Oh my giddy god......

[HangingOver]

I can't actually believe I'm finally typing this... I think I'm getting a dog!

I've wanted one of my own my entire life. I had one growing up and look after friends and neighbours at every available opportunity as I adore dogs so much. A rescue came up locally and I thought he looked lovely, he was snapped up immediately, but came up again yesterday! Me and DP are meeting him this afternoon.

Any tips for meeting a rescue for the first time? Other than being gentle and calm? He's 8 months so a bouncy chap.

ARGGGH! So excited. 😁

Defo keep a Pod Diary - it will help you add up and connect events/behaviour... (I forget if you are doing this already)..

He will have attached to you hard and you're the safe place to throw all this at, all his uninhibited baby-puppy communications (in a big body!) - it's normal and it will fade as he becomes more secure in a more healthy way, learns more, grows real confidence instead of bluff/bravado.

A lot of people think they have to remove themselves (not in a temporary 'I'd like to keep my skin attached to my me..' way, thats absolutely fine, in a more 'long periods of time each day' way) believing that the availability of the person is what causes that hyper attachment... but it isn't, its the dogs insecurity that does that!

The Tearribles are great, but yes eyewatering - I imported three JUST before they started selling them in the UK ffs (literally weeks... i was SO annoyed as I had asked and they didn't say a bloody word). Mine love them.

The big Kong toys, I forget what they're called but its like a ball inside a big translucent ball or shape... those can be good for dogs who want very physical wrestly play (as can a squishable tub trug from B&Q actually!)...

Also sacrificial giant soft toys from charity shops, the fugly sort that people buy other peoples babies without a single thought as to how this house sized bunny will fit in a babies room! (Remove any eyes/noses if he'd actually eat those).

We're all here for you... you're doing fantastically well!

I was reading your post and just before the dachshund bit I was thinking he's not really had a puppy hood to learn all these rules, manners and societal conventions we expect from dogs. So now you have a very large puppy with no idea how his boisterous play can hurt a human. It sounds like your trainer is totally onto that train of thought and will get you both where you need to be!

You really are amazing. It can be so hard in the mire to reflect and see where a behaviour might come from so the fact you can do that is phenomenal.

Our old dog (he passed 9 weeks ago) was a super, gentle chap. Rough collie, so a reasonable size. He did the zoomies followed by the jumping up and grabbing clothes in excitement. DH has several thick jumpers ripped to shreds. But I think because we knew him so well and knew that he was a gentle, placid soul the rest of the time we knew he was just playing so accepted it. You are still getting to know Pod so any jumpy, bitey behaviour is bound to be daunting. But I think it probably is just exuberant playfulness - still painful though!

I think you’re right that when he flings himself at you he’s just treating you like another pup. My 5 month Lab cross also picks me out for special treatment re incessantly trying to chew my feet & hands (just given that up luckily as his adult teeth have come through), pawing at me for attention and trying to sit on my lap which was cute at 5kg but not so much at 22kg.

I’m his favourite human play mate which can feel overwhelming at home but actually is good at the park because he responds to my recall fastest too. They don’t understand at first that their way of playing is not what we want. I think it’s nice when they can go off the lead and find dog friends to play fight with who do enjoy rough play too & give it back.

I’m not sure if Pod can go off the lead yet? Certainly sounds like he would benefit from it but you know best if it’s appropriate at the moment or not.

Mine used to have the zoomies sometimes when I was walking her on the lead. A sniff of something would set her off.
It was frightening as I was holding on to all 30+ kgs of her (it was always near a road) and my legs got bashed and bruised.

Again, if it had been a small dog it would have been nothing.

It did stop eventually, thank goodness.

M so sorry for your loss.

I've been following your thread from the beginning and thought I'd post to say what amazing progress you and pod have made in such a small amount of time.
Can you imagine what he's going g to be like in the next 3 weeks? You've done so well and I know it can be demoralising when they're bitey sharks but when you look at the bigger picture you've done brilliantly.
Thank you so much for posting as we lost our ddog last year and not in a position to get another for a while so I'm living the dog life through you.

Don't forget to make a new thread @HangingOver as this one is nearly full and we need to keep in touch for our pod fix!

New Thread, Pod pals. Nice update this way ➡️ https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5197068-the-pod-cast

@AutumnTimeForCosy24 just come across this thread & haven't read all of it yet so maybe you've had other suggestions but recently searching for crash tested harness for large dogs I came across sleepypod: https://sleepypod.com/pages/car-harnesses