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.

@tizwozliz oh heck! Thanks for the heads up... I'll keep an eye on him when he has it.

@BrodiePup @brushingboots Bill has two Yak chews - the proper ones - that I bought him a couple of months ago and he's made almost no headway as his little puppy teeth and jaws weren't strong enough. He's still not a strong chewer, but he is finally starting to enjoy chews that he couldn't make a dent in before now that his adult molars are finally coming in. Yak chews can be really hard wearing but you do need the proper ones! For wimps like Bill, the stuff I've found includes stinky horrible pork or bully 'spaghetti' (basically intestines, that give him dreadful wind, but he loves the stuff); rabbit ears (he adores the hairy ones but as he likes me to hold one end I'm less keen); moon bones; and today we have discovered red deer sticks from Anco and he's over the moon.

Favourites here are

• lamb braids
• beef tendons
• anything ostrich (£££)
• lamb trachea

Nothing lasts more than minutes though. Put off deer legs by a 3am vomit containing a hoof (are you starting to see a theme). They're not allowed cow horns as they crack them into splinters.

@BrodiePup Gosh, he’s speedy! I bought an ostrich bone the other week and she has only nibbled the edge so far.

We have quite a few goat/lamb/cow horns, all of which seem to be softer than buffalo horns, which in turn are softer than antlers. Those go down a proper treat here and they’re cheaper than antlers/buffalo horns too – more like £4 than £10+ for an antler. Oh and cow/lamb horn marrows too – definitely softer but still delish (apparently) and Anco do them as offcuts which make them better value for money.

Sadly I have become pathetically enthusiastic about all of this stuff. Never thought I’d be excited about a dried duck head but there we go. But I agree it does mount up and I have to rein myself in.

@brushingboots it's mad isn't it? I go into pets at home and I'm like a kid in a sweet shop full of body parts 🤣

Is it just my spaniel that's defective in the brain 😂
He HATES the rain!!
I had to drag him down the road this morning just to do his business but anyone would think I had stolen him, he was walking with his tail between his legs and pausing looking at passing cars as if to say please call the RSPCA I've been stolen 😬
He does this at night unless he's going in the car first.

YOU ARE A SPANIEL MILO!!!
🤣

@CaptainBeanThief Nope, B is the same...he's not bad on walks to be fair, but getting him to go out in the garden for a pee takes a few goes.
At least he's past the age of thinking he can go under the dining table 🤣

How are you getting on?

We are not bad.
We take a squeaky ball on our field runs and just squeeze it if he decides he doesn't want to listen anymore but generally he is doing "ok" with his recall.
He just takes himself off to his crate when he's tired but when we are eating and we have to put him in his crate otherwise he will just jump up and be annoying he will bark and bark and bark it's relentless - another hurdle.
He's otherwise good - still a bundle of energy but can definitely see more dog rather than puppy, don't get me wrong he's still very much a young mind but at 15/16 months he's getting there....

I wouldn't get a cocker spaniel again - I love Milo he's my best mate and has got me through the worst times of my life ( apart from my husband) but he's pushed me to my limit.
How have you been getting on?

@PyreneanAubrie is my accommodation sorted out yet?
I have an idea? You could do it up and rent it out to me and @BrodiePup for holidays so we can palm our dogs off on ours husbands ha ha

@CaptainBeanThief that sounds really positive, he's come on massively since I first 'met' you, and it's not that long ago even though it feels like years! This summer will definitely not go down as one of my best...

We're doing ok thanks, our only real challenge is loose lead, but I've accepted that it's not going to change overnight, or even in a few months. He is showing some improvement at times though. Life is also much easier now my husband is around more.

Excellent plan about changing @PyreneanAubrie shed into a holiday home!

My husband has just changed jobs - he had a week off so he was around for the full week and I had a lot of support,
I have managed to drive as well, not at night but during the day. Only a couple of times on my own.
Milos walking is hit and miss, I have AF and angina and he sets off my AF all the time but I can manage with that, it doesn't bother me so much,
I'm only 30 but I have prinzmetal angina and it's been "stable" for a couple of years but for the past week ( probably stress from the past couple of weeks) I've been getting pains when active. It doesn't help when Milos yanking me down the road 🤣🤣
I definitely need a holiday..
@PyreneanAubrie ... Shed? Mates rates?? 🤣

Just don't go on those other threads, whatever you do! There's been two lately about walking your dog in the rain and the evangelists tell you you're cruel and evil if you don't do three seventeen mile walks a day in the pissing pouring rain 😨

Apparently I'm an unfit owner 😪Our Merlin refused to set paw outside the house in the rain (we literally had to push him out the door, he'd rush down the garden, pee against the fence and leg it straight back into the kitchen), But no, that was very, very wrong. I should have put his lead on and forcibly dragged his 60 kg bulk along the road because he was a DOG not a lazy arsed human that's scared of a bit of rain. We tried getting him a waterproof coat but it made him paralysed; put it on, he couldn't walk, took it off and he was fine. Same every time 🤔

So, yesterday, guess what? We took Brie for a (longish) walk in the rain!!!! Hallelujah! I am redeemed!!! I'm a good, obedient dog owner because I put on my "Spaniel Man" outfit and went out 😬

@CaptainBeanThief interesting to hear that he barks when you're eating because we have that problem too and I'm trying to solve it. I have diagnosed it as 'overtired' and communicating that she wants us to come and sit down with her, as it happens far more with the evening meal, and generally chews/kongs etc get ignored, plus she's fed at the same time/just before so she shouldn't be hungry and always has a wee opportunity before we sit down. But it is relentless and tiring and a fairly new behaviour.

What do you think causes him to do it? I'm forever trying to get into her head about it and understand.

@BrodiePup @CaptainBeanThief
Accommodation sorted, guys! You can sleep in the house with Freija the cat (cos she is the matriarch/Godmother figure), me and Breezy will share the kennel 😁At least she'll keep me warm. Please ignore my snoring husband; he's harmless (compared to the cat anyway...).

@brushingboots
I'm not sure, we tried to put him in the hallway before we plated up our food - that didn't work, so we thought we would put him in his crate so he could see us.
It's not that he is hungry because he has been fed and what not, it's like he's jealous? If you know what I mean, like we have something so much better than he wants. He can't stand it when we sit together "without him" if he's in his crate - yet if the doors open he will go and lay in it.
He will steal our food and jump up so we have to put him away when we are eating because we are trying to stop this behaviour but it is relentless. We are thinking of trying a baby gate next as we are at a loss.

@PyreneanAubrie
Argh, I have been pissing myself scrolling through them threads
People saying that oh I walk my dog 50 miles in the pissing down rain and he loves it and if you don't do the same you hate your dog and you deserve to be in prison for the rest of your life"
Well.. you try dragging Milo down the road when he's tired / flat out refusing to go out - he may be a "working" breed but if he is happy - going out to at least wee/poo being kept busy inside and having short walks he doesn't need walking 6 hours a day in a blizzard.
Honestly I get so angry at people writing bullshit entitled crap 🤣🤣

Oh @CaptainBeanThief You're a mere babe compared to some of us. Well, me at any rate... I could just about be your grandmother 😳OMG!!!!

How crappy to have angina and AF. All the more reason for not hanging onto stolen cars, I'd have thought...😨I hope you've been checked over regarding the recurrence of pain, young lady!!!

See, now we know I'm granny age, I am officially allowed to say stuff like this. And possibly also chide you about wearing skimpy clothing... 😄There are so many benefits to Hagitude, you wouldn't believe what you can get away with in the name of old cronery 😜Miriam Margolyes eat your heart out!!!

Anyhoo, if no more Working Cockers then what about having your very own Pigeon Protector at some point? Hmmmm? Everyone needs one of those...well apart from people without pigeons, obviously...🙄

Can you adopt me then @PyreneanAubrie just in time to leave me in your will 🫢😜
We are thinking of getting another dog (not a cocker)
When Milo is of an age of good behaviour. We did rescue an 8 month sprocker when Milo was 10 months but he had so many issues we couldn't deal with so we had to give him to a specialised rescue which was really sad.

Yes of course, lovely girl. I can be "Witchy Nana" on account of living a spit from Pendle and having scraggly hair (no warts yet).

I shall bequeath you all my Led Zep LP's and umpteen bagfuls of knitting yarn. You can also have the dog shed to house the pigeons you need for your next dog to guard 😃

PS We're thinking of getting another dog next year also (not a Cocker). Nobody will ever guess what breed it might be (clue, it begins with P and it's not a Pug). Haven't told the husband about this plan yet, so keep mum (or gran as the case may be)😉

(Sorry the Sprocker adoption didn't work out, that is sad but I'm sure you'll find the right companion for Milo when the time is right)

@PyreneanAubrie
Pomeranian? 🤣 Smaller version of brie 🫢

Good guess but no...clue...French breed....

@CaptainBeanThief I know exactly what you mean: is it FOMO I wonder? It's so frustrating – though I am slightly consoled by the fact that it isn't just us with this problem. She doesn't jump up or steal, for which I'm grateful, but just sits there shouting and it makes me wolf my food down so I can take her away so that at least one of us can eat in peace. I'm coming to the conclusion that she's just being a brat but I can't go on for the next decade plus with it.

Trainers suggest training a settle but we have done that and she's really solid at any other time except during meals.

And @PyreneanAubrie, CBT and I are the same age, but you are younger than my mum if that helps and I don't yet have children so you are officially Not A Granny.

Alas pupsy loves the rain so we have no choice but to go out on the death march twice daily, no matter what's going on outside. I do love those threads though.

@brushingboots @CaptainBeanThief

Brie was also doing meal time stroppies at 3 - 4 months. Baby gates/puppy gates has completely solved the issue, we honestly could not manage without them.

We've always had a gate on both the kitchen doors (into hallway and into living room). The dogs would sleep in the kitchen at night because obv giant breed so no stairs allowed and we don't crate. Since we got Brie we've added another three gates so our house is now Fort Knox! But it works amazingly well for us.

There's now a gate on the understairs cupboard as that is where we keep the kibble (madam learned how to open the folding door within about three seconds of arriving here🙄.) We've subsequently put one on the French door also because she kept kicking hell out of the glass when she wanted to go outside 😨 Then we added a smaller gate between the kitchen and the orangery and that one has been a real lifesaver!

We put a gate there partly for safety reasons; she is so tall that even her tail can brush the cooker hob, plus she can easily access food on the kitchen counters... But we also wanted to isolate the mealtime barking/whining. As soon as I start prepping and cooking dinner she goes into the orangery with a few treats and the gate is closed. Initially she was still doing stroppy barking/whining but we ignored it so now she just gets a chew and lies there quietly and contentedly while we cook and eat our meals in the kitchen. By the time we've washed up and wiped around, she is generally snoozing. I've got to say, she is a very bright girl and we got her into a good routine pretty early and for us, the mealtime barking/whining/begging thing is sorted. But honestly, gates are brilliant and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

OMG @brushingboots I'm surrounded by youngsters....😧Does that mean I can officially nag you too in relation to putting your thermals on before venturing outside etc???

I swear to you I'm not tweed skirt, twinset and pearls kinda thing... More like metalhead/biker/big black boots sorta (cept for the Toast dresses). But I'm old. Oh god I'm so old 😩I need a lie down 😞

Eyyy @brushingboots maybe @PyreneanAubrie can put us both in her will 😂😂
I think I am going to stock up and tough chews and get the baby gate.
He has started doing this annoying whine, really annoying like " help neighbours, my owners don't feed me, they beat me, I am so lonely, please rescue me, they isolate me whilst they dare feed themselves and NOT me"

@brushingboots I totally understand what you say about the wolfing down - I have to as well just to stop the barking.
The only trouble I'm on a SALT diet as I've had two surgical tracheostomies and I struggle to swallow certain foods and can occasionally choke of liquids but I just can't stand the barking and whining so this needs getting on top of ASAP.
we think we have got him in the place we want to him to be and then he develops another unsavoury behaviour lol

@CaptainBeanThief
Honestly we had the big screaming drama/dog being tortured/neighbours will hate us scenario while were trying to eat dinner. We didn't eat a meal together for weeks after we got Brie. Until we got that gate on. Sorted 😁

Blimey! I leave to do a bit of speed cleaning while the husband was out with B and I miss all this!

@CaptainBeanThief are you packing for our holiday? It's my next job.

@PyreneanAubrie I'm only a year behind you (also not a tight perm and twin set type) so I'll bring my knitting with me when I visit 😀

I sometimes think I miss out on not looking at other threads, but then maybe not...my claim to fame is I have zero Facebook friends 🤣. I'm really introverted and the thought of putting my life out there horrifies me...B's life however...