Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - for teenage dirtbags

[Bupster]

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

He’s got another physio on Friday and she said on lead until then. Last time he wasn’t allowed off lead for over 6 weeks but he was a bit younger and seemed fine with a couple of short walks a day. I can see a huge difference this time. I can’t walk him very far on his lead as hes a nightmare unless he’s tired (like after a big off lead run about!), then he trots along like he’s in Crufts.

Going to have to find some ways to tire him out mentally for the rest of the week before I lose my shit!

We start our gundog course next week which I think will help him a lot generally. The man needs a job to do!!

Brie has no toys now. She just shreds everything up - even the indestructible ones like Kongs.
The only thing she hasn't wrecked yet is this very lifelike toy cat...

Your cat looks like a giant version of this fluffy thing with a handle I bought for Vinny (yet since destroyed, RIP)

Sadly, Freija didn't come with a handle, but sometimes it might be useful if she had...🤔

Morning all!

@CoubousAndTourmalet your cat is stunning! I adore cats, I would love to get one at some point.

@YorkshireFelix can I ask about the gun dog course please? I know it’s early days for Pablo but I like the sound of working up to something a bit more advanced when he is ready and if it’ll suit him!

Currently waiting outside the vets, pupper is asleep in the back of the car. We’ve got second jabs at 9.30! He was being a little bollocks last night and attacking my feet 🤦‍♀️

I was really lucky and found an excellent lady near me in Leeds who is a trainer and specialises in gundogs. We did a puppy course with her which wasn’t gundog specific but because we were all spaniels and a pointer, it was a bit more focussed rather than a general class. I loved it and it was way better than the village hall type classes around my area.

She runs a ‘pet gundog’ course which is more like a foundation course for absolute beginners, which I what I am starting next week. Then she does a novice and intermediate course too. It will cover basics like recall, heel work, sit, whistle commands, steadiness, hunting and retrieving.

Im hoping I can pick up a lot of bits to do with Vinny when we are out and about because he comes from a good working line and definitely needs some focus now he’s a bit older. Where abouts are you located? I bet you could find a good trainer near you.

@YorkshireFelix A long week for you both. Hope V gets the all clear on Friday and the next few days aren't too trying. Mine are the same on lead. They are hardly ever on it, so I am afraid I haven't put the training in to get them to walk without pulling. Fine at the end of the walk, but the 30 seconds at the start are a literal drag.

@VanGoSunflowers You'll soon be able to go for walks then. Exciting times! I didn't use a long line with my puppies. I took them deep in to the woods and just let them off. Are you going to use a whistle?

@YorkshireFelix That course sounds ideal. I'd love to do something like that with mine. I took P to gundog classes when she was younger, but all he did was sit, stay and retrieves. In an hour, we'd only get four goes at retrieving a dummy. We were both bored shitless to be blunt, so used to wander off round the field whilst everyone else had their turns. His argument was the dogs needed to learn patience because there is a lot of sitting around on a shoot. But when you are only doing it for fun, 🤷‍♀️

@SpanielsGalore actually I am doing him a bit of disservice (probably because he pissed me off so much yesterday 😂) and he pulls like a train for the first 5 minutes until he’s done all his poos, then he’s mostly ok on our usual routes apart from a bit of lunging if he sees a particular spot he’s desperate to sniff. He is a nightmare on lead if we go anywhere new though which is why I always go to the same places!

Our trainer is fab, I am so pleased we found her. She does training days for the Ladies Working Dog Group too. I just like the fact she’s not a typical Spaniel Man!

@YorkshireFelix I am based in the midlands - suburban town about 15 miles from the centre of Birmingham. I’ve just been looking at the gun dog club website to see if there is anything around here. I don’t know if that’s too advanced for me though? I don’t plan on working him, like you - just wanted to see if I could work up to something advanced stuff to work his brain (and mine!) and kind of as a hobby. Would they accept me do you think? Mildly concerned about rocking up with all my tattoos and nose piercing 😂

@SpanielsGalore - perhaps I will try without one then? I’m not sure - I might order a long line and then have it with me in case it feels like a good idea 😂 also haven’t thought about whether or not to use a whistle, I am a complete novice and learning as I go! What are the pros of using one?

I was looking at Pablo’s ancestors (for want of a better word) and on his dad’s side there are a lot of working retrievers so I think it would be good for him 😊

@YorkshireFelix My friend's spaniel is like that - pulls until he poos and then walks nicely. My almost 4 year old isn't too bad now, but I haven't taken her anywhere new for a while. Last time we went for a day out to a busy tourist spot, my hands were red by the end. Puppy is only 7kg, so her pulling is easier to handle.,

@VanGoSunflowers Pros of using a whistle IMO - the sound travels further. A whistle noise gets through to them when a voice doesn't. (Like when they are mid chase.) It always sounds the same - voice recall changes in different situations. For example, when they are legging it across the field and you shout them in a panic, when they are being little gits and you are annoyed, when you use your sing song happy voice. That's all regards recall. You can teach other things too, like stop at a distance when they go to chase after something. The others are more expert than me, so they might have other opinions.
Hope the vets went well.

@VanGoSunflowers it would definitely be good for him! I am also very tattooed and pierced, and come from a council estate in the East Midlands so it’s very much not my world at all 😄

Id also recommend whistle training. He will pick it up really quickly I bet. I am not sure which type of whistle you would need but maybe someone here will know? I started doing it in the house with Vinny, so every time I recalled him with his name I also pipped the whistle three times. And every time he sat I pipped once (which we have slacked on recently so I don’t know if he still remembers the one pip command!). It didn’t take long for him to connect the dots and I could eventually drop calling his name and just do the whistle and he would come running and get a treat. I’m not sure if this is the ‘right’ way of doing it but it worked for us.

Re the longline - I did have one for V on the first time I let him off lead but I quickly discovered how much I loathe it as it would just get all tangled up and annoying. So the next time I just let him off without it. Looking back I am really glad I was brave enough to have him off lead from the very start and would really recommend trying it. They do not want to be far away from you when they are tiny so will naturally stay very close.

Younger pup did a gundog foundation course at about 6 months

Older one has done a gundog foundation course, a gundog grade one course, working novice course (twice), working novice + course (twice) and various workshops.

Only one of them will reliably retrieve and it's not the older one 😂

Totally agree re whistle cutting through other sounds. When I lost V in the woods the other day I kept blowing the whistle and that’s how he found his way back to me!!

According to the Acme site, a 211.5 is best for labradors.

I think I taught whistle recall like YorkshireFelix, blowing the whistle when the puppy is already coming towards you. It's been nearly 20 years since I did it from scratch.
I cheated with puppies 3 and 4 as each time I had an older dog, who was already trained. I took them out together and blew the whistle. Older dog recalled and puppy followed.

All that effort 😂😂😂

To be fair, there's lots she is very good at now, she's good at lining up, taking direction, marking, sit/stays, she loves a pivot, has a reasonable stop whistle, can hunt nicely - she just doesn't want to bring anything back/give it up.

@VanGoSunflowers you will certainly be welcome anywhere (good and nice) for gundog training. Anywhere that doesn't welcome you isn't worth bothering with. As @YorkshireFelix and @Bupster know from real life I am a 'traditional' gilet-wearing, Landrover-driving gundog person and I write about it for part of my living and the sport needs more diversity! Doesn't matter if you want to work him or not, gundog work will be SO good for him, especially if he has a working pedigree rather than a pet one per se.

I have written out a few walk throughs on basic gundog skills on these threads – can dig them out if you like. But it's never too early to start and in my book right now is the ideal time for P rather than waiting until he's a teenager. Right now he's an absolute sponge and will drink in everything you teach him and it will help him regulate himself and learn to chill because actually a lot of gundog work is learning to be calm and being patient.

The 211.5 Acme whistle is the one you want for a lab though actually it doesn't matter which as long as you always use the same one. As a basic guide it's one pip for stop, two for turn, and three/four/five however many you like for recall. But for now the only one you need is the recall one.

A whistle is vital whether you're working them or not, in my book, as it doesn't ever sound cross like you will do, inevitably, when you shout him one day and he doesn't come back. The whistle always sounds the same so it doesn't pass on your bad vibes.

Thanks @VanGoSunflowers
Freija is a blue tortie Maine Coon, 13 this year, the last of our gang of 6! She rules the roost. MC are very large and quite dog like in their ways, so they get along well with bigger dogs. They are quite bonkers though, so once you've had a Maine Coon, no other cat will do - their intelligence is astonishing.

Fellow rebel girl with you and @YorkshireFelix btw. I'm a scouser, so far from being part of the tweedy set. But then I guess my choice of dog reflects that too. Lifelong metalhead/witch/biker/hippy/free spirit, albeit now entering crone territory but still wont cut my hair 😁 Generally in long black frock and big black boots for summer, but combats or black jeans for winter walks with the wolf.

Edit to add: Can't join in with training talk, cos I don't really do any much (and sometimes it shows...) 😬

@YorkshireFelix Im pretty much the same as you, except West Mids! And thanks for the recommendation with off lead from the start. I don’t think he will wander too far from me.

@SpanielsGalore thank you so much for looking that up for me, off to look at dog whistles!

@brushingboots i would love to see them if you have the chance to dig them out please? I’m really very interested in the training side of things, especially gun dog training with him being a working lab. I think we will both really enjoy it! This is the reason I opted for Lab in the end (after researching many other breeds) I’m really excited about having a go at doing this sort of work with him. I’ve ordered a couple of books from the gun dog club, too. At the minute, we still only doing the absolute basics but increasing distance and time for ‘stay’ and only when he’s seemingly calm but alert - no chance he will do it mid zoomies at the moment 😂

@CoubousAndTourmalet I briefly looked in to getting a Maine Coon, I absolutely love them! Beautiful cats. Maybe I still will one day! And not to sound like a sycophant or anything but I love your description of metalhead/biker girl/witchy-hippy! I used to have a little motorbike many moons ago, like my music with attitude, wear my hair down to my arse, own several pairs of Docs and definitely look completely out of place in the corporate environment I work in 😂 (hence working from home most of the time!) definitely a rebel girl!

My accent is similar to a Peaky Blinders one to the untrained ear but I maintain it is slightly different… but you’d have to be from where I am to notice 😂

Oh and update from the vets - Pablo is currently weighing in at 7.1kgs - she said he looks like he is going to be a big boy 😍
Checked him all over and her professional opinion was “he’s perfect from nose to tail” and he was so good, happy, alert but calm and didn’t flinch when he got him jabs. She said one week for pavement walking (limited, obviously) and 2-3 weeks for everywhere else for the lepto jab.

How old is he now @VanGoSunflowers ?

11 weeks yesterday!