Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - welcome to the teenage wasteland

[Bupster]

Buckled (under instruction 😄)

Here's a new pic of Miss Fluffybum from today. Doing what she does best. Just loafing.

@CoubousAndTourmaletgorgeous!

She just took a flying leap from the footstool, halfway across the living room, straight onto the other sofa 😱 Their agility still amazes me, even after all these years.

Oh, no, it's okay. I was just surprised, because two of the spinners who took some before when I offered it on Ravelry, said they were able to spin it by itself. We've also seen it being carded and spun at the French Pyrenean club show at Argeles. Plus nowadays YouTube seems to be full of people spinning the stuff, so I suppose I just hoped that it might be of interest to someone. Especially as this batch is mixed colour of cream, brown & wolf grey and looks so beautiful.

Hellloooo 😊

Hope everyone is having a good day.

I may well be muttering to myself (nothing new there, tho...😏) as everyone has seemingly gone off to summer camp (aka the puppy thread), but I have announcements.

First, I bit the bullet and did the morning walk with my incredibly svelte fluffless girlie, who currently resembles a gigantic Chinese Crested Dog. Our first solo walk since The Great (Pyrenees) Escape and we lived to tell the tail tale.

Secondly, I've ordered a harness, but, typically, none of the ones that were recommended. I've opted for the Haqihana Double H. Made in Italy, it's fairly minimal in style, which ought to be fine for when the Woolly Bear Dog is in full adult coat. I will report back when said harness arrives.

Thirdly, I've booked a 15 minute phone call on Wednesday evening, with the trainer I mentioned yesterday who has LGD experience. Again, will report back as to whether she can help or advise with Brie's weirdness. Or mine, come to that.

The End (for now) 😁

@CoubousAndTourmalet very positive on all three counts! Well done for getting back out there with her. It can’t have been easy - I think my nerves would have been shot.

We’ve just had an incredibly wet walk where dd insisted on wearing crocs with no socks and also said she didn’t need a rain coat. Cue me having to give up my jacket for her to walk home in. Even my bra and pants were soaked! Then we got home and V was wet through and did some crazy mega zoomies then barked at me for ages, then zoomed again but kept jumping over dd who was already not very happy!! I couldn’t stop him and now she’s covered in scratches… I think he was just very tired and over stimulated. He’s filthy and wet too and I can’t even hose him down because of the hosepipe ban 🥲

But we’ve had hot chocolates and are now nice and dry so all is well again.

Thank you @YorkshireFelix I was a bit nervous, but did belt & braces, with the double ended lead clipped around my chest and attached to her harness, then a shorter lead on the martingale collar. Fortunately we didn't encounter any big scary dogs or even bigger scarier tractors or I might have been dragged halfway to Liverpool by now.

That sounds like a bit of a difficult walk for you, and then zoomies with wet dog - eeek! Not fun 😬 But hot chocolate sounds very comforting on a soggy afternoon. I'm glad you've dried off.
The hosepipe ban must be a bit of a pain - surprisingly we don't have one here at the moment, even though the reservoirs are well down.
Raining here too, so I'm glad I ventured out early. Brie is contentedly snoozing, under the table.

@CoubousAndTourmalet I’m still here. I hadn’t found the puppy thread, I will check it out. I assume that it’s a supportive thread like this one? I stay away from most of the threads. I broke my rule and looked at the doodle one, my reaction was probably similar to you and large scary dog threads but I didn’t want to get drawn into the craziness so sat on my hands.

I’m glad to hear your walk went well. I hope it has helped your confidence.

@YorkshireFelix that sound like a wet walk and the kind of things my daughter used to do!

We went for a walk around the old golf course. the grass is now knee high and M went absolutely bonkers and charged off into the distance after a scent. It took a while for him to come back he was that excited by the long grass. His recall has been much better recently so it was a bit frustrating. I’m just glad he’s still on the longline so I could stick my foot on it.

The grass was soaking and I’ve found my waterproof boots are no longer waterproof. I had to wring my socks out when we got home. M has just about dried out!

The puppy thread is proving interesting @Nella68 even for those of us whose pups are older.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_doghouse/5369191-summer-25-pups?page=12&reply=145824257

I didn't go on the doodle thread, but the anti-big dog is still going strong. It is quite surreal. These things trouble me greatly because they don't seem to reflect real life as I see it...Once you get drawn in you can find yourself targeted by the most absurd responses.

Sorry you had a bit of a wet walk also. I think I must have timed it well by getting out early today.

@YorkshireFelix K is going through a phase of being a complete nutter when we get back from a walk. Hers manifests as jumping all over the other two, who are trying to sleep. I've just had to put her the other side of the stair gate for two minutes to get her to calm down. She's now sleeping peacefully next to me.

@CoubousAndTourmalet Glad you had a good walk. Hope the harness fits and the talk with the trainer goes well.

Wet walks seem to be a theme today. My main complaint is it's still quite warm so it's a choice between getting wet from the rain or wearing a rain coat and getting wet from sweat!

We have just had the most terrific thunderstorm. Pupsy was sitting on the patio listening to the thunder but then the sky went super dark so I got her in and then the last three months' worth of water emptied onto my now very happy garden!

Still so warm though – I think I'm going to go for getting wet in a t-shirt this evening rather than sweating in my rain jacket.

@tizwozliz you have a two headed dog!

@brushingboots thunder and lightning here too. We just managed to get inside. It brought a quick end to the funfair at the park behind us so it was welcomed!

The fair has some barky guard dogs which set M off if he’s in the garden. He never barks at dogs if we’re out but he does have a woof through the hedge at dogs in the park and the neighbourhood cats. I don’t like him barking so he gets brought inside if he persists.

It is weirdly warm isn’t it. I’m so jealous of the thunder storms! I love them.

@Nella68 Vinny is the same and never barks at other dogs on a walk but will always bark at home if he hears one close by. It’s highly annoying. Next door but one had their daughter visiting for the weekend with their dog a few weeks ago and they just constantly set each other off. It drove me up the wall!

I'm so terrible at keeping up with threads, I'm pretty sure my last post was at the puppy thread last year!
Blueberry was 6-7 months old and I thought she had hit the terrible teen phase. HAH! How wrong I was. She promptly forgot everything she learned once Blueberry turned 13 months, and things aren't looking better as she turned 14.
Remember the cat? They were finally co-existing! Now Blueberry is back at herding the cat into corners and staring... and staring... if only I could be sure the cat wouldn't strike Blueberry in the eyes, frankly I'd let the cat have at it!
I've told myself to keep the thread always open so I can keep up with it. Hopefully that helps. Picture of the birthday girl back in May.

@BlueberryPup possibly an unpopular opinion, but I’d just let the cat fight its corner! Maybe trim its nails a bit and then let it at Blueberry! Dogs only learn through action. It’s no different IMO to an older dog telling off a boisterous puppy or a bitch putting a pup on its back when it’s done something naughty (which Pen did, and still does, with Twatdog).

I turned on my work phone yesterday because I enjoy pain and suffering and in five and a half weeks I’ve had 10k emails (which given I’m on SUPL for three months, you’d have thought people would stop copying me). I read the most recent problem ones and then switched my phone off again and felt so relaxed - possibly because it shows I’m not replaceable (and we’re hearing about mass cuts - up to 40% in some areas). I slept better last night, despite pups, than I have in weeks 😄I do almost miss work though…but that could just be the fact we’re well into teething stage now and the little landsharks have discovered a fondness for limbs.

Pretty girl @BlueberryPup 😍Welcome back.

Brie is only slightly older at 15 months, and is very respectful of our cat. Landsharks is spot on, because Brie was smacked in the eye, through the bars of the dog gate, the day after we got her. Fortunately no harm was done, but an important lesson was learned right from the start; 13 year old Freija is in charge! I sppose instinct plays its part however, Blueberry the herding dog, Brie the guard (albeit a silent one).

Oh gosh 11 bitey babies @LandSharksAnonymous .Time for long sleeves and thicker trousers now, I presume! I hope Pen is coping okay and not getting fed up with them. Can't remember how old they are - 4 or 5 weeks...?

@CoubousAndTourmalet five weeks and a few days! First viewings this weekend, and then next week I start trying to toilet train them. 😫

Sounds like the really hard work is about to begin @LandSharksAnonymous Such an exciting time for your puppy buyers though! Dare I ask if you have an inkling yet as to which girl you are keeping...? And what determines the choice?

I'm interested because I think I'd struggle to decide on just one, hence us never breeding. My chap knows me well enough to realise that all the male pups would have been staying 😬

(Still so desperate for a boy, but the mating I was on a waiting list for has not resulted in puppies 😢)

That should be fun. Toilet training one was time consuming enough.
P got it fairly quickly, but K took months. P was raised in a home and K was kennel reared. I think that made all the difference, but I could be wrong.

@CoubousAndTourmalet Sorry to hear there are no puppies on the horizon.

@CoubousAndTourmalet I have a rough idea now! I’m torn between Miss Pink (Cream) and Miss Purple (Golden) simply based on them being a bit calmer than the others, slightly more intelligent (I watched Miss Purple problem solve yesterday) and Pen likes them.

Most of the choice depends on who the other dogs take too more! I don’t want to add a dog that the others don’t get on with 😊But I am now desperately reaching the point where I want them all gone - love puppies but god the mouthing and the weeing and the crying.

❤sorry you have to wait a bit longer!

Thanks @LandSharksAnonymous

Ah, I suspected you might have narrowed it down to a couple by this point. I hadn't realised that bitches have preferred puppies amongst the litter though, that's really interesting. It makes perfect sense, but it's not something that had occurred to me.

Brie was Miss Pink in her litter of 8, and the breeder told us when we reserved her at 5 weeks, "this one is calm and clever, just like her mum!" The other girls were busier and more curious.

Yeah, I can imagine the mouthing and weeing drives you slightly insane by 7 or 8 weeks in 😬 I would say I hope you get a good long rest/holiday after they leave, although with one remaining I'm guessing not...

Strangely our quickest to toilet train was a kennel reared pup, Merlin; dry through the night by 10 weeks! Algy was pretty good; house reared, family with kids. Rosie was definitely our worst, 5 months before she stopped weeing in the kitchen, and she was also house reared. So for us I don't think it's made much difference whether they're house or kennel reared. Nor, thinking about it, whether they were summer pups with more garden access or winter pups inside with doors closed. I have found boys easier to housetrain than girls though....

Our older one was virtually toilet trained when we picked her up at 8 weeks. She had a couple of daytime accidents on the doormat in the first few days when we didn't spot that she needed to go out quickly enough but it was definitely the easiest part of the whole puppy process for us. No overnight accidents ever. Of course we'd bought a huge bottle of enzyme spray and paper towels for cleaning up.

We joke about the little one being much harder to train but in reality she was fairly reliable after 2 weeks. She's actually better at going on a cue as we actually had to do a bit more training with her.