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'm furiously searching Amazon now for insemination kits in preparation for when she comes in season as I don't think Milo will reach 😆😭 we will soon have our hybrids!
Before anyone reads this and thinks I am becoming a puppy farm: i am not 😀

No, it's fine, we can make a mounting block for Milo to stand on. In any case we'll have Brodie as a back up in case Milo gets performance anxiety...😳

Now, I hope this won't be a deal breaker but I'm a penniless pauper - in fact poor as the proverbial church mouse - so I can't pay an extortionate stud fee. It'll have to be pick of Pyrecock litter instead. Unless there's a very large and handsome male puppy in which case I'm having first dibs 😁So then I can properly be a Spaniel Woman in green wellies and Barbour. (Note to self; I need some sort of weskit and cap)...

If anyone thinks we're being ridiculous, please note the Pyredoodle has already been done ...😆😂😝 I kid you not. It is a thing 😬

@PyreneanAubrie genuinely and without irony I can strongly recommend Barbour's wax hat! Think it's called the 'Brambling' but I call it my 'Camilla Parker Bowles hat' as this is what I imagine she wears at the weekend

I feel like I've missed a whole chunk here!
@PyreneanAubrie & @CaptainBeanThief
I think Milo should have first shot as it were as he's probably got more of an idea than Brodie. However B could move in with you until he's got the hang of it and we'll waive stud fees 🤣

I can unhappily report that B walked almost perfectly on his evening walk with the husband...am considering a divorce and he can keep the puppy 😡

Human excrement is the 💩 of choice for mine 🤢

You wouldn't believe how much of it is about.

@brushingboots
Thank you, sounds fab! I'll check it out. I'm currently eyeing up a few things on House of Bruar...think I need a Premium Bonds win first though.

@BrodiePup
You're definitely having one of the Pyrecocks too though. Maybe a girl, just to see how easy they are(n't) compared to boys 😁

@tizwozliz
Ewww, no!!! Really? That's gross!😧

@BrodiePup
I'm pleased to report that Brie behaved appallingly on her walk following husband's return from IT conference 😄so we shan't be joining you in the divorce courts just yet.

Even the cat got fed up with Brie's dancing this evening and smacked her in the face - she usually finds the dancing quite entertaining but this evening it was slightly manic. I suspect B must have been watching Strictly on YouTube when we left the laptop in the kitchen overnight... 🙄I just hope she doesn't start getting ideas about sequinned collars.

@PyreneanAubrie
I've been pissing myself at our make believe hybrid breed of dog that I think it may be possible.
Do we have time for you to build me a shed in the bottom of your garden and I will waiver my stud fee and you can the pick of the litter 😀😀😀

Well, at the bottom of the garden there is a big pond...so no, unless you want a shed with an underfloor bath...🤔

However, we do have a (very old) unused dog kennel and run that could possibly be painted in Duck Egg Blue Cuprinol and converted into a rather nice house. Provided you don't mind sharing it with a few big black spiders...?

(BTW, Did you check in case the Pyrecock has already been done? We may not be the first to try this...)

PS thank you for your very generous offer.

@PyreneanAubrie & @CaptainBeanThief
You've cheered me up tonight...thank you!
I'm now going to dream of manic hairy puppies wearing sequins and doing the tango...

Well, what a contrast! Brie had her Good Girl head on this morning and we had a nice walk 😊 I have, however, gone back to harness, collar and double ended lead, because it's like belt and braces.

She is suddenly starting to feel like a big dog and has a new wariness that wasn't there before. It's interesting how quickly they change.

Well, @BrodiePup @CaptainBeanThief

This is your luxury accommodation when you come to ours for puppy planning 😁I hope it meets all your requirements.

There is a wooden bed about a metre square inside the hut so you should be fine although you may want to bring a cushion or two.

I'll send the cat in to deal with the spiders before you arrive.

@PyreneanAubrie Looks perfect! We can snuggle up to keep warm 🤣

If I had something like that I'd be threatening B with it on a daily basis 🤣

I really hope I get a good walk today... I've woken up with renewed determination. H says he wasn't bad at all this morning 😡

@PyreneanAubrie
I ain't moving in until that shit hole is fully furnished 🤣🫢

Honestly 🙄There's just no pleasing some people these days 😠

It does look a bit like a jailhouse to be fair. Is now a good time to point out that none of our dogs has ever spent a single night in that kennel in the 25 years it's been there? They've all slept in the house.

We did once put the 6 Maine Coons in the kennel for a day while we were having new windows in the house but aside from that it has mostly been a garden shed.

Today will be a better day for your walk with Brodie, hopefully he'll have a sensible head on like Brie did.

@CaptainBeanThief Such a princess 🙄

@PyreneanAubrie You do like large pets don't you? My next cat if I get one will be a Maine Coon, I adore them, we had British Shorthairs. I think I'm slightly more a cat person... I like their independence. We decided to get a dog this time because I no longer work and we bought the caravan a couple of years ago, so a dog fits better with our lifestyle.
Hope you're right about my walk 🤞🏻

@PyreneanAubrie Have you got maines coons now as well as PMDs? I am in awe! How fantastic.

I'm far more a cat person too. When I was a child/teen we had 4 British Shorthairs - two black, a blue and a silver tabby. My husband had never had a cat when he met me; his family had small dogs, but when we were moving in together in 95, he decided he wanted a Maine Coon. So we went to visit a breeder, learned all about the breed and a few months later we got a blue & white boy who was with us for 15 years.

OMG - It was a shock to my system having a MC at first though; the British Shorthairs are so calm, relaxed and sleepy but MC are bonkers! They are really more like a dog - they'll play chase, come when called and walk on a harness. They are rather destructive in the house (!) and are very messy eaters (one of ours, a 23lb brown tabby, went by the nickname Shovelhead because of the way he scooped up food). But they're super intelligent and affectionate.

We've had eight in total; 12 year old Freija is the last of the gang of 6 and we don't feel it's fair to inflict a kitten on her but we'll definitely have another MC or two at some point. Honestly cannot recommend them highly enough and if you get a male they are huge. Our two biggest boys used to play crazy games with Algy dog. Amazing cats, honestly. I suppose when you have huge dogs it makes sense to have massive sturdy cats and it has worked out well for us 😊

But yes, they are tying although you probably could take one in your caravan - they are pretty placid, particularly the larger males... So maybe at some point you'll decide you do want one...and then you'll be hooked 😆

Yo @PyreneanAubrie
I was joking, you know that right?
It needs painting as well
🤣

@BrodiePup

Finndog with our big black MC, Bram, who was the funniest cat that ever lived. He loved water so much that he once got in the shower with me 😂Such a character that boy, we loved him dearly.

@PyreneanAubrie What a lovely photo!
I miss my cats, it took me over 4 years to brave another pet after the horror of losing my last one...he was PTS on the floor of the vets entrance hall at the start of covid 😢 he was the most affectionate cuddle cat you could ever wish to meet and he was terrified.
I get too flipping attached to animals.

Oh I'm so sorry 😞That sounds horribly traumatic 😢

Companion animals give us so much but the loss of them is just devastating.

Believe it or not, we lost our blue MC to oral cancer during covid also, in May 2020 and we couldn't be with him when he was PTS. He was only 8 and he was my soulmate; I've loved all our animals but Perttu was special. I've never cried so much as I did for him and for Algy Dog the following year...Algy was only 7 and died at the emergency vets from a vaccine reaction. That was our hardest loss because it was so sudden. Urgh. I shouldn't be thinking about it. Sorry.

@PyreneanAubrie Aw, that's heartbreaking. It was May 2020 that we lost Charlie, he was a blue spotted BSH.

The pets we have now will go to their beds one night when they're very old, and fall quietly asleep... I've already had this conversation with B.

However, I'm about to take him for his walk so anything might happen 🤣