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Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - Bark the Herald, furry angels sing!

999 replies

YorkshireFelix · 26/11/2024 23:01

New thread to get us through the festive season! Angelic and naughty teenage pups all welcome Halo

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YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 17:32

brushingboots · 06/12/2024 17:14

@YorkshireFelix It’s fair to say we are not steady around squirrels but I consider them irritating so I leave her to it, as we only ever see them in safe places and she’s unlikely to ever catch one. I have done a lot of steadiness work on birds though, particularly game but also crows and pigeons etc, and find it one of the most satisfying things to work on even if the dogs don’t love it.

When pupsy was quite small we used to go to the deer park at the back of our house most days on a longline and sit and watch the deer. We’d just sit there, building up duration over time, and the goal was to be quiet and do nothing, and I’d hope to god that they’d move off so she could practice sitting watching while something ran away from her. I think that helped hugely. Harder to do with birds but you could employ the same tactics: crouch down next to him and reward for no whining/barking/pulling towards them etc. And then transfer to offlead and moving. I think that’s how I approached it but I also just reinforced either her desire to return to me or to stop dead when she saw something moving. Now she actively turns away from crows or just watches them, but there’s no way she’d have done that at V’s age and I wouldn’t have expected her to.

Just thinking about how old he is, this was about the point that I thought I'd got it licked with pupsy. About 6-8 months was a golden time. And it was at about his age that she brought me her first partridge...

My parents greyhound caught a squirrel once 😂 She is literally the most unbothered queen, totally aloof about everything but she is rapid when she wants to be (usually for 2 minutes of the day).

Thank you for the advice. I wasn't sure how to do it really, so that's very helpful. And I am so jealous about the deer park! The only time I've ever seen deer outside of a zoo type thing is a very quick glance of one when we were driving at night in Scotland a couple of months ago. I was so excited!!

We bumped into his breeder earlier and it's the first time he's seen him since we brought V home. He was really pleased with him! Said he looks like a strong dog 💪🏻

If he can be golden for a few weeks before the teenage dirtbag phase kicks in, that would be most welcome. Although it isn't all sweetness and light at the minute despite my many positive posts, as he is relentlessly chewing all the wooden furniture again. I just cannot get him to stop. I've ordered some bitter apple spray out of desperation but not convinced it will actually do anything.

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YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 17:33

Bupster · 06/12/2024 17:32

Thanks, both of you. He was absolutely fine and unbothered by the whole experience, and the other dog owners at the park were really supportive, but I think it just made me feel I was letting him down. If he does this, and I know he does - not all the time but enough - then I should be managing it all the time, never just hoping for the best. I suppose I love him so much, and he's such a lovely pup in almost every way, that I find it hard to accept he does have some actual proper shitty behaviours that mean I need to step in.

Mr 'who me? bark? must be some other dog' 🙄

He is a gorgeous squish and the love you have for him really shines through!

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tizwozliz · 06/12/2024 17:45

she’s unlikely to ever catch one.

I thought that about mine once, and then she managed to catch a young hare!

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 18:15

Aghhhh other dog owners qre so anal about their dogs interacting @Bupster
Do not and I mean do not venture onto mumsnet they will tell you to throw him into dogs trust and blacklist yourself from EVER owning another living creature ever again 😅
If I let every "bad" interaction of Milos get the best of me I'd be locked in my house for ever. Dogs need good and bad interactions to learn. Obviously we need to train our dogs well but I can't be arsed with these people who want robot dogs who can't even look at another dog 🐕

PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 18:42

Sorry @Bupster, that sounds really stressful.
Don't be hard on yourself, he's just a playful pup and it's sadly just a sign of the times that people are a lot more wary of dogs now.

YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 18:43

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 18:15

Aghhhh other dog owners qre so anal about their dogs interacting @Bupster
Do not and I mean do not venture onto mumsnet they will tell you to throw him into dogs trust and blacklist yourself from EVER owning another living creature ever again 😅
If I let every "bad" interaction of Milos get the best of me I'd be locked in my house for ever. Dogs need good and bad interactions to learn. Obviously we need to train our dogs well but I can't be arsed with these people who want robot dogs who can't even look at another dog 🐕

Edited

I think we'd all have our dogs taken from us if the rest of Mumsnet had their way 🤣

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YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 18:46

PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 18:42

Sorry @Bupster, that sounds really stressful.
Don't be hard on yourself, he's just a playful pup and it's sadly just a sign of the times that people are a lot more wary of dogs now.

People really are more wary of dogs. You just reminded me about our old dog we had when I was a kid. She was a Heinz 57 called Winkey, and lived with us in the pub my parents owned. She often ate the contents of the ash trays and dregs of pints, was fed full packets of Seabrooks crisps and salty peanuts. She would go and collect her pal who lived across the road and they would just wander about the village for hours on end before returning for another pint. She was rock solid. You would never get that now 🤣

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PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 19:04

If it's any consolation, I had my own horrendously embarrassing walk today.

There was a woman walking behind us and Brie kept turning around to check on her so I held Brie beside the wall to let this lady go past. She said thanks but crossed the road then stopped and looked across and said "Is that a Pyrenean?" At which point Brie suddenly went into her "Helllooooo - I'm lovely, come and pet me!!!" routine, reared up onto her back legs and dragged me towards the road, right in front of two cars that had to slow down 😱Woman apologised, I apologised, explained that she's only 8 months old and "a bit of a handful", got told she's beautiful but that was most definitely yet another unfit owner moment for me.

PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 19:17

YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 18:46

People really are more wary of dogs. You just reminded me about our old dog we had when I was a kid. She was a Heinz 57 called Winkey, and lived with us in the pub my parents owned. She often ate the contents of the ash trays and dregs of pints, was fed full packets of Seabrooks crisps and salty peanuts. She would go and collect her pal who lived across the road and they would just wander about the village for hours on end before returning for another pint. She was rock solid. You would never get that now 🤣

She sounds like a real character!
Times have changed for sure. In some ways understandable I guess, but in another way a bit sad.
When we had Merlin as a pup in 95, everyone used to let their kids come and cuddle him, nobody was ever scared of him (or Rose or Sylvie) but it's not like that now. With Algy and even more noticeably with Brie, people are wary; even when she was a tiny cute fluffball the little kids walking from school weren't allowed near her.
Then again, could be me they're scared of I guess....🤔

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 20:16

It's ok @PyreneanAubrie people are scared of my clearly friendly cocker spaniel.
Who id never let run up to anyone, who minds his own business but we have raised a generation of snowflakes, yes I said it
Cue the angry mumsnetters who find this thread on active and banish me 👀

PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 21:20

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 20:16

It's ok @PyreneanAubrie people are scared of my clearly friendly cocker spaniel.
Who id never let run up to anyone, who minds his own business but we have raised a generation of snowflakes, yes I said it
Cue the angry mumsnetters who find this thread on active and banish me 👀

I'm less scared of the MN angry mob than I am by the thought of my gigantic loony pup being on someone's dashcam and ending up on tiktok 😨I gave a roadside masterclass in how not to walk a dog 😧

Dog trainer coming tomorrow, think I might have to hide 😳

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 22:06

We could all do a compilation of our pups doing "the pose" on tik tok
We will get famous 😱
Haha I'm not even on that on Facebook never mind tik tok!!

Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - Bark the Herald, furry angels sing!
PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 22:31

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 22:06

We could all do a compilation of our pups doing "the pose" on tik tok
We will get famous 😱
Haha I'm not even on that on Facebook never mind tik tok!!

I'm not on facebook or tiktok either. I used to be on Instagram but hardly go on there now it's all ads.

Is Milo chewing some sort of dragon?

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 22:35

Yes, he's broken it's neck 10x over, he seems to enjoy doing that 😮.
He's nothing like pupsy @brushingboots ( perfectly behaved) who will retrieve dead pigeons 🤣🤣

PyreneanAubrie · 06/12/2024 22:45

CaptainBeanThief · 06/12/2024 22:35

Yes, he's broken it's neck 10x over, he seems to enjoy doing that 😮.
He's nothing like pupsy @brushingboots ( perfectly behaved) who will retrieve dead pigeons 🤣🤣

Brie hasn't got any toys left apart from a spiny ball, a Kong and a big yellow rubber dumbbell. She's totally destroyed every other toy she had 😠She's not a lady like pupsy either, Brie is more like a baby rhino much of the time...🙄

brushingboots · 06/12/2024 23:36

@YorkshireFelix pleasure! I realise I just went into unsolicited dog training mode there, oops.

We have a lot of deer here and you are very welcome to come and walk with them and us anytime! I absolutely love watching them even if they're doing nothing, and pupsy has had an unusual amount of experience with them as even outside the deer park we can't help but find them on our wilderness walks.

Did he come from a working home? He is a super little chap, bar the chewing which must be infuriating. And so wise, like Gandalf.

brushingboots · 06/12/2024 23:38

@tizwozliz that is amazing! Hare are something we actually hardly ever see which is a shame, as I love watching them box.

YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 23:51

brushingboots · 06/12/2024 23:36

@YorkshireFelix pleasure! I realise I just went into unsolicited dog training mode there, oops.

We have a lot of deer here and you are very welcome to come and walk with them and us anytime! I absolutely love watching them even if they're doing nothing, and pupsy has had an unusual amount of experience with them as even outside the deer park we can't help but find them on our wilderness walks.

Did he come from a working home? He is a super little chap, bar the chewing which must be infuriating. And so wise, like Gandalf.

No idea how he would react to deer! At our puppy class a few weeks ago there were some cows in the next field and he went absolutely bonkers at them which was embarrassing. Then I realised he'd never actually seen cows before 😳 I have a friend who is married to a dairy farmer too so I probably should have taken him round to meet some when he was small but didn't even think!

His parents are both FTCH but his breeder is a barber and part time Spaniel Man. He has 6 cockers who he does trials with but said people are always surprised when he lives in a 3 bed semi and not on a farm! But he is very choosy about where his pups go. Two of his brothers went to be ivory detection dogs and one to mountain rescue, then the others have all gone to working homes. My DH grew up with spaniels and used to help train his neighbours dogs for trialling, which is how he convinced him to let us have Vinny. But it's me, who has never had a dog before (apart from rock solid Winkey pub dog when I was very small), who is with him 99% of the time and doing all the training... Which is why I think I feel so much pressure about doing a good job. He has come from a brilliant line and is 100% wasted on us, so I need to do him justice.

When I saw his breeder earlier he said 'ooh now he's 6 months you'll be able to work out what you want from him' and I just smiled and nodded. I think he thinks I'm going to take up shooting or something 🤣 I grew up on a council estate in Notts so possibly the most far removed from natural Spaniel Woman as you can get.

Also unsolicited training mode is always welcome!!

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YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 23:51

I don't think I've ever seen a hare either! Or a partridge. I feel like you live in a Beatrix Potter book @brushingboots

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YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 23:52

Also to add to that, I always say to Vinny 'you could have been up a mountain' when he's lolling on the sofa and it makes me chuckle every time.

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brushingboots · 06/12/2024 23:53

I think things have changed for good and ill in terms of now as a society we process dogs.

I was with my mum the other day walking one of our regular walks when a goldie I've met before began pestering pupsy, after the initial two-way hello. She didn't seem to mind but she was busy hunting so I called her over and encouraged the goldie away, and said to my mum, ugh, I hate it when that happens. She was relaxed about it and said what was the harm, and I said that the owner (who was, incidentally, nowhere to be seen) had no idea what their dog was doing and shouldn't let it approach random dogs it doesn't know, as who knows what they might be like. My mum thought this was rot and told me I was being stupid, saying dogs have to say hello.

I'm not uptight about it but I am careful as if pupsy bit another dog that approached her and wouldn't leave her alone (though I've no reason at all to believe she would) it would be my fault. And so I don't let her run towards randomers like the goldie did to us. Different with dogs we know obv. But I do think about these scenarios a lot to try and judge my own reactions to them. My conclusion is that it's fine to be cautious and ultimately I'm just advocating for my dog. Maybe it's unnecessary, I don't know, and I must have got that idea from somewhere new as it clearly wasn't from my mum, who has her own superb dogs. So that's one end of the stick.

On the other hand I remember about a year ago we were at the garden centre when a small child ran over and threw her arms around pupsy, no parent in sight, screaming 'puppy!' Dog-dad and I stood there open-mouthed until a totally unconcerned father appeared and somehow the interaction ended. The mind boggles.

brushingboots · 06/12/2024 23:56

@PyreneanAubrie oh bless you both! That doesn't sound ideal but I love the idea of Brie rearing and giving someone a bear hug. She must be 5 foot or so when standing on her back legs, surely? Or maybe not quite that big...

brushingboots · 06/12/2024 23:59

@CaptainBeanThief hahah you are too kind. I just woke up on the sofa in a very uncomfortable position to find weirdo pupsy staring at me on my chest. Scared me half the death, the little creeper. She is very good but by no means perfect. I have partly controlled the supper time barking with distractions but it is not fixed yet.

I bet you anything Milo would have brought me that pigeon today in her place!

brushingboots · 07/12/2024 00:08

@YorkshireFelix That might explain his general propensity to learn! How amazing and his breeder sounds fab. I love that, and I love encountering Spaniel Men 'out of context' as it were. I should write about that, about trialling dogs with owners in 'normal' jobs. He is in no way wasted on you though as you love him, he loves you, and he gives you all so much pleasure. Except the chewing.

I'd be interested to compare his and pupsy's drive as she is not from FTCH parents, but of course it's hard to measure. I think she'd make a good little trialling dog but I'm not likely to do it. I just want to have the option to shoot over her and for her to be steady if we're invited somewhere as I get a lot of invitations through work.

Ahhh I love the idea of living in a Beatrix Potter book, that is the best best image

PyreneanAubrie · 07/12/2024 00:18

YorkshireFelix · 06/12/2024 23:51

I don't think I've ever seen a hare either! Or a partridge. I feel like you live in a Beatrix Potter book @brushingboots

We're not properly rural but we've got deer and hares here, also foxes, badgers, pheasants... yesterday we were watching two hunting barn owls from our back bedroom window. I'm no posh spaniel woman though. I'm a scouser! I grew up in a flat in Everton😆I want to live in a Beatrix Potter book but I don't think it'll happen.

Brie has seen deer and cows, but she's more interested in sheep and horses.

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