Two-wheeling

I got up, found my way to the number 11 tram, and rode it to the beach at the end of the line.  I walked across the sand to touch the North Sea, since I'd come this far, and then hunted for the bike rental shop I had been told was around somewhere.

I found it, got my bike and turned back to the hotel.  Yes, I had my Bushnell Back Track, but I pushed the wrong button and "reset" it so that it now figured out precisely were I was standing rather than where I had come from and now wanted to return to.  I relied on a Tru Nord compass, a map, and a friendly native to guide me home.

I worked the rest of the day and looked through the window at the people having fun in the beer garden below.

Saturday morning.  Looks like Abbey Road.

A view of the North Sea from a flowered memorial.

The bike shop is right down the hill.

Looking down at the beer garden. 

Peace Palace

The Hague is the capital of Holland and it is a government city.  Some of it has the feel of a college town, with government bureaucrats playing the role of academic bureaucrats.  I took some time on a pretty Dutch day to walk to the Peace Palace and see where our work would occur on Monday.  I was not permitted to take interior shots, but as you might imagine from these photos, the interior was a museum piece.

The Hague has a college- town atmosphere.

 The Peace Palace.

The main gate has a pro- cession of ger- anium trees.

Red geraniums and purple moun- tain laurel lent  color to a cool late- spring day.

More mountain laurel.

Een blog maken

In Dem Hague (Netherlands), the Internet speaks Dutch. 

The famous European sensibilities prevail, with Heinekin beer sold from the candy machine in the hotel lobby - - right below the Kit Kat.

Beer & Toblerone.





Holland is the original low country, and it is swampy and dismal on this late May day.  Tulips have come and gone, but I am sure I saw the distinctive yellow of a forsythia in bloom.  There are bicycles, of course, in this nice flat country, and many riders even on a cool day with spitting rain.

Bicycles in front of the Bel Air Hotel.

Aki and Larsen

It's a unique training approach for this unique pair.

Waldorf Astoria, New York

Nothing says luxury like a totally out-of-date hotel on Park Avenue in Manhattan, and the Waldorf Astoria fits that description.

I spent some pre-meeting time, along with 5 other guys, sitting in the living room of the suite where one of my bosses stayed.  (I stayed at the local Y.)  The living room was adjoined by a dining room with a table for 8.  The suite had a small kitchen: Room service, not home cooking, would have been the order of the day.  The decor was early grandma, with a lot of crushed velvet, heavy chairs, heavy knick-knacks, and brocaded drapes.

The first photo shows what I thought was the lobby until I stumbled into the real lobby.  The second photo shows the 9-foot clock in the main lobby of the hotel.  According to About.Com:

The nine foot-tall, two-ton bronze clock was created for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and was the centerpiece of the original Waldorf Hotel, which once stood where the Empire State Building is. When the hotel moved to its current location in 1931 [at 53rd and Park Ave], the dramatic clock was relocated as well. The clock's Westminister chimes sound every 15 minutes.

Waldorf Astoria lobby at the 53rd Street entrance.

The clock sits atop this mag- nificent base and is located in the main lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.

Travel update

Inbound Metra at the Davis Street Station.


I met with my office, said goodbye to a co-worker who will work for Lime (aka Cable & Wireless) in the Cayman Islands, and then took off for O'Hare for my flight to New York.  Aki reports that Larsen's weight is back up to 53 lbs - - a 4 lb gain in about a week.  I think he's on the mend.  That country air and those extra calories will really build him up.

Great Lakes springtime

Two reasons that Larsen is at Pocataligo Kennels:  It's a wonderful chance to carefully and fundamentally build his understanding of how to hunt with me.  And, second, I'm traveling.

I happen to be in the beautiful, leafy Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, home of the Northwestern University Wildcats.

I took a little walk this afternoon, stopped by the Jewell grocery store, and returned to get some work done.  Take a look.  The lush part of spring has arrived in the upper mid-west.

St. Mary's.

Tulips in elegant decay.

Lake Michigan glimmers and the lindens have survived another winter.

The towers of down- town Chicago loom on the horizon.

Lilac in fragrant bloom.

Progress

Kim checked in with me to discuss Larsen's health and other progress.  He's eating like a starving animal and the other end is coming along.  Kim said that given the supplements, the precautionary medications that he received from Dr. Ken Currie at the Bishopville Animal Clinic, and his most recent digestive problems, it is no wonder that he still has a little softness in his stools.  The diarrhea has abated.

The really good news is that Larsen has decided that he now would pay attention to Kim.  This is a sea-change.

I personally saw the first round.  It was a hard-headed woman versus a brick-headed dog.

"Larsen.  Watch me."  "no."  "Look at me." "no." "Larsen, look."  "no."

Kim says that Larsen now barks at her when she's working the other dogs.  Says Kim: "It's still all about him." (The little prince.)  But the silver lining is that Larsen wants attention from Kim.  He is willing to give Kim his full attention if she will return the favor.

Now training can begin.

Kim said that he will reach for the barbell when she says "take it."  (This is a typical "force fetch"  requirement, and it is a very good sign.)  He pays attention to her when it is her turn.  Kim said that when it is not his turn, she kennels him on the truck.  This is to calm him.  Because he cannot really see anything from the kennels in the back of the truck, it prevents Larsen from barking himself hoarse and working himself to a state where he cannot be trained.  He curls up in the kennel, snoozes, and waits his turn.

The fact that Larsen is opening up to Kim is good news.  My sense is that Kim is opening up to Larsen as well.  Progress comes in little steps.

Let the big dog eat

Feeding a dog is more complicated than you think.  Everyone has an opinion, and these opinions range from price-driven decisions to the so-called raw diet, which is about what you think it is.  Happily, these hardy little animals are able to survive these food neuroses that we seem to inflict upon them.

Kim is trying to fatten up Larsen.  At 49 pounds, he's at least 4 lbs below where he normally is, and people uniformly think that he could use a pound or two even when he is at 53 lbs.

To that end, I sent a number of food supplements to Kim for her use in getting Larsen's digestion back on track and then fattening up the little guy. My hope is that they do no harm and even help.  The extra calories from the coconut should do this, and he seems to like the bland, greasy taste of the stuff.

This is for a return to normalcy.

Here's another normalcy-returner.

To put some weight on the mutt.

Pure calories.  (the lady at Nature's Farmacy wondered if it would be nice to fry some shrimp in.)

Thought of the day

Adore God. Reverence and cherish your parents. Love your neighbor as yourself, and your country more than yourself. Be just. Be true. Murmur not at the ways of Providence. So shall the life into which you have entered be the portal to one of eternal and ineffable bliss.

Thomas Jefferson's advice to a young person

Update from Kamp

Larsen's down about 4 lbs and having digestive problems.  I wonder if he picked up something at the Athens show.  He's being treated for parasites, worms, etc.  Kim says he is active, curious, energetic, very interested in the cat, and eating like a wolf.  It's the other end that has trouble.  That and the weight loss are the concerning things right now.  We'll keep track, and even bring him home for a week if need be.

Larsen heads back to Kamp Kimmy

Larsen is nonplussed at the news that he is heading back to Kamp Kimmy.


My schedule opens up the opportunity (as we like to say in the business world) for Larsen to head back to Kamp Kimmy for a few weeks.  Kamp Kimmy, of course, is Pocotaligo Kennels, where Kim Parkman trains her champion hunting Boykin Spaniels.  She decided that she had room for a big lumbering Welsh Springer Spaniel.

Aki and I met Kim at the Watkinsville, Ga dog show.  A small, but very inviting show where Penny's Palmer won Best of Breed and Marta's Niklas won BOB the day before and picked up several points.  Niklas is from the same litter as Spike, who spent some time at Kim's kennel, and has matured into a handsome pup, who himself is heading for a fast finish.  Kim had some very nice things to say about Niklas's focus and concentration.  I think she wanted to get her paws onto that sweet little bird dog and get him into the field where he belongs.

At the kennel, Larsen will learn some obedience and, of course, fetching & retrieving.  Over and over.  A perfect spring break for the little spaniel.

Marta and Niklas enjoy a break on Sunday.

(L to R) Aki, Mary, MaryAnne (hidden) and Kim give Chase a day at the spa.

Topo maps

Allatoona Dam topo.

MaryAnne bought me a wonderful gift: a topographic map of the Allatoona Dam.  I immediately taped it to the closet door in the family room so that I could study it more closely.  The map shows logging roads and some trails.  It also identifies the WMA, to some extent (although you cannot find the area that is open to hunting, which, I believe is a subset of the WMA, or the bird-dog training area).  You can tell by the gradients where the hills, valleys, and creeks are, and you can map out some hikes with big view payoffs.  I intend to put this map to work this summer.

He floats

Larsen trots around the ring in Leesburg, Va. (10/26/2008).


One of Larsen's conformation handlers gave him the compliment that "he floats around the ring".  To me, that conjures visions of the great heavyweight boxer, Muhammad Ali ("floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee"), which, of course, puts this dog in fine company.

With regard to movement, the practice for Welshies is:

MOVEMENT: Easy, efficient movement with drive from the rear.

COMMON FAULTS [BY JUDGES REGARDING] MOVEMENT: Rewarding frenetic trotting or lots of leg movement with no ground covering drive. This breed does not single track. There should be, however, convergence as speed increases with easy, effortless movement.  "The Welsh Springer Spaniel Breed Standard" (underscore added)

At 50+ lbs, Larsen is a little large as Welsh Springers go and at modest speed he seems to have a shoulder roll that I, as an uninformed owner, like, and which I do not always see on Welsh springers when they trot.  His gait is not at all mincing ("frenetic trotting"), but instead reminds me of that rolling, purposeful gait you will see on an athlete when he walks.  The slight roll may have to do with a tendency toward, but imperfect, single tracking.

Thumbs down!

Here's an idea from James Spencer (author of "Hup!" and many other books).  He suggests that if you are signaling your dog to go right (or left) that you point with your right (left) hand with your thumb down.  He said that this will prevent you from wildly waving your arm and confusing the dog.  Watch the 3 minute video.

Spencer on Signalling

National pet week

You didn't forget did you?

"I believe a tummy rub is in order."

It's not a dog, it's a cult

From the AKC---

Annual Registration Statistics
The annual registration statistics for litters and dogs for your club's breed are no longer published in the AKC Gazette. We realize the importance to parent clubs of knowing the number of AKC registered dogs and litters for breed analysis so the following three years of information for your breed will be included in this annual letter.
Annual Registration Statistics for Spaniels (Welsh Springer)


Year         Litters         Dogs
2009         38              168
2008         54              240
2007         67              248

I almost cannot reconstruct how I wound up with a little WSS, and while it is fun having a dog that isn't seen everywhere, I wonder if this is getting a little too esoteric.

The birth numbers seem below sustainability to me.  I had to physically run the numbers to convince myself that these births mean about 2,000 in the U.S. (assuming 10-year life) and fewer (certainly) than 4,000.  An overly-popular breed has its obvious downsides, but is the WSS breed in the U.S. doing ok?   If a breed is dropped from the Gazette's publication, does that indicate a lack of interest or support from the AKC?  What's it to them to publish some stats?