Another glorious Franschoek excursion

We visited the amazing Franschoek again today and Salvador had such a fun day with Jameson (his new best friend)! We thought of going for an exciting walk - swimming in the dam maybe, but then it was too much of a lazy day so we decided to just go to the grassy patch that we usually go to except, this time we met a horse! Here are the pics!
                          

Jameson and Salvador's 'can we leave now!'faces...so we eventually left and went up the road past this gorgeous view....

   

...until we got to the grassy patch where we met a horse!

 

         

We don't know this guy's name, but he eventually(after ignoring some barks from Salvador...) became a friend.

It's been a good day and now it's packing time because we move in two days time...?!

Famous art containing Spaniels

I recently saw a beautiful old painting and there in the corner of the painting, sat a tiny little Spaniel, so I thought it would be interesting to find some more paintings containing Spaniels and my goodness, there are so many!

Hecor,Nero,Dash and Parrot Lory - Edwin Landseer, 1838

This painting was one of the many paintings of the royal pets commissioned by Queen Victoria. The Spaniel on the little pedestal (which, I think implies that he's the favorite) is her beloved Norfolk Spaniel Dash, whom there are plenty of other paintings of! Some more info on the Norfolk Spaniel here.

Young King Charles II of England with his Spaniel - Anthony van Dyck, 17th century

The dog breed in this painting with King Charles II is non other than the King Charles Spaniel. I also find it quite funny that this painting is not called, 'King Charles II with Ladies So-and-So',but 'Young King Charles II with his Spaniel'.

Unkown

I can't seem to find who did this painting, but according to the website I found it on, the tiny dog in this picture is a Phalene of Pappillion - they were also called Squirrel Spaniels-probably due to their curled tails!

Rosie the River - poster by Norman Rockwell

I love this poster by Rockwell and note the cute little dog running along! Has to be a Spaniel!















These are but a few of the many painting and other art works containing Spaniels!

Spaniels in movies - Lady and the Tramp!

I'm on a bit of a roll with this 'Spaniels in movies' research although this is the only other movie I could find. If you know of any other please share!
Lady and the Tramp is by far the most popular movie containing a Spaniel - an English Cocker Spaniel, no less! Most of you have most likely seen it so I shall not bother you with the plot, but I did find the following cute pics!

The original 'Lady' and the animated version

This is a picture that came from a press release for the marketing of the movie in 1988. The dog on the left belonged to the animator of Lady and the Tramp, Hamilton Luske and her name was Blondie. She was the inspiration for Lady in the animated movie.

The real Tramp and HER animated version

So, interesting fact! The dog that the Tramp was based on was in fact a girl! She apparently nearly had a very similar fate to her animated version i.e. the pound, before stardom came knocking at her kennel door that is!




Please do share if there are any other movies you come across or think of that contain any kind of Spaniel!

Spaniels in movies - What is Heen?!

Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite movies ever! Not because I'm particularly into Anime movies, I just love how odd this movie is and my favorite character has to be Heen, the dog! He is the perfect mixture of cute and curious (by this I mean to say that I, for a long time, could not put my finger on what breed of dog he is).

This is Heen

When I started the 'So many to choose from' posts, I came across the Suffolk Spaniel and, even though I haven't watched the movie in ages, I was immediately reminded of Heen! Take a look for yourself!

This side view is what got me!

Now take a look at this picture of Suffolk Spaniel, Clussex Three D Glinchy Glee (show names for you...) that won 'Best in Show' at the 2009 Westminster Kennel Club Show...

Suffolk Spaniel

Look at the setting of the tail, the face and the short little legs, throw in some Basset Hound and you've got the color (not sure about the pink paws, but let's keep in mind this can go any way - it's Anime after all...). CONVINCED!

The time for a new blanket has come!

Salvador has been in need of a new blanket for quite some time now. In fact, he hasn't had one at all for a few months - don't worry, he has a bed! It has just been scorching hot lately and the last blanket he had was a fleece one that I made from some leftover fleece fabric, along with a poofy pillow. He literally loved these items to death...

The 'poofy pillow' being suckled and kneaded - although this is extremely cute, it's disastrous for the fabric and overall appearance of these things

This is the current state of the blanket

Needless to say, the pillow was first to go. As with all soft toys and this stuffed pillow, the insides are usually taken out first and then it is left on the lawn in the sun (all in one pile as if to say 'this is my stuff, have you seen it?'), along with the blanket, chew toys, plastic containers from who knows where and bones. I usually clean up the plastic and bones, but fear for what might have bred out under and in between the layers of the blanket...

So today I went to the shops (to PEP to be precise) and bought him a new, very soft and comfy, grey blanket. Just in time for the early winter that's kicking in.

The new 'Stormy' blanket from PEP

It cost me all of R49.99 so if it needs replacing - which it probably will - it's not a big deal. The dark grey is great for not seeing dirt, although I'll probably give it a wash once a week depending on how many mud baths this one takes. 

I've also found that when we go out for the weekend and take Salvador with, it's nice for him to have something in the foreign place that smells like him and like home. It makes him feel comfortable. And we will be going on some trips very soon...more on that later!

  Earlier...

A few minutes later...

Currently...

So many (not) to choose from (Part 6)

Because I find it very interesting, I've decided to add the five Spaniels that went extinct too! Here they are:

Alpine Spaniel

The Alpine Spaniel was a very large breed, reaching up to 2 ft at shoulder height and they had curly coats. They were used to scout out lost travelers in the Alps and are believed to be the predecessors of the modern day St.Bernard and Clumber Spaniel.
Unfortunately they went extinct due to disease in 1830.

English Water Spaniel

These Spaniels stood about 20 inches tall and were white and liver brown in color. They were mostly used for hunting waterfowl and the last one was seen in 1930. There is even a referral to them in Shakespeare's Macbeth!

Toy Trawler Spaniel

This type grew up to 13 inches high and was a descendant of the King Charles Spaniel. Their coats were feathery , yet their noses differed from the a fore mentioned due to it's upturned tip. They went extinct in  1920, although a stuffed version can still be found in Tring's Natural History Museum.

Norforlk Spaniel

The more I read about this type, the more I think Salvador is a direct descendant, apart from the fact that they were white and black in color...They are a type in between the Cocker and the Springer and stood about 20 inches high. What made me think of Salvador is the fact they got very attached to their owners and they were quite vocal, often japing like dogs in a hunting pack(Salvador does this when chasing Henry...). They could also be bad tempered and weren't easy to train. This Spaniel went extinct in 1902.

Tweed Water Spaniel

The water Spaniel was mostly known in the area close to the River Tweed and went extinct in the 19th century. They had curly coats in a liver chestnut color and are believed to be the predecessors of Golden Retrievers.










And that's it! It's quite interesting to see what influences these dogs had on modern day breeds and also how many of their characteristics can be picked up in the Spaniels that I've met. I guess there's a little bit of them all in young Salvador...

De Waal Park, Cape Town

Salvador came with me to work today and while I had a few errands to run, he patiently waited for his promised walk in De Waal Park in Cape Town.

Find your way there

The park is 12 hectors in size (ample space for energetic dogs) and it is a bustling meeting place for people and dogs from all around the area. A few main features is the Victorian Fountain (which Salvador saw as an open invitation for some swimming),

Victorian Fountain

Salvador testing the waters in the fountain

 Loads of beautiful trees and benches to relax on, paved walk ways,  lots of grassy space for dogs to run around on and to top it all off, the whole park is fenced off so your dog won't be able to run into the busy roads. These are only a few of the great features of this tranquil park.

A view of the playground in the park

Gorgeous views of table mountain

The park is open daily from 06:30 - 20:00 in Summer months and from 07:00 - 18:00 in Winter months and if you go late afternoon, you're sure to meet lots of dogs! We went mid day and it was relatively quiet, although Salvador made two friends and there was some serious shenanigans going on! 

Salvador and his new Lab friend

Salvador and his new Pekingese friend

 Most of the dogs we met weren't on leads, but it is obviously up to you. We will definitely be returning to this one!!

So many to choose from!!! (Part 5)

Here are the last bunch of pups!

Welsh Springer Spaniel

Small Munsterlander

Russian Spaniel

Stabyhoun

Sussex Spaniel

All the rest can be found here Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 and Part 4 .

A very brief history of the Spaniel

The name Spaniel comes from the French word, 'Espaigneul' meaning Spanish Dog, Spain being where they are believed to be from originally. 

They can be found in 14th-16th century literature where in they are described to be mostly white with brown spots although later on a white version with black and brown spots was bred in France. These dogs were primarily hunting dogs and by the 1600's a differentiation could be made between two versions - land- and water Spaniels, depending on what type of hunting they were used for.

Obo II

Fast forward a few years on...The name 'Cocker' comes from the woodcock they used to retrieve and it was around 1870 when it was decided that Cockers should weigh no more that 11kgs and any dog over this weight was considered a Springer Spaniel. In 1987 a clear definition was made between the show and hunt types. 

A dog named Obo II was the foundation sire for the modern day American Cocker Spaniel and another called Obo, the sire of hunting type, English Cocker Spaniel. 

In the 1900's a Cocker Spaniel won the title of 'Best in Show' at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for the first time. 

'My own Brucie' wins 'Best in Show' at the Westminster Kennel Club Show 1941

It would be very interesting to find out when Spaniels first came to South Africa!

Information from the following sources: 
https://caninechronicle.com/dog-show-history/red-brucie-changing-cockers-forever/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocker_Spaniel
http://mycockerspaniel.com/history.htm

Making progress feels pretty good!

Salvador just went for a morning walk - it's pretty freezing today, but it has been for the past two days and I could see if he stayed in one more day he was going to go a little crazy.

For the past month I've been gradually getting him to listen to the command 'COME' when out on walks. Because we live on the farm, he doesn't go on the lead when we go on walks and being the smell-orientated dog that he is, he often runs way ahead and never came when I called. So, treats in pocket, I started calling him back every once in a while and then rewarding him.

As I've said, I've been doing this for about a month now, gradually increasing the amount of times I call him back and also doing so in situations where I can see he is too excited by a smell or sound - you want your dog to come no matter what - and this morning we had a break through! That moment when you think, 'all the work has paid off'!

On our way home he sped ahead as usual and I heard the people living up the hill's dog barking. So I call him back and he eventually comes, but as we walk on I see the dog, which happens to be a German Shepard, was outside the gate playing with the neighbor's son... Now, Salvador, in this case, would normally rush towards this dog with arrogance written all over his face, but this dog, being much bigger and potentially dangerous, is not the one you want to mess with (this is not Salvador's way of thinking, but mine...) SO, there was a brief bark and a bit of a rumble and I called him back thinking to myself 'pff, like he's going to listen to you now!' And low and behold, he actually came!
I gave a treat and said 'sit, wait', as calmly as possible and he did! Eventually, with me holding on to his collar - for fear of jinxing his good behavior - we walked past and we were off home!

Now perhaps I'm being over exited about this, but if you have ever tried to teach your dog to do something  you previously thought was going to be very tricky and it eventually, after a lot of repetition and patience, paid off, you will know this glorious feeling of accomplishment!
I guess what I'm trying to get through here is to stick with slowly incorporating new lessons and tricks for your dog. BE PATIENT, CONSISTENT, CALM AND CLEAR and it WILL pay off!

Is your dog a 'drop' or 'leave-it' kind of dog?

Recently I've been having some problems getting Salvador's chew toys away from him. I think the problem started when he became very possessive over them when Henry came around and would almost use it as a 'you cant get this' game.
This wasn't too much of a concern to me then, but when we got to my boyfriend's parents house on Sunday (Franschoek) and I had to try and intimidate their poor dog's chew toy out of Salvador's mouth (there was even some growling...), I decided I should make work of this situation.

Apart from the fact that he might actually bite someone for trying to take something from him, I just think it's something that, with a little effort, all dogs should be able to learn, so I found these two different methods and now I'm trying to figure out which one I think is more efficient. If anyone has an opinion about them or an alternative way...

Watch the YouTube video bellow or read what I found on Cesar Millan's page here .

So many to choose from!!! (Part 4)

Pont-Audenmer Spaniel

Picardi Spaniel

Phalenes (These seem to be the same/very similar to the Papillons)

Papillon

Large Munsterlander


Enjoy!!!

Franschoek

                                             

      

         

We went to Franschoek today, but before that Salvador got over his fear of the bath, which is not because he has ever been forced to get into water in the past, in fact, he LOVES water and swimming, but there's something about a running bath and the aroma of the flea dip that strikes fear into this one...So with some gentle coaxing and many treats, we are now no longer afraid AND we got to go on a great outing. Franschoek - now there's another pet friendly outing for you!