Training

I don't know if Cavaliers are considered easy to train or not. Red had a brief training session when he was a puppy. We're not doing anything like that with Harp. Really all I care about is if the pooches are well behaved. 

By nature these guys want to be with their humans and are usually quiet and calm. Harp still will go out into the backyard, patrolling the fence line looking for anything to bark at. Red did the same thing when he was a Pup but quickly got over it. 

I think taking your dog out to new places often, walking them, socializing, and including them as much as possible is just as good if not better than "training."

 

Harp at One

 So, all the walking during the early days of COVID must of made me soft as I agreed that a playmate for Red was a fantastic idea. We made the purchase with stimulus money. 

Money well spent!!!

That's right Harp. This is the thing about having two dogs. 

1. Don't let anyone tell you that having 2 dogs is just as easy as having 1 dog. Not a chance. 2 dogs I think is more than twice the work. 

2. The older dog will "train" the puppy. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

I also assumed that all Cavaliers are basically the same. Wrong again! Harp is a totally different puppy than Red. She was much more challenging to house train. Red was a breeze at that. She is a totally the boss. Red is so laid back. 

Harp is a live wire for sure. At one year old she is showing signs of calming down a bit. I just hope she doesn't loose all the "Wild Gal" in her.

Harp

 

March 2020 came along and things got a bit strange. I'm not going to go into detail regarding my thoughts on the pandemic. However, I will say that a world wide pandemic will apparently:

1. Create an uncontrollable urge to purchase toilet paper.

2. Inspire people go out and take a walk.

I remember on one of the first nice days of spring seeing a parade of people walking by the house. This was a good thing. Many with dogs. I saw people (neighbors) I never saw before. Not to mention dogs that hardly ever get out of the backyard. We've always have been good and walking our dogs and Red was no exception. He is well know throughout our neighborhood. So, we took to the road like everyone else. Unfortunately, we found ourselves walking alone again after a few weeks. 

It was during one of these walks Sandi began talking about how much Red would like a little sister. He always was so happy to meet other dogs and play. Soon the breeder that provided Red was called and she just happened to have a little female that was born in March. (Around the same time as the pandemic started...just saying) Next thing I know, we've got ourselves a new puppy. 

Harp is a Black and Tan female. 

All I can say is that Red was not pleased with our decision at all. What in the world were you guys thinking?? 

Sorry Red, things will eventually settle down. 

More Red

So, after we lost Gypsy, Red was the only dog getting all our attention. On top of that, I retired and had plenty of time to spend with him. I don't recall Red "missing" Gypsy. We walked him every day. This is his most favorite thing to do in my opinion. Well besides eating that is. We live in a very dog friendly area and we took him everywhere, weather permitting. If is real hot he prefers to stay home. 

We took him swimming at a very early age. Sandi tossed a stick into the water and he swam out and retrieved it like a champ. 

He spent hours in the backyard playing with us. 

From an early age he played fetch. 

How adorable is he????

Anyway, things were going well with us all. Red enjoyed getting all our attention. I am fine being a one dog guy. I never had much desire for another dog. Then March 2020 hit us and things changed. 
 

 

 

Red

I never thought about having a Cavalier and wasn't very familiar with the breed. Sandi had a few encounters with a few Cavaliers and always talked bout the never ending tail wagging. So 5 years ago Red came into our lives. He has been such a great dog! Very easy to train and very devoted. I always say that Red is solid as a rock. 

The most annoying thing he does is bark at the sight of another animal on the TV screen.  We have not seen the Animal Plant channel in years. When we are out and about, people always ask what kind of dog he is. I reply that he is a mini St. Bernard. Red is really big for the breed, weighing in at around 30 lbs. He's a big boy.

The End of "Not Your Standard Poodle"

 

I started to Blog many years ago to document the life of Gypsy, our Standard Poodle. This picture was taken the night prior to Gypsy leaving us. She could barely stand on her own. Our Cavalier, Red was 1 year old at the time. Gyp stood up and touched noses with Red, handing off her humans to him. Check out the previous blog at notastandardpoodle-gregg.blogspot.com to get some history.

Anyway, it's been a long time since I did this so please cut me some slack. I'm just going  to try to document life on the Eastern Shore with our Cavaliers.