Loki - Level 1 Puppy Class

I haven't blogged in a long time.  A combination of time, and really not feeling like sharing a whole lot.  After a wonderful vacation away and a line up of things that I'd like to share, it's time to get re-acquainted with this blog. 

I've been home a week from vacation.  We visited Las Vegas and the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  Paradise and complete bliss!  While shopping we stumbled across a Hawaiian doggy calendar with this cover.  Since the only picture in it of cavaliers was on the cover it didn't come home with me.  So adorable. 



Prior to leaving on our holiday, Loki and I attended a 7 week Puppy Level 1 training class at Campaign Dog Academy.  I'd really like to compete in some other avenues of competition with my cavaliers, so taking an introduction training class at a facility known for working with performance dogs was a great way to start.

The only photos I managed to take were on the last day of our class, graduation.  The quality kind of sucks, but I decided to share them anyways.  Too hard to take pictures and try and focus on training!

Campaign Dog Academy focuses on teaching through positive reinforcement methods of training.  This is the only method of training I would ever recommend for any breed of dog.  Since our favourite trainer and the incredible facility she works at are several thousand kilometers away, we had to find something just a bit closer!

Like all dogs, Loki loved to train and spend time 1 on 1 with just me. 

I looooove training class!  Look at my smile.


This 7 week session laid the foundations he'll need to further his training, or if we never take another session again(not happening, we loved it!), he has learned how to be a very mannerly little man. 

I'm very good at doing sit/stay, and settle/stay.  During my graduation I won the award for having the best settle/stay!  


It also gave Loki the opportunity to socialize with many different breeds in a controlled environment.  This gave him a better chance of making sure his experiences with other breeds were good ones.

There were many different breeds in his class.  Everything from a tiny white Pomeranian full of spunk, to a very sweet Newfoundland.  Funnily enough, it was the little white pom Loki was unsure of!  My big brave boy was terrified of the little outgoing ball of fluff.  By the second week in he seemed to realize that she was a girrrrl dog, and that he could go from being unsure to in looooove. 

That little corgi was so smart!


A very typical golden, always wanting to please his owner


We had two wonderful and patient instructors.  There were owners with all types of experience levels and they did a good job of tailoring the class to meet our needs


Sit, wait, COME!


Recall with distractions.  For some this was a real challenge.  Loki never looked at the toys once, like most Cavaliers he's focused entirely on where I am!


Adorably cute and smart, ut oh a new breed to love


Loki's other favourite woman


What do you mean training is over?  When do we get to come back?


It's never a waste of money to invest in a good training class with your puppy.  I encourage my puppy owners to take a good introductory puppy class.  Even if you think you won't learn anything, it is an invaluable part of having a well socialized and mannerly cavalier.  Make sure to check out the facility and instructors carefully.  Training methods should include patience and fairness, with no methods that will cause harm or fear.

Happy training!  Puppy Level 2 will be starting for us soon. 

Our Winter Soldier

One of the best benefits of having a good friend own one of your dogs is that you can switch dogs around if needed.   Last week Bucky stayed with us for a few days, and Jen and her husband took our super stink (Loki) for a few days. 


For the past several months, Bucky has been learning how to show in conformation.  He's high energy, super smart, and a ton of fun.  He reminds me so much of his mother.  He's very athletic and when it comes to play, no just isn't an answer.

The weather here has still been very much winter.  We've had lots of snow, and spring is no where in sight.  It's actually the perfect setting for a mini photo shoot with our Winter Soldier! 

Bring on the play!  Is this a mischievous little face or what? 


Come'on Zo, let's play!  I'm not going to leave you alone until you give in!  You can say every nasty word in your vocabulary but I know you are a softie who will eventually give in and play with me.


FINE I give in, let's go!  You better keep up young fella!


You gotta be faster than that to keep up with this girl


Your turn, you better RUN


Ears and bodies mid flight..zooooom


That old girl definitely put the run on me!  Look what all that wind did to my beautiful ears.


No matter what I do, I can't convince this one to run.... she's so pretty though


Is it time to go inside?  My feet are getting cold!


I'm growing up, but my face looks so much like it did when I was a puppy. 


Can you tell that the picture above is me?


Jen and her husband (and Booster)have done an incredible job with this high energy, smart little man.  I can't wait to see what the future has in store for them.

A Champion Princess

We have a new champion in our family.  Princess Molly found her elusive last point, and received her Canadian Championship on the weekend by going Best of Breed on both Friday and Saturday (the only days she was entered).  She's officially now known as CH. Mysticmoon's Danika.  Our girl sure  knows how to finish with a splash!  The icing on the cake was the grand championship points she picked up.  We won't be aiming for her GCH. but those points definitely don't happen every day!

I did not have an official photo taken at the show.  I wasn't happy with the last show photo I had taken with the company doing the photography, and I wasn't about to pay another $50.00 for a similiar result.  I plan on doing some professional photos with a different photographer.  For now.. you'll have to put up with the ones I took today.  Not in a show groom, but still looking gorgeous! (I'm allowed to be biased)




Molly's the first dog that I have put points on, and I thank her for teaching me that showing can be fun.  She thrives on the show scene and even if I don't particularly enjoy it, she puffs up her chest and prances around like she knows shes incredible. (she is)  How can you not enjoy her?

I can't take all the credit for her Championship.  I owe a big thank you to my friend Ivan (Fabina Shelties) for handling her to her last point while I was at work.  He did a fantastic job and I'm sure they looked amazing together.  Molly definitely thinks he's wonderful!  I also need thank my friend Marianne Creary (Cempa Cavaliers) for showing Molly to her first two points. It seems like it was a long time ago!



Black and tans are a bit of a challenge to show at all breed shows.  Blenheim's dominate the rings, and there just aren't many wholecolours being bred and shown.  They have to be extra special to get any attention at all, and it certainly isn't uncommon for them to take longer to become pointed. 

My biggest thank you goes to her breeder Karen Murray at Mysticmoon Cavaliers for parting with Molly and giving me my foundation.  Molly is in every way a credit to her breeder, and without her generosity "Embee Cavaliers" would not exist.  Our future generations will be incredibly blessed to have Molly's name behind them. In my eyes she is the perfect combination of an incredible temperament, beautiful type and structure, and thus far stellar health. 

I'm very distracted by someone cooking bacon!


Our princess is done showing for awhile.  We may do a bit later on just because she loves it so much, but for now its time for her to go back to being a scruffy farm dog.  She has several months to run the fields, be spoiled rotten by my Mother, and give Rusty (the neighbours dog)  you know what for daring to step on her property before hopefully expecting a litter of puppies in the summer.  

Me?  I get to start all over again with Sadie, Loki and Ebby!   Oy.. yes it is a sickness.

These belong to me

Loki, the former yak?

It's no secret that Loki has a lot of coat for a cavalier his age.  In fact, both of us have been teased about it often!  A lot of it fun, some of it not so fun, but at the very least all you could say was that he was very cute. 

So we've been working on it. I've been brushing him out daily, and bathing him a lot (being a stinky boy with bad aim necessitates this anyways), trying to encourage all of his puppy fluff to come out on its own.

I think our hard work is starting to pay off.  Imagine my surprise when I bathed and blow dried him on the weekend (nothing else)

Who is this gorgeous little man?!





Still some work to do, but what do you think?  Do you recognize him? ;)

A few months ago, looking very yak/ewok like

A year in review - Part 1

2012 has been in one word, breathless.  It came and went so fast that I am still wondering what happened!

At this time of year I always like to go back and look at the pictures in my album, and the posts that I've made.  It's a great time to reflect on what you've done, where you are going, and what you want to do.

What we've done:

2012 started with us taking a dream vacation to Maui, Hawaii.  It was in every way a dream, and there WILL be a next time.. and a time after that, and a time after that... a hui kaua (until we meet again)

Kaanapali Beach


Taken somewhere on the road to Hana


In March, Molly and I attended the Purina National where she went Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex on the Sunday of the show.  For the first time the Cavalier Fanciers of Southern Ontario's education initiative pamphlet about purchasing puppies from responsible breeders was given out at the CKCSCC and CFSO meet the breed booth.

March also marked the month that Molly officially completed all her breed health testing successfully, and we started putting plans in place to breed her.

Molly's show photo from Purina.  Me edited out on purpose!


Very proud of this


April began with with Mylee and I coordinating CFSO's meet the breed booth at the All About Pets Show.  Despite being a ton of work and completely exhausting, it was a huge success and we're looking forward to this year's event.

The cutest breed ambassador in the entire world


24 hours after the breed booth came down, we found out that Molly was ready to be bred.

After a whirlwind trip to NENY with a good friend, a major discrepancy in lab results, and the best hospitality that two of the classiest ladies in the breed could offer, we returned home to patiently wait.  Thank you to Carol Rose and Darlene Petralia (and Rebus) for making my first litter a successful one.

58ish days later, Molly had a text book natural delivery of 5 beautiful black and tan puppies. 4 males and 1 female


Less than 24 hours after Molly's delivery, we realized that the little girl was having trouble latching and nursing.  A check by me, and my Vet did not reveal any severe issues, and Molly was not rejecting her, so we began the task of bottle and tube feeding "Kismet" every 2 hours around the clock.

Every day I expected her not to survive, every day I questioned myself if I was doing the right thing by saving her, and every day she surprised me with her will and determination to live.

Kismet in the middle of her huge brothers!


She was full of attitude and sass from the beginning. NO pictures


Against all odds, with days on end of no sleep.. Kismet not only survived, she began to thrive.

At 5 weeks


At six weeks


At nine weeks


And after several Vet checks, blood work, and completely clean bills of health, Kismet left for her new home.


Did we do the right thing?  I'm not sure.  Would I do it all over again in the same situation?  Absolutely.  Do we know what was wrong or what happened?  Not really.  The suspicion was a pin hole cleft, however as Kismet grew, eating and drinking became no issue and with a true cleft that wouldn't have been the case.  What matters most?  She is a sassy, healthy, 6 month old puppy who completely charms and melts everyone she meets.

Molly's handsome men of course thrived from the beginning with her attentive care


Bucky, so squish-able cute


Handsome boys!


In fact, Molly made it her priority to feed them at least 2-3 times a day, right up until the time they left for their new home.  She adored her babies.


From this breeding we have Loki and are running him on as a future prospect.


And at just over 6 months, he has turned into a beautiful but incredibly hairy little man.


Look for us at a few upcoming shows, where I hope to make Loki's first ring experiences positive ones.

Part 2 coming soon...!

Also please excuse the incomplete website at the moment as I transition my blog and website into the same space.  My pages will return soon with updated information and links.

Some familiar faces

So far, one of the most rewarding parts of being a breeder  is meeting and getting to know some incredible new people.  I always tell those who inquire about buying a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, that for as picky as I want you to be about selecting a breeder, the breeders you want to work with are the most picky about where they will place their puppies.  

At the very bottom of my puppy contract it states: 

By initialing the following: The Buyer agrees to maintain communication with the Breeder and provide pictures of the dog throughout his lifetime.  Not only does the Breeder take great joy in producing happy, and hopefully healthy Cavaliers, but pictures and open communication help the Breeder make future breeding decisions. 

A few thought it was kind of funny and sweet that I would put this in my contract, but I really do mean it.  It is so important to me to see how the puppies I produce are doing, and to stay involved and connected.

So far, my wonderful owners have been more then up to the task.  A big thank you to all of you.

Here are just a few of the pictures I've seen recently of the extended Embee family.

Bucky - formerly known as "Spot".  Living with a very good friend of mine and still figuring out if he wants to be a show prospect or not!  Loki and Bucky get to spend a lot of time together. 


Calvin - formerly known as "Super Bill!"  You can follow Calvin, Maizey and Magnus at Lessons From and For 4 Legs This lucky guy has an amazing dog trainer for a Mom.  He's learned so much already.  I knew she'd be the perfect match for this brainy boy!


Charlie - formerly known as "Chunky Monkey"  Living in the land of never ending trails and lakes, Charlie has two wonderful owners and a beautiful new doggie sister in his life (a long legged blonde :)  aka Golden retriever) 


Hansel - very fondly known before as  "Fatboy"  Hansel has the most adorable brother and sister in the entire world.  He's a very lucky little guy with amazing owners!


Charlie - Our "Cowboy" This little man gets to go to work with his Daddy and be a perfect little breed ambassador, and when he gets home.. unlimited snuggles from Mom. The ideal combination for a Cavalier!


Boomer - Boomer was the first one out of our last litter to have his own name. This special little guy has a wonderful owner who has big plans for this boy.   He also has an amazing dog nanny and a cavalier brother who adore him.  The best part for him?  He gets to live far away from cold Canadian winters! 



Meshi - our sweet little "Diamond" So much to say about Meshi's incredible home.  She has doggie sisters, and room to run her heart out...everything I wanted for this little one and more.


Missing from this update Kismet.   Oh my gosh look how tiny she was!  I look back at the pictures of her and I really have no idea how we saved her.. but we did.  Kismet is doing so well it really blows my mind.  She is happy and HEALTHY and I do get to hear about her often. She is never going to be huge but her ruby sister is little too! 
 
 
and just for fun.. a picture of our VERY HAIRY MAN.  Loki and his siblings turned six months old this week..crazy how quickly time goes.


Ebby is temporarily missing.  She quite possibly was puppy napped and is learning how to be a farm dog at the moment with Molly.  I'll confiscate her soon for puppy kisses!