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.

Oh the emotional support cheese. I need some of that.

I woke up to find the Stick Dog attempting to make a nest out of me - it had gotten very cold this morning in our bedroom...

Unfortunately the LWBHound had already parked his hairy backside on my face, and the Ancient One had claimed the spot behind my bum/knees (as far from the exit side of the bed as possible, as only a dog who has recently exploded both shit and vomit can insist upon..)...

So this left her with my ample middle.. which she proceeded to pummel, kick, bite! (she grabs blankets and whatever is in her way in her mouth and drags them around...) and then yell at.

25 years of dog training and behaviour study and practice, and I am nothing more than a fucking cushion for three itinerant hounds.

Oh Widdlin that made me howl 😭🤣

Random thought it would be good to get an opinion on...

So DP and me might be in the happy place to be able to afford a holiday this year... Probably late September, by which time he'll have been with us a year. But it's just occurred to me everything will be booked up, if it isn't already, so I need to make a decision soon about what to do with Pod.

So I've gone from being 100% team dog sitter to wavering about kennels, not least after discovering everyone on the Podwalk that doesn't leave them with family kennels them.

Pros of Dog sitter in house...

• Pods own environment
• Can maintain Pods routine and have 1-on-1 attention

Cons....

• Is it weird us be absent in his own home? Like is it bad for him to feel abandoned in his own house?
• Worry about dog walker feeling constantly stressed about trying to stop Pod eating our stuff
• still unclear what leaving Pod alone situation will be by then, possibly will bark house down and piss off neighbours when dog sitter goes out

Pros of kennels (at least the ones near me)

• off lead time with other dogs every day (Pods favourite thing ever)
• no stress from anyone about Podstruction
• kennels run by dog behaviourist types (two of the local ones anyway)

Cons of Kennels

• he might think he's abandoned, we'd need to trial him for an afternoon/ day at a time to build up

Then I guess a neutral/unknown is the fact til he lived with us he was permanently in kennels. So if he hated it it could re-traumatise him, if he didn't mind it then it won't be unfamiliar.

Leaving with friends a d family isn't an option, nor and out of house dog sitter as id constantly worry about him eating their house. Dog friendly holiday accommodation ditto, plus ideally we'd want to go to Greece to do our sport.

Any thoughts PodSquad?

The main plus points for sitter in the house is that he stays in a familiar environment and you can probably have the sitter come and stay with him a few times before you go.

Plus points to kennels are that any distress at your absence is associated with kennels, not with home.

I am generally pro home sitters... buuuuuuut, I have a feeling in Pods case that it may be better to familiarise him with kennels, sell him this as a sort of play-date, day-care kinda thing, so that home remains his sanctuary of predictable, normal, etc etc.

Thank you Widdlin you've articulated what I was thinking far better than me. Playing with other dogs off the lead is Pods all time best thing so I was wondering if that might make up a bit for us being away, combined with the fact it's out of the context of our home. So like a doggy sort of holiday for him.

Lurcher girl now goes to kennels, though I'd had her over three years the first time she went. Holidays in the first few years were self-catering in the UK and she came too.

She can be reactive with other dogs and I didn't know how she'd be in such close proximity to so many other dogs. Pod is very different that way.
Like you I was afraid she'd think I'd abandoned her but she's got older and much calmer and I eventually felt she would cope.

The big advantage for me is that I feel she's completely safe. I worry about dog sitters not holding on to her properly when they're out with her. As it is she loves the kennel owners and they're full of praise for her, no issues at all.

It would be worth trying a day care type set-up on a regular basis if that's possible well before the holiday.

I think I'll contact the one near me with the enclosed field and the underfloor heating and see if we can organise some daycare sessions to see if he likes it there.

Is that a yak chew? DDog frequently carries one around with her. We call it her dummy!

Hope you're recovering from your injury.

Pod's at the vets this afternoon.

I booked him an appointment last week after a solid evening of not being able to move without being humped. I am selfishly hoping that they say his legs are long enough now and he's allowed to have his knackers off. I wonder if his hormones could also be behind his weird behaviour in the evenings lately. When he's fed, walked and pooped he still constantly asks to go in the garden to sniff the perimeter. Maybe that's even why he tried to escape.

He's already humped and bitten me so many times this morning already, especially on my bum between my legs. I hate this! 😑

I really feel for you, Hanging, it's obviously really getting you down 😞

My fingers are crossed that the vet says it's time for his op, I think you could have a fresh start with a calmer, less hyper Pod 😍

You're not being selfish, being bitten and humped by a pretty big dog is no joke 😫

I know this is a me thing, not a him thing.... but I really hate being like... pinned, if that makes sense? Like a get a visceral reaction to it and it makes me hate him and hate being around him. When he's like that he's just this big horrible shaggy, bitey ball of raging male energy. Which is sad because I know he can't help it at all, his teenager brain is just telling him to go out and make baby pods.

Someone commented before that they hadn't had their male sighthound done for 2.5 years. I really hope that's not the timeframe I'm looking at because I may have been humped to death by then.

2.5 years? Good God, I'm not sure a saint would put up with that for so long 😕

I know it's a normal part of a dogs development but, with the pain and distress it's causing, I think your wellbeing should be a priority 🙂

@HangingOver you might find this interesting https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full

I am normally a fan of neutering as late as possible, but realistically, you need to take everyone's wellbeing into account. The paper goes into % increase in problems by breed so it may give you a better idea of the magnitude of the risk you'd be taking by going ahead now.

Disclaimer - I've only skimmed the paper so I can't comment on methods, size of study etc, you will need to make up your own mind about those.

In today's episode of Pod Makes a Holy Show of Hanging...

Me and Pod met up with a friend to do his favourite loop around the estuary at lunch. He started off fairly well behaved although I was on my guard as he's been possessed by evil spirits in the last 24 hours (he kept himself up til midnight last night by effectively wandering around the house screaming). Halfway through the walk he bolted after something and, for the first time ever, the lead, which was slightly wet, slipped out my hand. So off he fucks like a racehorse on crack, trailing the lead which, he's obviously now terrified of, straight towards two people out for a hack. Thinking I was about to be responsible for the throwing and death/paralysing of two innocent riders and subsequent banishment from the county, I legged it over the mud, flinging treats from my pockets in all directions, calling and calling him, and to be fair he then legged it TOWARDS me with all the enthusiasm of a dog who is greeting its owner returning from war, and I stuffed him full of treatos and put him back on his leash.

That actually would have been a win in a 'crisis averted' sort of way had he not then spotted the Teeny Tiny Wolf Pack (five small yappy dogs always walked off-lead by a woman to whom they pay no notice whatsoever) the other side of the river. Being separated by ten meters of water, the TTWP were feeling confident to give out to Pod a bit louder than they normally do face to face and he understandably responded in kind. Unfortunately, I was on some really very soft ground at the time and long story short ended up in the mud up to my knees.

He finished off the walk off by sitting down besides the ornamental lake where I parked howling at a crow about forty miles above us in a tree. Which to be fair must have looked quite funny to the bemused people who were nicely walking their normal dogs.

Vets at 3.15 re. bollocks, will report back.

I can't edit that post for some reason but just to add Pod was the other side of the water to the riders; I'd never knowingly walk him anywhere near horses!

I've just even five dark chocolate rice crispy squares

Although I responded to your post with "funny ", I can also see how completely exhausting that must have been for you ( it's the quality of your writing that always has me laughing, along with seeing Pod being a right monkey in my minds eye ).

I really hope that your vet recommends getting Pod booked in, I think it will help your whole family. 🙂

And Hanging, five rice crispy squares is better than the 5 pina coladas I'd be necking if I'd had your morning 😁

I think the vet and you need to weigh up the pros and cons...I think he obviously has a very romantic nature and would be difficult to contain and to live with if he sniffs a potential life partner. Gorgeous and handsome as he is a litter of yorkiepods or poddiestaffs or similar is perhaps not needed. 😀
He might like a race round a paddock with local holiday dogs in kennels. Our local kennel only takes neutered lads and lasses.

You survived! Well done! :D

Hard agree with MontyDon there, whilst broadly in favour of 'as late as possible, never in some cases (for boys)' there are situations where tis for the greater good!

He's not far off growth plates being closed I'd think (you could have him x-rayed to check that if you really wanted to!) and that'd be my major concern.

For everyone’s sake he needs to be neutered. No point in him having strong legs if you have shredded nerves and various injuries, and give him up for rehoming.

Vet is really happy with him and said they can whip them off Monday. I'm so relieved!!!

I'm so relieved for you, Hanging!

Is that all?

Fingers firmly crossed that de-plumming also de-twattifies.

Be ready for some drop in confidence and spooky behaviour... i should think you're ready for him being weird at the drop of a hat anyway though!

I'm relieved for you @HangingOver what you describe sounds awful and it's a bad thing if it is affecting your relationship with Pod.

I can't remember how old he is. But I've been told my pup will be getting castrated at 12 months (he's a guide dog pup in training so the decision is made for me). To me, that's a reasonable age for a large dog and I don't understand really why some people leave it until much later to get their dogs done.