Bad Weather

Not sure I will ever quite get to truly understand the Welsh Springer Spaniel breed. Tess, our Welsh Springer Spaniel, just loves playing in the river, jumping into puddles and running into the sea, but just like me she is not keen on the bad weather.

We have had two days of almost non-stop rain this holiday weekend. We did manage to get a quick walk in yesterday morning before it really started raining but once we got back she refused to go into the garden until early evening by when I suspect desperation had set in. We did push her out once but she just stood next to the back door blinking as if to say “you must be joking”.

At one point I even tried shielding her with an umbrella (honestly) but she was having none of it. Very sensibly this Welsh Springer Spaniel would rather stay curled up in doors asleep in the warm.

How did she manage to last nearly all day? And to think we worry if we are going to be out for more than a couple of hours!!!.

OBEDIENCE CLASSES

I’ve been taking Tess to Obedience Classes now for about a year and was so excited when Arlene finally announced that she was ready to move up to the Advanced Class with her partner in crime, Willow, another lovely Welsh Springer Spaniel.

We love going to the beginners class but for a while now I’ve felt Tess had progressed well and needed more challenging exercises. Welsh Springer Spaniels are very intelligent but do have minds of their own and need stimulation.

There are so many new puppies in the class now and its hard to recall that Tess was so distracted and just wanted to play rather than respond to my commands. Then suddenly it just seems to come good and you feel so proud. How I want to encourage those new owners to persevere and they will see results.

I was bursting with pride in our last lesson on Tuesday night. She isn’t perfect by any means but she tried so hard and did everything I asked of her. My little star!

I know many people don’t feel classes are necessary and in fact we have friends whose dogs are very well behaved and have never attended a formal class but I do notice they aren’t as well socialised with both dogs and people as those who have some training.

We’ve met some lovely people and of course, many different breeds of dogs and its nice to share tips, funny stories and advice. Arlene, our teacher, has been a huge support and oh so patient!

Personally I’d advise anyone with a new pup to enrole as soon as possible.
We have so much fun!!!!!!! Roll on next week and our new class and apologies to the regulars who will have to put up with two such mischievous monkeys!!!!!

THIS WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH!!!!!

We’ve already told you about our visit to friends in Norfolk and how Tess dominated poor Finlay, a mature Border Terrier, in his own home. There was also a little bit of jealousy showing itself too for the first time ever. Is this a Welsh Springer Spaniel trait??

So we did chuckle this morning when Tess went up to wake up the Master of the house. We don’t usually allow visits upstairs but she did let us have a lie in today as it’s a Bank Holiday so we didn’t mind too much. Anyway after a few minutes snuggling up to Master Tess caught sight of herself in the mirror. Now how on earth did another dog manage to find its way into her domain? After some scrutiny of this new arrival she decided it wasn’t acceptable and started barking furiously at it. Strangely it barked back. How could we even think about bringing another pup into her home and another Welsh Springer Spaniel at that?? UNTHINKABLE!

It took some time to convince her that it really was only her own reflection staring back at her and really nothing to worry about. PANIC OVER!!!

I guess we won’t be getting her a new playmate just yet!

Trip to Norfolk

"Well it is cold in Norfolk!"







Had a lovely weekend up in Norfolk with some old friends of ours, Tess as always had a great time in true Welsh Springer Spaniel style.

Our friends have a lovely Border Terrier called Finlay who is a lovely, placid dog but then Tess arrived. First things first, she discovered Finlays dog flap and what a treat, I can go into the garden whenever I want to without waiting for someone to open the door! Needless to say Tess spent a lot of the weekend in the garden.

We paid a visit to a country show but Tess did not seem to enjoy herself amongst all the crowds, she was very keen to leave and only seemed happy when she was on open ground away from the crowds. Something to be aware of there.

However on the Sunday we went for a long walk in one of the many country parks in Norfolk and even though it has not rained for 2 or 3 weeks in Norfolk, being a typical Welsh Springer Spaniel, Tess managed to find the only black muddy puddle within a fifty mile radius, stood in the middle of it and spent the rest of the walk looking like she was wearing black wellington boots. A couple walking their dog though it was hilarious although not so much when she threatened to jump up at them with wet muddy paws!!!!

The other funny thing we noticed this weekend and have not seen before is how jealous dogs can be. As I was sitting on the sofa Finlay the Border Terrier thought it would be nice to jump up and sit on my lap, Tess was having none of it and even though she was perfectly comfortable on another settee she was straight over to point out that only she was allowed to do that. Welsh Springers, never a dull moment!!!!!!!!

"Norfolk fresh air works its magic"

Handy work

Doing anything round the house with a Welsh Springer Spaniel is never easy. The post man knows this only too well as he gets barked at mercilessly as he quietly goes about his business.

Last week the plumber came round to fix a tap and got jumped on. Luckily he has an equally exuberant Cocker Spaniel.so he wasn’t fazed.

At the weekend we attempted some gardening. Anyone with a Welsh Springer Spaniel will know they love gardening! Unfortunately!! As fast as you do something they undo it so everything takes double the time and attempting to dig in some farmyard manure, well I’m sure you can guess!

This week a friend came round to sort out a problem with some floorboards. Again she went mad but this was accompanied by loud barking. Now could it be because he had a beard we wondered? Or perhaps she felt the need to protect me as I was in the house on my own? Who knows how a Welsh Springer Spaniels mind works!

Tomorrow we have another man coming to measure up for some new flooring. Now I wonder if he has a beard?……………………………………………………