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. 😂

I think @SpanielsGalore the advice usually tends to be gentle, controlled exercise to keep the muscles strong. I'm sure you'll find the right balance to keep P active without her overdoing it.

Managed to not get woken by next door until 5.10 this morning 😏@LandSharksAnonymous
Brie didn't budge until 8, when she sort of woke up a bit and loafed around in the kitchen while I made us a second cuppa. Eventually she got up and wandered out for a wee, came back in, had to be bribed with a biscuit to eat her breakfast then went straight back to sleep. She's like a big old bear in hibernation mode mostly, though she'll be vocal and do zoomies the moment one of us mentions getting out.

I know the feeling @tizwozliz . I have a lap dog myself. We're still braving it out with no heating on at all, due to Hairy Mary's coat.

Hope you all make a speedy recovery @YorkshireFelix Stating the obvious I know, but trainer or behaviourist is probably the way to go with the barking/growling, before it becomes too established.

@YorkshireFelix Some dogs do get spooked more easily when it's dark. One of mine was really nervous and it wasn't worth taking him out.
P doesn't growl, but she would definitely bark at someone suddenly appearing out of the dark. It's not an aggressive bark. It's a high pitched, scared bark, which I interpret as her telling the scary thing to keep away.
To be honest, she'll do it in the day time as well. Like she's fine with cyclists she sees approaching, but when one suddenly appears round a bend she'll bark.

As long as V isn't lunging and snapping, I wouldn't worry too much. You could try counter conditioning, which is treating for looking at the scary thing and then looking at you. The scary thing then becomes associated with good things (food) and changes their emotional response to it.

I know what you mean about the adolescent thread. I try to keep posts about K on there, but everyone else seems to have left.

@tizwozliz It's amazing how small a space dogs can fit into when they try.

ETA @YorkshireFelix Sorry. Forgot to say I hope you feel better soon. 💐 Shows where my priorities lie - dogs over humans. 🙈 😂

P just started whining in the cage. Little sis came running in from outside and sat down alongside her. 💖 See. K can be sweet. 😂

That's very sweet @SpanielsGalore ❤
K really is a stunning girl.

A gold star for Miss Brie today, I think.
I've just had to go and answer the door. I'd been in the middle of dishing her kibble and also had things out on the kitchen counter ready for our lunch. Came back in to find Brie still patiently waiting for the kibble. Not only had she made no attempt to get to her kibble bowl or the open food bag, but she'd ignored two bread rolls, a block of cheese and three tomatoes that were easily within her reach. She had two slices of Cheddar as a reward 😊

Thanks @CoubousAndTourmaIet@SpanielsGalore. I think it sounds very similar to P (as usual!) and it’s fear rather than aggression. I’ll speak to our trainer this weekend and see what she suggests. I would happily avoid walking him in the dark for now but can’t because he will only go to the toilet on a walk!

@SpanielsGalore They are both gorgeous girlies!! What a little sweetheart.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet That is brilliant! If V knows there’s anything out on the side he will sit and grumble at me making head gestures towards the food. He is such a greedy guts, you'd think he was some poor starved dog that never gets fed!!

Sometimes walking in the dark can't be avoided @YorkshireFelix and it'll be even harder when the clocks change. Brie isn't keen, I think it's headlights more than anything, but she just slightly flinches when things go past. Maybe Vinny will adjust to it, but still worth asking your trainer.

I admit I was surprised that Brie hadn't tried to get the cheese, but I think she was just more perplexed as to why I'd left her bowl of kibble half dished. She did tell me off when I came back in, which cracked me up because it's a sort of "ohhhh!" with pursed lips and an upward tilt of her nose 😆Dogs are so funny about stuff that deviates from their routine.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet What a good girl, Brie. ⭐️ Mine would have all been straight in there if they could reach.

@YorkshireFelix P and V do have a lot of similarities. ❤️ It's a pain when they won't toilet in the garden. I've walked down the street to the nearest lampost in my pyjamas before.

Someone was very happy to be out in the sunshine. (Poor quality photo as it's a frame taken from a video.) Her little tail never stopped wagging.

@SpanielsGalore aww lovely girl! Glad you’ve got some sunshine too. It’s overcast and very dull here. How was her leg when you were out?

I took V to the playing field but only lasted 10 minutes because he was being absolutely crackers. I couldn’t get him to engage with me at all! Probably because he’s only had shorter lead walks the past couple of days so was excited to run free. I hauled him back in the car as quick as possible 😄

Sweet little P does look happy to be out in the fresh air @SpanielsGalore

Overcast and dull here too @YorkshireFelix . Sorry V was playing up a bit today.

Brie did the hand grabbing thing for the first time in ages on this afternoons walk. I've reached the conclusion that it's some sort of stress response/coping mechanism.
We were taking our usual route back, along a narrow alley that runs between two gardens. Someone waited at the far end with a pram and a dog - as soon as we got near, the dog (cockerpoo) tried to launch itself at Brie, growling and snarling; the woman had to abandon her pram to try to restrain the dog. We walked straight past, because the poor owner was really struggling to hold onto the dog; it was rearing up and lunging towards us. Brie made no sound, but as we got up towards the road, she looked up at me then took hold of my hand.
We carried on up the hill but at the top, passing "scary dog" house (male GSD), she again made eye contact with me then got hold of my hand.

So it seems to be some sort of stress, fear or anxiety thing relating to barking dogs. I'm not sure if it's about me reassuring her or her reassuring me though. She hadn't done it at all for months until today.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet That's sweet that Brie likes to hold your hand for reassurance. It shows what a great bond you have.

I've done five dog walks today - two each for the cockers and one for the springer. Fortunately most of them were short ones.
P did well, and was very definite about which direction she would walk in and when she wanted to go home. Her leg was fine, but it shows more when she's standing still than when she moves.
N struggled today. She only managed half of our usual walk, before turning round and heading for home.

That sounds exhausting @SpanielsGalore Did the vets give you any answers about P's leg, or is just a matter of keeping an eye on it currently? It must be a worry though. How amazing that N knows when she's had enough and needs to turn back.

A multi dog household can be complicated, I know.
I sometimes used to do three walks when we had our trio; we mostly took them together when we could, but as M got older he couldn't walk as far as R & S needed to. Although the girls were usually walked as a duo, I often took them separately because of S being able to run off lead while R couldn't. I was however, only in my thirties then, I can't envisage doing it now! I think two walks is probably my limit - I suspect you're only fractionally younger than me, going off the age of your kids, but you must be a heck of a lot fitter than I am.

Yes, Brie is very bonded to me. She loves my chap also, but is a lot more tactile, playful and cheeky with me, it's a very different relationship. I suppose I've had the nurturing role with all of them and they've been more protective of me as a result.

The lazy madam hasn't ventured out for a wee yet this morning and is ignoring her breakfast. We had a full nights sleep last night, which felt like a luxury 😌Not a peep out of next doors collie.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I bet my five walks didn't total one of yours. I keep toying with the idea of buying a Fitbit, as I seem to be the only one without one. But I'm put off by the fact that it will just show how lazy I am. 😂

There was a lot of coming and going though. I drove P and K to a field for their first walks. Mainly so P doesn't associate every car journey with going to the vets again. The other three walks were from the house.

I was walking P and K together in the morning and all three together in the evening. N can't walk for long, so she does what she can then goes in the pushchair. But we've had three seasons, one after another, P's knee has swollen and N is struggling too. We missed her last acupuncture session when my car was being repaired, so maybe it's because of that. It's cooler and drizzling today, so maybe she'll cope better.

Glad you got a good night's sleep.

It's funny you should mention a Fitbit @SpanielsGalore My chap bought me a phone last Christmas (because I'd never had one) and it came with a fit-thingummy watch. I've never ever worn the sodding thing because I'm convinced it'll tell me my heart rate is off the scale and I'm about to keel over 😂

I really covered the miles with the two girls I suppose. R would have walked all day. I could say it was easier with S because of being able to let her off, she was much calmer than her sister. She didn't actually do a lot of running or chasing off lead, it was more walking at a trot, and she always stayed pretty close to us. No interest in playing or interacting with other dogs at all, she was very much a loner and really valued her one to one walks.

Right now though, I'm doing very little mileage at all - Brie is a big lazy arse like Merlin was. She's quite an obsessive sniffer, which drives me mad. We can be out for 60 - 90 minutes and cover no distance because it's all sniffy mooching. They are all so totally different in their needs.

Definitely earned my cake on Saturday, god knows how much distance the dogs covered

I'm never going to catchup with everything that has been said, but glad to know @CoubousAndTourmaIet got a bit more sleep and @SpanielsGalore that P is doing well.❤

@tizwozliz has more than earned some cake!

@tizwozliz 😱😱😱😱 And this is why I shouldn't buy a Fitbit. I've barely done 465 steps today. 🙈

You'll be fine provided you stay away from cake 😬

I think my dogs agree with my thoughts, that doing more exercise to offset cake/treats is preferable to no cake/treats 😊

Gosh! Is a life without cake a life worth living? 😱

I look forward to the day I have dogs healthy enough to go for a long walk.

Bad confession: I have to admit I don't really like cake or pudding, I just don't have a sweet tooth at all. A cheese sandwich and a flask of tea is more my thing.

We've just done 90 minutes at the local nature reserve and Brie was walking at a fair pace today. Nowhere near 28,000 steps though, obviously, those days are long gone for me.
It was surprisingly quiet this afternoon, aside from dozens of grey squirrels scampering around everywhere.

(Sorry @SpanielsGalore , feels crappy me saying this when you're currently so restricted with P & N. I really feel for you x)

@CoubousAndTourmaIet K is in season, so I am restricted with all three at the minute. But I always enjoy hearing of others' lovely walks. Even better if they have scenic photos to go with them. 😁

I've just done three separate walks around the village. I think K enjoyed hers the most. N (surprisingly) walked at a quick pace the whole way round. But she didn't once stop and sniff, so I'm not totally convinced that's a good thing. P was excited and sniffy for the first half of the walk. And then whined for the rest of it.

Now home and relaxing with wine and pop corn, because I don't have any cake or chocolate and I don't like cheese.

@LandSharksAnonymous
24 breeding bitches WTAF???
It is an absolute disgrace that this sort of venture is unregulated.
I'm just horrified and angry.

That aside, I hope everyone here is doing well today, enjoying cake and lovely walks and that all poorly dogs are improving x
We're off out for our big walk in a mo.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I know!!!! Every single time someone on these doodle threads links a 'good breeder' its a sodding, freaking, puppy farm. I do actually wonder what is wrong with these people - surely they can't be that damn thick? In which case, it's even worse...as they genuinely do not care. What annoys me even more is I am sure there are some decent breeders out there - but it's always the puppy farm supporters popping up (which just angers me for the above reason!)!

I hope you and Brie enjoy your big walk! ❤

@SpanielsGalore how do you not have cake or chocolate!? That's a serious matter...How are all your girls doing? How is P?

The last few days have been rotten for us! My nerves are frazzled and I am exhausted. I didn't even want to dog walk yesterday - which never happens. Even when I've had D&V, I would still going out into the woods out the back of the property to dog walk (I never see anyone - the benefits of living quite far out of town!) but today and yesterday I've just lacked energy.

A mark of how tired I am...I ordered pizza for DDs and I last night. Two portions of garlic bread (no one likes garlic bread, we only like cheesy garlic bread), two pizzas (both of which I ordered the wrong toppings for and DD1 couldn't eat due to allergies) and, for some unexplainable reason, banoffee pie instead of sticky toffee pudding (which DD1 could also not eat due to allergies). A complete failure. In the end we had chocolate covered strawberries and some petits pains.