Adolescent Dog Survival...Sharing Tips & Tails

[BrodiePup]

Moving on from the puppy survival thread, this is for anyone with a hormonal teenager 🤪

Brodie is just over 7 months now, and is a fun loving pup who is (mostly) a pleasure to be around. My main issue is still walking him which can either be almost a pleasure, or like having a Tasmanian Devil doing breast stroke and bunny hopping down the road 😡. There seems to be no reason for which dog gets attached to the end of the lead, but at least it shows he can do it if he's in the mood!

We've also had our first proper tummy upset this week 🤢 no doubt due to some rubbish he picked up and swallowed before I spotted it. Thankfully it seems to have passed now.

@PyreneanAubrie
Thank you...he does excel at side eye.
How are you and Brie doing?

Brie is in disgrace just now. Kind of. It's the first time we've ever really been cross with her.

We had a disastrous walk. She picked up a big chunk of horrible muddy goo that had presumably come off a tractor tyre or something. Then when she went to grab another piece I tried to get it off her whereupon she suddenly decided to sit down and roll over right into a puddle. I was furious. I frogmarched her down the hill on a short lead. By the time we got home I had mud and grit coating the left leg of my jeans from thigh to ankle. Had to peel the jeans off and drag some leggings on, was planning to wash black gritty Brie outside but then we had a hailstorm so I had to wash her indoors...😩

I'm annoyed with myself for getting cross with her because she's normally so good but I really don't want her picking up and eating stuff off the lane.

Oh @PyreneanAubrie that's the sort of thing that is so funny to read, but absolutely NOT funny in reality. You have my sympathy. She wasn't being naughty, just a puppy, but she does need teaching not to pick up goo... if you find a solution to that one, please let me know! I bet cleaning a dog the size of Brie with her coat is quite a challenge.

I bet she's forgiven now 😊.

She's almost forgiven @BrodiePup

I did wash off a lot of grit using a bowl of warm water and a cloth, but she's still filthy all along her right flank and her tail is very bedraggled. I'll let her dry overnight and hopefully the residue will brush out.

I've no idea how you stop them from eating crappy stuff. It drives me mad.

@SailorGeri just popping on to say hello to Bella from another cockerdor, six-month-old Bill. He is an absolute hooligan when he wants attention - last night I had to do some online teaching for an hour and at one point he nearly pulled the fruit bowl off the dining table (yes, he's featuring on the recording). I think it's a combination of their retriever instincts and the spaniel desire to live up your jumper, plus a dangerously acute sense of humour.

Mostly when he pinches something I leave him to it, including when we're out (@PyreneanAubrie ) - he generally drops things after a while if I don't pay too much attention. Having said that he did tip half a pot of compost out on the stairs the other day, and my study floor currently features a half-devoured wooden coat hanger, the remains of half a loo roll, a sacrificial trainer, and an eviscerated stuffed duck. He loves that room as it's the only one in the house that's not even slightly puppy proofed 🙄

Here he is trying his best to look like a proper teenager.

@PyreneanAubrie aw, poor Brie, she didn't mean to upset you 🤣
I'm lucky with B, he never looks particularly grubby, you realise afterwards when he leaves grit wherever he was lying...
He's going to the poodle parlour on Wednesday for his legs shaving in readiness for his holiday at the seaside...a pupper has to be beach ready!
Bill is a very handsome young man @Bupster

Gorgeous photo @Bupster Bill really does like his gardening, doesn't he? You should enroll him in your local horticultural society.😉

Brie is generally not too bad for picking things up or chewing stuff but today's misdemeanour involved a big gooey lump of mud that coated her tongue so that was fun 😝

@BrodiePup
Can't help chuckling at the idea of Brodie having his legs shaved.

We once had to have one of our Maine Coons shaved because he hated being groomed and got a bit clumpy. When we brought him back from the groomers he was like a poodle; furry head, feet and tail but a bald body. As soon as we got him out of the carrier, four of the other cats fled upstairs in terror 😂

My 12mo lab ran off in park this afternoon with a Springer Spaniel. He was out of sight for a few minutes. I was so worried.
He hadn't had a good off lead run for a few days and was like a (35kg) kite on a string when we arrived at park. Saturdays in my park are relatively busy but it had just been pouring with rain so I'd been lulled in to a false sense of security assuming there would be fewer people around. As a result I let him off lead where I wouldn't usually, I could only see all clear for around 25m+ in every direction (70m+ in most directions). The Springer Spaniel appeared from the bushes (no owner in sight) and Lemon Dog ran gleefully off with him, out of my sight. I had pocket full of treats, called and called, but nothing. Eventually saw him on horizon with Spaniel Woman who I will be eternally grateful to. She paused her walk (rather than leaving on to path by road where Lemon Dog would have surely followed) until he eventually ran back to me (but only because his new chum the Springer did first with Lemon Dog in hot pursuit).ISpaniel woman gave a non-judgemental looking wave. (I wish I could have properlly thanked her).
I couldn't even tell Lemon Dog off for running away because I didn't want to risk ruining his 'recall'. Grrrrr! I do blame myself for not letting him off lead enough this week, not letting him play with other dogs enough yady yady. At end of day it seems to be a right of passage that sooner or later a young male lab will run off out of sight and give you a scare. It's the one and only time it's happened to me. It could have been so much worse. He could have knocked someone small / vulnerable over, got lost, ran on road etc.
@PyreneanAubrie I know it doesn't help but I'd swap a seriously mucky pup who eats mud for today's Lemon Dog antics any day. I was livid with him before I let him off lead as he kept running rings round me like a wild bull. But I was too relieved to have him back safe to be annoyed after. But this is not what I thought I was signing up for.

@Bupster I've followed the puppy and adolescent dog threads for a while. It sounds to me like you have a really lovely bond with Bill.

@LemonPalmz Ahh, sorry you had a rubbish walk and he bogged off. I don’t know what you’ve tried and what you usually take with you on walks, but I can seriously recommend Pets at Home’s £1 squeaky plastic dinosaurs for recall backup. My spaniel is whistle trained but that squeaky dinosaur seems to cut through anything – even pheasants calling. I have loads and just have one in each coat/bumbag so that if I need to get her in an emergency then I can. I also really recommend a whistle and you can get ones that are perfect for the lab hearing pitch: yes, you have to train them to listen to it but it beats shouting in the park.

@BrodiePup Sounds like things are going well with nothing to report. I hope Brodie has a lovely seadide holiday with beach ready legs!

So regal!

@PyreneanAubrie Oh no, I’m very sorry to hear this! What a cheeky girl. I’m with @Bupster, I tend to ignore whatever she picks up unless it looks actively dangerous or unless I am being presented with it (ie a bird, in which case I praise madly) but to be fair we both have smallish, not particularly hairy dogs that don’t take a lot of washing!

If it’s any small consolation, yesterday I fell flat on my bum in the middle of a bog, two miles from home and had to walk back literally covered in bog mud from head to toe. Couldn't even get up without covering myself further in mud. Pupsy was pristine by comparison. Was so muddy that when I took my socks off my feet were actually properly brown. 0/10, would not recommend.

Thanks @brushingboots, I really appreciate your response. I will try to find that £1 squeaky dinosaur in pets at home and will get a whistle and train LemonDog to that too. Had been thinking about getting whistle today after this happened and your suggestion has just confirmed it for me as definately worth a try. It does sound like both would beat shouting in the park and may well cut through his 'this is the best day of my life' labrador glee too. Thanks again.

@brushingboots sorry to hear about your bad experience on walk yesterday too. Sounds like horrible 2 mile walk home :-(
I hope it's a small consolation to @pyreneanaubrie as you intended but your posts have made me feel a bit less alone too.

@LemonPalmz Pleasure – I've been there with a bolting dog and it's no fun at all. I once lost her for five very long minutes at dusk and she's all black and I've never been so frightened. I actually stood there thinking, am I going to have to call the police? And then she turned up, as scared as I was to have lost me. He will get there.

It's this one!
https://www.petsathome.com/product/pets-at-home-dinosaur-dog-toy/7128329P?productId=7128329&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&cm_mmc=Google--CPC--%20google_shopping-_-google_shopping&ita=1976&ito=google_shopping&istCompanyId=7255ccad-a1fc-4729-af31-478f79e5071c&istFeedId=385e6b9a-8b03-4076-a8bb-e4737df8549c&istItemId=itxmxwmxm&istBid=t&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=20985857984&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvKi4BhABEiwAH2gcw2H4X8Qhj1C5RXRFuVsgF9q-cgtDfyiVts_SWA_4fGKr9FCCRpqBlhoCvJwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

If you do get a whistle, for a lab you want the 211.5 pitch – Acme do the best ones. I love mine, literally never go on a walk without it.

Honestly, I just laughed at myself falling over yesterday. When I got back to civilisation I immediately saw a lady as I exited the footpath who couldn't disguise her mirth at how I was literally wearing half a field about my person.

Absolutely don't be feeling alone here! We are committed on this thread to cheering up and cheerleading and helping if we can :)

Ohhhh @LemonPalmz That sounds pretty stressful 😧Thank goodness for Spaniel Woman! It could honestly happen to any of us and next time he's off the lead he'll probably be good as gold..

A whistle and a squeaky dinosaur sounds like a good idea for back up though.

@brushingboots
Sorry you almost became a legendary bog woman yesterday and I hope your brown feet (and damp clothing) have now recovered even if your pride hasn't.

Brie is so adult and sensible at home that I think we sometimes forget she's still only 6 months old, but when she's out on the lead the inner puppy comes to the fore.

Now I feel guilty for being cross because I've definitely upset her 😟

Loving life

Getting spayed in 4 weeks time, not looking forward to be post recovery period

@tizwozliz A gorgeous girl! Which op have you gone for – keyhole or traditional?

She'll be having keyhole. She's going to hate wearing the surgical suit afterwards though, she may never forgive me!

We went through a keyhole spay in the summer and I was astonished at how soon after she was keen and able to go out again. Modern vet science is amazing, despite the dreaded suit that comes with it!

@brushingboots @tizwozliz

Thanks! I had no idea this was a thing but I've just been reading up on it.

We're vaguely considering the possibility of a second dog, which means a possible spay for Brie next year (at 18 months or so). Keyhole sounds like a good option for us so I'll keep it in mind.

We want another dog (pup) to join Milo.
We have ruled a spaniel out immediately as well ... Just because 😂😂
Must be mental