Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - for teenage dirtbags

[Bupster]

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

We went to the woods this morning and it was absolutely fine. She ran around madly for about half an hour and then trotted about and told me she was done. No dramas, just loads of sticky weed buds everywhere so she had to have a thorough grooming in the boot of the car next to a bowl of water.

My garden is very much the Costa del South Lincolnshire, and as dry as the Sahara, so we’re staying inside writing about fascists (cheery!) until further notice.

Just got this off in one 5 minute grooming session 😱Hopefully she'll feel the benefit of being rid of it.
Any spinners out there want a free bag of dog wool to play with?

Forbidden candyfloss!

And not a colourant in sight 😁

@brushingboots Mine have come home covered in sticky green balls today. Makes a change from ticks, I suppose.

Found the first tick on Midge. We’re on holiday in Devon so I guess it had to happen sooner or later. It was a very small lump on his lower eyelid- I had pulled it off before I thought about it. Now I’m worried that the mouth parts have been left behind. A Google search has made me realise I have done it all wrong!

It’s hot here but not as hot as the midlands. The children have just finished their GCSEs so in a way it’s good that it’s too hot for the dog as I’m not dragging them out!

No feeding from cutlery here but I do enjoy making their dinners pretty from time to time. It's mostly for my benefit :-) but it does stretch out their mealtimes a bit. A new record of 6 minutes today!

What's in each section, @tizwozliz ?

Sweet potato, forthglade just lamb, essentials highland living kibble, and a herring - with a 'gravy' made with water and a bit of liver paste.

The essentials and the forthglade is their bog standard dinner but I don't normally arrange it so prettily. Extra liquid today because of the heat. They both turned their noses up at the bone broth lollipops I bought at great expense (4.99!)

Well, I was so tired and unfocused that I basically sacked off work by 3pm, and we had a lovely afternoon playing instead. This mostly involved me tying bendy chews into knots and flicking them at him, and him flinging them back at me. It'll be a pain in the arse as I've loads to catch up on, but it put both of us in a much better mood.

The nearest weather station to us just registered 34°, so we're not going anywhere (according to the Met Office WOW service, if anyone's a weather nerd). He genuinely doesn't want to go out at the moment though; as soon as he heads out the back (to have a drink from the paddling pool 🙄) he comes straight back in. Not sure how long he can hold out before giving in and pooing out there, mind; I'm now worried it's too hot for that too. I've tried to keep the bit he's occasionally willing to pee in relatively shady, and I can tell you it definitely smells like a dog toilet 😬. How's everyone else getting on?

Pup this morning ignoring every carefully provided area of shade, and the camera, the nob.

@tizwozliz Ungrateful devils. Do they not know bone broth is good for them?

@Bupster I'm considering putting the heating on. 🙄
I think all talk of heat should be banned until I have had at least one full day of over 20°. 😭 You can keep your 34° though. I only want that if it involves a pool and a cold drink.

Our garden weather station is reading 32.5 but the official met office station reading which is a couple of miles away is only 31.

Considering driving out to go give the dogs a dip in the stream. We've had some attention thievery this evening.

Mine's reading 15.6.

Jealous of you @SpanielsGalore , but most definitely do not envy @Bupster or @tizwozliz today. We're at 27, which is bad enough! We've barely budged outside all day, but all the heat is on the back of the house now, so Brie is nicely settled in the front room. She's coping okay.

Dogs have been dipped! Such a lifesaver having this place when it's this hot. It's walking distance normally, can do a nice 5k round trip but on days like today can just park in a layby and straight into the woods and water.

God it’s hot today! 25.7 in my house already.

Ended up with everyone sleeping downstairs last night as upstairs was horrible. I promised DDs they could go to Camber/Rye today with my mum, and now all I can think about is the amazing ice cream shop there. 😥So, it’s spare room, homemade ice lollies and dogs for me today! Again no walk, but DDad is coming over with Satan - so I’ll have the joy of watching Satan chase Twatdog around the house 😃

Good Morning!

18 outside currently here, but upstairs is 23. Very humid, so either a no walk day or a 10 minute outing at 9pm, we shall see. Noisy day ahead anyway, as the big tree on the corner of the road is sadly coming down, having been declared unsafe 😢

I had a sofa night last night, because weather related asthma, headache.
Disturbed night again - the worlds largest hedgehog is waking Brie in the early hours, and she wants to go out and say hello. Which is fine as a one-off, but not every single bloody night 🙄Inevitably, much as we love seeing wildlife, we are also slightly worried about the potential for fleas, ticks and mites...😬

I hope your girls enjoy their day out @LandSharksAnonymous and that Twatdog/Satan keep you well entertained.

@CoubousAndTourmalet I love that Brie says hi to hedgehogs! What a gentle giant! Mine just like to bat the hedgehogs with their paws (because they are stupid).

Honestly, I am really upset (perhaps the heat is making me sensitive) that I can't get the ice-cream with them. It's the best ice-cream I have ever had. But, as you say, Twatdog/Satan will keep me entertained 😃I love watching little dogs get feisty with bigger dogs. Watching a 40KG Goldie run away from a 9KG Cocker is just hilarious.

LGD are weirdoes @LandSharksAnonymous This big eejit just stands there wagging her tail at the hedgepig while it goes into defence mode😆

That ice cream sounds yum! At the moment we're having vanilla as an afternoon treat (sadly just the Mackies tubs though, not posh stuff), with some apple and blackcurrant flapjacks that I made from foraged currants 😋

I can imagine the Goldie v Cocker antics. The big ones can never keep up. We used to have Algy being chased and tormented by two Maine Coon boys who would gang up on him. Freija is far too much of a lady to play rough, so Brie just gets put in her place with a well timed slap on the nose. Brie definitely needs a dog friend though. I'm working on it...😉

God, I'm exhausted. I thought I'd slept okay so might be coming down with something again, and Bill is pure nobhead right now - barking, lunging, pulling on the lead. This morning I had to haul him in from the end of his 10m biothane long line, using my bare leg as a fulcrum, after a large off-lead puppy ran at him. Then on the way home, on a short lead, he ran into the road because another dog had the temerity to be on the other side, and was nearly squashed (he's never done this before, I was completely unprepared). I'm so tired. I'd cheerfully glue on a false beard and moustache and run away to join the circus if I didn't have to feed the little nob I want to run away from. I adore him, we've only got each other, but Christ some days are hard, and it's barely 10am.

Sorry it's so knackering @Bupster Could it just be the heat affecting you rather than another lurgy...? I'm on my third headache day, but suspect it could be dehydration. Hopefully the weather will cool off soon and walks might be a bit easier.

@CoubousAndTourmalet when you say you're working on it...how long until you get your way? 😁

We used to have rabbits, and honestly the dogs were completely tormented by them. It's almost like the smaller the creature, the more terrified the dog is! I've always wanted a Maine Coon but I am so horribly allergic to cats that I can't!

@Bupster that sounds rough! Do you think the heat is making him extra nobby because he's not getting as much exercise/stimulation as he usually would? The heat is taking it out of everyone so hopefully you might not be sick, just over-heated!

Edit: Just seen C&T said the same thing re. the heat! Great minds!

Weirdly @LandSharksAnonymous I'm allergic to short haired cats but perfectly fine with blue and brown MC, although the black ones trigger me. I know it's supposed to be about dander but coat texture definitely plays a big part too. The blue MC are plush and woolly, and don't shed those fine silky hairs. I can't groom them though; my chap does almost all grooming, dog and cat. I do a bit of dog plucking when the undercoat is loose but he does most of it. I was also worse with our Anatolian; his short hair made my skin itch, but the Pyries wool doesn't.

Hmmm. Don't want to jinx myself re puppy, but potentially autumn... fingers crossed... Registrations of PMD are pretty low though, so if this one doesn't work out it's likely to be well into next year.

@Bupster Sorry you are having such a hard time with Bill. He reminds me of my sprocker, who I got at 7 months old in full adolescent mode. He was such hardwork and frequently reduced me to tears. Every day brought a new challenge. If I hadn't been his third home, I would have cheerfully handed him back to the rescue some days. Hang on in there. It will get better and all this will be a distant memory.

Vinny is being a twat too @Bupster I think it’s the weather. It’s quite a bit cooler here today so I’m going to take him down to the field for a run about now he’s allowed. I am worried he’s going to fuck off straight to where the rabbits are again though but we will see. We have our first gundog class tonight and I am anxious about it as I think he’s going to be a menace and embarrass me!!