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.

We have a springer, who is 16 months. He was getting about 45mins to an hour am, then about an hour in the afternoon, off lead by 6 months, if I remember correctly. Obviously, we built up to this, but it came very quickly.

I 'think' the longer legged breeds have to be more careful in the early months and those with known hip issues (Labs etc), but a BC is about medium sized?

Training and toys that they have to think about such as the Kong range prove useful in our house, plus treats wrapped up in boxes etc.

I like a quiet route too quite regularly. I enjoy walking with friends too, but it's harder to concnetrate on what the dog is doing

I've been told by my vet ,and I think that Lonecat confirmed it on here that the limited walk idea has been disproved or at least not proved for dogs like Border Collies.
Finn is a nightmare if not walked for at least 2+ hours and have never managed to tire him out since he was six months old. I read somewhere that a working BC covers up to 75 miles a day.

Wow you BC mums walk loads! You must be super for yourselves!

I have an old English sheepdog who has one walk a day of an hour (20 mins on lead, 40 off) and that's it except he has free run of medium sized garden and some days will sit, some days will tear around!

Each school day we take same route to school for the 20 min on lead bit followed by 40 mins through a wood but there are 3 paths which interconnect at several points so our route varies depending on whether I'm trying to dodge other dogs I can see ahead of us or one path is bridle way with horses so I take that one on days when my treats are top level for horse practice!

Weekends we are loving exploring different woods, rarely same place twice but they usually involve the car as downside.

I'm hoping to age more slowly through these daily walks - not 'age' from a maintaining-beauty point of view as I can't say I particularly had a ticket for that show! But 'age' from a mobility/joints active point of view!

Super fit!

DH and I do share the walks! I am definitely not super fit although I think it's helping.

I don't think it's been disproved as such, more that vets are trying to highlight the fact that obesity in dogs (and cats) is a far more serious issue, putting far more strain on joints, than over exercising when young.

I will find the link, give me a sec!

I doing the vast majority of the walking. I have a long term back issue but used to run competitively, right up to the marathon distance (6 times), so used to cover 50 plus miles a week. Walking for 2.5 hours a day has made me feel almost as fit as I did before, well, in a slightly different way to running, but definitely in a positive way.

thread re walking

I have a Very Sad puppy :(

He slept ok but keeps trying to get at the wound so the CoS is staying on - we have a comfier version arriving today which I hope will make him feel a bit better

He's had painkillers, has eaten and drunk (turned up his nose at kibble but managed to force himself to eat a little chicken) has wee'd and poo'd so I think he's fundamentally ok but he's just lying at my feet very quietly sobbing - I feel terrible

Ahh bless him. Poor chap. Hopefully it'll only be short recovery and he'll perk up later. You are good doing him chicken! That on offer for little nibbles and you around are all he needs for this stage.

As I understand it, forced on-lead walking, where the dog can't stop, start, meander and choose the pace is generally a bad idea.

Also, too much free running with other dogs and repeatedly ball/frisbee chasing, where the dog get's hyped up and stops listening to it's own body telling it to slow down and rest, are similarly bad.

Obesity is now being considered to be one of the major factors in elbow/hip problems, but it still holds true that repeated or excessive pounding on young joints is also a bad idea, particularly in larger/taller/heavier breeds, especially as in pet homes it's usually confined to short, frenetic periods as opposed to dogs that have been developing fitness from birth - as in the study cited on that thread.

Working dogs and those that remain with the breeder tend to have lots of free-play opportunities in paddocks and runs. As this is the norm - compared to shorter, defined, walks in pet homes, the pups don't get hyper and charge around like lunatics, but do romp and play, steadily building muscle and fitness, which supports the joints and encourages healthy symmetrical skeletal development.

That's how I understand it anyway.

Ah, poor Fitz.

Hopefully he'll gradually start to feel better, but if you feel he's in any pain, call your vets and ask for some pain relief for him. Iirc, most vets give a pain killer injection that lasts roughly 24 hours, but some dogs need a bit more than others. Vets are aware of this and are usually happy to supply you with a couple of days worth of pills if the dog is really not happy.

It could still just be the after effects of the anaesthesia though. Some of my dogs have done better than others after GA and the ones that didn't tended to keen a bit for the first day, I assume because they were feeling that horrible woozy, weird feeling you get when you're head's not right on medication.

Basildon, when ours was done he cried all evening on op day. He woke up miserable the next day and I gave him a dose of metacam as advised by the vets. That knocked him out and when he woke up that afternoon he was back to himself. So fingers crossed for you and him for later.

Walk length wise, Mario is a small breed (Border Terrier around 8kg), 19 months old so fully grown and has between 1 and 2 hours a day. Off or on lead depends on how appropriate the environment is for his excitement led dodgy recall.

Weekends and days out can be longer though.

We certainly don't force him to walk and he doesn't have a huge amount of play with other dogs, just brief plays as we pass if the other dog wants to. I do notice he doesn't do tearing round when out like he does at home if he hasn't been walked. It's more of fast trot with bursts of cantering rather than galloping. BC's seem quite good at pacing themselves perhaps also because he comes from a working line.
He's a marathon runner rather than a sprinter I think! He rarely goes at top speed.

Basildon, he will forget it soon. A dab of honey to lick off paws is a great cheer up in this house.

Mint, Meg is on the way to you sorting the socks.

NCIS I worry about walking Meg too much too- she doesn't get quite as much as Finn, but pretty near. We have been told no jumping much while you can still see their knee joints. She can manage on an hour and a half a day with games, hide and seek, training etc indoors.

Meg is doing 2 nights in kennels this weekend. I wish she didn't have to but she does. They seem lovely, clean and warm and lots of playtime plus a machine that blows bacon flavoured bubbles but I still feel wicked.

We acquired a lost dog today (see my thread about ID tags) and they played constantly. Lost dog is being collected later today and is lying down happily ripping his way through some toys.
Was rather looking forward to being a two dog household if he didn't have a chip but pleased for the owner/dog. I would have been frantic.

Am a bit surprised, the lost dog has been collected now, we've had him for three hours and the owner hasn't even called us. He sent a friend over to collect him, apparently he escaped from the garden when he was let out first thing this morning so has been missing at least seven hours!
I would have at least called to say thanks for looking after him even if I had to send someone else to collect him for whatever reason.

Blimey NCIS, when Oldgirl got out (through a fence that blew down overnight and out through next-door's poorly fenced garden into the park) she had no collar on as she'd just had an op on her neck - typical.

The people that found her actually caught her right behind our house in the park, but because no collar, took her home and called the dog-warden. We called ten minutes later when we realised the fence was down and she wasn't in the garden and they got the rescuers to call us (rather than give out their number). Dh took a bunch of flowers when he went round to pick her up (left our house immediately after they called) and I sent a box of muffins and cookies round for the family to share the next day.

They had fallen in love with her and already decided they were going to keep her if they couldn't find her owner! She was busy playing ball in the garden with their dcs when dh arrived and didn't seem to be in a particular hurry to come home!

Well done for reuniting them, but it's probably not the first time and almost definitely won't be the last the dog escapes with owners that have that attitude.

Barbarian, we're about to start getting Pip used to kennels. I think it's important, especially if you don't have anyone that can dogsit at short notice. When ds2 was rushed into hospital with near fatal pneumonia when he was 4, all three of our dogs went into kennels and stayed there for a few weeks. There was no way we could have taken care of them properly ourselves as we were living at the hospital and juggling looking after ds1 and getting him to and from school with my Mum. I think you do need to get them used to some sort of dog-care situation for emergencies. She'll proabably have a blast - especially with those bacon bubbles.

Well ... The comfy collar lasted all of ten minutes before he managed to puncture it grrrrrr. So it's back to the cone again

I tried leaving it off for a bit but he went straight back to licking the wound site

Glad you reunited the lost dog NCIS but I'm v surprised by the owner's attitude

And just wow at bacon-flavoured bubbles

Meg left tearing round a paddock with 6 other dogs. Not a glance as we wiped the tears and staggered away. It's just like when dd started school and didn't bother to say goodbye.

Moose, it must be lovely to find your dogs!

NCIS, how rude (unless they were teachers- DH is a teacher and does not communicate with the outside world between 8am and 4.30pm).

No apparently the owner was at home. I get he might not have access to a car but a phone call to say thanks wouldn't go amiss. And the dog, lovely though he was, methodically destroyed most of Finns toys. I know I could have taken them off him but I felt sorry for him. Retail therapy at the pet shop tomorrow!
I know, like Moose, I would be upset but also really grateful if someone had taken the trouble to make sure my dog was safe and cared for and would want to say thank you.
Glad Meg was happy to be left, our old Springer used to trot into kennels without a backward glance. We don't need to worry at the moment as my sister will always have Finn as we have her two.

Barbarian, that's what my lot have always done when we've taken them to kennels - drag us down the slope to the kennel block, then disappear off with the kennel hands without so much as a glance over their shoulders.

I cannot tell you the relief when you find out someone has your missing dog. It happened to us with Oldgirl twice - both times when nextdoor's shonky fencing fell down overnight. The first time the little madam took herself over the fields and then down to a dog show at the local riding club! A lovely couple grabbed her and called the warden. They described my 8 year old Belgian x Border Collie as a Border Collie puppy and when I rang the warden they were closed, but the lovely security guard who was on duty put two and two together when I described her to him and put us in touch with the people, who kept hold of her while dh ran up there to fetch her. Again madam was having a ball playing with her rescuers dogs and being fed lots of treats, so wasn't too fussed about coming home. We sent a bouquet of flowers and a card that time.

It's extra stressful for us because we lost our first Lurcher when she escaped from my Mum's garden while she was dog sitting. She was missing for 48 hours and then hit by a car and killed instantly - right outside a veterinary surgery.

Meg will be absolutely fine - I was really worried that Fitz would be ok with the dogwalker bit I've been there a couple of times when he's been collected and Fitz is all wiggly and giggly and trots off without a second glance

He conked out for a bit this afternoon in his crate (took himself there so must have been feeling shattered) but since he woke up has been a bit manic, chasing around everywhere, jumping on and off the sofa - I had to put him back in his crate just to calm down - I think he's feeling a bit better...

Good to hear he's feeling better basil. Sounds like you'll be having the same problem as I did - trying to stop him popping his stitches through being manic. Daft dog!