Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.

[SpanielsGalore]

Not going to tag everyone as I don't know who wants to join. Welcome everyone. 😁

I have had two roofers here this morning. After the initial barking at heads appearing over the ridge, the dogs have been so good. They've sat in the garden and watched them working. Greeted them every time they came into the garden and didn't once try to bolt out of the gate. I heard one of the men telling them to 'stay' as he struggled through the gate with a bucket full of water, and then telling them they were 'good dogs'.
They've just finished and as they were leaving one commented on how calm my dogs are and not like 'normal spaniels'. See. Not all working cockers are 'high on crack' and 'manic'. 😇😇😇

Beautiful weather here today. 🌞 I unexpectedly got my car back yesterday. 🥳
Off to the woods to walk the adolescent nutter until she collapses in a heap. 😂

@LandSharksAnonymous DS has messaged to say he has arrived. He's in a holding camp, which luckily had WiFi in certain areas. He said at 10:30pm it was comfortably warm. But he's not looking forward to a four hour bus ride in the morning's heat. And he saw zebras as they left the airport.
He only gets standard army issue uniform. Most people end up buying their own boots and bags as they can get better quality ones. He's even had to buy his own Mozzie spray.
I hope you have a nice holiday when you go. I decided today I needed a holiday. Can't remember the last time I went away. I was due to go the day Boris grounded all flights.

@SpanielsGalore glad he arrived safely! Although comfortably warm that late at night sounds like hell for me! I’m just imagining what it’ll be like during my the day 😫

I hadn’t realised just how little they get! Biting their own mozzie spray ffs. Puts DH and I whining about the crappy furniture in the diplomatic accommodation to shame…

I strongly recommend Norfolk! Although I know it’s a long drive for you. Do you go overseas and put the dogs in kennels when you go? I’m going to sound like a crazy dog lady but for me a holiday doesn’t feel like a holiday without the dogs. Nothing beats early morning (the swear word banned on this thread), and a giant pain au chocolate, after a dog walk on the Norfolk coast. My mouth is watering thinking about it.

Completely separate and random question, does anyone else find those flashing dog collars for people walking their dog at night to be vaguely distracting? I saw someone walking a dog with one just now and it gave me funny eyes because of the flashing. I just use a high vis harness and a big standard glowy collar for mine, no flashing.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet on the topic of Brie showing adolescent behaviour when walking on the lead, Pablo’s lead walking has definitely slipped recently! I told myself that it’s my fault as I haven’t worked on that as much as some of the other training and I probably need to approach it properly starting from now - but here’s where it is probably much tougher for you as Brie would have been so much bigger an stronger then than Pablo is now. So for us, as much as it can be a pain, I end up with a sore left elbow and nothing more. It really does highlight the differences with having a giant breed vs a smaller one. That must have been very stressful for you. Im glad that things have calmed down in this regard!

@SpanielsGalore ah so two very different experiences on the adolescent front! Pablo has definitely been going further on walks but I haven’t noticed his recall slipping (yet!) so that’s one to look forward to if it happens 😂
I hope your DS will be comfortable in Kenya. I spent a couple of months camping in East Africa back in 2011 and started in Kenya - obviously my reasons for being there were very different though! I personally love that part of the world, it’s a beautiful place. I hope I’m not speaking out of turn saying that obviously!
I ordered a book the other day all about UK dog friendly holidays. Haven’t looked at it properly yet but it has suggested itineraries, places to eat and visit etc. Or would you try and go abroad instead?

@LandSharksAnonymous your planned holiday sounds wonderful! Only been over to that part of the UK once - but it’s beautiful!
I haven’t seen a flashy lights thing on a dog as yet but you have reminded me I need to get some high vis stuff for Pablo!

@LandSharksAnonymous That made me laugh. His furniture is a sleeping bag. 😂 It's cost him a fortune to go. Santa had to come early for him this year. He's even had to buy his own Jet Boil (fancy camping stove). The army issue basic equipment, so a lot of them choose to buy better versions. The boots and back pack alone have cost £500.

Google tells me the temperature this week will be in the mid 20s with low humidity. I could cope with that.
I have been to Norfolk when we lived in the Midlands. We stayed near Happisburgh. I have a few dog friends in that area. I think it would be too far for me now.
I used to go abroad when I was married and had adult children at home to look after the dogs. Since it's been just me and them, I haven't been away. Unless you count the weekend I paid for dog sitters so I could go to DS's Passing Out Parade. 😂 And the sitters were a bit crap to be honest, so I wouldn't use them again.
I decided I want to holiday with your DMum. I could live on steak and chips and Eton Mess for a couple of weeks.
I don't like the flashing colours. We used to have a glowing collare. But the ex cheaped out and bought one that only half glowed, so you could only see the dog if he was facing the right way.
We met a dog in the woods last winter that had a flashing collar and wore jingle bells. P was like 'WTF is that?' 😂

@VanGoSunflowers Of course you aren't speaking out of turn! I am very jealous of your travels. I would love to go to Kenya. Going on a safari and seeing elephants in the wild is the only thing on my bucket list. We were supposed to go for my 50th birthday, but never made it. I'll have to go for my 60th instead.
I have a similar book all about the Scottish Islands. When it was just me and P, I planned to tour round them. Then she became frightened of the car, which scuppered those plans. So I got two more dogs instead. 😂
I think I need to work on their loose lead walking before we attempt trips out now. They are so rarely on lead, it's not something I have put much effort into. Plus they're small, so easier to manage when they do pull.

@SpanielsGalore I find it absolutely insane that he has to buy all that stuff whilst we get similar for free. Bonkers.

Finding a good dog sitter is like finding a good dog walker - downright impossible unless you get very lucky! I also worry that something would happen and the sitter wouldn’t react as quickly as I would (but I am slightly neurotic).

Honestly, DMum is great but I tried to talk to her once and explain that strawberries and meringue was not a suitable breakfast for two children, especially every day for two weeks, and she was so upset that I ended up feeling guilty. Food is her love language - hence why I always have so much cake!

Jingle Bells on a collar sounds like a brilliant idea tbh. Satan is forever sneaking up on people and trying to assassinate them so it would stop that 😂😂 Do your three every trip you up?! I don’t know if it’s because I’m so used to big dogs but whenever Satan is around I spend most of my time trying not to trip over her. Sigh.

Speaking of dream holidays (if I didn’t have dogs), I’d love to go to Antarctica. My parents did a cruise, after they lost their last Goldie, down there. You fly to Argentina and then cruise down. They said it was absolutely incredible and the photos look amazing. I really am a cold weather person…

@VanGoSunflowers its strange what places stick with us! DH and I went to Iraq before 2003 and it was such a different place and so beautiful and everyone was so lovely. Yet, no matter how amazing it was (and how much I do really want to do Antarctica) Norfolk is always going to be my ‘happy place.’ But a huge part of that is having the dogs.

@LandSharksAnonymous Ì'm going to hazard a guess that you're paid a lot better too. Basic pay in the army is barely above the living wage in Scotland. He could earn more delivering parcels for Amazon.

The pet sitters seemed nice when we met. Husband and wife team and the husband does the sitting. But he didn't walk the dogs at all or pick up poo in the garden. I specifically asked him to do that as K eats the others' poo. Since I found about 6 of hers in the garden when I got back, I think he didn't bother and she had a feast. It's ashame, because DD and GC live in Ireland and it means I haven't been able to visit them for a while.

I can't say the dogs trip me up. But they do sometimes get under my feet and I end up treading on their paws.

The jingle bells was a funny one. It was dark, so we could hear them but not see anything. Then this cockerpoo appeared wearing a red coat, flashing lights and jingle bells. We were both taken a bit by surprise.

I watched Cruising With Susan Calman. She did a cruise around Antarctica. It looked amazing. If I was ever going to do a cruise, that would be the one I would do. I get sea sick though, so that puts me off. I would hate to spend all that money and not see much more than the bottom of the toilet bowl.

I bond very strongly to my dogs and am extremely sensitive to their needs, I always have been. @SpanielsGalore I know immediately from their body language if something is wrong. I am fully aware that dogs bark and growl to communicate, but again, there is a world of difference between normal everyday barking at things they need to alert you to, and habitual problem barking/growling at every tiny thing that crosses their path. I think @LandSharksAnonymous totally understood what I was saying about people being in denial of antisocial behaviour, but clearly it was otherwise lost in translation because you and @Bupster have both taken issue with it.

With regard to growling, our dogs have grumbled so rarely that we know when they do, there is good reason. Merlin only growled once in ten years. Brie, however, play growls, as did Algy. But our dogs live with cats, and our first PMD boy was over 65kg, so we cannot tolerate grumbling at us, our cats or visitors to our home. So that is what I mean by not acceptable. It is the first thing we work on with our puppies.

I also understand that some breeds and certain individuals bark more than others. Algy was more of a barker than Brie is - he would respond to nearby dogs barking but she doesn't. I didn't anywhere say or imply that all barking is aggressive and I have no idea where you got that from (unless it was in reference to the dog barking on apartment stairs). And yes, I do know the difference between aggressive and non aggressive barking - I live with a guarding breed so how could I not? Aggressive barking has thankfully been a rarity with our lot, but it is a scary thing. But to me personally, no, it would not be acceptable for my dogs to habitually bark at everyday stuff and fortunately, none of them have.

Anyway I'm done with this now, because it's making me anxious having my words analysed and misconstrued yet again. Fuck Aspergers 😞

I'll 🤐 because I'm not a great traveller and have no interesting travel stories to share, other than the fact that Assynt is my favourite place on earth.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet

I think it depends on the owner and what they view as aggression. To me, barking at the postman or growling in possession of an item would not be acceptable behaviour from my dogs.

My comments were made about the above post. I interpreted this as the behaviours listed in the second sentence explaining what you see as aggression as mentioned in the first sentence.
Apologies if I misinterpreted it.

I have never heard of Assynt, but Google tells me it is in the Scottish Highlands so it must be a beautiful place. One day when I have dogs that can travel, I will visit.

@SpanielsGalore the thing I remember about Kenya (I was there in Feb of 2011) was how hot it was during the day (but not humid) and how chilly it was at night - and there didn’t seem to be any twilight or dawn.
I am kind of the same with Pablo and lead walking, I know I need to work harder on it but any lead portion of our walk is ten minutes maximum so I just get through it so I can get to my favourite part of the walk 😂
I have tried the ‘walking in the other direction’ trick but it’s pretty hit and miss as to whether it makes a difference 🤦‍♀️ what method do you think you will try if you decide to work on loose lead walking?
He is much better behaved off lead than on!
Extra dogs in place of travelling sounds like a good deal! I traveled abroad three times this year before I got pupper and I was sick of airports by the last one so it worked out pretty well 😂

@LandSharksAnonymous wow, I bet Iraq was an wonderful experience back then. I used to spend hours reading the lonely planet guide website on countries that we are advised against travelling to, to try and get a sense of what the places are like when there isn’t any conflict. Sub Saharan Africa has always had a huge draw for me. I read a fascinating book on it before I went. We also travelled to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe and I had some of the best experiences in those countries.

I also want to holiday with your DMum and have meringue for breakfast 😂
But also, Antarctica sounds amazing!

@VanGoSunflowers Ironically it has been as warm in Scotland as it was in Kenya today. 😂 It's only low 20s forecast for this week. DS had been moaning about how hot it would be, so he is now weirdly disappointed.
Our lead walking is even shorter. I drive to wherever, walk 50 metres or so away from the road and then let them off. Then they go back on lead for the same distance back to the car.
I have tried the change direction and the stand still until the lead goes slack with previous dogs with little success.
The trainer I use teaches a method that is a bit complicated to explain.

Use a long lead (8 foot or so) but hold it looped up so the dog only has 4 foot of lead. As soon as the dog reaches the end of the lead, drop the excess, say 'this way' and change direction. Once changed, loop the lead back up again.
In theory, the dog never pulls because you feed the lead out and in all the time. Praise and reward for all good walking before they reach the end of the lead.

It's a lot easier to understand when you see it demonstrated. I did this with my sprocker and actually had good results. Unfortunately, he had lots of health issues and could only manage it on days he felt well. They say the stomach is the second brain, and when his stomach played up his brain switched off.

@SpanielsGalore I don’t know what possessed me to do it but I wore a jumper and a coat for a walk earlier and only realised when I got in the car that it was 20 degrees 😂
I always found the more humid places harder to bear, I went to Cambodia for my 30th (so it was June) and it was still 35 degrees at midnight and the air was thick as soup 😂 I hope he has a comfortable 6 weeks there!

I think I get the gist of that, and I do still have a long line so I could try that method out, thank you! Perhaps I can find a YT video demonstrating it.

It’s a strange one because he knows exactly what ‘heel’ means because he does it beautifully when I ask him to when he is off lead! I can literally go ‘Pablo, here’ while walking and then ‘heel’ as soon as he gets to me and he does it (with treats of course!) but it’s like he won’t compute if I say the same command when he is on the lead 🤷‍♀️
I used to be able to say ‘no’ when he walked too far in front and he would drop back again but he ignores that now too 😂

@VanGoSunflowers Loose lead walking has probably been the hardest part of all training for me. We’ve been trying consistently since he came home at 8 weeks, and it’s only been recently that he’s doing ok at it. He will officially be 16 months on Wednesday.

Weirdly, the past few days he’s walked like an angel sent from heaven after having a horrendous couple of weeks but there’s three things I’ve changed so it could be any of them or even a combination of all three. The first is using the Mekuti harness @SpanielsGalore very kindly sent us combined with the new lead from Bullybillows. But I know equipment can’t make them walk nicely, and it’s just helped me have a bit more control over him. The second is I’ve switched to pate as his reward instead of the Millie’s Wolfheart training treats that I’ve been using for a while (which he does love but he goes mad for pate!) and the third is I’ve been doing some hunting/engagement exercises with him after some advice from @brushingboots as he was generally being a shit and deciding not to listen to me when we were out and about. Which has also made him behave more and be really keen to hang around with me instead of following his nose.

It’s actually amazed me to the point that every time I get back from a walk I am visibly gobsmacked and DH keeps asking what’s wrong 😂 It was only a week ago that I was having an absolute meltdown at how awful he was being, after we’d had a good couple of weeks and I thought we were finally turning a corner on this whole teenage thing. You should hear the rambling voice note I sent our trainer last week!! I have always said anyone who can get a spaniel to walk nicely on a lead is a miracle worker. I know it must be possible as I see loads of nicely walking spaniels but I just assume Vinny is extra neurotic 😂 I said to our trainer last week that I have genuinely put the work in every day from the get go, and it felt like he was never going to get it.

I would like to think that maybe he’s just suddenly snapped into being an adult just as quickly as he jumped from puppy to teenage shitbag but I have learnt not to get my hopes up now as we always do one step forward and two back. But fingers crossed he’s not going to go back to dragging me about in a few days time…

It is funny though as I was thinking earlier how much he’s improved without me fully realising and sometimes you have to reflect and see how far you’ve come. We walk over a railway bridge to get to the playing field where I usually take him, and he used to drag me all the way down the hill from the bridge onwards. Then he would only start dragging me from a bit further down the hill. Then he would walk down the hill nicely and only drag me from across the road to the entrance of the field. And today he walked on a perfect loose lead right across the road, onto the field and sat waiting patiently for me to take his lead off and release him. And it was that moment I realised how well we have done to get to this point. But my god it has been a slog, and I am sure it will continue to be.

Anyway I didn’t mean for this to be so long and apologies as it’s very teenagery so on the wrong thread really. But I just wanted to say if you are consistent and keeping at it, which I am sure you are as you are doing a fabulous job with your training, you will get there eventually @VanGoSunflowers. And I am sure it won’t take you 14 solid months like it has for us!!

@VanGoSunflowers Also V has always been the same. Fantastic heel off lead, he’s like a different dog. As soon as you clip the lead on it all went out the window. It frustrates the hell out of me. He also does (or did!) this very annoying thing where I would stop still to try and stop him pulling and he would immediately sit his bum on the ground but just not engage with me at all because he was so focussed on whatever he wanted to pull towards (usually a tuft of grass or the corner of a wall to sniff!). Then as soon as you start walking again he would just lunge forward and it’s like you never stopped. The past few days if he has pulled a bit, which has been a weirdly rare occurrence, as soon as he’s felt any resistance at all he’s corrected himself and turned back around to come to my heel. It’s like he’s had a personality transplant 🥴

@YorkshireFelix What a lovely, positive post. Glad all your hard work is paying off. 😊

@YorkshireFelix wow! Thank you so much for writing all that out, I can feel how pleased you are through those words! I am so pleased that you’ve got to this stage with him, you must be feeling very proud of all the hard work you have put in 😊

And of course I am busily making notes so I can hopefully get to the same stage at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later! I definitely need to prioritise this, I keep avoiding it and avoiding walking him in busy places 🤦‍♀️

Your second post describes how Pablo walks on the lead! If there’s something he wants to get to, it’s worse but he pulls pretty much all the time… until the end of the walk when he is finally knackered out! And if I stop, or turn around or whatever and say “heel” it’s like he doesn’t understand any of it and carries on pulling immediately. I wonder why they are better behaved off lead than on.

Do you mind me asking what pate you use please?

Also - good morning to everyone else! It’s a little
overcast here today but still warm. I still have ginger bread cupcakes left from a weekend baking session with DS though so all feels right in the world 😂

My older one was around 2 before she was consistently good with loose lead walking.

My younger one is 2 but isn't there yet, especially if we're going somewhere she knows and is desperate to get to. She's not bad if you're walking round a town and she walks much better on a harness than a collar. She's probably also had much less dedicated training than the older one so that's on me.

I can manage to walk them both on a lead at the same time so that's good enough for me at the moment.

We use JR pate for training, not for loose lead walking though, it's way too exciting.

@VanGoSunflowers I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s only been a few days so we could go backwards again. But I have felt for a very long time that I’m putting all this work in and getting no improvement. I even posted on the adolescent thread last week saying about how he can walk nicely if I am giving him treats but then as soon as there’s no treat left in my hand he tries to dash off. The sudden change has been weird so I am suspicious but I’ll take it.

I am working on being able to take him out to cafes and other places indoors, and that is very much a shit show, but we sometimes walk down the high street here as it’s just at the top of our road and he’s had massive improvement with that. And we walked quite a long way down the main road on Sunday and he was brilliant. That is usually difficult as he gets a bit skittish from all the cars. I do suspect if I tried to walk him on lead in the woods it would be a different story but there’s not really any need for me to do that so I’m not too bothered.

We have been using the JR pate too, same as @tizwozliz. I discovered they sell it in the Jollyes near me and it’s not a bad price.

@tizwozliz now you’ve said that I wonder if the harness is actually contributing to the change in behaviour then? I’ve not walked him on a harness since he was about 8 months old as I felt like it made him pull more but we’ve just started using one again.

I did that 'stand still and wait for you to acknowledge my existence' with my sprocker once. It took him 38 minutes. 😂 I even moved to stand in front of him and block his view, but he just peered around me.

Mine are rubbish on lead, but it's totally down to me as I haven't practiced it. P has suddenly started walking without pulling, but she's 4. And K is tiny, so it's not a struggle to hold on to her. I'm sure I would feel differently if I had to street walk them together.

When N arrived in foster, she was brilliant on lead and plodded along nicely by my side. Now her pain levels are under control, she pulls.

@VanGoSunflowers I bet gingerbread cupcakes go down well with a cup of coffee.
Did you see elephants on your travels? Love elephants.

A very dull, grey, rainy day here. Almost makes you glad only one out of three is fit for a walk.

@tizwozliz what is it about the face of a black lab that I find so appealing 😉
I think it’s definitely helpful to know that it took until around 2 years of age as it helps manage expectations! Also, I have always walked Pablo on a harness but I haven’t put much thought in to which type - just went to Pets at Home and picked out one that fit him 😊
As you say, it doesn’t need to be perfect lead walking but good enough. I’d quite like not to have a constantly sore left elbow 😂

@YorkshireFelix a big improvement like that must feel amazing, though! And I will keep my fingers crossed for you that this is how it goes from now on!
its the exact same with Pablo, he will do it, take the treat and then go straight back to pulling! He was a little better on this morning’s walk, but only on the way back once he was tired! Same walk, there was an older guy walking towards us with his much older lab. I recalled P, all good, he came back, took the treat and then ran back to meet the dog before I could put him on the lead 🤦‍♀️ luckily the other dog was off lead too and it was a nice greeting and the gentleman was very friendly - I think it’s because we ‘happened’ upon them round a blind corner - if there’s a fair bit of distance between us and another dog, he will usually listen to me!
Cafes etc are still a work in progress for us, too. Something I haven’t done in a while but need to start working on again I think. It’s all too easy to carry on doing quiet walks with no lead walking and not put him in situations that I think are going to be challenging!

@SpanielsGalore 38 minutes 😂 you have a lot of patience! Do you think so much of it is down to waiting for them to mature a bit rather as well as the training?
The cakes do, in fact, go down with a cup of the black stuff 😂
I did see elephants - they were in an elephant sanctuary in Nairobi. When we went a bit further from the city, we camped near a place called Hell’s gate national park that you can walk around as there are no big cats or dangerous wild animals there. It’s an interesting experience walking around a park with Giraffes trotting about!

Couple of pics here - the first from this morning’s walk around a local nature reserve which is like Disneyland for this one, and the second is the result when we got home 😂

@VanGoSunflowers One day I will travel to such a place and see the wildlife. DS has been told the biggest dangers over there are terrorists and elephants. 😂

I don't know about lead walking. The two trainers I know who have commented said it takes months/hundreds of hours of consistent training and never letting them pull. And I cba to put that amount of work in when I don't need to.

I think it is down to the individual dog too. My first two dogs were litter mates. One never pulled. The other one always did.
My sprocker was a special case. He was 18kg and pulled so much his chest was practically on the floor. I clipped a long lead around my waist to walk him for a while, so he didn't pull me over. My 6' 3" son struggled to hold him. So I put the effort in with him, which is when I saw a trainer and used the method I attempted to describe yesterday. It worked really well for him. He'd walk nicely and if the lead ever got tight, he'd correct himself and come back to me.
Unfortunately his health issues meant he was inconsistent. On the days he felt alright, he walked beautifully. On the days he felt unwell, he pulled like a train and barely acknowledged my existence. Hence the 38 minutes wait for him to look at me before I let him off the lead.

My girls - I haven't bothered with. They are so good off lead that they are rarely on it.
I used to walk P through town once a week and she was manageable. When we went to a busy touristy place she was a bloody nightmare, pulling to say hello to everyone. So I haven't done it since. 🙈
She's suddenly, at the age of 4, stopped pulling on our short lead parts of the walk. I don't know what she'd be like in a busy environment though.
And K is only 8.5kg, so she's easier to hold on to when she pulls.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet is the lead walking expert though. I'd take tips and advice from her over me any day.

@SpanielsGalore terrorists and elephants! Wow. I think I would take the elephants if I had the choice. Does he enjoy being in the army?

Im wondering if clipping him to my waist might be a good idea, even if for a short time so my elbow stops hurting 😂

Youve had a lot of different experiences with lead walking it sounds like, very reflective of it being down to the individual dog! On the way back to the car this morning, the short lead walking, he kept correcting himself and I would treat him afterwards. So it’s not like he even needed to treat to lure him there! I’m going to take him out again later when I have dropped my son to cubs so I might keep him on the lead for longer and hammer at it.

I’ve been reading the teenage Labrador thread with interest. Haven’t posted on it as I have zero advice and didn’t want to distract from the original OP but was reading @LandSharksAnonymous & @brushingboots advice and taking that all in. Mainly am a little worried that Pablo could snap in to that behaviour at any point over the next few months! I mean, some of it he does already such as pulling on the lead and being over friendly in public places but he is pretty much always very calm and chilled at home. I keep things I don’t want him to steal out of his sight but I do occasionally forget and he doesn’t seem to have an interest in stealing stuff that isn’t his - apart from socks/tea towels and other items of fabric 😂
I must admit, I’m a little worried about that part of him suddenly changing far more than anything else! Hence trying to take that advice in!

Hello everyone, I’m a longtime lurker and I really enjoy reading your posts. I have a question, I wonder if you could help me? 7 months ago I adopted an 8 year old Boston x French bulldog who’d had an absolutely miserable life. She had never been walked, socialised or seen a vet so everything is still very exciting to her.
My main problem is her pulling in the lead - she has a well-fitted harness plus 10m longline or a grippy lead. I have had dogs all my life and tried everything I can think of but she honestly has the attention span of a gnat, is very food oriented, loves everyone and every dog but doesn’t ‘read’ other dogs.
i have tried a front clipped double lead, she simply turned somersaults or sat down and refused to move!
She’s is a lovely little dog but incredibly stubborn!
Any advice would be very welcome, I hope you don’t mind me butting in.

@SpanielsGalore the pay is alright, but only if you're overseas - FCDO basic pay is pretty poor. I know my MoD counterparts earn a lot less than the military guys...but our overseas allowances even it out a bit. To be honest, I do think we need less civil servants on better pay and ditto for the military - we can't pay so little and expect good satisfaction and happiness. And a sad workforce is not a happy and productive workforce.

Oh gosh. I would have been disgusted if I came home and found that many poos! I guess kennels wouldn't work for your lot? Other than the expense (which for four dogs is insane down here, so must be costly for three in Scotland) I feel like your girls are bit too sensitive for the chaos of kennels? But do tell me I am wrong! 😁

I would sell my house to do that cruise - but it's the dogs, like you say, that are the issue! DDs did one a few years ago with my PIL and DD2 didn't leave the bathroom the whole time - even when the ship was docked. FIL ended up having to fly home with her when they reached the Med. Poor thing!

@VanGoSunflowers apologies, this is going to be long as I was AWOL for so long and didn't have time this morning to type up!

But yes, Iraq was incredible! DH speaks Arabic (his first posting was Syria years ago) so it made a huge difference and I don't think we'd have gone without his language skills tbh. We did so much travelling after university and before I decided that, no I wanted dogs and therefore I was not going to be a swanky diplomat and instead would be a paper pusher 😃DH has never been to Africa, other than when we did Libya together, but we have friends who are 'career' Africa diplos (which is basically a fancy way of saying the only overseas jobs they've done have been in Africa) and they absolutely love it. It's funny because everyone has a 'thing' in the office - they're Middle Eastern buffs, Europe buffs etc. I would absolutely love to do a safari though, but I cannot cope with the heat. It's 18 here today and I feel like I am melting...

Feel free to take DMum off my hands for a few weeks around holiday time! 😂I do absolutely love her (obviously) but the determination to overfeed DDs drives me crackers.

On the dog walking...I think it's an interesting one. @brushingboots and I often agree on a lot, but walking is where we differ - but part of that is, quite possibly, our breeds and our dogs purpose. One of us (not me - as evidenced by mine being pointless - in my own words) has a working spaniel and the other has show line retrievers. So whilst mine do need sniffs, they need it far far less than the Spaniel does. Whilst they will sniff, their main purpose on a walk is basically to bring my crap I don't want, and conversely Satan spends the entire walk with her nose down, bum up, walking into things.

I wouldn't worry to much about Pablo. Dogs can suddenly turn wanky at 9-14 months, but usually you get warning signs before that (IME at least). And, so far, Pablo seems like a bit of a saint to be honest 😉

@YorkshireFelix great news!!!! Really pleased for you.

@Zippedydodah welcome! Is there any chance you can exchange the harness for a proper collar and lead? I tend not to like them for teaching 'good' walking as they don't give much control and, most importantly, if you're trying to teach a dog to walk to heel you really want the lead hanging next to you - but if the dog has a harness on the harness is swinging forward into the dogs face because it's behind you as the dogs head is next to you (if that makes sense). I'd go back to basics though, crouch down next to her as you walk with food in your hand and give her a 'cue' word and a reward every few steps. And you're absolutely not 'butting in'! More the merrier