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. 😂

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Oh no. Whose dog is barking? Is it a one off or does it bark every night?

Gosh the sweeping statements about cockers are out in force today. Mentioning no names, but one poster really annoys me.

Moving on - P has vomited this morning. Now I am worrying about pyometra. 🙈 She's about 4 weeks post season.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I have had periods of being off coffee in the past - particularly when I was pregnant and couldn’t stand the smell or taste of it then, weirdly! I always wean myself back on to it though 😂

Sorry to hear you didn’t sleep well! Whose dog is keeping you up all night?! That would drive me mad, I love my sleep! We have a yappy Dachshund next door but he’s at least quiet over night!

It was misty here this morning but the sun is out now. Got my washing on the line and a fair bit of cake left over from yesterday so I shall be attacking that shortly 😂
Gave Pabs his first bit of forthglade wet food this morning and as predicted he bloody loved it!

@SpanielsGalore I get annoyed at sweeping generalisations too! I know I only have experience of one dog but I have been told before that labs are so naughty and destroy everything?! What are they saying about cockers? The usual?
Sorry to hear about P vomiting!! I don’t know what pyrometra is but could it be a one off?? I say that but I would be worrying too!

@VanGoSunflowers This morning's statement is they are like a teenage boy with ADHD. And they'll bite when you pick them up, whereas other dogs put up with it. 🙄

I do know a lab that destroyed everything. It literally ate the kitchen walls. Why? Because it was left shut in there all day while the owners went to work. It certainly doesn't make it the norm.
Pyometra is a womb infection bitches can get after a season. It can be fatal, so it's always a concern. Vomiting can be a symptom. I'm trying hard not to over react. Mixed in with her being out of sorts because of her knee, it's hard not to make 2+2=5.

@SpanielsGalore That was why I got in and posted because I am sick and tired of reading so much rot about why spaniels are horrendous dogs. They're not, they're the bloody best (as you know!) Most people are just not suited to be spaniel owners – and that's fine! When I was lurking here ages before I got pupsy I longed to read stories from 'normal' people like me with cocker success stories, so I always want to give that side.

@SpanielsGalore By the by, there is one particular gundog trainer who keeps saying that thing about spaniels being like little boys with ADHD. I know him and like him and his dogs are amazing, but I do wonder if it does anyone any good at all.

@SpanielsGalore Pretty sure if anyone tried to pick up Clem randomly, or got in her face, they'd get bitten tbh - although I won't say that on that thread because I'll be told she's dangerous.

But that's the point, isn't it? Dogs are not toys. They are individuals. And whilst some are certainly on the extreme end of 'don't treat like a toy' no dog breed can be generalised the way people seem to.

How long are you going to give P before you go to the vets? I know you've had bad experiences in the past, but if you're worried it might ease your concerns a bit? I am sorry though. Poor P and poor you!

That's a worry about P, @SpanielsGalore . Sounds early hormonally to be a pyometra, but still possible so you're wise to keep an eye on it. Does she seem swollen in the abdomen at all? I wonder if it could be the pain medication upsetting her tummy though. Either way, I hope she's okay.

@brushingboots I only joined MN because all the negative posts kept being linked on my FB page. I got so annoyed, I had to join to defend them.
I like to think I give a balanced view. As you did in your post. I have had one with issues, so I do stress the need for finding well bred ones.
And I really don't get the ADHD thing. Yes they run a lot on walks. But they are focused and biddable and all of mine have been very calm in the home. P and K have bouts of wrestling games, but they mostly chill and snooze. And none of mine have been destructive in the home. The garden is another matter. 😂

@LandSharksAnonymous Out of my 6 dogs, there is only one that I would stake my life on not biting. And that was because he went through so much at the vets, because of his health issues, and never so much as growled. Ironically he was my rescue who came with a bite history.
I don't think my current three would bite, but I have never pushed them to find out. IYSWIM
It annoys me that people think dogs should put up with everything without reacting.
I've actually just commented to say making sweeping statements about breeds isn't helpful. Even if you have grown up with over 32 dogs. 😳

I have to pop into the vets today to collect meds for Ness, so I shall ask about P whilst I am there.
It's really difficult, because there are other things going on at the same time. P has been unusually clingy for weeks, which I put down to her season. Now she's in pain with her knee too. @CoubousAndTourmaIet Google says it can be 2 - 8 weeks post season. And I weighed her at the vets last week and she'd put only nearly a kg, so she's looking fat in general to me. And she's on new meds, so it could be that. Or it could be just a one off vomit and nothing to worry about.
Unfortunately my sprocker battled ill health for almost three years with one thing after another, so I feel I may be prone to over reacting and worrying unnecessarily. Or maybe not. 🤷‍♀️

It's next door's dog, but we're joined on. He's always barked occasionally at night, but over the last few weeks it's every night, sometimes, like last night, multiple times. He doesn't go on for long, usually only a couple of minutes, but it's enough to wake us and then we can't get back to sleep because we expect it to kick off again.

We haven't said anything, but my chap has to start work at 7 so we can't sleep in and we're both struggling with sleep deprivation; we're averaging 3 to 4 hours of broken sleep. Thankfully Brie doesn't respond, but she sleeps in the kitchen, so furthest away from them anyway, whereas it sounds as if their dog is in the living room. The people themselves are okay, it's just the nocturnal dog that's a bit of an issue at the moment. It's a difficult one but it was roughly every two hours last night so we're a bit shattered today 😫

I stand corrected on the pyometra @SpanielsGalore - apologies. For some reason I thought it was more like midway between seasons but I am clearly misremembering (in my defence, it was 1985 when N had an emergency spay for a pyo). Definitely sounds like it may be worth getting P checked out then.

Edited to add that I absolutely think your worries are genuine. I'm exactly the same, having lost two prematurely with unrelated illnesses and been let down with our vets in relation to A and his fatal vaccine reaction.

Oh, looked in at the cocker thing just now. I believe it's one of the people who thinks you should only buy a pup locally because they're traumatised by travel... 🤔

@SpanielsGalore - completely understand what you mean and, let's be honest, why would you push? But 100% agree, I think the only statement that's (generally speaking) 'sweeping' about Goldies that I have made is they can be prone to nasty behaviours if not properly raised. But that's also true of any dog (it's just with Goldies people like to pretend they're issue free...).

Have you been to the vets? What did they say about P?

I don't think you can ever over-worry about dogs (or children) - it's always better to be safe than sorry because if something did go wrong, and you hadn't checked, the guilt would be awful.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet that's rotten! Sounds like you'll have to talk to them eventually?! I would not be able to cope with so little sleep. You must be completely wiped out by now!

@SpanielsGalore heis 39 pounds and that is as big as he will get. He was in a little of 10 - the biggest is 49 pounds and the smallest is 21.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Oh that amount of barking would annoy me. Is it an elderly dog? Night time barking can be a sign of dementia. Or is it barking at something in the garden? Either way, I think I would have to say something.
And no apologies necessary. I know nothing about pyometra other than what a Google search tells me. Which apparently isn't worth anything anyway. 😂
Is the person that poster? I think she might have argued that people should adopt rather than have babies too then. I'll go and have a catch up in a minute.

@LandSharksAnonymous To me 'they can be' isn't a sweeping statement. It's not saying all goldies. Which is my argument with the people saying "cockers are neurotic/on crack/have ADHD." If they said "cockers can be", I wouldn't have so much of an issue with it. I do advise people to make sure they get a well bred one, because there are a lot of puppy farmed ones with issues.
There are dogs diagnosed with ADHD by vets. They're not all (if any) cocker spaniels.

I spoke to the vets about P. They said to keep an eye on her and if she goes off her food, bring her in. She's a spaniel. I'd be seriously worried if that happened. 😂

Oh. And I weighed K whilst I was there. She's now a whopping 8.5kg. 😁

Good point @SpanielsGalore , we suspect he might be an elderly dog, not sure but they never seem to walk him far. It's not the poor dog at fault but really they should be addressing it, because surely they're having disturbed nights too? Neither of us is very assertive so we really don't want to complain but the sleep deprivation is horrible.

Oddly, the person on the cocker thread is now targeting me on a crossbreed thread that @LandSharksAnonymous and I are on. She seemed to completely miss the point of what we were discussing. Very odd.

Hope P is okay and it's just a random sicky thing, not a pyo.

I had to convert that to kg. 😂 Weirdly I weigh myself in st and lb and the dogs in kgs. And my brain can't compute it the other way round.
That's such a range in size. Yours is about the size of my sprocker, which is as big as I can cope with. 😂

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I read a bit of that thread earlier. I'm resisting replying to the last post on the cocker one saying she's offended that I've implied ADHD is a negative trait.
I'm not sure about P. She's not right, but it could be her knee. Or her hormones. She's licking herself more than normal. And she smells, although I couldn't tell you what of. There's no discharge, as far as I can see. And she's eating and drinking as normal.

This photo shows how she stands at the minute. Her right hind leg is slightly out of line and her knee is at a slight angle. She's also only on her tiptoes, but that's more difficult to see. I can't see any improvement yet. (Her head is slightly blurred as my phone was doing a long exposure photo, and she moved in the last seconds.)

@SpanielsGalore
If there's a smell about her and she's licking, I would get it checked out. Our girl had a closed pyo where it didn't discharge. That is the more worrying one.
Yes, can see with her foot position that's she's in some discomfort, poor girl. It's rotten for her at the moment. I hope you can get her back on track.

I only had a quick look at the cocker one earlier but I see that other person has now started another thread. It's mad in The Doghouse today.

@SpanielsGalore 8.5kg...what a fatty. 😂I cannot believe that at about 8 weeks the biggest puppy I had was heavier than K! That's bonkers.

I do agree with @CoubousAndTourmaIet that if there is a smell and she's licking worth getting her checked out. And that her foot position is a bit odd.

I will be taking his Royal Twatness to the vet later. He's been limping for two days intermitently, and I can't not walk him without some drugs as he'll just go bonkers around the house and get distressed if the others go out and he doesn't. He doesn't seem to be in pain - he's such a baby that I know straight away if he's in pain because he just yelps constantly - but I still worry. More vets bills. But better to be safe than sorry.

I'll just eat some more cake or biscuits to cheer myself up. DMum made some Baci Di Dama yesterday and they are absolutely incredible - sugar, hazelnuts, butter and chocolate.😍

@LandSharksAnonymous Poor TD. I hope it's nothing serious. Blooming dogs! They're a constant source of worry. P is the opposite to TD and just goes quiet, which is why the vets don't believe me when I say she's in pain.
I don't know what Baci Di Dama is, but it's been ruined by adding hazelnuts. 😂 I'm sure they'll go down lovely with a cup of the liquid that shall not be named though. 😁

K is going to be an eternal puppy. She's small, but also has the tiniest little pin head so she seems even smaller.

I'm beginning to think P must be alright, not including her leg. She's spent 45 minutes digging holes so far this morning.

@SpanielsGalore I had forgotten that alongside your dislike of the drink that cannot be named you also don't like nuts in biscuits or cake. But they are delicious. It's basically just sugar.

It's almost certainly nothing serious. Twatdog just a drama llama. He likes to get fusses and be dramatic. Do you think perhaps P is just channeling her inner Twatdog and being a drama llama?😃

Bless K and her tiny pin-head. I remember weighing Twatdog's head once and it weight about 7kg. But he has a massive head - surprising given his lack of brain cells.

I'll add more complication to the cake choices if you want @SpanielsGalore I'm allergic to all nuts and cocoa beans. Victoria Sandwich will do nicely, but it has to be real whipped double cream not buttercream 😁
I am not the easiest house guest or gift recipient because there is perfume sensitivity and wool allergy to add to the mix. I am told I'm "complicated" 😆

Jeez what's with all the vet trips this week?!
I can't believe sexiphant broke Twatdog 😭I hope he's okay @LandSharksAnonymous

This seems a timely moment to tag in @YorkshireFelix as V has also been in the wars this week. If I'm tagging her I also need to call up @Bupster and the lovely Bill because he's closest in age to Brie.

(PS, my girl does not have a tiny pinhead 😳)

We're not long back from the vets. I booked P in under the guise of her knee is no better, and whilst I was there voiced my concerns about pyometra. The vet said it was a possibility and she could do an ultrasound and blood test to check if I wanted, so I went for it. Ultrasound was inconclusive - it showed some fluid but only in one area.
The blood tests came back with good and bad news. No infection so she doesn't have pyometra. However she does have pancreatitis. The vet says her levels are the highest she's ever seen and she can't believe P didn't react when she squeezed her abdomen. So the vet has increased the pain relief and I have to switch P to a low fat diet for three weeks.
The knee is slightly better than last week, but still sore. However, we are leaving that for now as the vet doesn't want to sedate for x-rays whilst she has pancreatitis.

A big thank you to those who encouraged me to go to the vets. I may have been barking up the wrong tree, but I was right about something being wrong with her. The vet was surprised too. She said pancreatitis wasn't on her radar at all.

Oh hell @SpanielsGalore - that's rough, on top of the worries about her leg. Poor P, she must have felt awful.
So low fat food and presumably it might settle down...?
God, you must be fed up though...🙁

Yes that's the plan. Any changes in poo colour/consistency and I have to go back for antibiotics.
I keep telling the vets P has a high pain threshold, so they can't go by her lack of reacting. We saw the same vet as last week and she said the only difference she noticed was when she first approached us in the waiting room, P looked like she was squinting. But she soon perked up, so she brushed it off.
Strangely I'm not too fed up for a change. I'm very relieved it's not pyometra and P isn't going to die over the weekend. 🙈 And I'm shocked by it being something totally unexpected. And very relieved I went and didn't leave poor P suffering for longer.

Oh. And I'm very broke. 😂 £346 which isn't bad really for an hour and a half appointment, scans, blood tests and pain relief. But thank god for insurance.