Where the Wild Things Are

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

I have an eight month old Border Collie called Meg. She is far from perfect (and so am I).
Today she has been about 60/40 good. The 40 included chewing up my camera memory card which DH is sure he put safely on the mantelpiece. Every time I look down at this screen she takes a quick munch of the coffee table with her eyes on mine. This despite a 2 hour walk which included much in and out of streams.

What a light weight I feel in comparison to you two - I'd be the one squealing about my wellies being too muddy! I hate mud, cold, wet and the rest of it.

We have a neighbourhood group who join together monthly to sort a meadow behind all our houses - we all turn up on the appointed Sunday morning in wellies with spades and digging/ clearing stuff and I fanny around making tea, bringing out brownies and offering encouraging remarks to those getting stuck in! I imagine no one notices that I actually do zero work and have no need of the tough gloves they all wear but occasionally my son will call out "mummy why aren't you digging?!"

Thats sad Moose. Unfortunately I know how complicated family dynamics can be. We are NC with inlaws. It is awful all round, and never easy even when for the best.

Today looks a better day here. It didn't brighten up till tea time yesterday. We need to get out in the woods today. My godson finishes his long and grueling chemo this month and his mum wants a set of photos from everyone holding up messages to give him as it finishes. I have found an AA Milne quote I want to use so thought we best be on the woods (or pooh sticks on a bridge?) I'm sure Maz will join in! I'm under orders that this weekend is my deadline so need the dry weather!

Hope Maz joined in for your photos fan? That's very tough to go through for anyone let alone a child. What a great idea that the mum had to mark the end of treatment.

Does anyone cycle with their dog or have a way of getting a dog used to bikes? Ideally we would have a combination of people walking or cycling on weekend walks with one person always walking to manage minty. We tried it this morning with just one boy on bike so two adults and one boy NOT on bikes and it was a disaster. Minty was so excited about DS2 on his bike (happened only once before) that he ran round excitedly which had DS2 shrieking and he ran in front of the bike a few times so lots of emergency stop practice! Maybe we need to stick with it so he calms down but today we just had to keep calling him back, on and off lead and wipes tears away. A frazzled walk!

I am shattered, did a three hour training walk on Sunday and then did 2 hours of training today. The trainer uses private land, today was in an outdoor school for horses with reinforced fences, there were only six of us so it was really intense but Finn loved both sessions. He's tired now and has retreated to bed after his usual check in the garden for squirrels/cats/ pigeons.
I may well join him.

Sounds exhausting but fab NCIS.

I just made the mistake of taking my two out for a long run and discovering it's far too hot. It's so cool in my house I had no idea how hot it had got this afternoon. Had to bring them home after 20 minutes, but not before they'd both made friends with a lovely little Cockerpoo called Tilly who flew up to them both bold-as-brass while they were on the lead so I nearly got pulled over, but fortunately was sweet enough to be forgiven by both me and my boys. Only a short walk, but both are already flat out asleep from just one game of chase.

Fan, that sounds like a lovely idea for your godson. Hope the photos came out well and your godson makes a full recovery.

Mint, sorry, I've never combined dogs and cycling other than when dh and I take dcs and dogs together and tend to keep them on-lead, then split up until the dog have had a good run.

We have a challenge for noisy Pip tomorrow morning. It's dd's sports day first thing. Dh has arranged to go into work late and we're going to attend half each-ish with a bit of an overlap, so I will be leaving Pip for part of it and seeing how he gets on. It's ages since I have actually left them for any significant period of time and I do think he's regressed a little, so fingers crossed.

Dh is helping me organise a wifi IP camera with two-way audio, so that I can start going out while still being able to check on the dogs and if necessary give Pip a verbal prompt to be quiet/settle down, as you can monitor and talkback via your phone. Have heard some good things about them and they're not too expensive, but are a bit of a pig to set up apparently. I do think it will really help though, as he usually just needs one quick 'quiet' or 'settle' cue to shut him up and settle him down to sleep for another hour.

Hope it works anyway, as I'm spending my birthday money on it!

I should add, the Cockerpoo owner was lovely, just not very dog savvy. She did say she keeps meeting people who don't want her dog to play with theirs and how odd she thinks it is, so I explained about Pip being a rescue and his lack of socialisation and how he's ok now - usually - but a couple of months back her teeny dog would have terrified him. She was shocked, but I'm pretty sure won't change her behaviour at all.

I was going to take Fitz out for a pm walk but it's too hot and we'd have to run the gauntlet of far too many picnickers and sunbathers so will go out later

I've dug out the paddling pool and put a few inches of water in it to help Fitz cool down. Of course the puppy who will happily wallow in the filthiest of muddy puddles has been looking at it v suspiciously - he's been jumping in but jumping straight out again as it's obviously too clean . He's now gone to lie down in the flower bed, covered himself with more mud and spread it liberally over the kitchen floor (which I had foolishly just cleaned grr)

I need to find the paddling pool too. Dying to see what Pip makes of it. Lurcherboy has never been bothered, but Oldgirl loved splashing about in it.

You need to put some mud in yours for poor old Fitz to wallow in.

Argh! Pip just came to lie upside down in front of the sofa with his feet on me, as is his way and I've found a big gash on the lower side of his hock. He only ran for a few minutes for goodness sake, I have honestly never known a dog like him for constantly injuring themselves.

Some pictures of my two enjoying the buttercups this weekend.

Cockerpoos seem to all be quite mad - lovely teddy bears but quite mad!

NCIS - that sounds amazing training really intensive. Are the other dogs pets or working dogs?

Moose your dogs look lovely and what a smart collar pip has!

Thanks for the contributions to my thread about minty barking in the garden - don't you find it's one behaviour after another? As soon as you've worked on the biggest issue and improved it, another behaviour in need of tweaking pops up! Does this change as the dog develops into an adult dog and when?

I'm so in the thick of teenage assertiveness I can't see the end in sight - my teenage son is loads more biddable than the dog, or maybe better trained?!

All pets so far Minty. seems wonderful to me, throughout the summer she does a shorter social walk every weekday plus at least 3 training sessions outdoors and one indoors every week. Seems to fit in with my dogs way of learning as he's not food orientated at all and she can work with that in a way my puppy trainer couldn't.
Loved both sessions and Finn seemed to respond to her. Good thing as she lives opposite and may well use her as boarding kennels when my sister can't do it.

Thanks Mint, it was an emergency buy after his really expensive bespoke one kept undoing itself and flying off and I ended up having to run back to the park and zigzag the field looking for it after a walk one day.

Yes, the 'issues' do settle down as they mature. Eventually you've worked on all the biggies and they know what's expected of them, so short of the odd tweak here and there you should have a delightful companion once he's matured.

Hang in there, a lot of people think this teenage bit's the worst part of keeping dogs but it does past just not until they're 3 years old with some particularly lively breeds - I didn't say that last bit, honest!

I have to say my pre-teen ds1 is much harder work than either of the dogs - or both put together in fact.

Just back from dd's sports morning. Fortunately it's cool and cloudy here, so I only missed 10 minutes, as I was able to put the dogs in the car on the drive and pop across the road instead of splitting shifts with dh. Pip is being particularly whiny at the moment, so I daren't risk leaving him home for too long first thing in the morning.

Does Pip not mind being left in the car? Maybe that's part of your solution to recapturing sometime to yourself out of the house? Would be settle in the car if you were to pop out for lunch?

I have turned a corner on walks with minty. I suddenly realised today when I was walking with 3 friends and one other young dog that I had not taken the sausage out my bag at all! Usually it is in my hand the whole walk and I'm tempting minty back with it 10-15 times in an hour. I just walked today and he just ran around like a loon but always near me, around me and I just relaxed into it. I am usually slightly on edge on walks but he just seemed happy playing nearby and every time I called him he was there in front of me. One off or progress?

Gorgeous weather and minty seems happy with it - you'd think a long coat would be a problem but it seems not as yet.

Can't believe Pip injured himself again...he is a disaster on legs

We got ours pics done on Sunday and Maz was compliant. It has been emailed to his mum for the project. It has been one hell of a year for them but eyes are on the future now

Maz however is not on speaking terms with me. I tried to clip his nails this afternoon. I only did 2 and he is having a massive sulk now! He is at the groomers this week so I gave up and decided to leave it to them. He will forgive me when I start our tea...it is steak tonight!

He's fine in the car, I assume because he has positive associations with going in there for longer dog walks etc. Unfortunately it's not an option through the summer because of the heat and I don't feel happy leaving him in there for anything other than just popping across to the school anyway really, as so many dogs are stolen from cars in the UK.

I really need to learn to drive so he can come out with me to some places - at least during the cooler months.

Lovely to hear things are improving with Minty. I also noticed recently that I'm coming back with treats left over, when I used to find I was having to eke treats out by the end of each walk - which as you say, must be progress.

It does happen like that, one day you just realise you aren't worrying as much and they're much better at just doing their thing without getting themselves into all manner of mischief along the way. That's when dog walking really starts to be relaxing and enjoyable.

The warm weather is causing us problems already. It's ok if we're just doing a lead walk, but they really need a few good off-lead zoomies and want to do it whether it's hot or not, so I'm ending up having to keep putting them back on the lead and taking them to lie down in the shade - Pip in particular has no common sense and would give himself heat exhaustion really easily - he also needs suncream on his nose!

Lurcherboy is really getting into chasing Pip now though - and his waistline has improved significantly as a result!

I didn't realise you weren't a driver Moose - I can see why you can't leave him in a car while you pop out unless it's just a quick across the road thing, I was thinking he'd be with you out somewhere. You must find it hard to fit in driving lessons as that would be another time he'd be left at home.

I can just about do an hour's lesson and dh is a good teacher, so he will sit with me in our car too.

I did learn waaay back when I was 21 and even had my own car for a year, but failed my first test over something daft (+ nerves) and was so upset that I didn't put straight back in for it - something I really regret now.

I was then going to learn when I had dd, but started having neuro problems, was told I probably had MS and felt I wouldn't be safe behind the wheel and wouldn't be happy driving with the dcs in the car. Then I considered going for it again after my neurologist gave me the all clear, but not long after had two large seizures and wasn't allowed to drive for a year anyway.

Now I am finally just about in a fit state to finally give it a go, but think I'd like to do it as an intensive course if possible, to get it over and done with, which would mean arranging dog-sitting cover, iyswim.

That's been a tough set of challenges to deal with. An automatic car can be a really big help for some people with neurological problems, depending on the symptoms obviously might not apply to you but only needing to operate one peddle can help.

Poor DH is doing the evening tidy up and sort dog out/evening walk again as I've got a horrid sore throat but good for him and minty to have some bonding time!

Hope you feel better soon mint - dd has a sore throat too and I'm hoping she doesn't feel the need to share ...

Gosh moose that is tough - I think it would be worth sucking up the pain of doing it intensively (and all the peripheral organisation of dogs, dc etc that will entail) just to get it out of the way

I was a bit thrown this morning as Fitz had a fight! We were having a lovely time on a walk with one of his friends who's a 6 month old cocker - the two of them were having a fab play when suddenly a Tibetan terrier barged up to them and started trying to hump Fitz .. Ironically considering he was a confirmed humper only 3 months ago he absolutely hates being a humpee but this time instead of dropping to the ground and rolling over (which is what he normally does) he started snarling and when the other dog didn't back off he went for him and pinned him on the ground. There was a lot of noise and no actual tooth action thank goodness. I wouldn't have thought much more about it but about a minute later he rushed up to the other dog who was by now on the lead and started having another go - again all noise but quite disconcerting and v out of character. Got him away and on the lead and he was back to happily romping around with his friend

Should I be worried?

Sorry to hear you're poorly Mint, hope it's just a 24/48 hour thing and you're properly looked after in the meantime.

Basil, as you said, all noise and bluff, no injuries - so Fitz quite rightly defending his honour from an extremely rude upstart. I would assume the other dog was still giving him signals/posturing when back on the lead and that's why he kicked off again.

It's horrible when they kick off like that, all noise and chaos, but usually shortlive and no physical harm done.

Well, I'm here to hand all round because it's my birthday! Dh is in London on business and the dcs are at school, so it's just me and my dogs - just the way I like it. Going to spend some time online spending my birthday money this morning, then go for a long, but steady tootle in the shade this afternoon with my gorgeous boys.

Dh had another mini-canvas done for me by the same artist he had Pip's picture done by. This time of our first ever dog, my beautiful big long-haired GSD girl.

Happy Birthday Moose! Hope you have a lovely day.

And I hope you are feeling better Minty.

I think I am going to regret my 2 hour walk without sun cream this morning! Maz kept cool pond dipping and dust rolling though. Lucky groomer tomorrow, bet she'll be thrilled!

Happy birthday Moose - hope your boys are good for you this afternoon. Take it easy, it is hot today! Minty has reached his limit - a one hour walk first thing this morning and he has been sleeping inside ever since despite the back door being open and me outside hanging washing etc!

Fan - sounds fun for him and at least you get your money's worth!

Thanks Mint, have had to postpone our walk till this evening, as both dogs are flaked out in the heat without even doing anything. Honestly, I thought sighthounds originated from warmer climes!

I'm being rather hopeless at spending my birthday money. Not at all used to having anything to spend on myself and keep talking myself out of everything.