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!

Oh nooo, I’m sorry you’re feeling so ill! You need to train pupsy to get the kettle on and tuck you up under a blanket 😄 I hope it passes quickly and you can enjoy the nice weather this week.

We also encountered a man at the little park we cut through who had this tiny very cute teddy bear looking dog, but it came speeding over as soon as it clocked Vinny and he just meekly called its name once (which obviously did nothing). It makes me feel better about the fact I am actually trying with him. It always amazes me how little a huge amount of dog owners actually care about this stuff!

How nice is it to walk a dog in the lovely warm sun instead of the pissing rain, and coming home all nice and dry and (relatively) clean, and not having to hose us both down in the back yard afterwards 😄

@YorkshireFelix I was just thinking that I haven’t worn wellies for the last couple of days. I have lived in wellies since October!

I hope Vinny is doing ok with his longer walks and more freedom. I’ve gone back to the long line.

Midge is ignoring me even more than before if that’s possible. I spend my walks hiding; running in the opposite direction; zigzagging; playing tug; and changing direction frequently. He’s now taking longer and longer to notice that I’m not there and when he does realise, he plods over with no sense of urgency, and then goes past to his next smell. It’s infuriating!

@Nella68 I feel your pain! I was just beginning to get some confidence back with Bill then the little bollocks spotted two pigeons, a squirrel, and a girl he fancies this morning, and I might as well have not existed. At one point I called him, he turned and looked at me on automatic, weighed it up, and went back to what he was doing. Little arse 😄

I try to tell myself that it's the equivalent of my 14 year old self getting yelled at by my mum while talking to a friend on the phone that I'd just seen 20 minutes ago at school and so COMPLETELY distracted by issues of the UTMOST importance.

Agreed @YorkshireFelix! This morning we went on what is known here as ‘the bog walk’ and both came back completely clean as it's been so dry that the bog has actually solidified!

I am still quite ill despite my best efforts – have been to buy Night Nurse this afternoon which I’ve never tried before but it promises sleep and health so I’ll take it – and frankly was phoning it in again this morning just trundling behind pupsy while she did her thing a bit ahead. The point does come where you can take your eyes off them, I promise. I didn’t use my whistle at all this morning, or get any treats out at all as she just stayed with me.

Ugh sorry to hear about the ignorant dogs! We have been having some good walks but I have realised that it gets to a certain point and his focus wanes a lot, so I’m going to start putting him back on his lead after 10-15 minutes. He did recall back from trying to run over to another dog again today which I was pleased about! He’s so happy to be able to run about again too. We only have two physio sessions left now.

Sleep is also going better too. He settled really quickly in our room last night. The only problem is I’m a light sleeper and he moves around so much through the night that it wakes me up a lot. But I’ll take that over our previous issues any day.

One of my friends swears by day and night nurse but I’ve never used it. I’m sorry you’re still so ill. This is one of things which sucks the most when all the dog stuff is down to you, and you still have to get out and about when you’re feeling rubbish as there’s no one else to do it for you. Hopefully the night nurse does its job and you wake up fresh as a daisy tomorrow.

I think going on and off the lead is quite a useful exercise anyway, @YorkshireFelix – then they don’t dread it and automatically assume it’s the end of the walk and therefore the end of fun. Hooray for your sleep progress! That is so good to hear.

I was properly dosed up for my work dinner last night, practically high I think! If I didn’t have pupsy I’d have been in bed all week, but I guess the fresh air helps. It is a trial when there’s no one else around, though dog-dad did point out that I could have sent her to London with him and she’d have had a great week, but her quality of life is just so much better here, and anyway I’d miss her too much.

I guess it’s that thing I said ages ago in another context: when I picked her up for the first time when she was a tiny puppy I promised to do my best for her whatever and that means doing it when you’re ill too.

The last time I saw my trainer she said I ought to give her one day off a week as a full rest day but I’ve never dared do it as I don’t know what would happen. I genuinely have no idea whether she'd mither me all day or not.

@brushingbootsi bet she would surprise you, you know! Maybe now is the perfect opportunity to test giving her a day off 😁

For the last week or so I've really dialled it down on the days Bill's home with me - just an hour in the morning, then 90 minutes or so in the dog park in the late afternoon plus a 10 minute poo walk last thing. The rest of the day we've just been mooching about now we can use the backyard again, and I've gone back to 'enforced' naps where I basically take him to the bed, put on brown noise and work from there. It's been wonderful. He's so much more playful with his friends, he's still eager to learn in the mornings, and he's conking out at 9:30am for a nap so he's absolutely getting enough exercise.

On a related note, does anyone know if dogs get adolescent growth spurts? As well as needing more naps, Bill is having days where I simply can't shovel enough food in him. I think he's probably coming to a natural point of no longer eating three meals a day, but even allowing for that, he's sometimes wanting twice his normal evening meal helpings or more. He's always been a bit of a diva about food so I'm fairly sure it's not that Labrador gannet thing - he generally stops eating when he's full, but it just seems to be taking him a lot more to fill him up. Though I suppose racing around with friends in the sunshine will help that.

My darling twat of a mongrel this morning on the way to the park.
Notice in the background where he has ripped the car cover to shreds, we really do need to replace it.
he is harnessed in.

@Bupster - On a related note, does anyone know if dogs get adolescent growth spurts?
They 100% do. Depending on the breed, anywhere up to three years is 'normal' for dogs to bulk out a bit. I've found with mine they usually reach full height by about a year, but they don't stop bulking up until about 3 years(ish). I very much take the mantra of 'if they are still hungry and not fat, then they can have a bit more food.' Dogs are a bit like humans in that some days - for literally no reason - they will just want far more food.
It's also worth checking the food you're feeding him - some companies (not so much the ones delivering to your home - BB, Bella & Duke) change their ingredients without telling you (because obviously if you're buying it in a supermarket they have no idea who you are 😃). So it is also possible it's changed and he's no longer getting what he needs from it

@CaptainBeanThief he looks far too pleased with himself...

@LandSharksAnonymous
You are a vet aren't you? If so, could I bend your ear?
I think we have had a run in before were I went off at you so I apologise for that.

Sadly, just a breeder and not a vet, although I wish I was...the money I would save)! 😃And no worries - I'm sure i've probably done the same. We're a bit of a passionate bunch...

Thanks, @LandSharksAnonymous ! He's on a mix of Millie's Wolfheart and Lily's Kitchen, the poncey little diva, so I'm pretty sure we're okay for content. I'm going to give it a few more days and see if he's consistently eating more, or it was just a blip.

I think over Easter I'll gradually shift him to two meals a day - it's been quite handy having him on three when he's at daycare, as he has three chances to eat, and he usually fills his boots at daycare so I've not been worried if he doesn't eat much in the mornings/evenings. But 11 months is quite old to be on three and he does seem to be naturally moving to two. Albeit two buckets, this week.

I’ve been thinking of moving V over to 2 meals a day too. I feel tight about it though for some reason. What if he thinks I’ve just forgotten to feed him 😂

I'm definitely going to do it slowly - over Easter when he's mostly home so I can just shift his lunch later and later - for exactly this reason 😄

Oh @LandSharksAnonymous I could have sworn you were a vet! Perhaps you didn’t name-change when I thought you had after all.

@Bupster @YorkshireFelix I think I moved pupsy onto two meals from two at about seven months, maybe earlier. She was never a hungry dog and still isn’t, even post-spay. Now she just has a morsel of whatever I’m having for lunch at lunchtime – tuna, chicken, ham – which she seems happy with.

Midge is still on 3 meals a day. He’s very good at telling the time and will always come and stare at me at 1pm and 6pm (husband does morning feed). He’s a largish dog so I’m worried about gastric torsion, I’ve read smaller, more frequent meals can be better.

I find the lunchtime feed handy as it means that he will settle under the table when we’re out for lunch and I can drip feed him his kibble.

Mine are still on 3 meals a day at age 4 and 2.

@brushingboots nothing so exciting - civil servant! I know who you're thinking of though but, sadly, I am not them although I'm pretty sure they are still around

@LandSharksAnonymous I think she has (or had) goldies too which is what threw me!

Yeah - that's who I was arguing the toss with 🫣🥲😳

I don't know what's happening this week but it's like Milo has aged backwards ten months!!!!
He's acting like a petulant child!
Jumping up and biting, nipping and just being a hooligan. This week he has just been an absolute nightmare, it's like I'm in an adolescent time warp and he's having a last hurrah by terrorising me one last time before he gives up and grows up.
Oh here's a picture looking like butter wouldn't melt but today has been the worst day of the week and I'm knackered.
Little arsehole 🥲🤣

@CaptainBeanThief oh no! I thought he was over the worst of it!
How are his knees? I guess he must have lots of excess energy if he’s not able to run around like he wants to.
Have you been able to get another opinion from a nicer vet than the one you saw last time?