Our Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (Adolescent Support Group)

[MonCoubousMonTourmalet]

Okay folks, let's head into late summer/autumn.

I agree with @IchLiebeDeutscheSchaferhunde and I am thankful that you came back to share your experience @BrodiePup. I remember when you broke your arm!! I hope you have healed up ok now?

@brushingboots gosh you must be sooooo bloody frustrated, especially since you’ve got so much going on work-wise right now too. Hopefully you get the all clear soon!!

@Bupster it sounds like he did fab! Bill is a star ⭐️ I’m glad to hear you have a bit of improvement with the car situation too. Hopefully you can build up from that and unlock a whole new world of driving him around.

@VanGoSunflowers I’d recommend a drying coat too. I can’t remember who recommended it but there’s a good cheapish one on amazon - the brand is ‘Lucky Paws.’ Good especially as he’s still growing so it doesn’t break the bank when you need a bigger size. It dries V miraculously fast but he does hate it and spins around in circles for a bit trying to get it off. Maybe it’s the spinning motion that dries him 😅

That sounds like really good progress with car journeys @Bupster . As you know, we have our own issues in that regard, so I understand how stressful it is when they have travel anxiety. Your patience with Bill has been admirable and I'm really pleased that it's paying off.

Thank you so much for the messages @MonCoubousMonTourmalet and @SpanielsGalore I’m struggling slightly to keep up with all chat but just wanted to say thank you for being here when I really was feeling low.

One of the medications upset her tummy, so we are trying a different one. But when we went back to the vet the receptionist even commented on how different she was today from Thursday. Whether it’s the meds, the pets at home calming bits, or we are coming out the other side - I’m seeing a difference. Obviously still some significant underlying behaviour bits which we’ll work with the behaviouralist on but I’m not on the edge of tears today!

Awww, it's good that she's a little calmer @Flowerfusion . Not so great about the tummy upset but hopefully that will pass quickly.

You do sound more positive and that's wonderful. I'm sure that once you can get to the bottom of what is causing the issues - whether the cause is physical or mental - you'll be able to get her on the right track. She's still young enough to be very responsive to training and become the dog that you need her to be.

Thank you @LandSharksAnonymous I owe you

If that post is about me, as I suspect, then I assure you there was nobody else involved, no car, no bin, just a dog with a slipped collar who was grabbed within about 20 seconds.

There are three possible sources for this. Local, which I very much doubt, dog trainer, which I also doubt because it was only mentioned in passing or here, where I described it all in detail.

Either way, I think I need to disappear for a while and lick my wounds. Because this really hurts.

@MonCoubousMonTourmalet ❤It's not just you. Dogs slip their collars all the time. Satan has done it (and she's tiny - less than 10KG), Twatdog has done it. Even Hen the Great has done it. It happens incredibly easily.

The irony that the OP screamed people were being mean when she is the judgemental one. Some people have nothing better to do than try and tear down others - please don't let them. You have a brilliant relationship with Brie and she is so well trained and loved. Accidents happen, when they do it doesn't make you a bad owner or a bad person - it just means you're human.

Bill has slipped his collar and harness, once managing both of them. The most memorable removal of the harness was as I was driving down the A46. Nothing to do with quality of ownership (unless both @LandSharksAnonymous and me are both hopeless - I mean, yes, I am, and Bill's a nobhead, but agree that it's not at all unusual).

@MonCoubousMonTourmalet Please don't disappear. My spaniels have slipped out of their harnesses too. It happens. Two of them have run into the road and stopped traffic. I've been lucky they didn't cause accidents or worse.

@Bupster speaking of Bill....😉hint hint. But you are not helpless! I am intrigued though as to how he managed to slip both his collar and harness? I think there must be quite a story there!

I know I am not always a barrel of laughs and can be a bit frank (blunt/rude, take your pick)...but honestly someone please give me a virtual slap (and point me to this post) if I ever come out with the sort of nitwittery we have witnessed today.

@Flowerfusion That's good that the receptionist has noticed a difference in her already. I hope the new meds are kinder to her stomach.
I just had another thought. Has she already been spayed or could she be coming into season? My 4 year old is in season at the minute. She's the most submissive dog out, but she has twice snapped at my puppy so the hormones are definitely making her more grumpy.
Glad you are feeling more positive (or at least not on the verge of tears) and I hope the behaviourist is helpful.

Bless you @Flowerfusion, I am glad you can see a bit of difference. I bought a load of the calming stuff for Vinny when he was going through a tough period of being a bit anxious for some reason and even though I’m skeptical about it all I am sure it made a difference. We got a CBD spray from Pets and Home and then one of those plug-in/spray combos. Obviously it wasn’t anywhere near the sort of problem you’re having with yours, but I definitely think it’s worth a try alongside exploring other options.

I can't work out if I'm being a stupid but why is that post about you @MonCoubousMonTourmalet if there was no car and no bin? Apologies if I am, but don't leave this thread because of other threads, just stay here with us.

Brilliant car progress @Bupster!! So pleased for you. Sorry, I know I owe you a text. When pupsy is back up to full speed we must arrange an opportunity for him to practice his happy travelling! And indeed we must find a time to go down the drains together. If indeed she is ever allowed off the lead again. Sigh.

@MonCoubousMonTourmalet Surely that other thread isn’t about you if there was no bin and no car? Just ignore. People are ignorant and people are rude, and that poster was being very rude. As @IchLiebeDeutscheSchaferhunde says, don’t go, you are a vital member of our coven, as is baby Brie.

@Flowerfusion I struggle to keep up as well 😂 have so many replies in my head when I'm reading the posts but by the time I get to the reply box they have all escaped me.

But on the muzzle at the vets, don't see it as a bad thing- or someone prodded me for no reason I could understand I would bite them.
I have always muzzle trained, I don't leave it on and leave them, it is only used when I'm actively engaged with the dog, but it gives flexibility if needed.
I think with the blanket ban on unmuzzled XL dogs people are beginning to see muzzles in a different light- but maybe I'm being too hopeful.

Re muzzles - two of mine were muzzled at the vets. One would definitely have bitten. The other might have, so why risk it? One vet told me I could take my reactive dog's muzzle off, as he was standing calmly and I refused. Then he touched my dog's paws and the dog launched himself at the vet's face. I said, "I bet you're glad I didn't take the muzzle off now." He said, "Yes, thank you."
One of mine was muzzled on walks as he had IBD, allergies and Pica. Only one person asked me if he had issues with other dogs. Everyone else saw a spaniel in a muzzle and said "Eats stuff?"
I appreciate people are breedist though and probably wouldn't react the same way to a muzzled German Shepherd/Rottie/bull breed etc.

@SpanielsGalore I have found similar with vets, a keenness to remove the muzzle, which I do find surprising. I read somewhere, but annoyingly can't find it, that the vet training was going to spend more time teaching them dog body language - as that wasn't covered enough.

you are right people are breedist! But I don't understand why people are more scared of a GSD in a muzzle than a GSD without one.

@IchLiebeDeutscheSchaferhunde I hope the vet training includes more behaviour work now. I had an argument with the vets nearly 20 years ago when they labelled my very nervous dog as grumpy. I told them they needed to send their staff on courses to learn about dog body language. I hope things have improved since then. But actually, thinking of the arguments I still have with my vets, perhaps they haven't. My most recent argument was them labelling my dog with behavioural problems when I said he was in pain. Turned out he had a broken foot. FFS
And I guess to a lot of people a muzzle = aggressive, so a dog of any breed wearing a muzzle will be more scary than one without.

@brushingboots ooh I love the sound of your parent’s dog cleaning station! Whenever I need to clean Pablo off after rolling in excrement or that one time he got covered in chicken juice (🤦‍♀️) it’s been in the garden which is fine in the summer!

And thank you all for the advice. I like the idea of the drying coats, but also may as well see how muddy he gets first as suggested, and if he’s particularly attracted to going in the water etc.

@SpanielsGalore i love that pic of P wearing a baby-gro! Also - one of the reasons I went for a black lab is that, not only can you not see the dirt on them, but as my house is all decorated in very dark colours with dark furniture and I mainly wear dark clothes, I figured I wouldn’t be able to see the fur 😂

@Bupster I know I don’t know the back story of the car travel but want to say ‘whoop’ for you and Bill also! I have friends whose dogs don’t always travel well and it can stress them out so much so it must feel great to have made some progress!

@YorkshireFelix Love the image of V running around in circles and getting dry that way - hey if it’s the spinning or the coat, either way it works 😂

@IchLiebeDeutscheSchaferhunde I do the same thing when I’m trying to type out replies and the thread has moved on. I nearly always forget to reply to a specific thing and then think “oh shit I missed that” ages after its moved on again 🤦‍♀️

@MonCoubousMonTourmalet Im not sure what’s happened so I’m sorry if I am being thick but to add in to the chorus of “please don’t go”
Pablo slipped out of his harness once and do you know what made it worse? It was one of the very first times I had taken him out and I was sat on a picnic bench, holding his lead and then watched him walk slowly away from me and sat smiling at him like a total goon for a good couple of seconds before I was like “hang on, he’s not attached to anything” - I blamed puppy sleep deprivation and bought a new harness 🤦‍♀️

I'm a sad bastard - if there are lots of posts to reply to, I make notes so I don't miss anyone out. 🙈

@MonCoubousMonTourmalet Sad to say, I did think that post was aimed at you when I read it. I have no idea why someone would do that. Because they are a miserable vile c*nt. 🤷‍♀️ I have reported it as a personal attack, so hopefully MN will do something about it.
I can't begin to imagine how hurt and upset you must be. But if you feel up to staying on this and the puppy thread, you will be safe amongst friends. Plus, lots of posters are disagreeing with the other poster too. (Interestingly they are the only posts by that Username on MN. That speaks volumes.)

@VanGoSunflowers it is so easy to forget 😂. Don't get a GSD, I find every strand of hair seems to have three colours on it, white, black and tan, which means it always shows up regardless of the colour of my decor!

@SpanielsGalore that is a good idea, I have lists for everything else so why not for this thread.

It is sad that the dog world can be so cruel.

@MonCoubousMonTourmalet I’m sorry that someone has either intentionally, or unintentionally, made you feel bad. There is just no need - ever - and I hope you stay.

@SpanielsGalore i did mention it to the vet she didn’t check. Can I check?! At the vets on Thursday she was literally darting away on the lead to escape, and today, going in for all the strokes… the difference two days has made is remarkable

@YorkshireFelix even if it is just a placebo, I’ll take it! Maybe the spray has made me calmer too?!

@IchLiebeDeutscheSchaferhunde i think I will start to muzzle train too so it becomes no big deal to her or me. It just felt like a BIG step in that moment when I was already feeling broken. She also mentioned rehoming (and the other option which I wont type out) three times, which felt BIG also. So a big feelings day all round really!

Something is working, so we will keep throwing everything at whilst we wait for her behaviouralist.

@Flowerfusion I am shocked and disappointed that a vet would suggest that course of action for a puppy without seeking help from a behaviourist first. Fucking hell! My dog was so reactive I had to arrange for him to be let in through the back door as we couldn't run the gauntlet of the waiting room. Half the vets couldn't touch him. And not once in 14 years did anyone suggest that. Honestly. I have so little faith in vets these days. But that's a rant for another day. 😁
I don't think you can check for seasons. The vet said something about vaginal probing or something when I asked, but it wasn't something I was prepared to do. @LandSharksAnonymous might know more.

@IchLiebeDeutscheSchaferhunde OMG I am so stupid. I've only just realised you have a GSD. I mean the clue is in the user name. If only I spoke German. 🤦‍♀️
I hope I didn't offend you with my breed selection when talking about muzzled dogs. I was trying to avoid the usual suspects and picked a GSD at random.

@SpanielsGalore It really did throw me. We have been to the vets once a month to get her used to it, and every other experience has been great.

This one was a locum vet and I did say I don’t want to see them again when we went today and I’ve got the name of the vet who we did like so I will make sure our appointments are with her going forward.

No - I don’t need to do any probing… but I’ll read up on other signs and keep an eye out for them.