Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - get teenage licks right through the night!

[Bupster]

I've buckled and started the new thread - welcome to the horror of adolescence!

I am going to cling on to my tiny mad ray of sunshine for the next two months even if it is absolute bollocks 😄😄

In other news, my puppy sitter takes the most outstanding photos and here is Bill's cover shot for Dogue magazine. All he needs is a pipe 😄

Hahaha @Bupster why is he so upright?!

@brushingboots I believe just out of shot there's a snifter of port and he doesn't want to spill it

@Bupster But of course!

Hmmm.
We're all coming at this from a different angle I guess.

Yes, obviously they are all individuals but I think I'm right in saying that CaptainBeanThief has had dogs before she got Milo so I don't think she is just using him as an example, but is more talking about the overall picture with most dogs. Certainly a lot of dog people do say 18 months to 2 years before the juvenile idiocy stops.

In my experience, testosterone peaking had no impact whatsoever in regard to over all behaviour and they all took until two plus to stop being boisterous. None of ours were ever neutered, but, as I've said before, I had two unusually dominant bitches that were far more highly sexed than any of the males, so perhaps I'm not best placed to give advice/opinion on this.

He needs a smoking jacket, a very ornate brocade in burgundy and gold.

My single view on all of this is that we’re all just trying our best with our dogs, however fast/slow they are to mature. I don’t have more to add than that as I’m not an expert on anything except my own dog.

I’m just glad I’ll be able to see Bill through his teenage years and beyond.

Not if I sell him for kebabs first. Though now he’s so distinguished perhaps I need to up my game.

Brie was going for kebabs on Friday (and let's face it, you'd get a fair few kebabs out of her...). I flatly refused to walk her for three days and forced my chap to do it, meanwhile, I was planning to get myself a Chow Chow. But today she redeemed herself and walked nicely for me, so she gets a reprieve 🤗

Just realised on saying that, a Chow dog and our cat Freija (who is a Maine Coon) would be a Chow Maine 😆

Not just kebabs, M&S kebabs?

@CoubousAndTourmalet I am seriously impressed by your commitment to giant breeds with Freija too!

I saw something on Instagram with a PMD where it was dinnertime and the dogs were being fed separately. The female dog gave an alert bark so the male would go and see what was up then snaffled his food. Cunning!

Yeah, we do like the big critters for sure. We've had PMD and MC together for 30 years and they get along amazingly; they'll play together, eat together and the males will even snuggle up and sleep together.

The girls have all the brains with this breed, they are crafty and very bossy. The boys are just daft.

Our 11 month old has started refusing breakfast. Been three days now. At first I thought he was poorly but he’ll happily eat it once he gets back from his walk and the rest of his meals. Not sure why he’s decided he doesn’t want it first thing anymore

They seem to be like us; as puppies they tend to eat well, but when they get older, some of them just aren't morning people. One of our girls would frequently refuse breakfast and sometimes got to the point of vomiting yellow bile.

Prompted by above post from @timeforachange999

I really hate to be the one to give this lecture...😬but...here goes...
I'm not sure if you're aware of GDV (or really, if anyone here is, although I suspect a couple of you will be...) but it's generally recommended with high risk (that being deep chested) breeds you don't feed for an hour before or after exercise anyway...

It is a killer so if you're already taking precautions against it I'm sure you won't mind me mentioning it. My parents male PMD was left with heart damage after GDV/bloat/torsion. I also have a vet and a student vet in my family so it's an issue that crops up regularly in our lives. It's why we continue 4 small meals daily throughout our dogs lives, and adjust their mealtimes around exercise.

I am terrified of it!!! 😨Genuinely.

High risk is generally large dogs such as Labradors, and giant like my breed, however the Cocker is a high risk breed and even some small deep chested dogs like whippet are commonly affected...

Sorry, now I'll run and hide before I get a kicking as usually happens when I try to offer advice anywhere on MN😟

Luckily he’s not a deep chested breed at all (cavapoo). He does have four meals a day though and the quantities are quite small compared to what a large breed might eat.

@CoubousAndTourmalet thank you for the reminder about GDV. It has prompted me to look up about it again. I didn’t realise that car travel was to be avoided as well after a meal. Fortunately he’s been eating breakfast at 7 and then I take the children to school at 8, so that should be long enough a gap. He has 3 meals a day and eats from a snuffle mat to slow him down.

Midge probably counts as a deep chested dog, but in all his visits to the vets for weight check/ worming/ vomiting/ diarrhoea, not once have they mentioned GDV. My nephew has a German Shepherd and is paranoid about it after a family friend’s Dobermann died from GDV. If it wasn’t for him I would be blissfully unaware of the risks.

@YorkshireFelix I hope Vinny (and you) had a better night!

Bill will very rarely eat before a walk - I've always assumed that it was partly as he needs a poo! He is usually very hungry when he gets back. I know about bloat as I house-sat for a Great Dane @CoubousAndTourmalet and it's terrifying - I'd not really thought about it as affecting Bill as he's a fraction of that size, but I think I'd better review my knowledge...

Ah thank you for asking!

We put him in his crate sleepy as usual, then as soon as we went upstairs he started barking again 🙁 We brought his crate up to our bedroom but he's usually not allowed upstairs so he was just too excited! So I ended up sleeping on the sofa again. He slept like a baby until my alarm went off at 8am... Not sure what else to do really so might just have to ride it out and hope it's a phase!

Yes he’s had colitis for a few weeks and I’d started some new probiotics I think they must have affected his appetite or he’s decided his tummy does better walking before his breakfast. Even though it was usually about an hour later. He won’t go in the garden for the toilet anymore when it’s dark so saves it for his walks!

Midge is driving me mad. I need to leave him so I can go and do some chores but he’s got wise to me picking up the keys and getting my coat on. He was fast asleep now he’s whining and staring at me. I’m ignoring him and will sneak out when he’s put his head down.
My husband is working from home and I can call him down if necessary so it’s not the end of the world, but I need to get M used to being left.

Milady with her little friend.