For the love of Pod

[HangingOver]

All aboard Podsquad, it's Pod thread number 4.

In case you were wondering:

• What is this (surprisingly) long-running thread about? A unique lunatic rescue Podenco, known as Pod. Featuring his pals, Stanley, GentleHowl, BabyPod, GentleBounce, Fastest and Princess and many more.
• What makes you so special that you get your own thread? See above

Seriously, if anyone is considering getting a teenage/rescued/sight-hound/Podenco/all of the above and has NO idea what they're doing, please enjoy the previous instalments from the day we brought him home, to now, six months later. Posts will oscillate wildly from euphoric to mental breakdown and back again.

Here is thread No. 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5248472-they-love-a-bit-of-him-podlife?page=1

Here is thread No. 2 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5197068-the-pod-cast?page=39&reply=141216881

And thread No. 1 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5177112-oh-my-giddy-god?page=1

Pic of the handsome prick in question.

They've taken samples to send off. They also said they'd found a load of sand coating his gut which looked like it had been there a while. Which made no sense to me because I don't walk him on the beach. in fact the last time was around the time all this started nearly a month ago but I don't see how that can have caused all this. Sandpaper poops?? I think it's dirt from when he uses his teeth when he's digging.

Weird - and I think it much more likely he's digging as a result of discomfort/pain and possibly ingesting dirt to try to relieve that - as thats a super common response to gut pain.

Has he ever trialled Antepsin (sucralfate)?

It's usually when he's digging for mouse nests, he breaks up the dirt and grass with his teeth and sniffles in the dirt. Whatever it was, they said it looked grainy. So possibly poops rubbing against that was hurting him. Anyway they've flushed it all out now so maybe his poor little bumbum will heal up!

Let's hope the samples shed some light on the cause of his problem - honestly, Hanging, you're doing everything humanly possible to get your boy well so it's just a matter of time until they solve Pod's tummy trouble 🙏

Id obviously rather he wasn't zonked out of anesthetic but oh it's bliss to curl up with my beautiful sleepy dog and not being pounding the streets! Id normal be on night walk 2 of 5 by now.

Enjoy your night's sleep, Hanging.

Sleep well Hanging, Mr Hanging and dear Pod

The first good night's sleep of many to come for the Hanging household 🙏

Spoke too soon.

Since I know there's absolutely nothing in his tummy I gave him a short sniffy walk and then said "that's it". I gave him his painkillers and he's eaten and drunk, so I just laid down in the dark and let him have his tantrum and just comforted him when he came to me. It took just over and hour but he eventually gave up.

Thing is, whatever has caused this (whether it's pain or anxiety) he has unfortunately learned that the more of a prick he is the more night time walks he gets.

Oh and switching in the HA food has brought him down to two measley poops a day!

Annoyingly he's fallen asleep on my feet making sneaking up to bed tricky!

Two poops instead of seven is awesome!

I hope that Pod slept for the rest of the night without any wake ups and walks. Sometimes with young children you have to be the “mean” parent to get them back into a better routine and better behaviour. I assume it’s something similar for a dog, especially a smart dog like Pod.

Any plans on how to stop him eating sand and dirt? Will he need a muzzle so he can’t bite into dirt and grass lumps?

Pod is predictably fascinated and enraged by a colony of flying ants in the garden, and has been trying to catch the out the air for twenty minutes. His aim isn't very good but it's keeping him occupied.

I bet he'd love a bubble machine...

Mixed bag so far....

On the up side he seems a LOT happier after his internal hosing. He played with his toys and ate his bones last night instead of being a twat. He also settled before the trazadone even had a chance to kick in. On the shitty side, the combination of the procedure and adding the HA to the food has given him the screaming trots.

He got up multiple times last night and had one accident BUT he went straight to sleep after each time rather than running around yelling his head off.

I let him off the lead at the dog park tonight with surprising results. Even my trainer acknowledges that while he's hunting you could basically set yourself on fire and he wouldn't so much as look up. So when several people and dogs walked past I was able to just leave him too it. In fact, a perfectly beautiful retriever charged up to his wanting to play and he didn't take his head out the bush. The downside of this intense focus is I have to go into the field wading through the long grass to remove him when it's time to go.

While he was springing around joyfully like a baby deer on crack a woman with two boarder collies passed by and we exchanged greetings. She asked what he was doing and I explained about it being dusk and what Podencos are bred for and she expressed horror at the idea of him catching mice, called them poor little things i nearly asked if her dogs lived on broccoli and said 'I wouldn't have that' while her excruciatingly obedient dogs blinked up at her, waiting for orders. Hurrump. I do get that on the outside he probably looks like the world's worst dog and me a feckless owner but people have no idea of the standard of the source material I was given to start with. Pods are a primitive breed and they're not designed to have a relationship with a handler, they're just let out en mass to kill things so it's not his fault all he wants to do is fuck off and ignore everyone. What's a mouse between friends. Anyway.

In the spirit of keeping to his new routine, he's had his painkillers and trazadone and will be on garden trips only til tomorrow. He's absolutely baked and eating his bone lying down.

<whispers very quietly> "I bloody hate mice, go get 'em you beautiful boy"

She’s obviously never had an infestation!

Does he kill rats too? You could rent him out and make a fortune...

He's adore that. DPs friend owns a potato farm actually but I expect they lay poison as well which wouldn't be good for Pod.

@HangingOver just coming onto your thread as we too have a mouse hunting pogo-bouncing Podenco too. He makes me smile so much! He has a quick walk with my husband at 6.30am then sleeps most of the day coming into his own at around 4.30pm to bring me his toys to play with, dinner, another short walk and then hunting in the garden until it gets too dark and sometimes after dark if it's a warm evening.

I initially had a dog trainer for him who was able to help coach him to check in with us but if he spots a squirrel or rabbit then, as you know, all hell breaks loose and the noise! He sounds like he's being murdered!

We take him to a secure field regularly for a chance to do off lead zoomies but most of the time there he spends hunting through the long grass around the edges. He is very handsome (people regularly stop their cars to ask us what breed he is) and affectionate but can also be a knobhead especially if he decides to start guarding a treat. He too brings mice and baby rats into the house and hides them under his blankets which can be a problem as he spends a lot of time sleeping on my bed! Love him to bits but crikey, he is not a "normal" pet dog by any stretch, and I say that as an experienced foster dog parent and owner of various dogs over the past 25 years. We originally fostered him but it became obvious he wouldn't be able to live in a "normal" family household and so we decided to adopt him to give him some stability, his Pod instinct is so very strong and we are his fourth home in his four years. I feel we have reached a good routine and understanding of each other now. He has us trained very well!

Currently sleeping next to me on the sofa with all four feet wrapped around my leg, bless him.

Best of luck with your Pod and solidarity with all his Pod escapades.

Fingers x everything is going the right way and this break in the cycle of hurty - shouty - walky - shouty - walky - poo - shouty... etc fixes his brain as well as his arse!

I bet things will settle down, now Hanging. It seems like the sand in his system (!!) was definitely a factor.

As the owner of a Village Dog (another primitive breed), I feel your pain on the hunting thing. Primitives aren't biddable, though they're lovely companions. But they just aren't motivated by a pat on the head and a 'Good dog!'. And the tastiest, most high-value treat in existence wouldn't even register for my dog when he's spotted a rabbit. I can only laugh hollowly at that advice.

But you know, I actually kind of love how independent and stubborn he is. He's basically a giant cat in a dog suit -- something I suspect you can relate to! 🤣

Oh this all made me smile so much. So much of my Pod in what you've written too. He's not a bad dog, he's just a Pod!

I especially understand the hunting over zoomies. If he's playing with a new friend or a dog that wants to kick his butt he'll dial the zoomies up to 11 but he spends all the time he's at our field just hunting now, even ignoring his Pod pals.

My Pod also had a few homes before us, they only kept him a week each time. I was thinking this today actually, theres absolutely no way my Pod would have worked with someone who worked away from home or had kids.

I love that yours sleeps all day too! My friends Pod famously won't go out before noon or after 6pm 😄

Can we see a photo of your Pod?

Oh and yes re. the rabbit noise, I know the exact one. I always describe it as piglet stuck in a waste disposal unit

@HangingOverAt your request you can have three photos!

On reflection, I think we live relatively close to each other, in the same county and possibly in the same area.
I would have suggested a meet up but 1) I'm not travelling /driving around much at the moment due to my bad health
2) My Pod's behaviour can be unpredictable around a dog he doesn't know, although he does have his own best friends and gets on with 7/10 dogs he meets, but even so, his social skills need some work! He usually does a quick sniff, play boughs then ignores - if the other dog insists or gets in his face then chaos!

@NotISaidTheCat the nickname for my Pod is Catdog, with his skill at leaping on top of the tall Cornish Hedges and his ability to climb trees it definitely fits!

It's so interesting hearing a couple of you compare your pods to cats, as I have a semi-feral rescue cat and so much of what Hanging has experienced resonates with my experience (and that's what's kept me, more a cat person than a dog person, on this thread).