General Dog Chat Part III

[BiteyShark]

A new shiny thread for general chat.

Old or new, big or small, everyone is welcome to pop in and chat

Poor geekpup, my girl is one quarter springer spaniel, she rarely barks and always looks worried if we pass a dog barking at her. She squeals like an over excited toddler though when excited🙄
What helped us enormously was walking with an older calm friendly dog. This one was a pointer so still had energy to cope with cocopup but also showed her how to take breaks from play and chase and either lie down for a break or potter along sniffing. Looking back those walks were a real turning point for us. That and doing a few group socialisation walks where she stayed mostly on lead learning to walk alongside dogs and off lead doing recall exercises etc in a fairly busy park. I had to learn to be more interesting verrry quickly.

lovely autumn morning here, sunny and cool, had a lovely walk. Took a ball and thrower for first time since before hot weather, and he remembered what he had learnt!

Still doesn't actually bring the ball back straight away, but does now exchange ball for treat. In fact I can say - Where's the ball? and he goes and gets it and exchanges it for treat.

His recall is better since he was on holiday, don't know if they taught him, or if he is just pleased to be working with me!

He went completely NUTS last night when oldest dc came in from school, like a hurricane - he jumped up and over the sofa - he doesn't even sleep on the sofa!

Bit of advice needed:
cousin's dog (CD) is coming to stay next week.
He is golden retriever, old and arthritic, and doesn't do long walks any more.
He stayed with my mum for a week in the summer, and they had a dog walker take him out. He was out for an hour, with another dog, so played together and then was flat out asleep for rest of day.

Steppedog gets 2 walks, am with me, usually 1 hour 15 mins, and then evening with dh usually 45 minutes.

We have only ever had steppedog and CD together once and CD tried to run fast and keep up with Steppedog.

So, I can cut morning walk to 1 hour, and I have a long lead, which I could put CD on, so he can't run madly after steppedog all the time, and then give them time off lead together in the woods etc.

So, my question is - if CD does a 1 hour walk and is knackered, is that a bad thing health wise? Would it be a bad idea, would I be endangering him/making him ill, or just making him tired?

What do you think?

I have no experience of arthritic dogs but I wouldn't be too bothered about sleeping lots after a walk but if dog was stiffer afterwards then I would be.

What about long lead at the beginning and end of a walk with a free run in the middle so you have a warm up and warm down period iykwim.

What does your cousin feel about how much exercise is too much?

well, he told my mum 45 minutes, and then he booked the dog walker (my mu can't walk him, if he decides to chase a rabbit, he would pull her over)

The dog walker did an hour with another dog (so much more running than on his own)

so not sure tbh.
I haven't spoken to him yet, date is just on calendar!

and just looked - it is 2 weeks!

Which is fine, he is like a huge rug! Very fond of him really, we have had him a few times before we got steppedog.

I'll chat to him later, after work. Just wondered if I was just going to give him a tiring week, or if I might actually make him worse. Or even if the increase in exercise would be a good thing.

i do still have to wear steppedog out, although dh has promised longer walks for him in evenings

and I am probably working away on day 1, so dh gets to do both!

Different scenario as Ddog is young but due to being a rescue had never done long walks and we asked the vet how much exercise we should be giving her. We live in the mountains and so there aren't that many "easy walk" opportunities and the vet said we should build her up quite slowly and if she was completely shattered after a walk (I guess not just sleeping a lot but no energy to do anything at all) then it was probably a bit much....

We are just back from the vet. Someone mentioned anal glands earlier so I'm imagining there's no such thing as TMI on this thread! I noticed yesterday after our walk (on which she tired after half an hour which is unlike her) that she had some discharge. She was spayed before we adopted her and was hoping it wasn't something botched from that but turns out it's a bladder infection/cystitis. Poor thing was so petrified when having to be (lovingly but firmly) held down on her side for the echogram and was sick again on the way home but is taking it easy on her bed now and has not lost her appetite at all!!

distant there is no such thing as TMI with a dog . Hope the uti clears up soon.

BiteyDog is back with the backup daycare tomorrow to get him accustomed again. Fortunately the piriton has stopped about 90% of the sneezing which is good.

BastardPup had his first session at Dog School last night. I felt very inadequate as the dog in the next bay was doing perfect sits and downs and he was pissing about. And I got told off for saying no to him.

SquirrelDog had to leave the ‘normal dogs’ obedience class and go in the ‘special needs’ class because he couldn’t concentrate and spent the whole time pissing about and/ or biting me.

(To add insult to injury, ‘special needs Dog School’ was a) more expensive and b) bloody 8-9pm on Friday evenings.)

@YoureAllABunchOfBastards it will get better. Geekpup is great with me at puppy classes (i too have been told off for saying no) he does everything the only problem is he likes to bark if it’s not his turn. However when DH took him the trainer said geekpup had no motivation and when DH told him to do something he lay down on the floor and refused to move. He also does this on a walk with him if he wants to go a different way or wants to meet another dog never with me tee hee

The first two puppy classes I took BiteyDog too were a bit of a disaster. The first was more that I didn't like the trainers dismissive attitude but the second he just arsed about all the time. It was only when we found the third who understood how to train spaniels did it all click so you have my sympathies as I thought we had bought a dud puppy at first .

BiteyDog really knows how to break my heart. He looked horrified when I left him at the backup daycare again. I know he will be fine there as it's a home setup with a few nice dogs but the look he gave me when I walked off was awful . Will miss him today as the house just isn't the same but I do need him to get used to someone else so needs must.

Well Bella's stitches come out today so have taken off the vet suit in anticipation.It's filthy and stinks. I swear she has twice as much hair as when I put it on though. Will be glad once that's over as she hasn't been off lead since the spay so will be good to see her enjoying the freedom again.
Anyone else enjoying their walks especially just now? I love autumn mornings so go out just after seven and have been going again at six in the evening to catch the last of the sun. Trying to make the most of it before the cold and the rain set in.

Oh another lovely autumn day.
Steppedog has remembered all the things we taught him before the summer and hot weather set in. Having been a PIA at 2 particular places on our walks, he is now back to normal, and I can let him off the lead again there.

Long may it last

Cocodog is looking a bit puzzled, she only had half of a normal walk this morning and our usual bit of play in the garden at lunchtime was just a few treats hidden in the garden and NO BALL! Reason is she is off to her dog sitter this afternoon until tomorrow afternoon and as well as resident dog being six months younger than her and very lively, I know a certain very handsome show cocker spaniel will be there too. Prediction, three exhausted young dogs by suppertime.

I am expecting a very tired BiteyDog when I pick him up from daycare. However I know he will still demand his usual 5 min ball play with DH before dinner

Bitey, they do like their routine and if it includes ball then so much the better!

We are all very tired in the Bitey household. Bloody smoke alarm battery started beeping in the early hours. Poor BiteyDog had no idea what was happening with me and DH trying to wrestle it off the ceiling (mains connected so couldn't just stop it smash it to bits to get some sleep ).

Given he had two walks at daycare and zillion of ball throws yesterday hoping BiteyDog allows me some snooze time today.

Arghhhh I have just reseeded 41 yes 41 burnt grass patches on the lawn from BiteyDogs pee. I only repaired it about 3 weeks ago so these were all new patches 😭

I took SquirrelDog for a lovely walk on the Downs earlier. And a lovely 2 hour walk with his best mate first thing thing this morning. He repaid me by eating the strap on my Garmin watch while I was in the bath.

I am especially irritated because while the watch was here before SquirrelDog, he's only chosen to be obsessed with it in the last few weeks. When he gets obsessed with something he usually ends up getting it because he's cleverer than me.

He's currently barking because his plastic flower pot (why does he have a plastic flower pot indoors? That's a whole other issue...) is under my chair.

I'm going to sell him. Does anyone want a slightly defective Spaniel?

Hmm not sure I could cope with two defective spaniels so I think I will pass on that offer Squirrel

Cocodog has arrived back from dog sitter absolutely shattered but also on edge, even DH is worried by it. DH and I both travelled a lot in our yoof and so are quite happy to take long weekends and week hols with her so she only goes to sitter on average once a month in summer and maybe two nights around Christmas when we visit DH family who have a rescue staffy who isn’t good with other dogs! Dog sitters own dog seemed also on edge when we picked Cocodog up, so I decided we would have an on lead walk poking about up the lane. We have been lucky that earlier in summer Cocodog has been just with sitters dogs that she gets on well with and a couple of times with handsome cocker spaniel aka the three musketeers but this time a dog who decidedly has worried her. It’s Saturday night so DH is doing a bbq , I will have to manacle him to the sofa soon but it means Cocodog and I can have a cuddle on the outside sofas and she is conked out now. Would love a defective spaniel friend for her!😂

BiteyDog is always on edge after boarding even though he knows them and spends a lot of time there as it where he goes to daycare. I think it's just that he isn't sure whether he will be sticking around with us and is trying to work out what's going to happen.

Hopefully Cocodog will soon settle again when she sniffs the bbq and realises her routine is back.