"A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

Tess - The Welsh Springer Spaniel

Happy Birthday !!!

Happy 3rd birthday to Tess just the best Welsh Springer Spaniel - OK so we're slightly biased!!

Another Fun Day

"two against one is not fair!!"

Tess has the best social life and we get to go along too, which is always fun!

While we were on holiday we visited our lovely friends we met just because we all have dogs. You’ve heard stories about Tess’s favourite boy, Flash. Well now he has a little sister and its all our fault!!!!

Last time we visited, Flash’s owners noticed how much their young boys loved Tess as she was just the right size for them. Flash is the most adorable Pointer, but big and powerful and just too much of a handful for little people. A Spaniel would be the perfect size! So they set about finding a similar sized pooch for their family. And to cut a long story short they now are the proud owners of a little English Springer Spaniel called Dizzy. She is the most adorable little thing but of course you always forget what a handful a puppy is!!!! And you forget all those annoying little things those tiny bundles do to test you. I never thought I’d survive Tess’s puppy months but here we are almost 3 years down the road and we wouldn’t be without her.

Dizzy is the prettiest little girl and really very good for one so young. Flash adores her and even Tess tolerated her but didn’t really like the competition. How quickly they forget they were once such trouble!

Catch Up

"You're not taking another photo!!"












So sorry you haven’t heard from us for so long – life just seems to get in the way sometimes!!!!

And we’re just back from another week in our favourite Norfolk, which Tess just adores. It’s a very dog friendly county and we were so lucky with the weather, which makes all the difference when your whole week revolves around walking a dog. There were lots of lovely sunny days, which means long walks out on the coastal path and marshes.

Our Welsh Springer Spaniel has a penchant for dirty muddy puddles so she was on and off her lead all week, but had a good romp at Sheringham Park, in and out of the woods. We also walked round the lake in the grounds of Holkham Hall, which was beautiful. We did intend to play on the beach after lunch but the heavens opening so that idea was abandoned. As usual we met up with Tess’s brother, Wilby and his owners. Tess ended up running across a field to chase the pigeons, deaf to our calls – another Welshie trait - so not to be out done Wilby ended up several times in the muddy marshes – not ideal when you are heading for a lovely pub lunch!!! On our final day we headed to Wroxham and took a day boat out on the Broads. A first for Tess. She was very good but I had to hold on firmly, otherwise the temptation to jump in and swim after the ducks would have been too much!

A quick trip to the groomers was needed as soon as we got back. Welsh Springers do seem to be particularly hairy creatures so need regular grooming. She does look rather wonderful now I must say, although I am a little biast!!

This weekend we had a grown up, dog free time, visiting friends in Marlow on the River Thames. Tess went to stay with Mummy No. 2 – Laura and her Welsh Springer Spaniel, Nesta. How different life is without a dog!!!!! Tess loves Laura and her family so has a ball, and we’re told her behaviour is impeccable – what a surprise!!!!!! She’s obviously trying to impress!!!!!!

As she approaches her 3rd birthday we notice how much more grown up she seems. She still has the occasional naughty moment – just to keep us on our toes - but in the main she’s much more obedient than she was in those nightmare puppy months.
So you see – it does get better!!!!!

And watch this space for an update on the 3rd Birthday Party…………………………

Call that a shot!

"Eat your heart out David Beckham!!"

Well as you can see this Welsh Springer Spaniel has developed a new skill - football. It would seem that Tess much prefers playing at goalkeeper so any teams need a goak keeper let me know. Perahps the Welsh national team are looking for a goalkeeper :-)

ps. Hi to Duke in Philadelphia - thanks for giving me a wave

Check out these pics

Tess was bored this evening so being a clever dog she thought she would look at youtube and searched under Welsh Springer Spaniel and found this great set of photo's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtX-PW4M9hY&NR=1

Great sound track to go with it as well!

NAUGHTY - ME????????

"Last one to the top is a sissy!"

I’ve been in quite a lot of trouble lately, but I can’t see what all the fuss is about.
I am a Welsh Springer Spaniel, after all!

It all started with a visit to my brother, Wilby. We love getting together and playing, but we have slowed down a little now we are older. I’m told I’m still a bit of a minx, but my bro has become quite the gentleman – he stood back and let me drink from the water bowl first and never once tried to eat my dinner. Very strange behaviour if you ask me. So it wasn’t surprising that when we went for a walk at a beautiful place called Wolferton, he was on his best behaviour, while I wanted to explore these lovely new surroundings. I couldn’t contain myself and ran off into the woods and undergrowth to see what I could find. In fairness I did hear the whistles and calls, and they did sound a bit frantic after a while, but I was having the best time ever. It was only when I saw Wilby’s Dad scrambling up the bank and looking really red in the face, that I thought it was time to come back, but only after I’d flushed out a pheasant. Very gun dog ish!!!!!! I did attempt one more bit of fun, but the humans thought enough was enough and put me on my lead. No fun at all! The following day we went to the seaside at Thornham - a brilliant place for dogs and humans alike – and I made a big effort to behave, and spent ages playing in the sea.

Some days later another ‘’incident’’ occurred. Dad left the gate open momentarily and I made a quick escape. As luck would have it our neighbours had also left their gate open so I thought it would be fun to explore. They have a lovely garden and the fence at the bottom is much lower than ours and, guess what? There’s a stream at the back of the houses. Hurrah! More water. I jumped in and splashed around for a while. I did hear all the calls, but was having too much fun to respond. I finally decided to jump back in and couldn’t resist running in through the open patio doors to see if their house looked anything like ours. By this time lots of people seemed to be chasing me for some reason, and Mummy appeared and was very cross indeed. I seemed to have put muddy paw marks all over the carpet. Oh dear! Apparently it cost my owners quite a lot to have it professionally cleaned. The neighbours seemed quite cool about it all………….

They say things come in threes. While my owners were having a leisurely Sunday lunch I was quietly wandering round the garden when to my delight I found a baby pigeon just sitting on the patio. Well, it would be un-spaniel like not too have gently placed it between my teeth just for a moment. Oh No, here comes Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Temper tantrum

It's not staying in here!











Well what funny behaviour. We had another welsh springer spaniel come to stay last weekend called Nesta who Tess goes to stay with when we go away. They get on very well together and in the past Nesta has been very protective of Tess when they were on a walk together and met a rather large, overexcited Alsatian.

So last weekend Nesta arrives and we put her bed along sides Tess's bed. Well we had only turned our backs for a minute, looked around and Tess had taken all of Nesta's bedding out of the bed and put it in the garden. We put it back and she proceeded to do the same all over again. I guess that's Welshies for you always doing the unexpected.

After that it settled down well and they had a great weekend together although Tess was not impressed when ever Nesta received a cuddle. Now do we want another Welsh Springer Spaniel as a sister for Tess?

Tess also says hello to all you visitors to the blog. Tess is very proud that she has friends all over including Norfolk England, Canberra Australia, Philadelphia USA, Helsinki Finland and Oslo Norway. Do give Tess a wave :-)

"Thought you said the sea was over this dune"

Tess met her brother Wilby at the seaside recently and as with all Welsh Springer Spaniels they love playing on the beach and if possible in the water. Unfortunately this time the tide was well and truely out, probably half a mile, so they had to make do with playing in the rock pools and sand dunes.

But they still enjoyed themselves and cannot wait for the next trip to the seaside!!

True Love 2

Even had a lovers tiff !!!

True Love

We first mentioned Flash back in February 2007. He is a very powerful, muscular black and white English Pointer and has the sweetest nature.

Tess has made many friends but without doubt her heart was lost to Flash from the moment she met him. Understandable as he is easily the most handsome dog on the block. What taste! And the feeling was instantly reciprocated.

When his family moved away she was heartbroken, so we were very excited to be invited to visit recently.

Would they recognise each other and would they feel the same way???

Well it was an interesting weekend. On first arrival Flash was very excited to see Tess and followed her everywhere. She, on the other hand, decided to play hard to get and was more interested in investigating the wonderful new garden, huge with woodland to explore, and a new house to nosy at. In fact she got very cross with him as he pressed his nose up to her private ‘’bits’’ and told him off in no uncertain terms. Poor Flash – his ego was definitely dented. But his behaviour was impeccable and he took it like a man!

But come day two and all that changed. And what a turn round. Now the little madam was only too happy to have all his attention and it was just like the old days. I guess she was just settling down and needed to feel comfortable in her new surroundings. They are so delightful together, having gentle tender moments interspersed with manic play fighting games. They were so sweet and kept us entertained all weekend. Without a doubt they remembered each other and will be friends forever.

You see true love never dies!!!!

Sunday Lunch

"Bet you can't lick your nose!!"












Another outing and sometimes you can’t help but think all these invites have a little to do with having a dog!!!!

This time we were visiting our friends with Florrie, their little West Highland White Terrier. She and Tess have met many times before. In fact it was naughty little Florrie who introduced Tess to armchairs. When our Welsh Springer Spaniel first arrived in our home we were adamant she wouldn’t go on furniture. Ha ha!!!!!! One visit from the older and wiser dog and that was the end of that rule! Oh well, she is part of the family I guess!

Anyway, our friends recently came to us for lunch and I have met up for walks before but this was the first time we had stayed for any length of time in their house, and, more to the point, Florrie’s domain. Our friends were a little worried how she would react but there was no problem at all, perhaps because they are both girls. We had a super walk on the local heath, then settled down for a lovely relaxing lunch. The dogs just amused themselves and were very comfortable with one another.
As it was such a beautiful day we sat outside on the patio and suddenly Tess realised that there was a huge comfy sofa placed strategically under the conservatory window which was wide open. What fun to run around, jump on the sofa……….and fly straight through the open window……….several times!!!!!! Well it kept us amused!

And it was Florrie who taught her everything she knows!!!!!

Cute Welshie Puppies

Copy and paste the following link into your browser to see a great video of Welsh Springer Spaniel puppies.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPxKS1IRPyM

Where are you?

"I know you're in there somewhere!!"

Here's a picture of Tess playing in the dune's near Sizewell in Suffolk where we had gone on a walk with friends and their English Pointer but more about that in the next post.

Like all Welsh Springer Spaniels Tess likes nothing more than a game of hide and seek when she is out on her walks and the dunes gave us plenty of opportunities to play.

I guess it must be a bit like having children. Once they reach a certain age their social lives become busier than your own!!!

Take this week………………………


Monday was an unusually warm sunny day. We had a lovely walk at our favourite spot and met many of our regular friends, which means lots of play.

On Tuesday we arranged to meet a new friend who has an 8 month old, Welsh Springer Spaniel pup called Freddie. Being a youngster he is still very lively and the last time we walked together he drove Tess mad with his boisterous play, but what a difference a few weeks make. He is growing up fast and maturing and this time was happy to enjoy his walk rather than hassle her all the way round. Now Tess is a grown up lady she can’t always be bothered with puppies and their lively ways, although it seems only yesterday that she was exactly like Freddie. We did have a tense moment though when Tess spotted something in the grass and an extremely long snake slithered across our path. It scared the life out of me, but the dogs paid it no attention at all and carried on calmly with their walk.

On Wednesday we’d lost the lovely warmth of the sun, but still met up with Tess’s favourite Aunty Laura, who looks after her when we go away. Her Welsh Springer Spaniel, Nesta, is now 4 years old and takes on the role of ‘’mummy’’ to Tess and they love each others company. She always feels the need to ‘protect’ her should any other dog dare to encroach on Tess’s territory! So sweet! Sadly we got soaked but it doesn’t seem to bother dogs!

Another day, another walk and on Thursday we met with our friend Sue and her English Springer Spaniel, Maddie, who Tess gets on famously with. They are very calm with one another spending most of the time ‘doing their own thing’ with occasional play. A funny thing did happen though. My friend put down her umbrella to wipe fox pooh off her naughty little pup and forgot to pick it up. When I reminded her, Maddie raced her to it and ran off with it firmly held in her mouth as if retrieving a bird. Not to miss out on the fun, Tess followed closely behind. What fun they had running through the crop field, chasing each other and laying down for the occasional rest so we couldn’t see them. How we laughed – why have you never got your camera at such times??

Last day of the week and disaster struck. After another nice walk with different dogs, I returned to the car and it wouldn’t start. Luckily my friend had her mobile and I called my husband to come and rescue me. If only he knew more about cars than I do! So after joining the AA in an emergency and waiting for the mechanic to arrive, Tess got another walk, then got bundled into the car while he attempted a repair job. Unfortunately I needed a new battery so while Steve went to sort it out I took a very confused little dog home. How strangely these humans behave!!!!!

What a week. I wonder what is in store for us next week………..

Call Yourself a Gundog???!!!

Another fun, well wet actually, Sunday, visiting friends with Millie, the 9 month old retriever puppy. They live near a National Trust Forest so we planned sometime ago to take the dogs for a nice long walk followed by a leisurely Sunday roast, but we didn’t reckon on the weather being quite so dreadful. Anyway, not ones for fair weather dog walking, off we plodded, well wrapped up to the elements. The problem was how to keep two very excited dogs clean. Answer – IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

We stayed under tree cover as much as possible but they were both filthy and we had a breath holding moment when they were romping through the trees and we spotted a herd of deer, which spooked and ran out into the open. How would our pups react????? Remarkably well, surprisingly. Both came back to call – I think Tess was a little nervous actually, probably recalling her bad experience with a horse who kicked out at her once, which was no bad thing. I thought Welsh Springer Spaniels, by nature, would be very interested in anything related to hunting. But no, she behaved impeccably.

They then had a little swim in the lake, which cleaned them off temporarily, but boy was she cold. She’s so tiny compared to an almost fully grown retriever that she looked like a little drown rat and sat shivering while we enjoyed our mugs of hot chocolate. Once we set off again she soon warmed up and ended up even muddier. But what fun – maybe she really is a gun dog after all!!!!!

A good hose off when we got home, followed by a big warm cuddle and some yummy roast chicken and she was as right as rain, although I must say we had a very subdued Monday. I don’t think a life as a working gun dog would be quite the life for our little Welsh Springer Spaniel some how!!!!!!!!!!!

Full speed

Hope you like the picture of Tess in full stride. Like all Welsh Springer's she is very focused on what she is doing and where she wants to get to.

Impressions

"Does this remind you of anyone"

As you can see this little Welsh Springer Spaniel loves to run and this picture caught her in mid flow, unfortunately she does remind me of a certain cartoon character, look at the ears. Have you worked it out yet?

I just like the picture!

And has our favourite Welsh Springer Spaniel grown out of the habit of chewing sticks? Of course not they just get bigger!!!

Another Adventure

Frisbee - my favourite game !!!







Well what a day on Sunday.

Our trainer had mentioned that Tess’s breeder would be judging at a local dog show so we thought it might be nice to take our little Welsh Springer Spaniel along to meet her. After all it is over 2 years since she’d seen any of the litter.

We’ve never seen so many different breeds of dogs in one place and Tess was rather overwhelmed. If you were thinking of getting a dog and were stuck on the breed you would love a dog show would be a great place to start.

After meeting a few other Welsh Springer Spaniels we met up with Christine, Tess’s first ‘’mummy’’, and were interested to hear what she thought of our little girl – ‘’lovely shape and good conformity but she would put a little more ‘meat on her’’. She is small for her breed but beautifully formed – well we think so!!!! We also learned that her real mum Briny had given birth to a litter of 4 bitches and 3 dogs the previous evening. Tempting but we think one Welshie in the family is enough for now! After admiring the diverse choice of breeds we set off for a walk along the river, but with such a lot of rain lately the meadow down to the water was saturated, so much to her disgust Tess stayed on her lead. We did see a couple of exuberant Labradors having a ball running in and out of the water but we didn’t relish transporting a very soggy, muddy little pup home so opted for a drink outside a country pub – well it was beautiful sunny day, just like spring – and she did manage a run and play off the lead in a near by park.

One sleepy (dry) little girl curled up on the way home and a nice peaceful afternoon was had by all.

Two Years!!!

Its hard to believe that this weekend was the second anniversary of when we brought Tess, our Welsh Springer Spaniel, home to live with us and how she has grown as you can see from the two photo's above. From a cute little puppy to a beautiful adult dog.

We have done the obedience classes and been to agility classes, both of which she loves and helps to keep her active. She has been on holiday with us and been to stay with friends.

It has been a hectic 2 years with rarely a dull moment - well we did choose a Welsh Springer Spaniel. Do we regret our decision two years ago? Of course not. Tess is part of our family and will always be - even if I don't agree with some of her gardening decisions!!!

Found a fairly new blog about the life of a Welsh Springer Spaniel called Coco Bean Chanel who is an adopted Welshie, I think in the US. Do have a look, some cute pictures, http://cocobeanchanel.blogspot.com/

Christmas 2007

Fence - what fence?







I’ve just been looking back at the early days of Tess’s blog – to remind myself what life with a Welsh Springer Spaniel pup was like – and read about the 2006 Christmas Party our obedience class teachers put on every year.

How could I not have told you all about this years party I wondered????

It was the same format as usual – lots of very excited dogs of all ages and every breed, wanting to say hello and play with each other. The highlight of the evening was, of course, the agility event.

And guess what???? Our little Welsh Springer Spaniel only came FIRST!!!!!!!!

Last year she was a very respectable 3rd but this Christmas she was CHAMP!

How proud were we????? Not sure if Tess realised what a star she was but was very happy with her prize of a big box of biscuits and we couldn’t have been happier!

Roll on next year!

Athletic Welshie

"I want it now!"

As you can see Tess is not a very patient Welsh Springer Spaniel. She loves to play with her frisbee constantly running after it and bringing it back to be thrown again but she does need to learn to wait for it to be thrown sometimes!!!!

A Wet Christmas Eve

It's in there somewhere!








I am sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that Tess our Welsh Springer Spaniel got herself into trouble over the Christmas break.

We went to friends over Christmas and they have a pond behind the house but being the perfect hosts our friends had put up a fence to stop Tess going into the water. For most of Chrismas Eve she was happy to run around the garden and explore and whilst she showed some interest in the pond she seemed to realise there was a fence and no chance of going into the water.

However, being a typical Welsh Springer she was not going to be beaten. We were having our Christmas Eve meal and decided she might need to go in the garden between courses at which point she noticed a duck the otherside of the fence found a gap and leapt through - straight into the pond and gave herself quite a shock.

One very wet and very muddy Welshie then had to be hosed down outside and was then given a quick bath to get rid of the mud. Obviously after that it was on the lead each time we went into the garden!

Happy New Year.