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.

How is he with being in a crate? He prefers being in a crate doesn’t he? If he was okay then he could sleep in it in your bedroom where it’s warm but he can’t trash anything. Upstairs in crate only should be a clear enough boundary for him.

Would he sleep on the spare bed without mauling it? If he would then he should be nice and warm on there. Just don’t leave the guest bedding on it in case it takes on doggy odour. Get some Pod only bedding.

What about a little tent/teepee type of thing he could sleep in? The smaller enclosed space would be warmer than a whole room. I suppose he’d eat it though.

Pod looks bloody adorable in that photo. Complete snuggly innocence.

Would a compromise be possible where Pod's doggy bed is in your bedroom? Though we tried that since my dh also didn't want a dog sleeping on our bed, and it only took about 4 days before our pooch claimed his bed rights and was sprawled out between us.🤣

But perhaps you and your dp are made of sterner stuff and could resist those big mournful eyes.

Would he trash this sort of bed? My hound loves to snuggle into something similar.
Super Plush Donut Bed | DryDogs

Or this?
Super Plush Cove Bed

He doesn't like crates tbh. He slept in one for a bit when he first arrived but got less and less willing to go in it as time went on. I know some dogs love having a little cave but it's never appealled to Pod really.

I was thinking he could have a look at the spare room with no bedding on it first. That's the warmest room in the house actually. When he's warm enough he doesn't actually like to snuggle all night. When I was sleeping downstairs with him over the summer he'd cuddle for about twenty minutes then take himself away. But since the weather's changed if I sleep downstairs with him he makes himself little spoon.

I would LOVE him to have a lovely plush bed but anything stuffed is irresistible to him and I got fed up with mending it. I did try only bringing it out when he was really sleepy but it was still too tempting.

He's had two long walks with his friends today and he's shattered.

He might be happy with his usual dog bed in the spare room.

Would he resist eating a mattress protector on the bed? You can get allergy/waterproof ones that zip up and enclose the entire mattress. No tempting loose fabric for him to chew.

So I THINK he could resist the base sheet on the mattress. He's been surprisingly good with the sofa cushions covers I bought. Then I could gradually introduce the duvet at sleepy times.

Sadly he doesn't have a dog bed really. I mean he has one but it only has one use. We make him lie down on it while we're eating dinner and persuade him to stay there by lobbing treats on it.

So it's only used at mealtimes and sometimes at other random times of the day when he'll stand on it and yell in the hopes of getting a treat.

Give it a go. You won’t know until he and his jaws are left alone with the human bed. Could you and he spend some time together on the spare bed so he gets used to it and knows that it’s a chew-free zone? Like if he’s napping and you’re reading a book go to the spare bed together instead of sitting on the lounge.

I'll report back 👀👀👀👀

Good luck! I hope that Pod surpasses your expectations.

Do other people's doggies ears feel icy in the mornings? His snoot and paws felt cold too. It's weird because it's not that cold in there but maybe it's drafts.

Yes, although ours will happily wear pyjamas now which helps massively.

Poor Pod.

He's been doing so well with his shepherd phobia recently. He still barks at them if he's on the lead or out the car window but off lead he now has two fully grown shepherds he plays with and two juvenile Malenois, really good stuff.

Anyway, today I was at the dog park and Pod was exhausted from running with his Ridgeback pal so he was busy sniffing in some long grass looking for mice when a woman with a shepherd on a lead came in and immediately said "is your dog friendly?". And I go "yes he's very friendly, although he can be a bit funny with shepherds" and she went huffy and said "why do so many people say their dog is funny with shepherds" so I explained about him being flattened by one when he was younger and how it frightened him, and I said he sometimes barks when he's frightened.

So off she goes and I walk a short way with them to get to Pod in case he did decide to bark (although he's not done this for weeks and weeks). And Pod was soooo brave and shuffled over doing his cautious/apologetic greet, the one with the head down and the little wag, not the full wavey wag... And obviously it barked and snarled and tried to jump on him. Pod immediately shrunk to the size of a slug with his tail fully tucked and his ears flat.

I feel so bad. Hope this isn't a step backwards.

He'd happily wear them and even more happily eat them 😁

Always the way, the ones that get snotty when you mention your dog has had a poor experience or poor reaction to their breed in the past... and then their dog goes and does something unwarranted and unpleasant!

Poor Pod, lots of nice experiences with his shepherdy friends!

Warmth wise - his own heater in the room, oil filled rad I am thinking... perhaps in a pen so he can't get at it if he thinks he'd like to eat that/chew the cable.

The Stick Dog is in jimjams in winter (near permanently as she will scoot off so we can't undress her in the morning some days!) - currently sporting a fetching set with front legs, polo neck and in a loud leopard print..

Icey ears and curled up in the tightest ball possible is usually a sign of a cold dog.

I am wondering if you can fashion him a sleeping bag. I made one out of an old fleece throw, made small channels around the opening and made the top side of the sack slightly shorter than teh bottom so it sort of held itself open. I think I used a plastic rod from something to hold it open, but ive seen it done with really tight stuffing too. It did still require a dog smart enough to put itself IN and not just sit ON the opening then moan about being cold still.

Oh dear. Poor Pod is obviously a bit jumpy post shepherd experience. Something outside just made him jump and his bum glands expressed themselves right next to my head on the sofa

Widdlin as usual you are a genius, a sleeping bag for the pod!!! I am going to do some research.

Oh god the smell is UNHOLY

It's on my jumper I need an exorcism

Oh no!

🤢 Gross. At least they’re not blocked, I guess.

Can the jumper be salvaged?

Burn it. Burn the jumper. Nothing is worse than a direct hit from the anal glands.

I once had the lovely job of chief wiper upper and dog holder (saturday job!) for a vet doing bum glands... it'd take the best part of a week for that smell to get out of my nostrils. It was burnt in there.

My goodness Hanging, how hideous. Nothing but the whole gamut of dog ownership for you!

He needs these....

Oh, gross gross gross!!

Re sleeping bags - my friend makes these fabulous ones (in doggy and human sizes - I've got one 😁) https://www.jacobsden.co.uk/sofa-sack.html

Pod has developed psychic powers.

I got home late last night and Pod woke up so DP went to bed and I finished a couple of work bits under a duvet on the sofa while he re-settled and I invariably fell asleep all tucked up with him.

Pod woke up suddenly and started trotting around the downstairs in the dark so I let him out into the garden thinking a poo explosion was imminent.

Either he somehow knew or it's a whacking great coincidence that, at that very moment, a squab was snuggled down in grass cuttings on the compost heap.

I don't know if you've ever run around a freezing wet garden in your socks and PJs slipping on slugs and hiss-whispering DROP IT YOU BLOODY BASTARD but I don't recommend at 3am. For one horrific moment I thought it was a barn owl he'd got, which is a v.bad, speciesist reaction, especially from a vegan.

Eventually I could tell it was beyond saving and let him he prance happily around the garden with it for a further ten minutes, then I managed to wrestle him back indoors where he did Piteous Squeaking at being separated from his beloved Pidgey.

He watched me furiously through the window as I disposed of the poor creature this morning.

I suppose I can no longer jovially say "He wouldn't know what to do with it if he caught one!" while he's belting around after birds on his walks.

Hum. RIP Pidgey.

I really really like pigeons actually.

Poor pigeon. I've got a disabled one living in my garden, it can't walk well and can only fly to the shed or low trees. It's either an old injury or a congenital malformation of the leg, he's been around for about a year. He just sits around looking confused all day and waddling about so I feed him on the ground. I have no idea how he's managed to avoid all the cats (and foxes) around here.

Apologies for going off topic but @spiderlight is your friend the same one who posted her struggles with Jacob and his poorly legs on Dogpages many years ago? That was the start of my involvement with rescue dogs.