Tooey has been gone for two days. Last Monday evening, while Cooper and I were at Obedience class, Russ took Tooey to meet Stacy, who graciously ferried Tooey up to Colleen’s Spa for Hot Girls. Ever since then, Cooper has been searching for Tooey. On our walks, he pulls us along the path she last [...]
Archive for February, 2012
Two days later, and he’s still looking for her
Posted in life with dog, Realta Rosario Cooper, Stanegate Second Thoughts, tagged bitch in heat, bitch in season, Irish Water Spaniels, IWS on February 29, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Novice A nemesis
Posted in dog training, life with dog, Obedience/Rally, Realta Rosario Cooper, tagged Irish Water Spaniels, IWS, Long Down exercise, obedience, obedience training on February 27, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Cooper and I need help with the Long Sit and Long Down. Last Saturday at the Obedience trail in Albany, Oregon, Cooper would have (barely) qualified if he had just stayed down. But at 2:40 in the Long Down, he got up and walked calmly to me. He’s done this at his last 4 trials. [...]
Ring nerves visualization
Posted in dog behavior, dog shows / conformation, life with dog, Obedience/Rally, puppy, Realta Rosario Cooper, tagged AKC hunt tests, Control Unleashed, dog shows, dog toys, Irish Water Spaniels, IWS, Junior hunt tests, Leslie McDevitt, nervousness at dog shows, retrieving, retrieving the morning paper, ring nerves on February 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been searching around for ways to handle my nervousness at dog shows. I love this quote*, which I just found in the Yahoo group, Clicker Competition Obedience Training: …Any time you start to feel nervous, take a nice deep breath and picture three images in your head. First think about the first time you [...]
Figure 8s
Posted in life with dog, Obedience/Rally, Stanegate Second Thoughts, tagged dog obedience, Figure 8 exercise, Irish Water Spaniels, IWS on February 20, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I made myself dizzy yesterday afternoon, all in the service of improving my dog obedience handling skills. Finally, what my teachers have been trying hard to show me is beginning to sink in: so much of my success (or lack thereof) in competition obedience lies with my footwork. Since you can only minimally talk to [...]
The Ultimate Mini Cooper
Posted in dog art and photos, friendship, life with dog, Realta Rosario Cooper, Stanegate Second Thoughts, tagged dog art, felted dog sculpture, Irish Water Spaniels, IWS, Lower Columbia HRC on February 18, 2012 | 7 Comments »
Getting into the Irish Water Spaniels as a breed has brought many changes and additions into our lives (as chronicled in this blog), but one of the best things is the amazing people we have met who have become fast friends. One I would like to highlight is Carol. We have posted numerous times in [...]
Cooper: 5 years and counting
Posted in life with dog, Realta Rosario Cooper, tagged birthday pictures of dogs, dog birthday, Irish Water Spaniels, IWS on February 14, 2012 | 5 Comments »
The last 5 years have been delightful, frustrating at times, but very much life-expanding. We have totally changed how we spend our time and money, and we have added so many amazing people to our circle of friends. All due to Cooper joining our household. On Valentine’s Day in 2007, Cooper (then known as Blue [...]
Labor of love, part 2
Posted in life with dog, Realta Rosario Cooper, tagged Irish Water Spaniels, IWS, making a dog bed, making a dog crate mat, quilting a dog bed on February 12, 2012 | 1 Comment »
About 16 months ago, I attempted to recreate a dog mat that I had bought at a dog show. I loved the original, and I would happily have bought another one. But I have never been able to find the vendor who sold it to me. The first one I built didn’t turn out half [...]
