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!

@peachgreen - @brushingboots has it perfectly- be Disney mum. This will help with recall too if you are the fun one!

@peachgreen just to chime in about the recall - yes, it vanishes, and it's a pain in the arse. The only thing to do is to stick pup on a long line and start from scratch - huge rewards if you call your recall cue or whistle and they respond, running off in the opposite direction if they go too far, lots of engagement and use of a lesser cue e.g. 'this way' to direct them when they're closer. There's a really good book called Total Recall, I think by Pippa Mattinson, and there's another one called Rocket Recall by Simone Mueller.

Thank you everyone, some brilliant suggestions here! Disney Mum is a great way of looking at it. I think I can manage that. Funnily enough we have been talking about a whistle! Do you just use it when you’re out, or at home too? (Apologies for the short reply, I really am so grateful for all you advice and support but I gave myself a migraine crying and still can’t focus on the screen for too long!)

@peachgreen hope you are feeling a bit better today and all ready to be Disney Mum!
How old is your daughter? Is she old enough for the two of you to do fun stuff with Betty without your partner?

Have a good day!

You can do it @peachgreen – we believe in you!

I do training in the garden with my whistle and I started with it in the house. You do have to condition them to understand what the whistle means, but if you only want it for recall (and not fancy gundog drills) that’s easy enough to do. We use the 210.5 Acme whistle but you could use either the 210.5 or the 211.5 Acme one as you just want it for recall. They're about £11 and you can get them on Amazon or probably at your local ag/dog shop. Hope you have a better day today x

We have just been for a nice walk - I swear I've just walked up a hill that might have well just been mount Everest - I'm kinda proud of myself with my gammy leg - makes my husband look like Usain bolt 🤣
Here is a picture of the little snob

I love his long chest hair!

@CaptainBeanThief he looks so regal.

Has anyone been watching Crufts? Vinny keeps looking behind the tv to try and find the dogs 😂

@YorkshireFelix Midge is watching the agility. I like to think he’s picking up tips!

We've been to a fun hoopers competition today. Two second places for little pup (we did 3 runs total)

Ahh what a star! ⭐️

My little beauty.
He's been hard work since the day we "acquired" him 🤣
But, he is worth it, I wouldn't do it again but I do love him.
His chest hair is the best and so therapeutic to twiddle 😬

He is lovely. Does he have a full tail or is it docked? Vinny has started growing some white hairs in his tail so I'm wondering if it will grow into a bit of a streak.

Here is he looking extra shiny.

No - full tail - looks like a fox tail
Milo only started getting long hair/fur after 12 months. His fur was exactly like V at the same age.

this is Milo at about 6 ISH month
god making me broody

Omg I thought he was always more furry! That gives me hope that V might turn into more of a fur ball. His chest is getting quite thick now.

@YorkshireFelix
Honestly it's the best feeling, running my fingers through his chest hair,l, especially when I'm anxious.
Milo seems to enjoy it too, he will jump on me, plonk on his back, angling for a chest and belly rub.
I'm praying for some adolescent chest hair for Vinnie 🤣🤣

Belle had her first gun dog training session on Saturday, and we both loved it so much - was funny watching her sit eagerly for another dummy to be thrown. Lots of advice on recall and loose lead walking too, so feeling quite positive.

@ComeTalkToMe Hooray, well done both of you! It does get addictive as watching them do what they’re supposed to do is so fulfilling. Have they given you some lovely homework?

Great start to Monday morning with my stupid dog managing to jump up and knock a full cup of tea over my very expensive work MacBook Pro. I want to cry!!! Then he decided it was the perfect time to keep jumping up at me and trying to bite my arms. He is the biggest twat known to man.

Oh @YorkshireFelix, how frustrating! Have you managed to dry it out at all?

Thank you all so much for your Disney Mum advice – I've been following it to the letter and it has made SUCH a difference! I feel so much closer to her, and her recall to me has improved already. We even risked a walk off-lead on the beach and she was brilliant – recall still not THAT great but she didn't go far from us, even when distracted by other dogs / birds, and she always came back when we walked in the opposite direction as you recommended. I have been having so much more fun with her, and giving her a good run has definitely helped her relax in the evenings so much less crazy puppy zoomies.

She went in to be spayed today and even though I know it's irrational, I am hating every single minute of it and wishing we'd never done it. The vet was pretty adamant that this was the right time, and we have an unfixed male Australian Shepherd living next door to us who is a complete escape artist, so it would have been a bit of a miserable time for her if we hadn't done it. It felt like a bit of an impossible dilemma although DP was very pro-spaying as he lost a dog when she was in labour, which is obviously tragic. But oh, seeing her like this is AWFUL. I've cried three times already and I'm usually quite stoic about these things! For those of you who have had your girls spayed, how long was recovery?

@peachgreen Is she home from the vet? I’m sorry I haven’t any advice about recovering from a spey, but I imagine dogs are a bit like children, so recover much more quickly than an adult would.

I’m so glad you have had a better weekend. It makes such a difference when the dog is responding to you. I spent my morning walk hiding behind trees. Midge is so much better at walking near to me, but when I see he’s distracted by a particularly tasty scent I dive behind the nearest tree, just to see how long it takes him to spot I’m not there. He’s always pleased to find me!

@YorkshireFelix oh no! What a pain

@YorkshireFelix Nooooo, what a pain!! Is it recoverable?

@peachgreen Ahhh this is great news!! Well done you, so glad to hear it.

I had pupsy spayed last summer and she was genuinely back up to speed by day two! She was sleepy and sad when she came out of the vets but that was just the drugs talking – the next morning she was up for anything again, it was amazing. The challenge was keeping her calm for five days. She went in on the Monday, back to the vets to be signed off on Saturday and went on an offlead walk immediately following the vets that day. She had the lap spay which is less invasive, and she was genuinely absolutely fine. Don’t fret! It is a necessary evil, more so for you if you’ve got an uncut dog next door. I was going to wait for her second season but we did it on the vet's advice after her first and it has been fine. I felt that she grew up more or less overnight after, too, so it'll be interesting to see if you observe a change in B.

Pupsy and I have gone to London on the train for the first time today as I’m going to the west country tomorrow and the timings didn’t work for pupsy to go to nursery and for me to get back in time without inconveniencing half the county, so we’re staying at our flat tonight and then she’s going to work with her dad tomorrow. I honestly thought the train would be appalling but fair play to her, she didn’t make a single sound, just stress-panted most of the way and then slept in the cab from the station. Dog-dad said I should give her more credit, which I am going to interpret as ‘I should give myself more credit’ for the training I’ve done haha.

Oh bless you @peachgreen I would probably feel the same!! I am sure she will be right as rain though. That is fabulous news about her engaging with you more. It really does make such a difference.

@brushingboots she is a very good girl. I've not taken V on a train yet even though I used to use the train all the time before he arrived. I have just bought a settle mat and going to brave taking him out and about more. We used to go to cafes and all sorts when he was smaller but I got the fear when he turned into a teenage maniac!

I've spoken to the work IT people and they said to put it somewhere warm on its side, and it MIGHT sort itself out but it's unlikely. I feel so bad because it's a really high spec machine too because of the type of work I do. But it is what it is. I cried so much after it happened!

He's being a twat today anyway. He chewed my favourite pair of trainers this morning and he's been biting and humping me all day. He's also managed to chew and rip a humongous hole in one of his pieces of vet bed and now he's furiously humping that too. I think he is over tired!!