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!

@YorkshireFelix how was last night, any better? X

Not really, thanks for asking though.

He did settle a bit easier but was up an hour later pacing about again. I think he wants to sleep downstairs but just not on his own. The kicker is, DH said he keeps taking himself off into his crate to sleep when he takes him downstairs. So he obviously likes his crate too. We did try the crate upstairs but it didn't work.

I think we somehow need to work out how to get him happy to be sleeping alone again, but I have no idea how. We tried going back to basics and doing what we did to crate train when he was a baby but it was a disaster as he freaked out as soon as the door was shut.

He was good on his longer walk yesterday though so I guess that's something!

We've just had a awful encounter on our walk this morning with a bloke with his 2 kids. One of his kids was on a little scooter, as we walked past Max sort of sniffed them and the scooter, i said 'ah ah' as i normally do to get max to keep walking. Next thing this bloke says "get your fucking dog, i'll kick him, get your fucking dog under control". Max had already gone past and weren't even near them, nor had he actually done anything. I was so shocked i didn't say anything. Now i'm second guessing myself like was i in the wrong here.

Oh man, I'm sorry @YorkshireFelix. Good news about the walk! Take the positives where you can get them!

It all seems very mysterious given nothing has changed and it doesn't seem to be a pain thing. As you said I imagine the lack of walks isn't helping but this predates that anyway. Argh xx

@lookwhatyoumademedoo what a horrid man!! You were definitely not in the wrong. Just ignore. I'm sorry you had to deal with that x

It's upset me to be honest. He didn't give me chance to call him away or anything and all he did was sniff and look at him. that's it.

God that is awful I'm sorry. He sounds like an arsehole and you definitely didn't do anything wrong. Some people just go around looking for reasons to kick off!

I don't know why some people have to be like that and in front of his two young kids.

I brought the 7 month old Springer to his first agility training session today. The same dog club do obedience classes, we have done a few and he does reasonably well at them though he is skittish around other dogs/ people. Well today he was a natural! He had no nerves and flew through all the obstacles- particularly likes the A frame. The trainer said he was exceptional and thinks he would do really well in competition. He looked like he was having fun too.

Oh that sounds fab! Well done. The physio we see said V would be a fabulous agility dog but I have no clue about it at all apart from watching Crufts on the tv 😄

That’s reminded me that I wanted to look for an agility class near me. I’ve just emailed, but I’ve got a feeling that, as Midge is verging on a large breed, he won’t be able to start until he is 18 months or so.

I’ve also been looking for scent work and man trailing, but I can’t find anything suitable distance or time wise.

We’ve had a day trip to a castle today. M was beyond excited with all the new smells so it gave me plenty of opportunity to practise the ‘go sniff’ command. He seems to have forgotten his lesson from the other day, but I think that’s because of all the new scents.

Every visitor seemed to have a dog and it was quite reassuring that Midge wasn’t the most badly behaved. He lay quietly under the table while we had lunch and was drip fed kibble. On the whole he did well ignoring the other dogs in the cafe.

One very diminutive lady had a pair of bloodhounds. I don’t think I have seen one before- they are huge. It was quite a spectacle watching them pulling her across the lawn after her daughter. I struggle to hold onto Midge when he pulls and he’s 23kg. The combined weight of the 2 dogs must have been about 100kg. They’re so noisy too!

Ahh it sounds like he did so well! I've barely taken V anywhere since he hit adolescence as he's just a pain in the arse. We used to do a lot of cafe visits when he was younger and going through his angelic phase.

I don't think I've ever seen a Bloodhound in the flesh actually. The biggest dog we see in the village is a Newfoundland and he is absolutely gorgeous but so aloof 😄

@YorkshireFelix the only way we can get M to stay under the table is to drip feed him his kibble. We’ve also got a ‘special’ blanket which we take so he now knows that if he lies on it, he gets good things. The blanket only comes out for cafes etc. We spent time at home when he was a puppy getting him excited about the blanket.
Taking Felix to a cafe might wear him out, although it might overstimulate him and wind him up….

@YorkshireFelix Vinny not Felix- that’s you!

I managed to get Bill into a pub garden today for long enough to eat some cake and have some coffee, but I hadn't brought a settle mat for him and he very much did not settle 😄But on the other hand he did do a lot better than I'd expected considering he is ten months old today and at the height of his insanity. There was another male dog in the garden and he only whined at him and tried to get closer, rather than losing his mind; and he was remarkably neutral to the female corgi we were with, though that may be due to her making it very clear that if he tried it on she'd bite his nose off. He also only tried to pull me into the canal once or twice - last time we walked down that way I was walking at a 45° angle for the entire length of the towpath. So a victorious day, for a given value of victorious.

@Nella68 - you could look into Hoopers, lots of similarity to agility but no jumping and tight turns so suitable for younger ones. Grace started at about 7 months. And a lot of the skills you'd learn would be transferable to agility.

The younger pup settled beautifully in the cafe today, the nearly 4 year old not so much!

Oh my dear God. First teenage puppy class today ('youth club' it's called). Just take a wild guess who was the puppy most likely to be suspended from school and stuck in back-to-back detention forever 🙄

Honestly it was so bad it was funny. He was completely bonkers by the time we got to the field, because we had to go in the car and that sends him mad at best; and it was a windy day, and that field is full of the smells of small furry things and little rabbit-sized holes. We were early so the trainer got a full delightful view of Bill basically quartering the entire training paddock while I hung on and attempted to hold a conversation - I had to wrap the lead around my waist to stand half a chance of turning my head enough to reply. Then the other dogs started to arrive, and inevitably (because by this time he was high as a hairy kite) he started barking at them, one of whom was a spaniel so was pulling back, but then really showed him up by being super well-behaved and focused for the rest of the class. We managed about three of the exercises, he refused point blank to do a hand touch, and spent most of the second half of the class about 20 metres away from everyone else with his head down a hole. Well, lots of holes. One hole would have been fine as I could have listened to the trainer, but he needed to sniff every square inch of the paddock, so I spent half an hour attempting to shovel enough paté into his face to get close enough to everyone else to hear what was going on. Spectacular.

On the upside, he was then miles better in the car on the way home and has now completely conked out. And we weren't actually expelled. But Jesus God Almighty, if I was for a moment thinking we were doing okay... 😭

Pictured: my view for 90% of the training class 🙄

@Bupster I’m sorry, but your posts really make me giggle. It makes me feel so much better that I’m not alone in this!

FFS Bill 😂

I am wanting to sign up to a beginner gundog course which starts in April but I am worried about the same thing happening! It's even worse when all the other dogs are being delightful too. On one of our puppy classes, some cows appeared in the next field and Vinny went absolutely bonkers for the whole class, whilst the other dogs just carried on unphased... I am sure the trainer has seen it all before though.

I have donned my hard hat and just posted on one of the WCS groups on FB about our sleep issue 😬 How long do you reckon before I get a comment saying 'my dog wouldn't dare whinge at night as I'd just tell it off'

Oh no @Bupster!! What a menace he is.

I am too competitive to go to group classes so fair play to anyone that does, frankly.

@YorkshireFelix hahaha approx 11 mins if you've posted on the one I peruse!

First comment - 'Big mistake sleeping on the sofa he will get sepearation anxiety get a dog camera it connects to your phone and when he howls tell him to be quiet cockers are brainy dogs and hes playing you'

Ok I'll just tell him to be quiet, that will fix it!

Also our trainer has just got back to me and has given me some good ideas of training we can do with him whilst he's healing, then I can book a 1:1 when his physio has finished.

I explained the sleep problem and she said she also doesn't think it sounds like a pain or environmental issue and it could be something as simple as he got spooked by a noise one night, or needed a wee when he was in his crate and panicked, and that had triggered the whole thing. She said if I can set up something to record him, she will take a look at it which is super helpful 🙏🏻

Anyway I am going to give all the training bits a go and focus on the positives a la @Bupster and her list! But thank you all for always listening to my woes as it really helps getting in out somewhere.

He is an absolute bloody menace of a furry delinquent who is now basically a treat-based life-form and is lying on the carpet fast asleep, after failing to nap for more than 20 minutes at a time all bastard day, and audibly farting. I don't think actual fumigation would be quite this objectionable. Can't wait till next week's class.

Pictured earlier: Mr 'I've eaten the weight of this stuffed crocodile in paté and still refused to sit my arse on the ground for more than two seconds, whaddya going to do about it?'

@Bupster he is so handsome and so nosey. If you had lace curtains they would be twitching! I like his little toy collection on the windowsill.