I was so pleased to find your site, I have been looking for advice and hints on keeping Spaniels and have found lots of useful information here.
We took Honey and Holly for six months to let their owner go abroad and it has since been decided that they stay with us. We of course are delighted but I cannot say the same for our Birman cat!!!!!!!!!! He want to meet them as he was used to dogs, our previous one having been a Doberman and they were the best of pals.
Honey and Holly are sisters from the same litter!!! which has brought its own problems in more ways than one. Poor Bertie is still upstairs as they chase him and the pack instinct comes in to play. We are hoping patience pays off!
They were both very nervous and scared when they arrived and it has taken a lot of training and routine to get them to where they are now. We still have a long way to go. We had them neutered a couple of months after they arrived and that was an upsetting experience I never wish to go through ever again. Holly cried for days and would not eat, and she lives to eat., thankfully neither they or we will ever have to share that experience in the future.
Friends have said what a difference in them as they do not react the way they used to with their hysterical and scared barking. I used to give the visitors a treat to give them which was kept until the guests had sat down and ignored them until the barking had stopped and then reward them.
We used a clicker and treats to get them to come back as they had never been off the lead and that worked unless some poor unsuspecting dog appeared and the barking and yelping would start up, very embarrassing!
It did help that one dog who was not going to be intimidated chased Honey who ran home to the safety of the garden, taught her a lesson.
We have kept dogs for over forty years having started off with Cairn Terriers and had three generations of them. They were just so easy to train as the younger ones just copied the older ones. We then went on to have a Doberman and he was just a pet but protective as well. He died and we eventually took on a rescue Doberman who was lovely and adored children but had a few issues which we had to address and once this was done he was great.
SPANIELS, especially siblings we are learning, are something different again. They are so lovely 'BUT' starting training at two years old is different to having them from pups. One would be no problem and they do want to please so finding your website is a tremendous relief to read other Spaniel owners' stories and what they have had to do with different situations.
I was especially interested in the grooming questions and how they should be stripped. I went immediately and ordered a Coat King and thinning scissors. I already use a slicker brush and have just been cutting out any clumps which have escaped me.
Another interesting fact I found out was 'Yes' they have got a lot more hair since being neutered. I have always groomed them since they came to help the bonding process and also to get them used to being handled and so that I can check them over each day. I find that even although I use Frontline on them they can still get the odd tick. The poor little things were alive with fleas when they arrived. I had treated them with the flea and tick control within the first couple of hours of them arriving and their were fleas diving for cover and they were scratching like mad. I just have never seen dogs infested like that!!!!!!!! I itch at the thought of it. I fortunately had a spray for the house. I had to leave it a couple of days before bathing them.
We are all through the other side now although would still appreciate any advice on getting them to tolerate Bertie our poor cat.
I do hope I have not bored you all! I did not expect to be so enthralled with these two bundles of fun. So much for no more dogs especially at our age! They have given us a new lease of life, and a lot more house work but hey what else have I got to do with my time. We are both rewarded with so much love and adoration and I am sure we will get there, in the end. I cannot wait for the Coat King and thinning scissors to arrive. I will post before and after photographs when they are done, on second thoughts maybe not. I look forward to making your acquaintance and to read about your little darlings. They still are dogs though! and we know who is in charge, Dont we?
