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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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

1000 replies

SpanielsGalore · 23/09/2025 12:29

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. 😂

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LandSharksAnonymous · 23/10/2025 11:50

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I agree with Spaniels that you probably haven't had an issue as you know what you are doing! From what I've seen, it does tend to be dogs in homes with children who suffer from it the most - possibly due to lack of boundaries being put on the child when it comes to the dog.

@SpanielsGalore that's awful! What a life to have had before he came to you. But it does just go to show what a difference the right home can make - people can ruin dogs in weeks, even days, if they are not the right owner. I just wish more people understood that.

I do agree though...what is the point of life with none of the above!? I'd be so thoroughly miserable. So far this morning I've had a slice of cake, two coffees, and half a bacon roll! All things I am sure they would say I shouldn't eat...

Fingers crossed you get it down though, although if you can't eat anything remotely exciting I'm sure you will!

SpanielsGalore · 23/10/2025 13:54

@LandSharksAnonymous I've had an egg, sausage and bacon batch and a fun sized Mars bar. 🙈 And I'm on my third cup of tea.
I mean, you've got to use these things up. It would be criminal to let them go to waste. As opposed to going to my waist. 😂

My cholesterol is only 0.6 above acceptable levels, so I'm not overly concerned. I haven't googled it, so ignorance is bliss.

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LandSharksAnonymous · 23/10/2025 16:43

@SpanielsGalore ohh that sounds good. I must agree though, you absolutely cannot allow things to go to waste!

I wobbled down to Waitrose at lunch and was accosted, quite aggressively, by a Panettone which forced it's way into the basket. It was very traumatic.

How is P doing today?

SpanielsGalore · 23/10/2025 20:31

@LandSharksAnonymous Gosh I hate it when that happens. I got accosted by the Halloween bags of fun size chocolate bars. FYI there are only 8 Maltesers in a bag, which isn't my definition of fun.

P is OK, I think. Enjoying walks, but a little quiet at other times and trying to lick herself a lot.

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tizwozliz · 23/10/2025 20:41

Big pup has claimed her throne.

It has been bucketing down here although we did manage to squeeze in a walk when the rain wasn't quite so heavy.

Otherwise they've been asking to go in the garden then noping when they realise just how heavy the rain is.

Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.
SpanielsGalore · 23/10/2025 20:44

@tizwozliz That colour suits her. ❤️

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Silverbirchleaf · 23/10/2025 20:46

SpanielsGalore · 22/10/2025 20:35

Got my insurance renewals through for both cockers.
P age 4 has gone up by £8.08 a month to £38.83.
K age 1 has gone up by £4.54 a month to £26.78.

Can't complain. I've claimed at least £2k for P this year and about £150 for K.

Just joining this thread, and only read the last few pages.

You pay less for your two than I do for my three year lab! Did claim in the first couple of years, but not recently, but can’t move due the pre-existing factor clauses.

Silverbirchleaf · 23/10/2025 20:49

Let be introduce my pooch, formerly known as Riverpup on a much earlier puppy survival thread.

Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.
SpanielsGalore · 23/10/2025 21:41

Silverbirchleaf · 23/10/2025 20:46

Just joining this thread, and only read the last few pages.

You pay less for your two than I do for my three year lab! Did claim in the first couple of years, but not recently, but can’t move due the pre-existing factor clauses.

Welcome. Another stunning black lab. ❤️

I'm with PetPlan and have £7k worth of cover. I have claimed £1000s for P every year, using the whole £7k once. This has been her biggest price hike so far.
I'm also North Scotland which helps bring the premiums down.

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tizwozliz · 24/10/2025 06:57

We pay 75 for both of ours combined, not sure of the split. That's for 15k of cover, with a couple of small claims a few years ago. I've paid way more in premiums than I've ever had to claim but more than happy with that, as 'getting my money's worth' would mean sick or injured dogs.

VanGoSunflowers · 24/10/2025 07:48

@Silverbirchleaf yay! Another black Lab 😍

Good morning to all and hope everyone is ok.

@LandSharksAnonymous I can’t believe you were accosted by a cake. That sounds like such a terrible experience! I will go and have a nose at the RG thread I think, I’ve not experienced any of it with P but I don’t think Labs are prone to it are they? I agree on too many people jumping straight to PTS.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet love the image of Brie’s little tantrums 😍 and the cuddles before food. We are in the same camp as LSA, if I said to P ‘are you hungry?’ Mid cuddle I would get kicked in the face from him trying to get up so quickly 😂
Im flying through Crooked Kingdom by the way! Think it’s even better so far than 6 of crows!

@SpanielsGalore Let me express my utmost regret at you having to avoid cake, wine and chocolate! As you say, it seems only a tad high and hopefully you’ll be all good by Christmas. Have you ordered a dry robe yet? I’ve got one being delivered today and now I’m hoping it will rain so I can test it out. Ha.

My morning walks with P, I’ve started to be a bit more relaxed about him meeting other dogs as long as everyone is off lead. I still try to avoid it for the most part, but I’m trying to not be so stressed about it if it does. I’m glad so far as I’ve met quite a few lovely dog owners and their gorgeous little pooches and they’ve all been very reassuring about Pablo which is good. One lovely gentleman had a little elderly and nearly blind Jack Russell who responded to P by barking and snapping at him a little bit. Clearly a warning and nothing more, so I put P on a lead and held him back and the gentleman told me that another dog owner was shouting and screaming at him to put his boy to sleep because he snapped at snarled at their dog when they got in his face!

In any case, now the days are much shorter, there is a smaller and smaller window of time people are walking their dogs in so it seems impossible to avoid them at the moment.

CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 09:18

Good morning all and welcome to @Silverbirchleaf Beautiful photo to nicely complement those from @tizwozliz , whose girl looks very regal there on the golden throw.

Another rainy morning here and a slow start with Brie refusing to go out and wee, then having to be hand fed with breakfast after her bowl had been down for ages.

I'm paying more than any of you for insurance, despite it only being the 7k level and us making no claims in the first year. It went up from £54 to £63. Presumably that's based on her being a giant breed.

Can't join in with the food talk from @SpanielsGalore because yesterday was a migraine day for me, so all I managed was a few spoonfuls of milky porridge.

Still got out for a walk though because it was a low level migraine by my standards. Brie was a sod - two lead ragging episodes, one on a steep bit of bank which felt a bit precarious 😬but we lived to tell the tale.

Glad you're enjoying Crooked Kingdom @VanGoSunflowers and I hope you'll go on to read the rest of the series. A whole new world of literature could open up for you with these, as it did for me after several years of not reading much apart from historical stuff.
It's good that Pablo has met a few more dogs because, as you rightly point out, it can't easily be avoided during winter when we all have less time to get out. The only dog we encountered yesterday was a young male GSD that we come across regularly; he's always lead walked, like Brie, and they are close in age.

Apparently you're correct and Labs are not prone to resource guarding. I was quite shocked that my breed supposedly is; I've never had that issue but I'm always careful. I had to remove a tissue from Brie's mouth last night after she pinched it out of my pocket. I took it and then gave a treat, that's the only time she takes treats; as a swap if she's picked something up, sometimes I think she's just humouring me 😆

Torrential rain right now so she's gone back to sleep and there'll be no chance of getting a wee out of her until the rain stops.

SpanielsGalore · 24/10/2025 09:19

@tizwozliz Yes. I'll be very happy if I don't get my money's worth out of K's policy. I've claimed so much for P that it will take some serious price hikes for me to be in the red with her.

@VanGoSunflowers I have ordered a dry robe rip off after BrushingBoots brilliant review. It's not arriving until Saturday though, which is a shame as I could do with it today.
Glad to hear P is being a good boy on his walks and when meeting other dogs. It's nice when you can be more relaxed on a walk.
I think my morning sausages (ooh err missus 😂) are more responsible for my cholesterol level than sweet stuff. I did a low carb diet and cut out all junk food. I lost almost 2st, so that was good. But now I need to find a healthier breakfast food that is just as filling. If I eat a bowl of cereal, I want to start snacking an hour later.

I let P into the garden off lead this morning. She's running and wrestling in the house, so I didn't think a potter in the garden would do any harm. She's still out there, refusing to come in. It's pissing it down. That body suit is going to be a little damp.

Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.
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tizwozliz · 24/10/2025 09:22

Size does seem to make quite a difference in vets costs and therefore insurance. I know if big pup had been a couple of 100 grams lighter her spay would have been £100 cheaper. I should have starved her a bit more beforehand!

CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 09:30

Porridge @SpanielsGalore I have it every morning and it keeps me fuelled until lunch! It should be easy enough for you to find good local porridge up there.

Aww bless little P, she's going to be drenched! Hope you've got plenty of towels handy.

CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 09:33

Looking through some photos on my laptop last night and thought this one might interest @LandSharksAnonymous if nobody else.
This is Brie at 5 weeks, nibbling on my husband's fingers, on the day we first knew for sure that she was going to be ours ❤

Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.
SpanielsGalore · 24/10/2025 09:41

tizwozliz · 24/10/2025 09:22

Size does seem to make quite a difference in vets costs and therefore insurance. I know if big pup had been a couple of 100 grams lighter her spay would have been £100 cheaper. I should have starved her a bit more beforehand!

@tizwozliz P's spay cost £1k. Presumably because it was an emergency, even though it was within business hours. Mind you, I suppose it was a bigger operation too as they removed her womb as well as ovaries.

There are several variables with insurance, so you can't compare like for like. My male entire sprocker was cheaper than my female entire cocker. Presumably because he was a crossbreed. I was discussing insurance with someone when I got P, so I changed a few details when getting quotes. Moving back to central England doubled my premium and making her a lurcher trebled it. And my friends in Surrey have higher premiums, because their vets are more expensive.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet She was so cute. 🥰

I don't usually eat lunch. I have a late breakfast and that sees me through until dinner time. I can only eat porridge with a shed load of sugar on it, so I think I'd be swapping on evil for another there.

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CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 09:58

I have honey on my porridge @SpanielsGalore , my chap adds fruit to his. I'm on little and often food wise so I try to have 4 small meals (much like Brie). I can't seem to eat a lot in one sitting any more.

Yes, Brie was a very cute puppy 😊

With the insurance, I wonder if area plays a part for us also...maybe ours would be less if we lived as far north as you do. Our nearest city is Preston.

SpanielsGalore · 24/10/2025 10:16

@CoubousAndTourmaIet This is my quote from PetPlan for an 18 month old female PMD.

Beyond Adolescence - a thread to chat about grown up dogs, cake and anything else, excluding coffee.
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CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 10:20

That's crazy @SpanielsGalore !!!
I'll start looking at Inverness and Aberdeen property today 😉

SpanielsGalore · 24/10/2025 10:24

CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 10:20

That's crazy @SpanielsGalore !!!
I'll start looking at Inverness and Aberdeen property today 😉

I can't remember the name of it, but you did say your favourite place is in the Highlands. 😁
K would love a big playmate. 💖 (P only plays with K, so she'll just say hello and then go about her business.)

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LandSharksAnonymous · 24/10/2025 10:32

@SpanielsGalore 8 maltesers to a pack!? Why even bother? Eurghh I'd be so unsatisfied by that.

Speaking of biscuits and goodies...my local coffee shop had honeycomb brownies this morning. So, not only did I send DDs off to school with frubes and white bread with chocolate spread (the horror!!!!) they also got brownie for breakfast.

I don't want to join in on the discussion on insurance premiums as it's so painful, but I will say it's over £700 for the five dogs now. Hen is close to £200 a month, but she is 100% worth it❤

I did end up buying dry-robes (so thanks @brushingboots !!). They arrived yesterday and are incredibly warming, so hopefully they'll be a hit with MIL and DMum.

@VanGoSunflowers it was a very traumatising experience. And then the brownies this morning. Awful. Absolutely awful.

From what I can tell, Labs (as C&T says) tend to be fine on resource guarding - not an issue. In terms of 'popular' and 'family friendly' breeds, it tends to be Goldies and Cockers (and now the oodles) who are the worst. I am so glad Pablo is doing so well - he's a robust little thing 😊

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Brie really is stunning (and always has been)! What a lovely girl 😍

@Silverbirchleaf welcome! I do love how this thread is full of such slim pups (perhaps I should be taking a leaf out of their book and leaving off on the cake...)

Silverbirchleaf · 24/10/2025 10:44

Mines an American/working lab as opposed to the much stockier English/andrex/show dog.

CoubousAndTourmaIet · 24/10/2025 10:48

SpanielsGalore · 24/10/2025 10:24

I can't remember the name of it, but you did say your favourite place is in the Highlands. 😁
K would love a big playmate. 💖 (P only plays with K, so she'll just say hello and then go about her business.)

My favourite place on earth is Assynt, love Lochinver, also liked Ullapool & Inverness. We usually went up the west coast more because dad was such a keen hiker; I had my first proper walking boots at 4 and I totally blame him for my sturdy legs to this day 🙄 If I could live anywhere in the world it would be up there. It's been my lifelong dream.

Oh and Brie loves cockers by the way, although she'd never be able to keep up with them in a million years 😆

SpanielsGalore · 24/10/2025 11:01

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Here you go. 😁

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/142226366#/?channel=RES_BUY

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