Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - for teenage dirtbags

[Bupster]

I've buckled again, I can't take the pressure of being on page 40 😄

For us, the warmer days mean early (pre 8am) or late (post 8pm) walks. It's not just for the sake of the dog(s), but also because both of us are fair skinned and don't enjoy heat. We're winter people. Sadly, our garden is an afternoon sun trap, so Brie will be indoors a lot, on the tiled floor, blinds closed and fans blowing. Fortunately, she will toilet in the garden (although we must pick up the poo within seconds, or she gets really bothered about it being there 🙄).

@Bupster On hot days I go out a bit earlier and a bit later and do shorter walks because she can’t be bothered anyway. Black dog problems. But a lot of our usual walks are woody and shaded, and a lot involve swimming anyway so hot days are much the same as normal days here. We went to Whisby last night for a proper swim and then swam again in the river by home this morning.

19/20 and above is too hot for Vinny I have discovered! We are also a few minute drive from the woods so on hot days I do an early walk round the village so he can do his business, then he will have a longer walk later on in the evening. It doesn’t seem to bother him even if he only gets a couple of short walks. He’s also one who will only go to the toilet out on a walk which is highly annoying!!

@CoubousAndTourmalet my parents ran a pub when I was a child and we lived above it. We had a Heinz 57 dog called Winkey who used to get fed bar snacks and drink the dregs of peoples pints and lick the ash trays 😂 She was hard as nails. She had a friend called Pepe who she used to go and call for then they would just wander about the village and return in the evening. This was the 90s so doesn’t even feel that long ago!!

I am in West Yorkshire and it’s been glorious apart from a bit of occasional rain the past couple of days. It’s lovely today.

Do you have the coast in the background there?!

I think you've mentioned Winkey & Pepe once before @YorkshireFelix , and in my head they became Lady and the Tramp, sharing a spag bol with meatballs 😆

@YorkshireFelix Son is North Yorkshire. Coming down to visit him next month, so expect rain. 😂
It is the coast. I am lucky enough to have a sea view from my garden - it was the main reason for buying the house.

Thanks all for the well-wishes 🙂I love this stage - Pen’s happy, puppies only sleep and eat and seem adorable…give it four weeks and I’ll be crying on here every day about evil the little monsters…

@Bupster I do the same as others - woods. It’s shady, the one near me has a few streams etc. Sadly mine do really struggle with the heat, so it’s a case of being up super early. This morning I was up at 05:00 to walk them (in my pyjamas - not my finest moment). They probably won’t go out until sunset tonight now - but they have the garden if they need it.

I know people say ‘a dog never died from not having a walk,’ but when you’ve got a high energy breed, it’s just not that easy (and enrichment only goes so far). Any chance you could get up super early with Bill and then go back to sleep for a few hours? Or would he just be a maniac and refuse to go back to bed?

The Silent Guard Dog is hard at work this morning😁

@LandSharksAnonymous I walked V in my pyjamas last night for the first time ever so no judgement here 😄

@CoubousAndTourmalet looking very majestic this morning!

Did they fit him well @YorkshireFelix 😉

😂😂😂😂

I think I'll need so much coffee to get out at 6am that I'll be the one unable to get back to sleep 🙄

I think I have a cunning plan for the mornings, as even at 8am today it was about manageable, and the lunchtime poo, but I need to plot something for the evenings - will try to find some shady walks a short enough drive that a tired Bill will tolerate it and I'll still be awake enough to manage the drive without putting us both into a wood or a river....

I have a really stupid question. Is anyone clued up on protein levels please?

Brie is approaching 15 months and apparently needs 23%-27% protein. The foods I'm looking at changing to (Essentials & Millies Wolfheart) are closer to 30%, except for the MW lamb one that is 19%. If I mixed 30% and 19% would that balance it out, or does it not work like that?

Edited to say Googling seems to suggest it comes half way between if I mixed 50/50. Does any of this make sense? (where is the Dunce hat please? I think I need it....)

@Bupster do you ever take him to the arboretum? You could walk there from your house (or a v short drive) and you might find some good shade there. Likewise the other common has loads of really good walks on it and there's plenty of shade – a longer walk there or another v short drive.

@CoubousAndTourmalet I know nothing about combining foods. FWIW I feed Country Kibble Natural Grain Free Working Dog Food - Turkey, Sweet Potato and Cranberry flavour. It's 26% crude protein. It was recommended by a dog nutritionist as being a good quality, mid budget food. My 3 year old and 8 month old are both doing well on it.

I would email Millie's and ask - they've been really good at responding to me on that sort of question

I have thought about the other Common as having a bit more shade - we've never been there together. The Arboretum is a bit of a hot walk to get there, and nowhere to park anywhere near it, so a bit of a PITA I think.

Ordered an aluminet shade cloth - thought I'd try it up at the allotment and in the backyard. Maybe I'll end up with some kind of mobile sunshade for him, i.e. me, walking backwards, fanning him and peeling grapes 🙄

@SpanielsGalore
Thank you. We fed our previous Pyrenean, Algy, on Country Kibble for years, but the lamb, sweet potato, mint version. Oddly enough, my husband has just suggested putting Brie on that, so I might have another look.

Thanks @Bupster I'll try Millies again but they were a bit hopeless last time I asked...

The other common is excellent, @Bupster and the golf course at the usual common if you haven't been down there. The far end of it is lovely and there are loads of trees for shade.

This morning we did an

... an hour's walk in the woods and somehow got all of the county's cloud cover at once. No such luck for my garden which we are currently sitting scorching in.

Someone else mentioned the golf course. I'm always wary, like I might get chased off, but it is public I think?

@Bupster It's absolutely fine, my parents walk on it with their dogs every day! Perfectly OK for walking on – you'd love it.

I'd given up caring about getting the exact details right by the time we moved to essentials, just wanted something the fussy bugger would eat!

From memory, protein wise Essentials was on the lower end compared to other stuff I was looking at at the time (Eden/Orijen/Wolfworthy)

I remember I did spend ages trying to calculate calorie requirements and what was an appropriate mix of kibble and forthglade 90%.

That's the problem @tizwozliz , she's suddenly gone finicky after being a really good eater. We've had to get a load of meat trays just to get her usual kibble into her.

Even some of the Millies flavours are 40% protein, which is just too high for Brie. She is comparatively low energy, but hopefully we'll find the right balance.

One 10kg bag of Essentials lamb is ordered and 5kg/4kg of MW Countryside and lamb/veg. So, I'm £100 poorer, but hopefully something will suit her.

Good morning everyone! Hope you’re all enjoying the weather and your dogs are keeping cool 😎

Puppy is keeping me busy, but he is such an angel I don’t know why I didn’t get one sooner - but then I think he was meant for me!

Luckily, my living room is always cool regardless of how hot it is outside so I’m prioritising him getting enough sleep at the moment in a nice, cool spot. He is ten weeks today and seemed different this morning? Almost like he had levelled up and has been coming for more cuddles and fuss and he seem to have understood the concept of not biting us when he is excited - I won’t count my chickens yet though, teething phase is still to come 😂