The Pod-cast

[HangingOver]

Hello PodSquad,

Thank you for being on this crazy ride with us.

Here's the OG thread if anyone wants to go back and laugh at how staggeringly naive I was adopting my first rescue pup: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5177112-oh-my-giddy-god?page=1

Could someone please explain who this dog is in my house and what they've done with Pod? Because he's been absolutely angelic today. Truly a wonderful, wonderful dog and even coped with my DF and DPs pal coming over for Sunday dinner and sitting up getting merry on red wine.

Or perhaps the collective will on MN have given me a SERIOUSLY needed good day. What a star. 🥹

Oh, I've just realised who he reminds me of...

They're a bit like GSD ears in that if you stroke them they ping back up but they're very flexible. This was him paying attention to something in high wind Vs not wind

lol butter wouldn’t melt. Splendid ears Sir Poddington

He has a noble profile!

Oh I love this thread so much! Those ears always make me grin 😁

Haha the FB brigade always have someone to moan about. My favourite was a woman kicking off over a guy using pet corrector on her dog and posting a photo of him. Loads piled on him and then some people said "hmm would love to hear his side of it."

Well wouldn't you know another passer by popped up and gave the full story - her dog was off lead, terrorising his dog. He spent ages asking her to get it under control before resorting to the spray and then she and her still off lead dog spent another 10mins chasing him shouting abuse.

I do love an FB drama but always take it with an entire cannister of salt!

@HangingOver He is so gorgeous! On the snack front, our rescue used to really like cucumber. We used to chop it into his kong as it’s tricky to get out and he’d play for ages. Also, have you got some pro-kolin for his tummy when it’s upset? It works quite well to help stop the squirt poop! We always had a tube at home for such occasions.

Thanks, I've just ordered some. Because of his street doggy days he has no problem craping on tarmac and trying to scoop a liquid poop off someone's driveway is not how I like starting my day.

More screaming abdabs this morning. Pod has some urgent (and noisy) business to attend to in the buddleia this morning so we had an early walk, with some good walking and quite a lot of insane lunging.

I have to keep re-reading the articles about surviving dog teenage years. The intrusive thoughts that recur are "What if he gets stuck like this?". Which leads to "He can never go off lead" ... "He never gets comfortable in the car", okay so that leads to "I'll never get to see my Dad" - "what if something happens to Dad? I can't take Pod to Dad's - he has carpets"... "I can never go on holiday again because what petsitter would put up with being bitten every day, which means by the time we get to go away again I'll be 48 and DP will be 65! I might be dead by then"... "What if I can never leave the house alone for more than 20 mins at a time, Ill have no friends or hobbies and be crazy"... etc. etc. etc.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk/nervous breakdown.

@HangingOver When will he be neutered? Hopefully it will help calm down some of the behaviour, like the dramatic Disney princess flopping. I had to laugh at that description - I have a human teenager myself. Dramatic sighs and eye rolls and grunts can happen! I follow a lot of dogs and dog rescue groups on Instagram. Some of them talk about sending a dog to board and train for more intensive training to help with problematic behaviour. It’s usually for about 4 weeks and a dog trainer works with the dog every single day. Obviously their training methods would need to align with your beliefs and be methods that you’re willing to continue afterwards. Would that be an option for you? Does it exist in your area?

I don't know but tbh I think I'd only try that as an absolute last resort. Not only would it cost a fortune I think poor Pod would assume he was being abandoned yet again.

Pod and me are locked in a battle of wills today. He wants to be outside 24/7, however it's not fair on the community for them to have to listen to him yelling his head off for hours on end. Also, it's freezing so I'm not prepared to spend all day out there with him trying to distract him whenever he makes a scene. Alsoso I have many clients needing work done.

So I've made an admittedly fairly completely arbitrary commitment to only let him out once every 30 mins, for as long as he is prepared to behave himself (e.g one-off borks okay, continual singing results in being brought back inside). So basically if he shouts to go out, I'm just letting him get on with it. He cannot physically need to pee more often than that. And actually after the first 5 minutes of dramatic wailing, he very reluctantly has picked up a previously shunned chew and say next to me with it.

Hmm.... am I on to something?

It sounds like you're winning!

Pod won't get stuck like this. I am 100% sure about this, because he is a living creature and no living creatures get stuck in any one phase. We are all continually changing and developing. Also, we all calm down and become less intense as we age. Pod is going to develop the same as every other creature.

Also, and I'll need @WiddlinDiddlin to confirm this since she actually knows what she's talking about... just maaaaybe the reason he finally took the chew was, now that chewie novelty has worn off, perhaps Pod's hierarchy of fun goes:

• Business in the buddleia
• Party in the pampas grass
• Shout to the sky
• THEN all the indoor fun, food, chewies, treats and things

So perhaps if I can teach him he can't just yell and be let out every time, then he'll take a chewy or an indoor activity as a second best...

Its like human kids - if they get what they desire every time they whine, then they'll whine more to get it again. Dont positively reinforce the whine, and he'll figure its not worth doing

He’s only young isn’t he, op? I hate to break it to you but he’ll likely be bonkers for quite some time yet. Pic of baby Pod attached (surrounded by the remains of her brothers bed, lol. My others are a bit older, and they do calm down eventually..) She’s almost 2 and still a complete fruit loop, lol..

He looks happy in those pics yesterday , like he's started to relax a little, that's all
Down to you and your Dp ❤️

Okay @Purplecatshopaholic I need your help pretty please. About the jumpers...

Vet didn't know anything about Pods and had never met one. Chess isn't quite as baldy as some of them but he does get cold, I think that's why he likes sleeping on me.

So this time of year, when are yours in their jumpers and coats and outdoors or indoors too?

He loathes rain, so we definitely need a raincoat...

Hi @HangingOver. Baby Pod - the one in the pic - wears jammies at night. My others do if it’s cold but not always (they have thick fluffy warm beds too). Jammies at night, and them generally being warm, makes an huge difference to whether you get a decent nights sleep I have found! All four wear coats or jumpers out if the weather is below about 10. All wear raincoats (if you can get them out in the rain, lol, they hate rain). Generally, if you need a coat, so do they - they are not labradors, ignore people who tell you they don’t need coats, it’s not fashion, they are thin skinned dogs used to warmer countries. Your boy is adorable, I wish you much joy with him, Pods are hard work but addictive!

Pod needs jammies? 🥹

I am at once looking forward to it and fucking DREADING trying to get him into them.

Our whippet noses his way under the duvet given the chance!

Big Muppet Pod sleeps with us so generally doesn’t wear jammies. Baby Pod defo does need them - that’s her in them in the pic up thread. They get used to wearing them very quickly and love them because they know they are warm. Wait until you try and get him in a onesie…. sniggers at the thought. I live in Scotland and I do have a couple of onesies for them - there’s a knack to them!

The problem is Pod's soft furnishings fetish extends to clothing too. Hence he has never even been shown a duvet as it would send him into an ecstatic ripping frenzy. That being said he's quite compliant when he's half asleep so perhaps jammies could be deployed when he's getting into his snoozy mode....

You must all help me choose them.

Admittedly from the pic up-thread you can’t see that Baby Pods jammies have a few tears in them, lol, as she too loves a good gnaw! All the dog beds have holes in them too. My older Pods grew out of it.. Pic of Diva Pod in her rather more presentable jammies, lol.

Mid shark attack

My dog hates her coat. Was going to put it on vinted as she's worn it twice. Any good to you?

My lurcher girl is very contrary. She wears a fleece coat in the house for much of the year, both day and night, and lies on a soft blanket next to the radiator.

However the coat comes off for her walks, no matter how cold it is ( and we're on the east coast of Scotland). I guess she has her pride.
Only once was she too cold outside when it was below freezing with a bitter wind.

She hates a raincoat but doesn't go for long walks in the rain anyway.🙄