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.

I have a similar problem: have literally five Barbours and a million gilets but not a proper warm coat in sight! I find some coats that are supposed to be warm make me too hot and in years of being outside all day I've never found a coat more transferable than a wax jacket. Last year I just went for jumper, gilet, Barbour and made sure I didn't stand around too much.

My real issue is footwear – I seem to get through wellies like anyone's business, or perhaps they're all just so rubbish now, but refuse to wear walking boots out of some misplaced vanity. I just can't bear them. They remind me of doing Duke of Edinburgh and being shouted at for walking too slowly.

I'm the same @YorkshireFelix I bought a below the knee Seasalt puffer coat in a gorgeous woodland green last winter, but sent it back after trying it on; I looked and felt utterly ridiculous in it! I know it sounds like a contradiction but I think bigger women suit padded coats better. If you're slender (I'm a 10/12) they can really swamp you. I'm still in my wax jacket, which is a size 14 and a bit snug, but I do have a long black Lighthouse mac thing that's a 16 so should be able to layer up under that if we do get snow. I keep looking longingly at Seasalt Janelle coats, might treat myself to one for Christmas.

I'm digging out the Yaktrax just in case we do get snow; the corner at the bottom of our hill is in shade and it gets deadly.

Hmmm maybe I just need to get a roomier wax jacket and layer underneath. I have this jacket (which I designed the print for so they sent me a free one!!!!!) but it's a bit short for my liking and my arse gets cold 😂 I need to get some decent thermal layers too but might have to wait until Christmas spending is over...

Footwear is also the eternal struggle for me. I have a pair of Columbia walking boots which are the comfiest things I've ever worn and they aren't too ugly but they aren't great in the rain. I ended up buying some chunky short wellies from Asda of all places which have been amazing. I've gone through fancy branded ones throughout the years but my £15 Asda specials have been the best!!

I'm the complete opposite @brushingboots I couldn't survive without my walking boots. I only ever wear wellies in deep snow, otherwise I'm in my Grisport Avengers or Peaklanders.

When I'm in a frock, I wear long lace-up boots similar to Docs; those are my dressed up footwear, but nothing other than serious leather walking boots gives me enough traction with a Pyrie.

@PyreneanAubrie I always see other people in the long puffers and they look great but I looked like a caterpillar in one 😄

@YorkshireFelix Wot??? You designed it?! OMG, what a talented bunch you are here - a designer and a writer.... anyone else have hidden skills?

Me too, especially as the one I tried was a caterpillary green...tiny pea head and tiny hands and feet sticking out😆Not a good look.

@YorkshireFelix That is a super cool print, wow!

I can’t recommend wax enough – I prefer the old-style Barbour Bedale as I like the side flaps and they’re often on Vinted/eBay. I have mine all a size too big so I can wear a jumper and a gilet. I probably look like Camilla Parker-Bowles in 1982 but I’m ok with that haha. Though I doubt she'd wear crocs, which is what I was in this morning.

@PyreneanAubrie I really wish I could get on board with walking boots, it would save me both so much heartache and money! I just can't bring myself to do it, though every time I see someone wearing them I think, gosh your feet look warm and dry.

Hello! Haven't RTFT, but have read enough to think that I may have found my people - can I join in?
I have a 9-month-old cockapoo. She's got lots of great qualities - super friendly, confident, fun - but she's in full-on teen rebellion phase. Recall was pretty good, but has gone haywire recently - I spend a full 20 minutes standing by a patch of undergrowth recently while she charged around within it it, barking joyously, and flushing out birds. (Presumably that's the spaniel in her?!)
My last dog was the world's easiest puppy/dog and I was already totally confident in her by this age - so this is a whole new experience...

@PyreneanAubrie I did! I am a graphic designer in my day-to-day life but have done lots of freelance work for different brands. They were one of my favourites (I did a couple of print designs for their waterproof jackets which are cool too!) 😃

@brushingboots I'm going to keep an eye on Vinted and see what I can find. I swing between 80s Camilla or looking like a rainbow has thrown up on me. Quite the contrast! I have magenta pink crocs on as I type 🤣

@brushingboots
I generally wear a New Forest Freya jacket (that's a cheapskates dupe of the Barbour Beadnell), jeans, walking boots. I'm probably channelling Camilla/Catherine myself.
I find wellies too bloody cold, even with thick socks or fleece liners. I have Raynauds in my feet and poor circulation in my lower legs so it can be hellish. I wear unisex leather walking boots, I size up to a 40 and put lambswool inner soles in. It's blissful, especially since I discovered Grisport; the comfort of their boots is sublime. I have 4 pairs in rotation.

That's impressive! It must be an amazing feeling to go out wearing an item with your own design on it.

Hi @thewalrus and welcome to the madhouse 😜

Sounds like your previous dog spoiled you a bit... I know that feeling; I've gone from a calm laid-back adult male to a hooligan female puppy that pulls like a whole team of huskies.

There are folks here than can advise regarding training, but I am not one of them... 😬

@YorkshireFelix @PyreneanAubrie Am all for the Camilla look! She’s just fab. No shits given and I love it. I’ve probably mentioned my wax hat here before which makes me look like I’ve stepped straight out of Rivals and the Beaufort hunt in the 1980s. That's the general goal, albeit with crocs too. My feet were so wet post-croc-walk this morning though that I had to take off my socks as I fear I might be at risk of developing trenchfoot. I can't help but walk in the long grass and crocs are just not the one for that, for obvious reasons.

We are a Raynauds-adjacent family too so I understand – I will investigate those boots as I might have to concede defeat.

@thewalrus Welcome! Please do join our coven. She sounds lovely and as a spaniel owner I’m all for dogs flushing birds as long as it’s safe to do so!

Thanks for the welcomes.

I have an ancient Seasalt tin cloth coat and Muck boots (along with virtually everyone I see out and about - it's the Cornish dog-walking uniform). The boots are great if you feel the cold and spend a fair bit of your walk calf-deep in the sea as the ankle-to-knee bit is neoprene. (Walrus-pup loves a rockpool.)

Ooh, I think you might be our first southwest representative! I would love to go rock-pooling, that sounds really lovely. Alas we are 50 miles to the coast and it's not even a beautiful bit of coast so my poor, attention-starved, neglected dog hasn't even been to the beach yet, aged 18 months. Truly I am a very bad mother.

It makes perfect sense to wear what suits the terrain. I rather envy you those beach walks! I'm up on the Lancashire moors, so it's pretty tussocky ground, hence the walking boots being dog-walking uniform here.

Welcome @thewalrus! My pup is only 5 months so I am here slightly prematurely 😄 His new thing is flushing birds so he's firmly in the club!!

I'd love to take V to the beach but we are miles away. My in laws live a couple of miles from the coast in the north east so we're planning on taking him when we're up for Christmas. I can't wait!

When are you going to put your Christmas tree up this year? DDog will be 10.5 months. I'm thinking as late as possible once school and work is finished so there are more of us around to keep an eye on him and tell him "leave it" a billion times!

We only ever put ours up the weekend before – no kids – but last year pupsy was seven months old at Christmas and it was far less stressful with her and the tree than I expected! She tried to drink from the water a bit and was a tiny bit annoying with decorations near the bottom so we just moved everything up, but on the whole she left it alone. Just get that 'leave' really solid!

Oh that's good to know as V will be just a bit younger than this around Christmas and I have no idea how he will react to it! Hopefully he's not bothered...

I am dreading the Christmas tree a bit. Teen kids and husband here who would all go early December if I let them - I will hold out until mid December but won't get away with any more than that... And it will mean the dog can't spend hours lying on the back of a sofa looking out of the window, which is one of her favourite things. (I rashly promised the tree could go in the window last year, without thinking it through - see earlier comments about previous trouble-free dog.)
@YorkshireFelix , you're in for a treat. I've yet to meet a dog who doesn't love the beach - you really do get odd moments of feeling like you're in a dog-ownership advert watching them play in the waves etc.

We only had issues with the Christmas tree when our older one was 18 months and was on restricted exercise post spay so decided to chew through the lights!

I make sure my nice wooden decorations are up high and everything lower down is paper or fabric/crochet so no huge issues if they do pick help themselves to a decoration. I don't think I'd risk baubles.