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!

You wont believe this but I looked at these on Ebay earlier.

It's definitely me that needs a "reactive" warning vest, not Brie, she just loves everyone 🙄

@CoubousAndTourmalet I think that dog in training vest would work very well actually!

I'm not sure, people are probably too busy ogling at Brie to even notice what I'm wearing. A dog vest probably does make more sense... but then I don't want to give the impression she's reactive... I'm just going to have to suck it up, aren't I?

He's driving me insane, I'm going to sell him for kebabs. He's napped for precisely half an hour so far today and whined for approximately eleventy billion hours for the rest of the time. He's had a walk, a play with friends, a licky mat, a rabbit's ear, I've sat in the window with him holding his vile chews, ARG.

It's Monday and I have to work but I can't focus for more than a minute at a time before he wants me again HELP

@Bupster that’s not much fun for you. Does he normally relax when at home?

Aha! Clearly Bill has got wind of your upcoming plans for an overnight stay...@Bupster , for which punishment/revenge needs to start immediately!
The plan will be to run you down, to the point of complete exhaustion and being unable to string together a coherent sentence.
This is what they do. I speak from experience. They know everything!

@Bupster Sounds like he needs a strong dose of being completely ignored! If pupsy was playing up like that I’d put her in her bed, make nice soothing ‘go sleeps now’ sounds and then go back to work, giving her precisely no attention until she had rested. She's currently sitting staring at the birds by the back door and occasionally coming to tap me on the leg for attention/to ask to go outside but she's getting nothing back because I am working/checking Mumsnet to avoid having to start transcribing.

That's what I'm going to have to do in a bit as I have a meeting with a student. He's calmed down a bit now and is looking out of the window sucking his dummy (he found another one 🙄).

This is one of those where I know the answer really, but in practice when he's getting on your last nerve and you cannot focus and you're knackered and stressed you need to rant to people who will understand!

PS I admire your determination, I would be outside chasing birds with him if the alternative was transcription.

@Bupster I’m with the ignoring too. Midgeling has been tapping my knee and going to the door. I know he doesn’t need a wee or a poo, he just wants to check where the foxes hang out as he’s ever hopeful that there might be fox/ cat poo or other easy pickings (he found a sandwich there yesterday).

There are builders next door so he probably wants to go and bark at them.

They can be very demanding!

Morning 🤪

Hello gang!

I trailled my VERY EXCITING NEWS here last week and I hope you'll forgive me for sharing non-dog news, but it is indeed very exciting... for the last four years I have been writing a book about the British aristocracy since 1945, which I have now finished – and which is now available for pre-order! I outed myself on the previous thread and don't mind doing so again – so here is the link! (and some others to non-Amazon if you prefer)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1529153042?tag=prhmarketing2552-21
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781529153040?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=117976&awc=3787_1737406883_aa41251523eb7dc172e2c07b8586a290&utm_source=117976&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Penguin+Books
Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/heirs-and-graces-a-history-of-the-modern-british-aristocracy-eleanor-doughty/7792165?ean=9781529153040

If it sounds good or interesting or even a bit wacky, and you (or anyone else you know!) might fancy reading it, I cannot stress enough how important pre-orders are to authors. You get the book the day it's out, but it really helps in the run-up to publication if people order. (If you have already seen me write all of this on Insta, apols). It's not out until September so I could almost grow an actual human child in the intervening months but I have been given the green light to tell people properly after literally four years of being extremely coy and talking about ~secret projects~ so I am very excited!

Here endth my public service announcement. I can't guarantee I won't mention it again at some point! x

@brushingboots this is so brilliant, huge congratulations!! You must be over the moon!

@brushingboots Wow, well done!
It looks very interesting and would make a good Christmas present for my in-laws.

I’m waiting for the dog trainer for my 1-1 recall lesson. Hoping he’ll give me the magic key and Midge’s recall will be perfect for evermore!

Ooh how did it go?! I was thinking about booking a 1-1 with the trainer we did our puppy class with so I can ask her about some specific issues.

Congratulations on your exciting news @brushingboots - what an achievement! At 576 pages, that is indeed a weighty tome. As Nella68 says, it will make a fabulous Christmas gift.

We've had some really great walks recently with Vinny's recall being brilliant. Coming back to me and walking to heel or sitting if someone is coming towards us, good loose lead walking (apart from the first 5 minutes of the walk when he's too excited!). Ignoring other dogs and people etc.

But today his recall was horrendous and he went fully self employed. He kept disappearing far into the woods for ages and not coming back, or sort of vaguely coming back so I could see him for a second then pissing off again. I put him back on his lead for a bit then let him off again and he did the same thing, so he went back on his lead for the rest of the woods. It is so frustrating as he was doing so well.

But on the other hand, he walked beautifully on his lead after we got out of the woods, all the way down the canal path and back up through the village home. So swings and roundabouts I guess!

There's an old lady I always see in the woods when we are there. She stopped to talk to me today and I am obsessed with her. She got out of a brand new posh Range Rover, and wears a full length fur coat and felt cloche hat and perfect red lipstick to walk three dogs through the mud 🤣

I like the sound of this woman you mention @YorkshireFelix, I love eccentrics. Most people these days are so bland... The fascinating characters are the ones that stick in your mind for years.

I hope the training class goes (or went?) well, @Nella68

I'm considering whether to look for a female trainer for Brie, but just not sure.

Thank you all! I am going to have to embrace social media more over the next nine months, I fear, and it doesn’t come naturally to me.

@Nella68 I might not have plugged the £1 Pets at Home squeaky dinosaur since you joined the coven – if I haven’t, can heartily recommend! They’re literally £1, pocket-sized, and I swear the squeak can overpower anything. I also have one in my coat pocket for emergencies, though I use my whistle which if you haven’t got one I’d super recommend too. How did you get on with the trainer?

@YorkshireFelix Love the image of that woman! We saw a lady at our woods the other day wearing (white) skin-coloured leggings and white trainers with a pair of huskies. Bizarre on every level.

Just had a skim through my YouTube homepage while having lunch and have spotted a new ‘how to train a cocker spaniel’ video by Charlie at Mordor, which sounds like it might have come at a good time for you! Sounds like a teenage thing for V. Might be time to bring the long-line back into commission for a bit? Or at least have it as an option?

I need to buy a new squeaky dinosaur since Vinny ate the face of his before Christmas!!

Thank you I'll have a look. Always love a Charlie video. I am trying to avoid the longline because I bloody hate the things as I always get all tangled and flustered but I might have to do it. And I don't want to spend money on a new harness either... but needs must.

@YorkshireFelix I hear you – they are a pain but so useful. It's hard to reinforce the 'you must come back right now' thing without one when they're buggering about and inclined not to listen.

I really want to take pupsy back into the deer park here on the longline as she can't go off lead there and the only reason I haven't done it is because I doubt any of the harnesses we have will still fit and I don't want to buy one just to do that. I don't think I can even offer you one of ours, if V is 16kg and surely all over bigger than pupsy, else I would!

It was a really good session. We went to the old golf course so the distractions were fewer- we only saw one dog in the distance.

Things for me to work on/ do:

1. I need to get into a routine sequence before I let him off the lead. So he needs to sit, be unclipped, and then give me eye contact before I release him
2. Get some high value treats as the ones I have are boring.
3. When I call him, drop the high value treat between my feet so he has to put his head down to get it. Whilst he’s there do a collar grab (I already say ‘grab’) so he gets used to having his collar held then release him. I say finish. Let him frolic around then call him as above and repeat (but don’t call him too soon after I’ve let him off)
4. Occasionally put him back on the lead for close work and then after 20 metres or so do the lead unclipping routine as step one. Lots of high value treats for him focussing on me when he’s close.
5. After a few dropping the treats between my feet (useful tip: if I’m too slow getting the treat out, pretend to drop it!), give him a treat from my hand.
6. If he voluntarily walks in the close position clip him on and treat + + then let him off.

It was the best walk I’ve had with him ever. I needed a confidence boost. It made me so happy to see him running around free and keeping us in his sight.
The trainer recommended avoiding the area where Midge was attacked and to work on his recall etc in the quieter area. I took him over to the ‘scene of the crime’ earlier as he needed a quick walk. I hadn’t realised how anxious it would make me.

All signed off with the vet and back to off lead walks yesterday. Good recall test came up!