A lot of people, especially in the working spaniel world, look down on dog shows – they’re seen as being about appearance and, as such, an unnecessary vanity. It’s all about PERFORMANCE for working cockers, so appearance doesn’t matter! The implicit subtext is that this focus on performance is somehow morally and ethically superior – and in all honesty, once upon a time, I embraced this attitude as well.
Author Archives: Elina Halonen
DIY enrichment with boxes
A new shoe box with fresh wrapping paper – can’t leave that opportunity slip by 😂 Deer treatos in bits of paper and layer in… voilà! Also doubles as a bit of patience training when you’re “forced” to observe the process – some huffing emerged when the human was just taking a ridiculous amount ofContinue reading “DIY enrichment with boxes”
PSM promotion mode at Hond 2022
We went to the biggest dog show of the year yesterday just to walk around like PSM advertising with our shirts and bags 😁 (not registered because we originally had other plans for this weekend) We met some nice people like the chairman of the Dutch association for Irish Water Spaniels whose tip for thoseContinue reading “PSM promotion mode at Hond 2022”
Toy review: Lickimat UFO
The path to a “well-trained dog” is paved with tiny tiles
Dogs have taught me to become a much more patient person – progress is gradual, skills are learned in small increments, and some days, you just have to let it go with a shrug. But if you persist and just keep doing small things every day (or every 3 days!), one day you’ll realise youContinue reading “The path to a “well-trained dog” is paved with tiny tiles”
The priceless gift of resilience
Yesterday we had a car problem on the motorway between Den Haag and Amsterdam and had to call the recovery services to check it out. You can’t sit in the car, so we had to entertain ourselves on the grassy area by the road. It was an odd situation so I did some bits ofContinue reading “The priceless gift of resilience”
TV for dogs
Every once in a while I put on animal videos from YouTube – it’s always interesting to see how Grace reacts to them and which ones she pays attention to. We’ve previously watched a lot of videos of cats, mice, birds and even underwater life which was utterly fascinating. Before this I already showed someContinue reading “TV for dogs”
Letting puppies loose
Most pictures of Grace in the first year were like this – I considered it success if she was actually IN the picture, including head, and not a blur 😂 She was off leash from the third day after she came to live with us aged 16 weeks and she has been that way forContinue reading “Letting puppies loose”
Much ado about retractables
Controversial POV: I’m a HUGE fan of flexis – so much so that I wish there was a 10 metre one in small, but unfortunately 8m is the longest that they make. I even walk my dog with a flexi AND a collar. In short, I’m one of those people who the Dog Internet lovesContinue reading “Much ado about retractables”
Teaching my dog to ask for safety
We had an unusual walk today after a dog briefly harassed Grace – I was shoving unruly poop bags back into my waist bag for a few seconds when it happened so I didn’t see how it started, just that Grace squealed. It’s very rare that Grace is shaken by something but this time sheContinue reading “Teaching my dog to ask for safety”
BusyDoggie 