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!

Hi guys 🤗
Well, yesterday morning, Milo jumped at my husband when he was getting ready for work and hurt his knee ( it must have knocked out) he screamed and whelped.
I rang the vets, demanding to know what the reason was for taking him off medication when he was doing ok on them and was helping. Plus he's going to need them before he does or doesn't go in before surgery.
Anyhoo, the receptionist got him some more medication.
Anyway we have him registered with a different vets which we are going to get x-rays and a second opinion and hopefully other bits and bobs we can do to help whilst waiting for surgery.
I want the best for him but we're not taking him somewhere that puts money before welfare.

Oh noooo poor Milo 😭 Glad you have managed to get some more medication for him, and sorted out getting a second opinion. It must be so frustrating for you!

God, what a horror @CaptainBeanThief. I wish it was geographically convenient to recommend our vets to you but it’s obviously far too far.

@CaptainBeanThief How is Milo doing today?

Settle mat arrived!

Gorgeous mat, @YorkshireFelix

Massive news here: I had a bath! With Bill in the house! Well, actually, with him in the bathroom, but at least not actually in the bath. I gave hot bubble baths up as a bad job shortly after he came home as he cried so much and tried to climb into the tub and it was the opposite of relaxing. He did grumble for five minutes, and tried to lick me dry while I was still in the bath, but I pushed on through and he was so knackered he settled and snoozed.

I know, I know, normal people would have got this sorted months ago but there’s only me and him and he’s so Velcro he’s not long stopped trying to rescue me from the shower.

I don’t want to curse things, but it does feel like we might be at least seeing a corner, if not yet actually turning it. He had a lovely play session at the park just now too, and just generally has been a bit of a superstar this last few days.

Yesss go Bill! This is really good to hear. I think people would say the same about our sleep issue but it’s so bloody difficult when you’re in the thick of it and have 17283939 other things to focus on as well. Here’s to more relaxing baths!

@Bupster
I seriously wouldnt worry about what anyone else thinks.
Each and every one of us have had our own seperate issues which most people would think "god they should be trained out of that at that age" but it's not always as simple as that. Every dog is different.
Milo is still a pain in the arse @YorkshireFelix sometimes I wonder how he can be a spaniel because he's thick as mince 🤣🤣 the way he flings his way around makes me cringe and think this is it, he's finally broken his leg this time. For a clever dog he sure is dumb 🤯

@CaptainBeanThiefthey don’t have a bloody care in the world do they 😬

The settle mat was fine for 5 minutes. Lots of laying down and understanding what to do, then he went crackers and tried to hump it. I chucked it behind the gate on the stairs in a frenzy and then a bit later tried to fold it up, and he went nuts for it again. Kind of the opposite of what the mat is intended for 😐

Is it normal to be really mouthy still at this age? Sometimes I worry that some of his behaviour isn’t right. When he’s over excited/stimulated/tired he gets quite snappy and is obsessed with biting your arms, hands and sleeves. A lot of the time I can diffuse it by getting him to sit and telling him to settle, or if I stand up and fold my arms/disengage or leave the room. But sometimes he tips over the edge and will jump up at me and go absolutely wild and the only thing I can do is leave the room (but often he’s too quick and will follow me and keep biting my legs!).

I am hoping he will grow out of it. I think I am doing everything right by disengaging, removing myself from the room or putting him in his crate but I thought he’d have stopped doing this by 9 months…

I just keep thinking about our last week of puppy classes months ago, and he got way overstimulated and bit the hell out of my hands and I remember our trainer saying we need to nip that behaviour in the bud as you don’t want him to still be doing that as an older dog, and now he’s an older dog and still doing it. It’s not hard when he does it so I think it’s more ‘playing’ but sometimes he catches you in a certain way and it hurts.

@YorkshireFelix Bill isn’t bitey the way he was as a pup, but he does still get so excited when I come back to him after leaving him with a sitter that he tries to bite my nose off. I think adolescence screws up any capacity for regulation, so things they hadn’t quite grown out of get worse for a while. That’s what I’m telling myself 🙄

Have you tried all the puppy advice? They go through a second teething stage as their adult molars come in so that might be some of it - I’m back to buying giant ice cubes for himself

Yes I learnt about the second teething stage recently! He went through a phase of being really chewy all of a sudden a few weeks ago and I think it was that. Thankfully it has passed!

It is just over excited and being unable to regulate himself. Sometimes he’s really good and will stop himself when I tell him to settle, but it’s when it gets a bit too much and he gets pushed over the edge. But I’m glad to hear that maybe it’s still normal at this age and he’s not a viscous devil!!

I took him down to the playing field for a run about and he was sooooooo happy!

I was so nervous for some reason. My confidence with him has really plummeted recently - I don’t know if it’s a combination of getting used to short on-lead walks only and the fact he was pushing the boundaries anyway before he started physio. I think I’ve had a really long time of not doing much quality training with him and I think I’ve lost my way a bit. I was ill with Covid then weird flu from mid-November right the way through to the new year so did the bare minimum, then obviously he’s been having his physio for a few weeks now too. He’s got 2 more weeks left then assuming he will be signed off ok, I am going to book a 1-1 with the trainer and hopefully she can help me get back on track. I just feel like I need a bit of guidance to help me manage him.

But I brought the 10m longline which helped me be less worried, and he barely strayed far from me anyway. I am sure he will start pushing it again as he gets used to being off lead more. We did a few whistle and verbal recalls which went well, and he spent a lot of time zooming around in circles happy as a pig in shit. It was nice to see!

I bought a rabbit ball and also one of those furry oblong things with the handle, as he loved the one our trainer had when he did the puppy classes. The rabbit ball is an absolute no-go for now though as it sent him FERAL. I couldn’t get it off him and he was going wild. I had to pick him up in the end and prise it from his mouth which was not ideal (or an easy feat). So I’ve put it away in the back of the cupboard for now… The furry handle thing was great though and he was really engaged with me.

He walked like an angel on lead most of the way home but now I feel like my nervous system is shot. I don’t know why I found it so scary!! I think I need to just get a grip 😂

@YorkshireFelix Ahh so glad he had a lovely time! I think a bit of grip-getting is advisable, but I also hear you – when you have a bit of time off from them for whatever reason it can be hard to get back on the horse. But you can’t show him your fear!

I’m not surprised the rabbit ball sent him wild. Even after 18 months of using it most days it still sends pupsy wild but that’s sort of the point as she will hunt for it properly and she’s super enthusiastic. Today, after quite a busy but training-light week last week, she was doing vertical take-off jumps in the kitchen to me when I got just a normal tennis ball and my whistle out as she knows if I put my whistle on in the house it means it's training time. She is so keen all the time and it's amazing, really. I wish I had even a tiny percentage of her energy.

My trainer gave me a good exercise recently which is for steadiness on moving objects but would be a good way to build up to using the rabbit ball with V. You just move the ball/dummy around in front of them when they're sitting, and reward when they don't react. So hold it in front of him – he just looks and doesn't react, you reward. Then hold it above his head – same. Then side to side, then moving, then zig-zagging, etc – same. It builds steadiness when the object is in play and solidifies the idea of being calm around an exciting thing.

Oh that exercise sounds perfect, thank you! I will definitely try that. Every time I open his cupboard he keeps sticking his head right in there to sniff it out, so it must be the most delicious smelling thing to ever exist.

The vertical jumps blow my mind. He can jump high enough to come face to face with me which astounds me every time!! I don’t even know how it’s possible. I’d also love an ounce of his energy. He could be fast asleep then the next second he will happily be raring to go if I wanted him to (spoiler alert - I never bloody want him to 😂)

I have been trying in the house today to get him to sit and wait whilst I throw something then release him to retrieve it, but he just won’t do it. When I hold onto him but he just sees that as his cue to bite my arms to try and get free and run after whatever I’ve thrown. I am going to keep working on it as I’d like that to be the next thing we achieve. But he did quite a few good general sit/stays when we were on our walk today!! It wasn’t that long ago really that I was complaining about him pissing off after he got his treat for sitting, so some progress is being made.

Also we had him upstairs last night and he settled after about an hour and slept all night. It’s the first time me and DH have slept in the same place for almost 2 months, so we are going to stick with it and persevere. Hopefully he will get more and more used to it (and not start getting stressed like the last time we tried) and the whole saga will become a distant memory…

@YorkshireFelix Pupsy is the same and I am always amazed! They must have proper springs in their hocks.

You could do some good sit/wait and throw practice with the longline if you’re using it anyway as you’ve got an ideal mechanism there – you can stand on the line so he doesn’t get a chance to bite your arms. But in my (amateur) book it’s one of those things you need to build up incrementally, starting with a metre’s retrieve or something. Or even as basic as you sit him up next to you, put something down, move it back, reward for him not moving. So he’s not even retrieving it at all, just seeing it move. You could do that sitting on the floor so the thing is only moving within the reach of your arm, if you see what I mean. Tiny baby steps. Or you could use the fluffy oblong on a handle for that too – just moving it across the floor and asking him to keep sitting while you do it. Then reward with something decent. If he’s biting you during that process he doesn’t get anything at all.

It’s also one of those things that is easy to make too hard for them too soon. We do loads of marked retrieves in the garden, ie a retrieve where she’s seen where it’s landed – so I’ve sat her up somewhere and then chucked it in full view. But sometimes she just runs in if she’s feeling spicy, so I don’t always start by chucking it when I’m right next to her. Instead I’ll walk halfway across the garden and then chuck it, then walk back to her while she’s still sitting, and then release. Somehow that’s easier, I think, and if she’s doing that nicely then I’ll move closer to her each retrieve until I’m next to her. I don’t know if any of that makes any sense, probs not.

Hooray for some sleep success! That’s excellent. I am so glad for you x

That makes perfect sense actually, just moving it around in front of him to start off small. I didn’t really think about not chucking it very far but it seems obvious now!! I also didn’t think to stand on the longline either 🤦🏻‍♀️ See this is why I need guidance!

My little red head having a cuddle
after he trashed my sofa little knobhead

Poor Kevin the Carrot legs akimbo in the background. Most uncouth!!

@YorkshireFelix
I thinks that ones Katie....
Have you seen his snowman wedged between the cushions? I think it's dead 🤣🤣
Dogs man... They are funny

Hahahah I didn’t notice that! I zoomed right in and it looks like it’s seen things.

Loving the retrieve advice above! Belle is getting pretty good at actually bringing her dummy back, still prances about with it sometimes! But gave it to my hand yesterday 😁Still won’t wait for me to send her, but trainer said that’s next, just to keep her enthusiastic to bring it back just now. Kind of makes up for puppy class, where she was a riot again 😂

But in other good news, I left her for a few minutes today and she didn’t bark or even move actually!

That is brilliant on both counts!

Had another good walk just now. No anxiety today! I even left the longline at home because I couldn’t be arsed trying to stuff it in my pocket after using it.

He was soooooo good - I have realised playing and running about with him makes a world of difference. There was an annoying man with a dog who kept kicking its ball right towards where we were even though the field is humongous and I kept moving to different parts to get away from them, and Vinny got distracted a couple of times but recalled like an angel. I was so pleased. He did start to wander off and follow a scent in the undergrowth towards the end and thankfully I took the elusive rabbit ball as emergency back up which got him to come back out, then that was our cue to go back home. But all in all he was brilliant and it was lovely and sunny.

Sorry I feel like I am single handedly filling this thread up but I have no-one else to tell this stuff to 😄

@ComeTalkToMe Definitely don’t rush waiting and general steadiness – she’s still so little and it’s very easy to kill the retrieve drive by making it boring. It looks fancy when they’re ready to be steady and it is useful but it’s not worth killing their joy for. I made it a bit too dull too soon for pupsy, and now I have a delivery issue as a result, though she is remarkably steady.

Great news about leaving her too, hooray!

@YorkshireFelix Ahh well done! I think playing with them does make a huge difference as all they want is to please us and do things with us. I am sick as a dog, literally, this week – got a bad head cold/flu and frankly can barely raise my head. I was properly phoning in this morning’s walk, just letting her have a run, but as soon as I started ‘doing something’ with her (selfishly, so I could stand still for a bit and catch what remains of my breath) – some stops, left, right, back, turn whistle, bit of heelwork etc – she was right on me, super engaged, waiting for her next instruction. And that makes it such a joy, even if I feel like I’ve been run over.

Ugh, I hate people like that. The other day my friend and I were out with the dogs in some farmland, so nice wide tracks, loads of sniffs, no need for any management, just nice walking, and we bumped into a man with a ball chucker who saw our dogs running about, and thought that their presence meant he should, at that exact moment, chuck his stupid chucker and his stupid ball. I shouted ‘no, please don’t!’ He looked faintly chastened though he didn’t seem to understand why. So tiring having to manage other, selfish people all the time, as well as the dogs.