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.

@AubrieDog I also love hearing about PMDs having never met one and only knowing gundogs so please keep it coming! So interesting and it never ceases to amaze me how different dogs can be.

Thank you @LemonPalm & @brushingboots 😊
We might have perfect dogs in a year or two, but we could also be on the waiting list for a liver transplant!!

😂

Just been on the phone to a friend...
She pointed out that last year I walked the 3 peaks...this year I can't walk a cocker spaniel puppy...hmmm 🤣

Of course you can walk him, and you do!

The idea of you and your husband each having your designated role in the training sounds good. It makes a lot of sense when you look at the idea of keeping consistency in that way. I think the one thing that all of us on these threads have found is that establishing a routine seems to be key for all pups/adolescent dogs.

I hope you'll report back in a few days time as to how you find the new training regime. Hopefully Brodie will pull less on the longer lead so try not to get too anxious about not managing before you've even got started! I honestly think you'll cope fine, even if it feels daunting initially. At least you now have a better idea of what you're aiming for with his training and that is definitely helpful.

Thank you for the kind words @BrodiePup @brushingboots @LemonPalm

I have found a new enthusiasm this year. After we lost our previous Pyrie very tragically in 2021 from a vaccine reaction at just 7 years old, we felt as if we would never have another dog. The whole thing had been so horribly traumatic. It left us both really low.

It was only when I turned 60 this year that I decided it was now or never and started asking around a few breed contacts. Brie was born 12 days after my 60th, we got her at 8 weeks and everything just suddenly felt right again. We love this little girl so very much❤

He was impressed (blowing own trumpet) with the level B was at, and the work that we've obviously put in already.

That sounds positive, my older one was highlighted as an example of a difficult pup in one of our classes!

I'm glad to hear Brie has made things start to feel right for you again @PyreneanAubrie sounds like she's in the perfect home for her too.
There's a saying I like; puppies have a way of finding the people who need them. I'm glad Brie found you.
Coincidentally LemonPup was born within days of my big X0 birthday too. I needed him too.

When I got my pup, people told me he'd calm down by six months. That never happened, and now they say at a year he will have calmed down. Well clearly by what I've read on here and across the internet, this is not the case and he will not calm down until he is three....

I honestly don't know how to keep him, yet I am determined not to be another statistic of giving an adolescent dog away. But I can't do another two years of this.

Like someone said a few posts ago, the reality Vs what you think having a dog will be like is so so different...

Hi @Cavalierchaos it was me who said that. What I imagined and reality of having a puppy have been very different. But I think puppies seem to be very different from adult dogs too). I'm feeling increasingly optimistic that having an adult dog will be closer to what I expected. But also increasingly ok with it being different. I think one of the good things about dogs is how much we can do to influence their habits and behaviours. There's always hope.
Puppy behaviour can be horrible. How old is your pup now? What's he been up to? Everything I've read says small dogs like yours mature alot faster than big dogs like mine. Mine's a lab who some say never grow up. So that's really different from yours so please don't be discouraged by my posts. I want people to know they're not alone in struggling with puppy's outrageous behaviours but not to feel discouraged, sorry!. How does your pup behave? Does his behaviour vary from day to day or stay much the same? Do you feel better about him / his behaviour some days than others? What gets you down most about his behaviour?

He looks gorgeous in the photo by the way and very comfortable.

@PyreneanAubrie it's lovely that Brie has brought joy back into your lives. Losing your last dog under those circumstances must've been horrendous 😢

When we took Brodie on a gun dog training for pets course through the summer, when the trainer was looking for a pup to do a demo with, he'd often walk past us and say "not Brodie".
It made us feel slightly better when they did the same to his sister 🤣

@Cavalierchaos
It is very very hard at times. Your pup might take until he's 3 to become exactly the adult dog he will remain, but there will be lots of improvements along the way, it's a gradual process.
Having had 2 cavaliers a long time ago, I really don't remember it taking 3 years either. If the first had been difficult, I don't think I would've got another.

If he is making you miserable, there would be absolutely nothing wrong in letting him go, he would be snapped up in an instant. However, would that make you more sad? When he's being good, do you love him to bits?

I can't quite remember the issues you're having, is it nightmare walks? Is his behaviour age/training related, or could it be a medical condition? Would a vet check help?

I wish I could be more helpful 🙁

@Cavalierchaos
Sorry it's a struggle at the moment. I honestly doubt it will take another two years for your pup to calm down. All pups are different and develop at their own rate, even within the same breed. As Brodiepup has said, it's just a gradual calming down process, and at first you may not even notice it happening.

Is he making you really unhappy or is just tiredness that has you thinking you can't stand it any more? Could it be puppy blues? I hadn't expected to get that but I did and it is a horrible feeling. Most of us with pups go through a period of questioning whether we have the commitment, simply because it is so exhausting and frustrating when the puppy is continually playing up.

As BrodiePup and LemonPalms have both said, if you have a specific worry, one of us might be able to help you or at least compare notes... We all have different issues (mine is lead-biting 🙄). You're definitely not alone in being disappointed the reality of rearing a puppy compared to the expectation of the perfect dog; we all get it to some extent.

This is pupsy's reaction to her new friend having just left after 24 hours: totally sparko. She was a superstar, they played beautifully and it was all totally two-way. But she is absolutely exhausted, that's for sure. I think this evening's walk might just be a trot round the block.

Oh bless her 💖 It's lovely that she enjoyed her day with a new pal.

I think we're on for a shortened walk too but for a different reason; drizzly rain.

@brushingboots that's one tired pupper!

Today B has been to the park, out for lunch, then to pets at home to choose a new toy for being a good boy.

Bought him a yakers chew, has anyone used them? Hope it lasts more than one session, it was £11.99.

@BrodiePup What a wholesome Sunday for B! I bought a Yak chew when she was little but she wasn't that bothered and it's only come out of the toy/chew box again recently for a few short sessions. It's definitely not her favourite of the thousands of animal parts which we have both tried and are all over the house, but they do seem reasonably long lasting!

@brushingboots hmm, will give it to him later. He does enjoy a body part but gets through supposedly long lasting ones in minutes now. I'm spending more on that sort of thing than I am his food which seems a bit silly.

@BrodiePup Which ones have you tried? I'm trying to think which have been the most enduring here – probably, horns and antlers excluded, pizzles, and anything involving skin, like a deer/lamb/beef roll or tail.

I almost have the opposite problem in that I buy her lots of stuff and then she often has half of it and gives up, so we have loads of half-eaten bits that visiting dogs just come and (rightly) hoover up. But it means that my judgement for what is and isn't long-lasting is slightly off!

Sounds like a lovely day for Brodie Pup.
LemonDog loves Yakers. So far he's had 2 x milk flavour and 1 x strawberry flavour and seriously enjoyed them all. All have lasted more than one session (but never a week). All have kept him happily occupied for many hours. Longer lasting by far than any other chew he's had (although disclaimer, I've never tried body parts and don't intend to). It's me who's slightly less keen on Yakers (not LemonDog) hence reason he only gets one rarely. I suspect they're rock hard on his teeth. He chews it down to a little finger sized shard which I worry he'll choke on (although he never has) Apparently when it gets small you can microwave it back up to honeycomb textured but much bigger piece but I've never tried this. LemonPup had bad experience with a 'good boy' chew containing rawhide when he was about 6 months old (which I used to use to occupy him if I was on an 'important' work call). The big end got lodged down his throat and the small and got lodged behind his front teeth. So the whole thing was wedged in his small mouth. Thank goodness I was there to fish it out immediately. But I have personally felt scared of occupiers ever since (but that's just me, used right under supervision they're great). Of all those I have tried personally I think Yakers are longest lasting and have best ingredients. So long as he's always closely supervised with it he'll be fine.

@brushingboots Ah, the bliss of an exhausted sleeping puppy :-)
What a lovely, comfy, contented looking pup

Mine don't get yakkers now a) because they're too expensive as mine will get through one in an evening and b) we've had them reappear in chunks in vomit at 3am

@brushingboots I've avoided antlers etc as being too hard... I worry about his teeth. I think I've pretty much tried everything, my last big buy was a £50 mixed box from JR for strong chewers...a £15 ostrich bone did him 2 x 1 hour sessions. He had a chunky beef tail last night...10 minutes! A 15cm pizzle might last him 30 minutes. Fortunately he is quite happy with benebones and olive wood sticks, so I think I might stick to that sort of thing. His excitement when I give him something makes it tempting to keep buying stuff, but it's getting ridiculously expensive and is unnecessary. When he was a tiny pup it was good because things would last a while, and used to keep him amused while we had our evening meal.

@LemonsPalm thanks for the heads up with yakers, I'll give it a go later. That must've been scary with the rawhide chew, it's a good job you were there!
I've not given B rawhide, but all my past dogs had it because it was pretty much all there was.