They love a bit of him (Podlife)

[HangingOver]

Hello my fabulous Podsquad, here is Podcast Thread III.

For anyone that is new to this thread, it's about my rescue dog, known as Pod.

Here is thread No. 2 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5197068-the-pod-cast?page=39&reply=141216881

And thread No 1 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5177112-oh-my-giddy-god?page=1

for if anyone would like to go back and see how astonishingly naïve and traumatised I was by taking on a fully grown, teenaged pointy dog who seemed determined to destroy me and everything I love.

Theatrics over, here is the Pod in question (obviously I've edited the lead out - I'm not mental).

If anyone doesn't have is Insta handle and wants it, just DM me. A video of me and Pod doing yoga together will appear at some point soon.

What are the magic chews please?? Our dog is on a badly needed diet and she's livid about it and shouting at me constantly. Anything that takes the edge off would be a lifesaver at the moment.

Not sure if it’ll be the same for OP but we’ve found the yak milk chews a godsend for our GSP puppy during the witching hour. We buy the Himalayan chew ones but there’s plenty of other brands available.

Agree with this. We found our Lab wasn't much interested in yak chews as a smaller puppy because they are so hard but now he is 9 months and his teeth are enormous, he loves a yak chew and it's the only chew that does take him hours to destroy.

Is it true that the last bit of a yak chew can be microwaved and it turns into a puffy treat? I’ve seen it done on YouTube. The person did it once the chew was too small for her too comfortable giving it to her dog. Dog happily accepted the puffy treat.

I’ve never actually tried that tbh

Found the video. I’d forgotten a step: soak in warm water for 5 mins first, then microwave for 45 seconds, allow to cool for 2 mins. Microwave results from around the 3 min mark of the video.

BTW, the staffy, Puddy, in the video is beautiful. 😍She’s small and fine boned for a staffy. Not as bulky as usual.

They're the Nutracalm ones... It's hard to say if they're the reason he's calmer (could be a combination of feeling better after surgery, hormones calming down, being on adult dog food and going back to proper exercise) BUT one thing I have noticed that other owners reported was a reduction in "random" barking. So he still shouts at sounds and birds etc. but less wandering round the house yelling at the air around him.

Pod had an interesting day yesterday... We went to a woods near me which is huge and very dense. He's been here before and spent ten minutes off lead when there was no one in view for a good distance but this time there were only two cars there and we bumped into a lady on her way out who reported seeing only one other dog owner who went left.. so we went right! Pod was great, he went a little further than I'd have liked but he always came back and did some recall too. We had good enough line of sight that I was able to leash him again when I spotted another dog in the distance. Not something I'd do anywhere else but wonderful to see him running free in the trees!

So today was the big meet up. Best friend, her husband and daughter,.my DF and DP all gathered to witness and our fingers and toes were crossed. The two little dogs were fine with Pod instantly, however Stan greeted him with grumpy growly warning noises.... When they all ran together Stan chased Pod making lots of noise and we thought all was lost however over the course of the hour we realised they were just playing chase noisily. Far from looking scared, Pod was delighted, ears up, tail wagging, charging about and play bowing... Not one bit bothered. So I think they'll all shake down together just fine. Delighted 😄 It means me and my best girl can spend more time together and the doggies can run eachothers legs off. Even the old boy was shuffling along trying to keep up with the pack!

Oh that is a fantastic update! :D

The NutraCalm jobbies are the bomb, so handy to have and you can now buy them online, for a long while they were vet only, despite not actually being a POM, just because NutraVet decided they'd only sell via vets.

Just tried the yak stick hack! Look at this huge cheese puff!

Shame it smells like a damp Yak.

Yeah they don't smell good... well not to us anyway!

@HangingOver Did Pod like it?

What does a damp Yak smell like? Something like a cross between a wet dog and a shed full of cows?

Thanks - definitely ordering some Nutracalm!

Pod has eyes in the back of his.....

How are you doing, Hanging, is Pod behaving his handsome self? 😎

Omg, that's so funny

Well... I think some lovely wise soul on here once said that the number of good days will creep up without you realising... so much so that the occasional bad days seem disproportionately bad by comparison. Reader, that day was today 🤣

I ran the legs off him at the field this morning so I wasn't expecting it, but he started up with his bloody woof woof woof business, yelling to go out then immediately yelling his head off outside. With the added new bonus that treats aren't enough to bring him back in, so I've had to go out with his lead each time and physically bring him inside (which is in itself complex). I was so desperate to get one sodding hour of uninterrupted work done that I took him out for a walk and it was a rare 2 out of 10, which we haven't had since he first arrived, featuring screaming at other dogs, pulling me over, pulling himself over, eating his lead, eating his harness and general fuck-wittery. I know when it's a really shitty walk because it's silent (except for him). He won't take treats or respond to any commands in that sort mood and I get so dejected and focused on not tripping/drowning that we just both have a horrible time in silence, whereas I normally twitter away in the background telling him how clever and good he is.

He's been in mayhem mode all evening but hopefully he'll keel over soon. From experience, these moods usually last 48 hours so I'm expecting more of the same tomorrow.

So I guess thinking intrusive and disloyal thoughts like "I wish this dog wasn't my problem" are now remarkable for their rarity, which is actually a good thing.

I wasn't imagining though, I definitely got some sympathy looks from normal dog owners today.

I do think, though, people with nice dogs don't realise how much of a hazard they are. Bimbling around gates and the entrances of bridges blissfully throwing their ball, unaware you're hovering 150m away wrestling with a maniac waiting for them to get a move on!

Oh God I know those silent walks. I'm usually ankle deep in mud and hanging on for dear life while he tries to eat seagulls. I think it's harder when you remember good walks as you start thinking you're going permanently backwards and nothing is ever going to get better.

Stupid people with their stupid nice dogs.

I'm usually ankle deep in mud and hanging on for dear life while he tries to eat seagulls

Thiiiiiiis. Fucking this. Fuck the crows seriously, they're so unafraid of him it's like they all had a meeting and wrote him off as a mardy drama queen so they don't bother moving out his way til he's practically taken my arm off.

Visiting dog really doesn't mind birds except for magpies.
Other people always had tidy, quiet toddlers who held mammy's hand. I didn't. So a manic teenager dog seemed fairly normal to me.

I was the dickhead child in my family so I suppose I'm paying for it now 🤣

Pod goes wild for magpies too, they wind him up.

I've put an old episode of the dog house on for him. He's currently staring up in horror at a daschund on a fifty inch screen.

I do think, though, people with nice dogs don't realise how much of a hazard they are. Bimbling around gates and the entrances of bridges blissfully throwing their ball, unaware you're hovering 150m away wrestling with a maniac waiting for them to get a move on!

Absolutely this!

Syd the dog was a 55kg giant schnauzer. Huge. I used to stand at the edge of our local fields enviously watching groups of happy, chatty dog walkers and their little angels parade up and down without a care in the world. I wanted to be like that. Finally I too became a carefree dog owner. It only took 10 years but we got there. It was everything I'd dreamed of!

I mean.. dickhead dogs are why I am a behaviourist. They literally changed my life.

Not everyone has to go quite that far!

I took him to a new dog field today that has some lovely stuff in it. My favourite thing is an old tin bath upside down that your dog can jump on for you to take a picture. There's a different message painted on each side depending on what you want in the photo. One side says "I'm a twat"

Photos please.