ppotterfield
Well-known member
Just a note to introduce myself after months of lurking. I am 56 years old and live in West Virginia/USA with a 21 month old Blenheim CKCS named Buddy and a 27 month old Clumber Spaniel named Hadley. My brother Michael who is 49 and has mental retardation lives with us. Buddy is technically his and Hadley mine, but we are in fact one family in which I am definitely the alpha dog. 
We previously had an American Cocker Spaniel who lived to be 16 years old and then an English Cocker Spaniel who lived to just two weeks short of her 14th birthday. We are thoroughly enjoying our Cavalier and our Clumber, both of whom are very laid back, easy going and do not know a stranger. Buddy the Cavalier is very much a spaniel and we have to keep him on lead in the country or he will disappear into the woods. He loves structured activities and we have "played" at agility with him and if we can ever get the classes offered at a time when we can attend, we are going to take him through Beginners' Agility, probably not to compete but just for a fun activity. Both of our dogs are getting ready to take the Delta Society test to register as therapy dogs (and should have already taken it by now but for my busy schedule). I have to confess that before we got Buddy I really wanted to get another English Cocker but Michael had his heart set on a Cavalier. Even though I worry about health issues (see my post under Health), I am glad we made this change. I loved Abby our English Cocker but Buddy is the right dog for us right now. I have enjoyed reading the various posts and particularly appreciate Karlin's experience and knowledge.
Phyllis in West Virginia USA with Buddy (Blenhem CKCS) and Hadley (Clumber Spaniel)
We previously had an American Cocker Spaniel who lived to be 16 years old and then an English Cocker Spaniel who lived to just two weeks short of her 14th birthday. We are thoroughly enjoying our Cavalier and our Clumber, both of whom are very laid back, easy going and do not know a stranger. Buddy the Cavalier is very much a spaniel and we have to keep him on lead in the country or he will disappear into the woods. He loves structured activities and we have "played" at agility with him and if we can ever get the classes offered at a time when we can attend, we are going to take him through Beginners' Agility, probably not to compete but just for a fun activity. Both of our dogs are getting ready to take the Delta Society test to register as therapy dogs (and should have already taken it by now but for my busy schedule). I have to confess that before we got Buddy I really wanted to get another English Cocker but Michael had his heart set on a Cavalier. Even though I worry about health issues (see my post under Health), I am glad we made this change. I loved Abby our English Cocker but Buddy is the right dog for us right now. I have enjoyed reading the various posts and particularly appreciate Karlin's experience and knowledge. Phyllis in West Virginia USA with Buddy (Blenhem CKCS) and Hadley (Clumber Spaniel)
