Birds!

For Thanksgiving, the Lady and I went to beautiful Whidbey Island for a week. Mostly this was for the humans to hang out and eat WAY too much food and drink (there's never too much) beer but Neko had her fun too.

I always love to get a little self-portrait of Neko and I in the smart car. People are always asking if she really fits back there, so here's photo proof:

Neko and I on the Whidbey Island Ferry

Because there is only so much Setter energy you can burn off indoors, I took Neko and her "auntie" Tav, the Irish Setter, to the park every day!

We love Patmore Pit

This occasionally results in quiet time:

Laser focus on the stuffed animal that doesn't belong to them

Chillin'

But more often our house is more like this (laser focus on the "bird!" in the kitchen):

The day after Thanksgiving, we all needed some exercise so a friend's dad took Neko out "hunting" for the first time:

She loved it, of course, and actually performed well enough that he was talking about where to get a Gordon Setter like this (I told him :))

After the hunt...

...it's best if you find a good spot by the fire.

 We love Whidbey Island!

Neko is waiting for me outside the coffee shop on the pier

 As you can see, we had an excellent turkey day! I was so excited and happy to watch Neko work in the field. It really validated my sense that she would be a great hunting dog. I will probably pursue some training for her so that we can do some field trial work and/or loan her out to my friends who hunt birds.

...before anyone starts to take us too seriously.

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone's Halloween was as fabulous as ours! 

I know it's been a while since we (well, the one with opposable thumbs) wrote a "real" blog entry, so I'll try to catch everyone up:

Neko was spayed on her first birthday (poor Lady, but we made it up to her later). We figure we'll leave the big-time conformation showing to her sister and brother (who are looking fabulous and doing really well from what I understand)! Neko would prefer to continue her work and become certified as a therapy and/or service dog.

As you can see from the above photo, Neko also loves being outdoors and really seems to be in her element in the off-leash parks and hikes around the Pacific Northwest. Because of this, I am looking in to who I can work with to train her to hunt. She is the birdiest of bird-dogs and I think she would be extremely happy to be on the hunt! Since I'm not a hunter myself, but have no problem with the practice, I figured I could join and be the dog handler - maybe it will get both of us out & about more often.

Those of you who have Gordon Setters know - we get a lot of attention for our gorgeous (and relatively rare) dogs in public. Neko really could have been a show dog as she revels in the attention and everyone telling her what a pretty girl she is! Well, she had her first chance yesterday when she competed in the Halloween dog costume contest at one of our local bars...and WON! Congratulations to the Lady and her housemate/sister Lottie the Labrador - they cleaned up in the doggie costume arena!

Go Cougs - Neko was a WSU cheerleader this year!

Special thanks to Brave Horse Tavern & Scraps Bakery! 

Happy Birthday Neko!

Sorry we have neglected to write! The summer really got away from us. But, we're back on a very special day for the little lady - she turns 1 today! Photos, of course:

Tricks

I realized when I got an email from Neko's trainer today just how much she's learned!  Here's a list of the commands and tricks she knows (there are so many they don't all fit on the screenshot):

+ Come, Kennel...so many I almost can't count!

I had to make a list so that I would remember to practice them all!  She is so earnest and smart, such a joy to work with!  I love the lady very much.

...even when she's doing this.

Neko Swims!

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted!  Neko has been making great strides in obedience and socialization over the past months. Here's 23 seconds of doggie bliss (with her friends):

Her biggest accomplishment lately is that...she swims!  Selfishly, I want my dog to enjoy the water because I do.  Also, I love playing fetch with dogs who run into the water, excited to retrieve!  It took a lot of patience (and quite a few treats), but Neko decided one day it was time for a swim:

On vacation...

Such a big girl! I weigh in at almost 56 lbs now!

Hi everyone!  Neko is going on vacation (yes, again!) and will be back with an update post in late May.  In the mean time, here are some photos of what we've been up to:

Hanging with friends

Chewing on things I'm not supposed to

Learning about water

Being curious (and practicing "the ramp")

Finding big sticks

Still loving the car/kennel

Borrowing friends' toys

Watching the Opening Day Regatta

Taking a Neko-nap

Beagles & Birds, Oh My!

Neko's favorite friend in the Magnuson Park Off-Leash Area is Mic' the Beagle.  They are really cute together and seem to gravitate toward each other because of their long ears.

I love this video because Neko waits too long and the people coming down the trail actually flush the bird.  She set it though and is so fun to watch!

She passed!

Every time I doubt her she pulls through!  I think I should learn something from this: trust Neko and don't ever doubt what she's capable of!  A very intelligent friend of mine spun it differently: keep doubting her because she'll inevitably impress you and do what you want.  Either way, my Gordon Setter passed Intermediate Obedience at 6 months of age!  It was an off-leash obstacle course: "finish" to start, heel in figure-8s around cones, auto-sit, "go to your bed/rug", heel up a ramp, "wait" at the top, come down the ramp, sit/stay, come through/over a hoop, heel to a stand/stay inside a hula hoop, switch to a different hula hoop for down/stay!  She "broke" during the stand/stay (or she would have but I "cheated" and released her 6 seconds early), but that was the only task she failed.  I am so incredibly proud of my little Lady!

Sorry for the blur on the right - I took this while she was practicing on the ramp during play-time.

We're still planning to re-take Intermediate because I want to build her confidence (and mine, apparently)!  My goal is to complete the class entirely off-leash this time.  Hopefully during this course, Mary will offer some task- or trick- training courses and we can get Neko restarted on her service dog path!  She's definitely well on her way to Canine Good Citizen - we'll be looking for AKC Obedience Trials come Fall.

Take care everyone!

You're getting sleepy...

Puppy School Continues

Neko and I have maintained a great routine the past few weeks and I think it's really helping her "settle" (my favorite command to date - it's like "bunk" for service dogs, but I didn't like the word so I changed it: basically means go find a place to lie down and be quiet for a while).  We get up (early) and go for a run.  Don't worry - I'm not abusing her puppy-bones!  Since I can't run far enough to do any damage to her, I'm the perfect running companion.  Then she (and I) have a little breakfast and head to work.  She's now able to maintain a calm, settled affect for most of the work day (with only an occasional visit to "time out" in her office crate).

Every day at lunch rain- (I take her alone) or -shine (my coworker @cspringer3 helps out a lot) I take her for a walk/run in the field at SCC.  She loves chasing birds and I usually bring a ball or something to work on retrieving.  Really it's just a chance for her to run it all out so she can be a good girl in the afternoon.

Then, after work, it's off to the park!  Again, I've been taking her rain-or-shine.  It just makes life at home so much better if she gets a chance to run and be a dog for at least 30 mins in the afternoons.  I've also been taking her to the "big park" at Magnusen to try to get her used to the water (I'm still hopeful that she'll learn to swim and love to swim this summer).  Usually she finds a few fellow Sporting Dogs to play with and we work on some long recalls and "watch me" while at the park.  She's really been doing well with the recall.  I'm still impressed by how trainable and attentive my Gordon Setter puppy is!

One day a week, after park-time, we go to school.  Neko's service dog trainer had a family emergency so she's been taking Intermediate Obedience from Sound Animal and they're great with her!  Her test is next week and I don't think she's going to pass (because it's an off-leash obstacle course and she's just too distractible...you never know, stay tuned for the full report) so I preemptively re-enrolled her in Intermediate again.  I figure that once Mary is back, Neko could potentially be taking some task training or "party tricks" from her and remain in Obedience with Jeff - can't hurt to go to school 2 nights per week!  Personally, I love school nights - I come home with a tired, thoughtful puppy who just wants dinner and her bed.  It rocks.

Do I need to raise my hand to answer a question?

Dog Parkin' and Hangin' Out (a photo blog entry)

The dogtor will see you now.

Bird!

"Watch me" is a great command for taking photos.

Watching the Labs swim in Lk Washington

Best. Photo. Ever.

Adjusting her bed.

A beautiful day for a dog park.

Her latest beach-bunny pose.