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The doghouse

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Original poster

Does anyone fancy a teenage dog survival thread?

240 replies

MistySparrow · 24/04/2017 15:16

Maybe the people on the puppy survival thread would like to hide this one! Anyone else got their hands full?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Cocobananas · 25/04/2017 20:38

Wolf, our girl seems to feel the heat and likes to sleep in the evening on our wooden floor, also loves tummy rubs but not full on cuddles so is not interested in the sofa...keep thinking we will encourage her onto sofa but then remember how wet and mucky her paws were all winter so compromise seems to be...wine o clock on the patio sofa on warm evenings and Sunday mornings on our bed 😀

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 25/04/2017 20:55

Coco, being a terrier my pup loves gardening, rather she loves it when I garden and then she can re-dig everything I have just dug. All those lovely bedding plants are now all over the lawn Hmm. I think it must be wine o'clock but I am 400 miles from home this week. Is it wrong that I miss my pup a little bit more than I miss my DH?

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 25/04/2017 20:56

Bitey, if I go down the period pant route I will surely post some pictures Grin

SleightOfMind · 25/04/2017 21:20

Went to get a lovely, calm, adult rescue and have ended up with a nearly 2yr old ex racing greyhound.

We've had retired racers before but oh my sainted fucking pants!

Whip smart, slippery as an eel with a killer instinct for mischief.
And the speed!

I've got more white hairs in the last six weeks than from the 4 DCs (including 3 under 3).

She's like a giant kitten. Anything that moves...

Cocobananas · 26/04/2017 06:50

Wolf, just don't tell your husband. I am only just stopping being so precious about ours...DH is a bit hit and miss with training and consistency but I am trying to go with the flow now she knows who her mum/best friend is😁

bluetongue · 26/04/2017 07:38

Sleight love you calling your ex racing grey a giant kitten. Mine was more like a giant puppy. That could reach everything. When he had an accident in the house it was a nightmare to clean up. I still have a stain on my carpet as a memento Shock

Don't mind me. I'm just lurking here for tips on the months ahead with my Whippet boy.

missyB1 · 26/04/2017 07:49

Oh yes 9 month old mini schnauzer here, a stubborn little miss! The chewing is back with a vengeance, but I find bones help a lot, wish she would stop mouthing us though - and any visitors to the house!
Recall is is slowly getting better, I use the perfect recall book (Pippa Mattinson). But she still gives me heart failure by racing off when she gets a scent. She was spayed at 5 months so thank god I don't have her coming into season - I think that would just about finish me off!

BiteyShark · 26/04/2017 07:55

jugotmail it's interesting you mention chewing wood. Mine got his adult teeth a while ago and he now seems to want to chomp anything woody. Fortunately nothing at home but anything in the forest is fair game and his favourite is pine cones. It's a losing battle to stop him so I just hope it passes through his bowels ok Grin

Yokohamajojo · 26/04/2017 09:49

Bitey mine is the same! loves chewing anything woody and I get so scared anytime I read about sticks and dog injuries. We actually have a few hard logs in the garden that he is allowed to chew and the old garden bench table which I am not precious about. He loves sticks far more than any balls. I did buy one of those rubber sticks but of course totally uninteresting for him.

We also planted some new stuff in the garden, mainly lettuce and he was there like a shot pulling one out looking very smug Smile he has left us some though

BiteyShark · 26/04/2017 09:54

Yoko We also need to plant some flowers in the garden but we are specifically waiting until one of us takes him on a walk because I know if he sees us doing it he will dig them straight back up Grin

1nsanityscatching · 26/04/2017 10:39

Eric's long past the teenage spell but it still makes me shudder when I think about it. I'm sure for a while he thought I'd changed his name to "little git" Grin So posting to let you know you have my sympathy and hope they all mature quickly. Wine and Cake all round i THINK.

FoxesAreFabulous · 26/04/2017 13:48

I'll join too please!! Miniature poodle boy is now 11 months and having posted on MN a few weeks ago about the problems we were having with him, I am pleased to report that we have seen some improvements, so if your pups are younger than him, take heart Grin. mistysparrow, teenage dog and teenage child here too Hmm.
Poodle boy still has some guarding issues although I agree with another poster that back to basics training seems to be the way to go - we have worked very hard with a clicker in the last few weeks and we seem to have light at the end of the tunnel! However.......he tried to chew up my yoga mat on Monday (I was on it at the time Grin)and snapped at my hand when I tried to remove the mat from him. He has a great fondness for my dd's soft toys and if her bedroom is ever not fully shut, he helps himself (furry badger is the favourite!) and carries it lovingly around in his mouth for a while. In common with most of you, his recall has gone AWOL although the sight of a tennis ball is guaranteed to bring him flying across the park 9 times out of 10. Unfortunately, he has now worked out that if squeezes himself onto one of the dining chairs under the table, he can hide without us seeing him for some time - he is also very fond of jumping up onto the computer chair the second one of us vacates it and yesterday, we came home and found he had taken up residence on the coffee table Grin.
It's most heartening to hear about other owners' problems!!

Cocobananas · 26/04/2017 14:31

missy, also have the heart stopping moments when she scents something, rigid stance, paw in air. Am constantly scanning the fields for deer and rabbits before she does. Recall much better though especially away from other dogs.
yoko, ours has been breaking the tips off DH s prized asparagus.
Are your pups good nappers? Cocopup has to be totally ignored after her walk before she will consider retiring to her day bed for about an hour even when we know she is very tired. She would always rather be up and about or outside with us although to be fair she isn't naughty and often content to lie down somewhere near, except for glove snatching and asparagus nicking😁

ladyface69 · 26/04/2017 16:02

Placemarking for my 5 month springer, do puppies have a 'tweenager' stage?! Grin

jugotmail · 26/04/2017 17:36

Re the wood - i think she likes the way it yields to her chomping jaws! Dining chair legs (all six chairs - sob), a coat rack, skirting board (although this has now stopped). I even bought her a peice of rubber wood from the pet shop to chew - at a ridiculous price and much to my husbands amusement - not bothered about that but anything she shouldn't have oh yes splinters ahoy.

Season is on and off as well so one minute she is moping, weeing loads, off food and giving out the signals then it stops for a couple of days before starting up again.

Original poster
MistySparrow · 26/04/2017 20:52

The pulling is driving me mad. I really focused on training recently but he's not very good oriented, so I'm not sure how reward as nothing is as good for him as going forward.

What harnesses do you all recommend?

OP posts:
SleightOfMind · 26/04/2017 20:59

Gah!
Carved a precious hour out of my day to get some plants in the ground.
Headphones on, in the zone.
Stood up to survey the fruits of my labour and The Horror had diligently followed me round pulling everything up and shaking it apart on the lawn.

I thought she was spark out after 2.5hrs of zooming about with her mates plus a bout of clicker training.
Good thing she's so bloody cute and snuggly.

tkband3 · 26/04/2017 21:01

We have an eight month old whippet - absolutely gorgeous, loving pup, but completely bonkers at certain times of the day. Still chewing like mad - I've lost a pair of Havaiianas, one sandal, one ballet pump and nearly lost a slipper today. He's also a fiend for soft toys - gets hold of them and basically disembowels them, till there's stuffing all over the floor. His recall has deteriorated, particularly if he's distracted and he's going to be a nightmare in the park in the summer when everyone is picnicking - he'll probably have to be on a lead all the time.

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 26/04/2017 21:24

I'm convinced the pups internal voice goes "jump, jump, jump. Do they love me? Love meeee!! Jump, jump. Oh look squirrel, I'll make it love me. Jump, jump, jump" odd really considering she is all Terrier and it should probably be "kill, kill, kill"!
I love the idea of a giant kitten/greyhound with massively I coordinated long legs Grin
Misty, we use a perfect fit harness. It has a chest D ring so you can use a double ended lead which apparently helps with pulling. I haven't tried it for that though

SleightOfMind · 26/04/2017 22:55

That Pippa Mattinson recall book is ace though. I airily recommend it to people when mine happen to come thundering back to me Wink

abbey44 · 26/04/2017 23:18

Can I join please? My Weimaraner puppy is nine months old, and a real handful. My older dog (who used to be a handful) now just rolls her eyes and behaves impeccably. Puppy though....everything done at 100mph, has to be centre of attention, can reach everything on the kitchen worktops and Fagin would be proud to have taught her her nicking skills. Oh, and she chews.....everything.

But she's so affectionate and happy, and when we do training stuff she tries so hard to please. It's just when temptation comes calling, she can't help herself.

I'm not looking forward to her coming into season though - I guess that's going to be soonish. Can't imagine she'll take to wearing nappies that happily Grin

FoxesAreFabulous · 27/04/2017 09:47

tkband3 poodle boy can't have soft toys any more as he also disembowels them and strews the contents all over the floor! We have tried so hard to find ones that he can't destroy, as he does love his soft toys, but even the toughest Beco monkey came to grief after half an hour!! The only soft toy he has now is his skunk, which is one of those very flat ones with no stuffing. He also shreds blankets, tissues, any paper he can get hold of (including bits of post Angry) and no longer has a bed as he removes the cushion and rips the bottom out........good job we love him so much Smile

BiteyShark · 27/04/2017 12:13

My dog tried to eat his last soft toy yesterday which had to be binned. This means only hard plastic ones now for him Sad

Cocobananas · 27/04/2017 14:34

Misty, will second the Perfect Fit harness, easy to wash and dry, looks very comfortable and pieces can be added to make it smaller or larger in the right places.
Cocopup hasn't destroyed a soft toy yet, brings one for me to throw or play tug but otherwise seems to prefer her outside toys but then if I as much as drift near the back door she is there waiting to go out in the garden.

BiteyShark · 27/04/2017 16:32

Well of the two walks today the first was ok but on the second at one point would not come back to the whistle and kept darting off into the undergrowth in the forest where I could not see him, thought I had lost him at one point but then he comes running back all wide eyed and manic so go knows what he had been hunting :( I need Wine

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