces, and little baby yawns and itty bitty jumps, and teeny tiny barks and BIG eyes that just melt your heart! How can you not want to take all of them home and have a big snuggle pile?
So when arranging visits to see both adults and puppies, I made sure none of the puppies were available. Sean is much more level-headed than I am. I try to act with a level-head but I feel the reprecussions emotionally for much longer so it is hard not to let my emotions get involved. This was the only way I could visit with puppies.
We went to see this one breeder with a litter of 4 puppies, two boys, two girls. The breeder wanted to keep back one of the girls (pretty much standard) and the other would go to a couple who had been waiting two years for a puppy. The breeder hadn't yet decided which girl she would keep, and she still hasn't. The couple who had been waiting for a puppy, decided they didn't want to wait for the breeder to decide (which really, it was only a month longer, what is the big freakin' deal?). We were then offered one of these females. Decision time.
I wanted to act on emotion and get the puppy. Both of these girls were the sweetest little puppies. Very gentle and calm. One of them even curled up on my lap and napped while her siblings played around her (and sometimes on her). They were both beautiful black and tans, my colour preference. And, do we really need to go over how adorable puppies are?! But my brain (and Sean) knew there were certain things to consider. We had wanted to get my disability claim resolved before getting a puppy. We really wanted to get me back to work, at least teaching one 40 minute period a week. I had wanted to do more research. Yes, more! I spent 6 months thoroughly researching my car before buying it. This is a physical being we are bringing into our family! This isn't a decision to make on a whim. I have to look into puppy-proofing, training classes, vaccinations, spaying, etc. I wanted to "borrow" my cousin's cavalier for the weekend to make sure we were ready for this resposibility.
At the same time, my heart was screaming for us to get the puppy. She would've been house-trained. She was my favourite colour (and Sean's second). She was sweet. She was a sure-thing. She was perfect...
In the end, it came down to one thing: Roxie. Our cats are our babies. We picked up Roxie from a shelter when she was just an 8-week old kitten. We just went to look at the shelter but when we found Roxie, we just knew, she was meant to be in our family. But Roxie, has some health issues. Even at 8 weeks, she had this little pot-belly. Our vet was convinced she had worms; tested again and again, but she didn't. Now that Roxie is 3 years old, 22 pounds, we know that she has some hormonal issues causing her to be a big girl. She has a kind of feline herpes. She has asthma. Recently, Roxie stopped eating. The vet suspected pancreatitis. Roxie also started losing control of her bladder (like say if her sister jumped out at her, she would pee or if our niece tried to pet her, she would pee). Vet suspected her bladder or even kidney's were infected. After several months of this, Roxie is starting to get back to normal, but she isn't better yet. What would happen if we introduced a puppy when she isn't well yet? The bottom line: our girls, our current babies, our loves: they are our first priority. We made the commitment to them. It isn't fair or right to make a commitment to another animal and break the promise we already made to Roxie. The promise to care for and love that puppy would be meaningless. I don't want to be that person. I couldn't live with that.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Did you mean Snoop dog?
During yet another ridiculous snow storm, I am researching "dog snoods" which google seems intent on making me change to snoop dog. Remember when the internet wasn't so annoying?
Back to the snoods... for those that don't know, a snood is like a tube top you put over the heads of long-eared (or long haired) dogs to keep food out of their fur/ears. A blogger I have previously mentioned, has made her own for her cavaliers. You can see what I mean here. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a picture of her ADORABLE ruby cavalier modelling one. She sells them and while I do like supporting local products, I have tons of fabric of my own that I would love to use to make my own once Marmalade arrives. So I am searching for either a pattern, or so many examples that I can make my own pattern. I know, you're thinking, "it's a tube of fabric with elastic on end, how hard is that??". But because of SM, some cavaliers are sensitive to having things around that area. While I don't want to clean food out of marmalade's ears, I would do it in a heartbeat if preventing it meant she would be in pain.
My investigation continues... I will also post some of my favourite responses from breeders... next post, I swear!
Back to the snoods... for those that don't know, a snood is like a tube top you put over the heads of long-eared (or long haired) dogs to keep food out of their fur/ears. A blogger I have previously mentioned, has made her own for her cavaliers. You can see what I mean here. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a picture of her ADORABLE ruby cavalier modelling one. She sells them and while I do like supporting local products, I have tons of fabric of my own that I would love to use to make my own once Marmalade arrives. So I am searching for either a pattern, or so many examples that I can make my own pattern. I know, you're thinking, "it's a tube of fabric with elastic on end, how hard is that??". But because of SM, some cavaliers are sensitive to having things around that area. While I don't want to clean food out of marmalade's ears, I would do it in a heartbeat if preventing it meant she would be in pain.
My investigation continues... I will also post some of my favourite responses from breeders... next post, I swear!
Monday, December 13, 2010
what's in a name
Sean and I became aunt and uncle again last weekend. His brother named the baby Spencer. This created a discussion about names. I should perhaps explain the name of my blog. Marmalade is the name of our hopefully future dog. Yes, we are like those people that pick out the colour of a new car before choosing the car. I thought of the name Marmalade (said with a british accent, of course), and "Lady" for short. We didn't come up with anything we liked better so that's where we're at.
I mentioned in my previous post that I would write the questions I asked breeders. I have read a total of 7 books which I used to compile the list (along with internet research). I saved certain questions to ask in person, in order to gauge the breeders body language. Here are the ones I emailed:
1) How many people handle the puppies daily? How many men, strangers and children? this questions is all about socialization. From my reading, early socialization, even before you get the puppy, is important, particularly with some breeds
2) Where do you keep the litter? What is the extent of the puppies exposure to domestic noise (specifically loud noises, people screaming, children crying, television, radio, etc)? Ideally, you want the puppies around people going about their daily routines, i.e. dishwashers, vacuums, pots and pans, kids playing, guys yelling at the tv
3) Do you have any other animals in the house? this questions was specific to us, because we have cats. We would prefer a dog that has at least been exposed to cats
4) Why do you breed cavaliers?
5) How do you determine which cavaliers to breed? With Cavaliers, I hoped most breeders were considering health. I didn't really care much about conformation.
6) What health testing is performed on the parents? Have you ever produced any litters of with health defects? according to my reading, most breeders that have been doing it awhile, will have produced a puppy with a health defect. I haven't found this to be entirely true in all cases
7) Do you guarantee your puppies? If so, for what and for how long? What is the guarantee? With cavaliers, a few breeders excluded SM and MVD from their guarantee. We were also concerned that we would get a puppy, and then it got sick, but it could be "cured". Would we really want to give up that puppy? trade it in? the minute we pick out a puppy, she will be part of our family. Find out (in writing) what the guarantee is and be sure you are okay with it
8) Do you have references from owners of your puppies? Do you keep in touch with owners of your puppies after the sale? okay so I wasn't going to actually get in touch with any references (unless I felt I needed to for some reason) but I wanted to know they had some. The books say you should contact them. I haven't. And we wanted our breeder to be available to us after the purchase, in case we needed advice on something
9) How long have you been breeding dogs/ how long have you been involved with the breed? Sometimes breeders were handlers before they started breeding. A blog I read, is written by someone who is actively involved in the health initiatives for cavaliers. She isn't a breeder yet, but would someday like to be. Because of that, I would line up to be one of the first to have a puppy of hers.
10) Do you temperament test the litter? not really specific to cavaliers, who generally have the same temperments, but Sarah Hodgson describes testing you can do yourself to determine which puppy is timid, outgoing, etc. A breeder I talked to (not sure if she would want me to mention her or not, she is fantastic though), did a "puppy puzzle" on her recent litter. It's the same thing. Be careful though, because there are some Dog professionals that advocate a very aggressive for of temperment testing, like jumping out to scare the puppy. My personal belief is that it is not necessary to scare the puppy.
11) How often do you breed? How many times do you breed each female? Most breeders have one or two litters a year and each female shouldn't be breed too many times (varies according to breed but if the breeder says 10 times, run away)
12) Is there a non-breeding contract?
13) Are the parents registered with the CKC? Will the puppies be registered? in Canada, it is against the law to sell a "purebred" dog without papers, but that doesn't mean people adhere to that. You make the choice of how important that is for you. In the case of cavaliers, given their health problems, it was very important to us.
14) Do you belong to any dog or breed specific clubs? Breed specific was a bit more important with Cavaliers for myself, but I also had breeders involved with therapy dog programs and other special needs clubs.
15) Do you pick the puppy or do I? This is just preference. I didn't really care. Some argue that the breeder should pick since they know the personalities better. I would like some input but I'm not stuck on this issue
16) At what age do the puppies go home? And why that age? 8 weeks should be the earliest, but I wanted the breeder to explain why. I got answers from 8 weeks to 12 weeks. Different books give you different theories. The (reputable) breeders know better than I do so I trust their judgement.
17) Do you require a deposit? Is it non-refundable? If so, why? Again, different theories. I tended to have more trust in the breeders that didn't require them because they said they couldn't make guarantees on the outcome of a litter. If they wanted a deposit AFTER we chose a puppy, than that's a different story
18) What are the waiting list procedures (if any)? Some people have waiting lists, others do not. Some required a deposit to be put on a list. This was not my preference. We put ourselves on several "interested" lists, because there is no guarantee for us that any litter will have the gender or colour we want
19) Do you have any particular books/websites you would recommend I read or places/things to do to help us prepare for a puppy? This was really about my own need to be ridiculously prepared for this dog
20) Finally, what is the cost for a puppy? What is included in the cost? Some of my reading suggests it is taboo to ask about the price, but I made it my last question because it is something to consider. Of the breeders I received answers from, only two were different. One was slightly higher and the other was CONSIDERABLY lower, so low that it made me suspicious.
Please note, I don't pretend to be an expert. I made my choices based on the research I did. Do your own, you decide for yourself.
Next post: some of my favourite answers (both for good and bad reasons) to the questions.
I mentioned in my previous post that I would write the questions I asked breeders. I have read a total of 7 books which I used to compile the list (along with internet research). I saved certain questions to ask in person, in order to gauge the breeders body language. Here are the ones I emailed:
1) How many people handle the puppies daily? How many men, strangers and children? this questions is all about socialization. From my reading, early socialization, even before you get the puppy, is important, particularly with some breeds
2) Where do you keep the litter? What is the extent of the puppies exposure to domestic noise (specifically loud noises, people screaming, children crying, television, radio, etc)? Ideally, you want the puppies around people going about their daily routines, i.e. dishwashers, vacuums, pots and pans, kids playing, guys yelling at the tv
3) Do you have any other animals in the house? this questions was specific to us, because we have cats. We would prefer a dog that has at least been exposed to cats
4) Why do you breed cavaliers?
5) How do you determine which cavaliers to breed? With Cavaliers, I hoped most breeders were considering health. I didn't really care much about conformation.
6) What health testing is performed on the parents? Have you ever produced any litters of with health defects? according to my reading, most breeders that have been doing it awhile, will have produced a puppy with a health defect. I haven't found this to be entirely true in all cases
7) Do you guarantee your puppies? If so, for what and for how long? What is the guarantee? With cavaliers, a few breeders excluded SM and MVD from their guarantee. We were also concerned that we would get a puppy, and then it got sick, but it could be "cured". Would we really want to give up that puppy? trade it in? the minute we pick out a puppy, she will be part of our family. Find out (in writing) what the guarantee is and be sure you are okay with it
8) Do you have references from owners of your puppies? Do you keep in touch with owners of your puppies after the sale? okay so I wasn't going to actually get in touch with any references (unless I felt I needed to for some reason) but I wanted to know they had some. The books say you should contact them. I haven't. And we wanted our breeder to be available to us after the purchase, in case we needed advice on something
9) How long have you been breeding dogs/ how long have you been involved with the breed? Sometimes breeders were handlers before they started breeding. A blog I read, is written by someone who is actively involved in the health initiatives for cavaliers. She isn't a breeder yet, but would someday like to be. Because of that, I would line up to be one of the first to have a puppy of hers.
10) Do you temperament test the litter? not really specific to cavaliers, who generally have the same temperments, but Sarah Hodgson describes testing you can do yourself to determine which puppy is timid, outgoing, etc. A breeder I talked to (not sure if she would want me to mention her or not, she is fantastic though), did a "puppy puzzle" on her recent litter. It's the same thing. Be careful though, because there are some Dog professionals that advocate a very aggressive for of temperment testing, like jumping out to scare the puppy. My personal belief is that it is not necessary to scare the puppy.
11) How often do you breed? How many times do you breed each female? Most breeders have one or two litters a year and each female shouldn't be breed too many times (varies according to breed but if the breeder says 10 times, run away)
12) Is there a non-breeding contract?
13) Are the parents registered with the CKC? Will the puppies be registered? in Canada, it is against the law to sell a "purebred" dog without papers, but that doesn't mean people adhere to that. You make the choice of how important that is for you. In the case of cavaliers, given their health problems, it was very important to us.
14) Do you belong to any dog or breed specific clubs? Breed specific was a bit more important with Cavaliers for myself, but I also had breeders involved with therapy dog programs and other special needs clubs.
15) Do you pick the puppy or do I? This is just preference. I didn't really care. Some argue that the breeder should pick since they know the personalities better. I would like some input but I'm not stuck on this issue
16) At what age do the puppies go home? And why that age? 8 weeks should be the earliest, but I wanted the breeder to explain why. I got answers from 8 weeks to 12 weeks. Different books give you different theories. The (reputable) breeders know better than I do so I trust their judgement.
17) Do you require a deposit? Is it non-refundable? If so, why? Again, different theories. I tended to have more trust in the breeders that didn't require them because they said they couldn't make guarantees on the outcome of a litter. If they wanted a deposit AFTER we chose a puppy, than that's a different story
18) What are the waiting list procedures (if any)? Some people have waiting lists, others do not. Some required a deposit to be put on a list. This was not my preference. We put ourselves on several "interested" lists, because there is no guarantee for us that any litter will have the gender or colour we want
19) Do you have any particular books/websites you would recommend I read or places/things to do to help us prepare for a puppy? This was really about my own need to be ridiculously prepared for this dog
20) Finally, what is the cost for a puppy? What is included in the cost? Some of my reading suggests it is taboo to ask about the price, but I made it my last question because it is something to consider. Of the breeders I received answers from, only two were different. One was slightly higher and the other was CONSIDERABLY lower, so low that it made me suspicious.
Please note, I don't pretend to be an expert. I made my choices based on the research I did. Do your own, you decide for yourself.
Next post: some of my favourite answers (both for good and bad reasons) to the questions.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
communication is key
I have now emailed a total of 25 cavalier breeders (and I only emailed those within a 5 hours drive!). I received responses from 15. I actually emailed many more but their listed emails did not work. This includes my cousin's fabulous breeder, Ricky Gies of Gooseberry Cavaliers. I didn't really plan on naming names of specific breeders on my blog, but this one makes me so sad!
My first email was short and sweet, just asking if they were still active breeders and if they thought they would have a litter in 2011. After I received an initial response, I then responded with a paragraph about us. I tried to include most things breeders want to know about potential puppy owners:
- life style: what we do for a living, what we do for fun
- our pets: Number, what kind and philosophy on our pets
- children: We don't have any (or any immediate plans) but we are visited by our niece and nephew, our friends starting our their families, plus our neighbours' children when we're outside
- our home: yard, space
- expectations/plans with the puppy: no 2 hour-long hikes for us but I did mention pet therapy with children
- experience with dogs
I also included a blurb about my current medical problem (my lack of voice) as it is a consideration for us, both in getting a puppy and in the selection of puppy (timid vs. aggressive).
As well, in my response email, I asked a NUMBER of questions, which I was going to list in this post, but this is already quite long, and I have just been informed, at noon, that my brother-in-law and his wife are visiting this afternoon... no joke.
My first email was short and sweet, just asking if they were still active breeders and if they thought they would have a litter in 2011. After I received an initial response, I then responded with a paragraph about us. I tried to include most things breeders want to know about potential puppy owners:
- life style: what we do for a living, what we do for fun
- our pets: Number, what kind and philosophy on our pets
- children: We don't have any (or any immediate plans) but we are visited by our niece and nephew, our friends starting our their families, plus our neighbours' children when we're outside
- our home: yard, space
- expectations/plans with the puppy: no 2 hour-long hikes for us but I did mention pet therapy with children
- experience with dogs
I also included a blurb about my current medical problem (my lack of voice) as it is a consideration for us, both in getting a puppy and in the selection of puppy (timid vs. aggressive).
As well, in my response email, I asked a NUMBER of questions, which I was going to list in this post, but this is already quite long, and I have just been informed, at noon, that my brother-in-law and his wife are visiting this afternoon... no joke.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
snowy birthday
I celebrated my 25th birthday with my family tonight. It snowed and snowed all day which I really didn't like. I imagined that next year, I will have a cavalier to play in the snow with me, and I might enjoy it slightly more.
I did a bit of research on canine freestyle the other night. For those that do not know, canine freestyle is like a dance routine you make up with your dog. Super cute and good for entertaining, say school children or nursing homes. I told Sean all about it and showed him videos and he said "you know it's not going to be like that; you aren't going to open the box and have a dancing dog". I thought that was hilarious. He would be horrified to know I am sharing that information with the wide world.
I told him I wanted to do canine freestyle with marmalade and he told me I should do agility trials. So I pretended to get mad that he wasn't spending anytime with our imaginary dog and HE should do agility. Or I gave him the option of doing this:
video here
I think Sean would be good at it, no?
ps: that guy is fantastic! I love that it tells a story, it isn't just a dance.
I did a bit of research on canine freestyle the other night. For those that do not know, canine freestyle is like a dance routine you make up with your dog. Super cute and good for entertaining, say school children or nursing homes. I told Sean all about it and showed him videos and he said "you know it's not going to be like that; you aren't going to open the box and have a dancing dog". I thought that was hilarious. He would be horrified to know I am sharing that information with the wide world.
I told him I wanted to do canine freestyle with marmalade and he told me I should do agility trials. So I pretended to get mad that he wasn't spending anytime with our imaginary dog and HE should do agility. Or I gave him the option of doing this:
video here
I think Sean would be good at it, no?
ps: that guy is fantastic! I love that it tells a story, it isn't just a dance.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
in the beginning
My very first post! I created this blog to help myself keep track of our hunt and research into acquiring a new member of our family. As well, to help my family and friends keep updated on our progress (we don't rush these things!).
Sean has wanted a dog since the day I met him. I, on the other hand, took some convincing. Such a bizarre thought now as it is me trying to convince him that we need to get one soon.
We have spent many many hours discussing which breed to get. He wants something big and protective; I want something smaller, with a calm and loving temperment. In the end, we narrowed it down to a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a Bernese Mountain Dog or, more recently, a Samoyed. I really have tried to hear him out but... I have wanted a CKCS since day 1 and I really want to get my way, haha!
We are aiming for a puppy in Spring/Summer 2011 which will hopefully give me enough time to finish off the last 2 (of seven) training books.
As I explore this new dog world, I will be posting what I find along the way. Stay tuned!
Sean has wanted a dog since the day I met him. I, on the other hand, took some convincing. Such a bizarre thought now as it is me trying to convince him that we need to get one soon.
We have spent many many hours discussing which breed to get. He wants something big and protective; I want something smaller, with a calm and loving temperment. In the end, we narrowed it down to a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a Bernese Mountain Dog or, more recently, a Samoyed. I really have tried to hear him out but... I have wanted a CKCS since day 1 and I really want to get my way, haha!
We are aiming for a puppy in Spring/Summer 2011 which will hopefully give me enough time to finish off the last 2 (of seven) training books.
As I explore this new dog world, I will be posting what I find along the way. Stay tuned!
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