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Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - welcome to the teenage wasteland

1000 replies

Bupster · 02/07/2025 20:32

Buckled (under instruction 😄)

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Nella68 · 21/07/2025 20:39

@BlueberryPup it’s interesting to hear about showing and differences between countries. What does the chalk do?

BlueberryPup · 21/07/2025 22:35

@CoubousAndTourmalet

What does dirt look like in England? I live in an area renowed for its red dirt (highly fertile due to iron content) and much as I wish we could go without bathing, I really don't think it's doable. She starts getting itchy after one week and I bathe every two weeks, with the occasional paw wiping/rinseless shampoo in between. Attached is a day of fun for Blueberry so you get an idea of what we're dealing with.

I also don't show nearly as much as I wish I could. Between the drive, the entry costs and the fact Blueberry is happier dirty like a pig, we actually only showed 4 days this year and should only show 2 more, unless something surprises me.

@Nella68 chalk is pretty versatile. I use it on Blueberry's body to give volume and texture (she has no undercoat yet and I think her outer coat is just thinner than ideal) and on her paws to keep them extra white. The dirt situation is such that handlers will actually bleach a show dog's paws, but I think that's just horrible and risk AF. Mine is certainly dumb enough to check what it tastes. As I said before, I much prefer Europe's general "brush and go" approach.

On a training note, I used some duck cubes to train Blueberry today rather than her kibble and let's just say her performance was a lot better! She even did a perfect sit, stay and come in the middle of the dog park, the most distracting place in the world.

Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - welcome to the teenage wasteland
CoubousAndTourmalet · 21/07/2025 23:10

@BlueberryPup
Dirt colour varies in different areas of the UK, some is a bit redder, but where I am, in the north west of England, the soil is dark. We're in a wet area and fairly rural, so it gets pretty muddy. The footpaths have huge puddles for much of the year, even now, in the middle of summer, it is always quite mucky.

I can imagine the red soil being a lot more difficult to shift once it gets on your dog, than the dark mud we have here, but to some extent it may also depend on the size and coat of dog. I suppose their habits play a part also, some dogs love to swim, others like to roll in the dirt. So I'm guessing that all these factors can determine the frequency that you would need to bathe them.

Despite being cream, my breed is fairly easy to keep clean. I think it helps that they're very tall, really it is only their legs that get dirty. They also walk around puddles rather than going through them, and that helps. Once it dries, any mud just drops off, then I give a quick brush. We also check them over for bits of vegetation, sticky bobs, burrs and grass seeds - yesterday she came back covered in goose grass bobbles on one side of her neck. The fur is very long there so they were a pain to pick out.

She has just had a very heavy moult, so all the puppy undercoat is gone. She'll be in full adult coat for the first time later on this year. That'll be interesting, because we can't quite predict whether her coloured body patches will be more or less visible.

VanGoSunflowers · 22/07/2025 00:08

@BlueberryPup - I don’t pop onto this thread often because I have a 3.5 month old lab pup, and even though everyone on here has been extremely welcoming and helpful, I feel bad for derailing it with woes of puppy shenanigans (is it weird that I am secretly looking forward to adolescence so I am on more of an even keel with the wonderful ladies here - even if their knowledge dwarves my own ten fold) so I mainly hang out on the puppy thread - I just wanted to say that your dog is absolutely stunning and your tales of red earth remind me of my younger days of spending two months travelling around east Africa - so it provokes a visceral response. I’m not sure where in the world you are, I may have missed it?

BlueberryPup · 22/07/2025 00:27

CoubousAndTourmalet
How interesting, I don't think I've ever been somewhere I noticed the soil being particularly dark. Blueberry will get the majority of the dirt out by herself if given a couple hours, but I live in a flat (yes, insanity! Not that houses here have any yards worth speaking of) so often don't have those hours before the little kangaroo is skipping everywhere. Blueberry is also quite fond of alternating puddles and dirt.

@VanGoSunflowers oh, don't await too eagerly for the teenage phase, it's the same shit as the puppy phase with stronger dogs. Hopefully fewer potty accidents, though. Just today I trained the most amazing recall with Blueberry. She was so focused on coming back she neglected to see when a toddler got in the way. It wasn't pretty. Luckily the parents are aware of the risks of taking a toddler to watch the dogs at the dog park, and it was just a scare. I sure felt like a shit dog owner, though.

Thanks for your complements on Blueberry! Show-wise she's just "good enough" but I do personally think she's pretty. As for your question, I'm in Southeast Brazil, with a Brazilian Savannah climate, so it doesn't surprise me it reminds you of Africa! We're just in the middle of the dry season and I'm already dreaming of the October rains.

CoubousAndTourmalet · 22/07/2025 08:52

No judgement from me on living in a flat @BlueberryPup . Our first Pyrenean was reared in a city flat, which meant carrying her up and down the stairs for toilet breaks in the tiny back yard. Plenty of dogs are kept in apartments in Europe.
We are in a terraced house with a fairly small garden. I'm sure people think we're mad because we had three PMD together here for many years. It worked fine for us because we have easy access to moors and woodland and we both enjoy walking.

It sounds as if Blueberry is doing well with her training and socialisation, in contrast to my current girl. We showed three of our boys, but this hooligan won't be going near the showring. She's a wild one.

@VanGoSunflowers
There are moments when I think I belong on that thread - Brie is definitely regressing currently, I feel like we're back at 4 months. Toilet training aside, adolescence is pretty much just puppy with more size and strength. They still do stupid stuff all the time, but it's far more embarrassing, because you no longer have the "just a puppy" get out clause 😬

CoubousAndTourmalet · 22/07/2025 09:25

Just clicked out of the dog hate thing. The level of abuse there has been unreal. I'm just thankful I don't bump into these people where I live.

Therapy this morning, dog trainer call tomorrow and our two vet girls are coming to visit again at the weekend, so I can get their thoughts on Brie's issues with noisy vehicles.

YorkshireFelix · 22/07/2025 18:12

We had an awful walk earlier. Vinny purposefully ran away from me for the first time ever!! We had done our usual little run about/training on the playing field, then we go across the small car park at the entrance to the woods and he was frantically sniffing the grass there and wouldn’t come away. He’s usually amazing off lead from this point onwards so very unusual of him not to walk on with me. I put him back on his lead and we crossed the swing bridge over the canal, I let him off lead again and walked down past the lock, and he was still distracted with his nose down. I decided not to carry on and go back home because he was being a pain in the arse, and he shot off back over the bridge!! I used the whistle and he turned and came straight back which I was thrilled with but then he just did a big circle round me and went back over the bridge and down to the entrance of the woods again. I ran after him and spent ages trying to catch him and it was an absolute nightmare. Whatever scent was down there must have been irresistible to him as it’s very out of character for him to do that (apart from where the rabbits hide on the far end of the field but we avoid that area now!). Then the whole walk home he just had his nose to the pavement like he was totally focussed on sniffing and wouldn’t snap out of it 😩

CoubousAndTourmalet · 22/07/2025 18:22

That sounds like a bit of a nightmare @YorkshireFelix Do you think he could have been following the scent of an in-season bitch?

Nella68 · 22/07/2025 18:37

@YorkshireFelix remind me how old Vinny is- I think he’s a few months younger than M? (he’s 18m).

Anyway- he certainly turned his ears off at about 13-14 months. That’s when he went back on the longline. Smells are the thing that I find very difficult to compete against, so you have my complete sympathy.

What does he do if you go away from him? I find if I run after M he thinks it’s the best game ever. I try to find somewhere to hide and when he eventually puts his head up and remembers he has an owner, he’ll panic and come and find me.

YorkshireFelix · 22/07/2025 18:53

@CoubousAndTourmalet possibly, I have no idea! I wondered if it could have been a fox or something but hadn’t considered an in-season bitch.

@Nella68He’s 13.5 months now so a bit younger. He was doing great until that one point where he started sniffing in the grass. His ears have been turned off since 6 months old but I genuinely felt like we had turned a corner the past few weeks. We had such a great off lead walk yesterday with lots of amazing recall and other bits we’ve been working on, so hopefully it’s just a blip!

He literally does not give a shit if I disappear. He doesn’t seem to care about any ‘consequence’ at all. I have always used the ‘ah ah’ noise as a negative marker since he was tiny and it’s probably only the past week or so that he’s started to take notice of it (only took almost a year 🙄). On our walk yesterday he jumped twice over the wall into the farmers field and as soon as I negative markered him he bounced straight back out again and recalled to me. Night and day difference to the time when he was about 8 months old and got through a tiny gap and was zooming around a field and would not come back. I literally spent 10 minutes on my hands and knees trying to coax him back because the fence was all barb wired and I couldn’t get over it, and I cried all the way home!! Sorry I am rambling now but hopefully it paints a picture of his (very slow) progress.

Nella68 · 22/07/2025 18:57

@YorkshireFelix I know what you mean about slow progress. Sometimes I think that M is just not that bright!

YorkshireFelix · 22/07/2025 19:14

@Nella68V is super clever but I think sometimes it’s more of a hindrance than a help. I think I’d rather have a nice but dim dog like my parents greyhound who has never had a single thought in her life 😂

SpanielsGalore · 22/07/2025 20:25

@YorkshireFelix Sorry you had a bad walk. Sometimes the scent is just too overwhelming for them.
My sprocker was highly intelligent. And the biggest pain in the arse ever. 😂

LandSharksAnonymous · 23/07/2025 09:10

@YorkshireFelix oh that sounds rough. I'm really glad you got him back though. These things do happen when they're young - and V is still just a baby in many ways and, as you say, he is showing improvement!
In many ways it's probably good it happened because now you know the 'warning' signs to look for in him before he does something like this. So now if he shows those warning signs again before you let him off the lead you know to be even more vigilant!

But...if you're still annoyed with him this morning I am very happy to swap him for twatdog - who woke me up by sitting on my face. I'll throw in a puppy for free 😃Anything to be rid of the git.

YorkshireFelix · 23/07/2025 09:42

@SpanielsGalore when I met my DH my MIL had a cocker who was exactly the same - too intelligent for his own good! He was an absolute nightmare!!

@LandSharksAnonymous thank you, that is actually a good way of looking at it. I am hoping it’s just a one off because of whatever alluring smell was in the area rather than him starting to make a habit of it! I am going to walk him somewhere different today just in case.

He’s been extra cuddly and nice this morning but I cannot tell you how many mornings I’ve woken up with his balls in my face too 🤢

LandSharksAnonymous · 23/07/2025 09:58

@YorkshireFelix I am sure it's only a boy dog thing (the waking people up with balls in the face). I hope your morning walk goes better though and V isn't a little git!😁

YorkshireFelix · 23/07/2025 15:37

@CoubousAndTourmalet how did your call go with the trainer?

CoubousAndTourmalet · 23/07/2025 15:43

Thank you for asking @YorkshireFelix , you are sweet. The call is this evening at 6, so I'll let you know later.

I hope you've had a better walk today and that the handsome Mr V was a bit less manic for scents...

CoubousAndTourmalet · 23/07/2025 15:54

If anyone is in the market for a new harness, I would recommend the Haqihana Double H. The quality is excellent and the fit is perfect for a dog with deep chest and long back, because it has 7 points of adjustment. I'm very impressed with it.

Adolescent Dog Survival Thread - welcome to the teenage wasteland
YorkshireFelix · 23/07/2025 15:56

CoubousAndTourmalet · 23/07/2025 15:43

Thank you for asking @YorkshireFelix , you are sweet. The call is this evening at 6, so I'll let you know later.

I hope you've had a better walk today and that the handsome Mr V was a bit less manic for scents...

Ahh good luck! Please do let us know. I thought it was this morning for some reason.

We had an ok walk. I was trying to do more ‘training’ than walk but it didn’t really go to plan and I struggled a bit. He did some good whistle recalls and sit/stays but got bored easily and just wanted to run about on the field. I had him on the long line but he spent the first 10+ minutes just trying to leg it then getting all tangled and almost splitting his backside in half because the line kept going underneath him.

We encountered this horrible little Yorkshire terrier that we’ve seen before and it made a beeline for us and barked and snapped at Vinny for ages as the owner couldn’t catch it! He has done this twice before and it makes me think WHY are you letting your dog off lead if this is how he reacts. She was going ‘oh he doesn’t like spaniels for some reason!’

I was too nice about it really but I hope she comes across someone else who isn’t too nice about it because she bloody deserves it. I am such a dog lover but I hate that little thing 😂

YorkshireFelix · 23/07/2025 15:57

CoubousAndTourmalet · 23/07/2025 15:54

If anyone is in the market for a new harness, I would recommend the Haqihana Double H. The quality is excellent and the fit is perfect for a dog with deep chest and long back, because it has 7 points of adjustment. I'm very impressed with it.

Oh amazing, she looks fabulous!!! I am genuinely so pleased you’ve found a good fit for her!

CoubousAndTourmalet · 23/07/2025 16:11

Glad your walk was okay @YorkshireFelix or at least it sounds a bit better than yesterday... It's good that you're making progress with the whistle. I'm filled with admiration for any of you working with long lines. Tried it with Brie but she is so loopy that she just gets tangled then it's a fight to unravel it. You all seem to have so much patience with your training.
Sorry about the antisocial Yorkie and it hope it didn't scare Vinny. I'm sure at some point it will try it on with the wrong dog and hopefully be put in its place, though if a big dog does it the chances are that the Yorkie owner will label it as dangerous 🙄

Re the harness - thank you. Yes, it's great to have finally found one that's a good fit. As soon as I'd adjusted it she sat by the gate, waiting to go. So cute 💗

Nella68 · 23/07/2025 16:25

@YorkshireFelix we’ve just come back from a hooligan walk. We were doing a different route as through a meadow and M went absolutely feral in the long grass, disappearing out of sight after smells and just generally not listening to me at all. He did run towards me at full speed when I called but the little bugger changed direction as soon as he got close. I ended up throwing myself to the floor and that got him interested enough to come to me. I wouldn’t have been too worried if it was just us, but on the other side of the meadow I could see an old man scooping up a little dog, Fortunately M didn’t go over to them and be a pest. One of my top fears is M knocking over an elderly person.

Nella68 · 23/07/2025 16:35

@CoubousAndTourmalet The harness looks good. Does it have two girth straps? The one we use for M has 2 and it supposed to be escape proof. I clip one end of the lead to the front ring and the other to his collar. I find he doesn’t pull as much this way, whereas if it’s clipped to the ring on the back he pulls like a train.

I was thinking of you today when I passed a v large muzzled dog. I chatted to the owner- it was a rescue XL bully and the poor thing had had its ears cropped as a puppy. It was quite a submissive dog, as soon as he saw M he rolled onto his back. But it was huge!

I hope the call goes ok and you ‘click’ with the trainer

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