CGC/TDI Test!

I am such a proud Mom!! Famke passed the CGC/TDI test yesterday morning. She did very well on the test and the only part of the test I was a little concerned about was the "leave it" portion for the TDI test. The dog has the walk within 3 feet of food on the floor and not try to eat the food. Famke is a food spaniel and lives to eat! She watched as the evaluator's helper put the food on the floor and I immediately thought "uh-oh". Luckily when I gave her a firm "leave it" by the food she did. Phew!

Proud of my little girl dog!!

Lots of fun new stuff!

I've been a terrible blogger again! Poor Famke is the second child and is already getting less "press" than her brother. LOL Since I posted last we were trying to survive Famke's first heat and we all made it through unscathed. Falkor became a little unhinged once Famke was in standing heat. He was obsessed with her and that wasn't much fun for anyone. Luckily once the heat was over everything went back to normal and now they are best buds again.

Famke and I are in our second session of intermediate obedience and having a blast! I am really lucky because Famke has some super attention while heeling. I can't take ANY credit for it at all she just seems to do it naturally. Obviously we are just at the very beginning but we are having so much fun.

We do need to work REALLY hard on nice, tight sits. Famke tends to sit sloppy so we are working hard on that. She is so smart so I'm sure she will catch on quickly.

We also starting taking agility classes at the club. What a blast!! I think she will be a fun lil agility dog as well. She seems to especially love the tunnel and chute.

Fun!!

My baby girl is becoming a woman.

If you guessed that Famke started her first heat you are right! I noticed last week that she was acting a little different and had a little bit of swelling. She started bleeding on Saturday and wow it sure is fun...umm not. We were lucky that Jackson's older underwear actually fit Famke perfectly so she has been sporting Lightening McQueen and Wall-E briefs. Unfortunately, Falkor things the underwear are a super fun toy and loves to pull Famke nearly off the ground by the waistband. :) So I spend a lot of time putting the underwear back on again and again. Famke has been acting totally normal otherwise and I am very interested to see if act differently as her cycle continues.

I'm bummed that we had to stop the intermediate obedience class we were taking at the club. She is doing so well! But we can train and home and we'll get back into class soon.

Blog Slacker!!

Wow I have been a neglectful blogger here on wee Famke's blog!! We haven't been doing anything too exciting but we are continuing on with our obedience classes and having a blast. Famke is such a happy lil dog to train and she just loves to learn. Last night was the graduation from our Beginners class and we did a few fun games and contests to demonstrate everything the dogs have learned. We had 3 Beginner's classes combined for graduation last night so there were about 30 dogs there I think. One of the contests was having the dogs sit at heel when we halted during heeling. They gradually weeded the group down by taking away leash corrections, voice commands, treats and hand signals. At the end you couldn't do or say anything to get your dog to sit except to halt. Famke was such a good girl and was actually the last dog remaining at the end!! Woo-Hoo! :)

We are still working on her wanting to do silly puppy sits, but man she plops down that little bum quick! They also had longest sit stay and Famke lasted for a long time until one of the instructors walked over and attempted to pet her...she jumped up and kissed the instructor on the lips. LOL

Last weekend was our huge local dog show at the Des Moines Fair Grounds and on Sunday our local club did a Meet the Breed booth and I signed up to bring Famke there. The building they have the show in is HUGE and very loud, crowded and hectic. Famke strolled right in without a care in the world and was thrilled to get treats and attention from strangers wanting to know about Field Spaniels. She was such a good girl and we both had a great time.

Our local obedience club will be holding a CGC/TDI test in November and I plan to enter Famke in that test. It is right after her first birthday so it is perfect timing since the dogs have to be a year to certify for TDI.

I am so happy that fall is here and now we can enjoy spending time playing and training outside!!!

Meg and Famke is the show ring!

Here is a video clip of Famke and Meg at the Iowa City Show a few weeks back.

Slacking on my blogging!!

I have been awful about updating my blogs, (yet again!), and I'm trying to get back on track here! My baby girl is 8 months old already and somehow gets cuter with each passing day. And it's a good thing because she has a naughty side and she is also doing the typical adolescent pushing the limits stuff.

Since I posted last Famke has been in her first two conformation shows!! I am so very proud of how she has been doing. Especially since I am a terrible dog Mom and I have put almost zero effort into training conformation. We've focused much more on obedience training and since I am such a conformation newbie I should be doing a lot more with that training! Famke was such a good girl at her very first show and was happy, attentive, and showed quite well. I really just wanted for her first experience to be a good one and it really was. It was the very first time in the conformation ring for us both and it was fun! We didn't do any winning but it was still a great time. Thank goodness that our best friend Shannon is always so helpful and kind enough to help me with grooming and getting Famke lookin' all fancy. :)

Our second show was in the same town that two of Famke's breeders (Meg and Kay) live and one of her breeders, Meg, had contacted me before the show and asked if I had any interest in having her show Famke that weekend. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to be able to watch Famke in the ring, and for Famke to get used to someone other and me showing her. It was so cute because Famke was so excited to see both Meg and Kay. Famke showed beautifully for Meg and it was really fun to be able to watch from outside the ring. It was another great experience for Famke and she got a point on both Saturday and Sunday so my baby girl has her first two points! :)

Sleep Over Party!!

Famke taking a brief wrestling break.

Famke..."Haha I got your ear!!"

Tired pups with curled tongues.

Cola getting ready to launch!

Last weekend we had Famke's sister, Cola, over for the night and the girls had way too much fun. They wrestled and wrestled and wrestled some more. It's so much fun to be able to let the girls play together. Falkor was also in heaven...."You mean I get to play with BOTH girls?!!". He adores them!

The girls played hard the entire time and once it was time to sleep that night they both crashed HARD. Ahhh sleepy puppies are wonderful! :)