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 The main issue is that volvo repairs tend to be very expensive...but at least they are also very reliable.

Ohh bless Brie! It's so lovely when you get to see that bond grow and flourish, isn't it? And to know that all your efforts have been in vain, even though it so often feels like it is! Do PMDs bond to one person or are they more 'whole family' type dogs? I've often wondered with LGDs as given their purpose I'd have thought they were 'whole family' types rather than strongly bonded to one person, but from what you've said Brie is very much 'your' baby.

@SpanielsGalore front's were (but they said v.minor)! Tyres and back break pads weren't - hence the annoyance as I just don't see how it could have become that bad in only five months. I do do a lot of driving (c.1.2k miles a month), but still! I do trust the dealership though - DMum took her car into the other local place recently and they claimed they'd fixed an issue and two days later the same fault light was showing. Straight to the Volvo dealership and it was completely fixed. So I probably should have known...

Whereas he would have to lecture them first, tell them he's living in poverty and then give constant reminders about it being repaid

That sound exactly like my mother 😀My dad has kindly agreed to pay, spared me the lecture, but did take the opportunity to remind me of the fact I promised to clear their car this weekend as it's covered in Golden fur. I suppose it's the least I can do...

I find the same with sunvisors! They just about cover my eyes, but not really enough if the sun is at a particular position or if cars are coming downhill...

Oh I do love a bit of battered fish😍I know what you mean about the quality though - once you've found a 'good' take-away that isn't greasy you just wonder why you ever went to the other and, if you're like me, you can't eat the old stuff again!

I had forgotten how small she is...I'll take her! What did K do on her walk!? And on the head/heart decision, I know what you mean, but she does seem to have a lovely bond with P! 😍With Twatdog my head told me not to keep him and to find a new buyer, but my (weak) heart told me to keep him. And here I am, three years later, wondering why.

@Silverbirchleaf it's interesting that all of us with SUVs got them for the driving position and/or the visibility!

With PMD @LandSharksAnonymous , yes they do tend to bond with the whole family - and for us that included my parents. I'm not sure that they have a favoured person so much as the relationship being different. Merl & Algy were definitely more protective of me but still had a strong bond with my partner. With Brie, we both have a great bond with her but I get the side eye and hand holding, and my partner doesn't. Oddly, Brie seems to have now started to draw my cousins into her family group and sits on the younger girl (student vet, 20), cobbing. They have a mutual adoration, which is lovely ❤

@CoubousAndTourmaIet that makes sense - so family orientated but they do sometimes have their 'person' as you get the side-eye and the hand-holding, which is lovely for you 😊

Unlike my rabble, who would sell me for a mouldy chicken nugget.

Rosie was like that. She was a cheap date. She loved everyone in the entire world 🙄

I am wedded to my Land Rover and cannot be parted from it – I will be very sad when it becomes too uneconomical. Would love a Golf but I know I’ll find it too low down and I love being able to drive on any surface and get into any place knowing I won’t get stuck. But I find the LED lights on other cars really hard work. I’ve got good eyes but the dazzle can be really overwhelming.

We have been partaking in an unplanned experiment today. Last night I did a talk in London about my book and got back late, so pupsy went to a friend’s house in the village and chilled out there/was walked/fed with their dogs. They dropped her home just before I got back and we went straight to bed when I got in. This morning she was still snoring when I woke up and didn’t seem fussed about getting out of (my) bed for a walk at all so we just… didn’t go. Instead I worked in bed and fed her at the time we would have got back and she seems totally unaffected by it and has just slept all day like she usually does.

Going to go out soon on the evening one, a bit earlier and for a bit longer than I’d usually do in the evening in the winter but I think I’ve proven that a rest day doesn’t hurt anyone whatsoever.

@LandSharksAnonymous We all know Twatdog is a total Mummy's boy and your favourite. 💖

I'm glad I took the breeder's advice, as P and K do get on well together. K can sometimes be a little bossy, but I think that was down to hormones and adolescence. She appears to be growing out of it now. It didn't help that P let her get away with it instead of telling her to eff off.

K was fine on the walk yesterday, but a PITA in the home. She's finally discovered she can move the blockade at the bottom of the stairs. Surprised it's taken her this long to be honest. She could easily jump over it if she tried. It's no where near as high as the garden wall. And when I was eating, she kept jumping up at the table and trying to climb on my lap. Usually she lies quietly under my chair. Obviously a chippy tea was irresistible to her too. 😂

All of our/my dogs have been mine. 😁 I used to think the first black one was more of a family dog, but as he got older I noticed he would always be in the room I was in.
But then I did everything for them, so I'd have been mightily miffed if they'd formed a stronger bond with someone else. 😂

@brushingboots Are you sure pupsy is a working cocker? A rest day goes against every description known to MN. 😱 🙄
We had a complete rest day at the week end, because we were being battered by some storm or other. No amount of crack was tempting them or me out in it. 😂

A fairly uneventful walk for us today and she was very much calmer.

I however was not 😡 I was bloody furious when a middle aged man walking a small brown dog on an extending lead ahead of us, allowed his dog to do a big pile of poo right in the middle of the footpath and didn't clean it up. What's the excuse when it was literally feet away from a bright red dog poo bin? Some poor soul will probably end up treading in it later on. Made me so cross.

Anyway, good walk otherwise. Two trucks passed us on the way out and she didn't flinch, and, for the very first time ever, she stopped the arsey lead biting when I gave a sharp "no!" 😮Then she made eye contact and I praised her.

We're having chips & pizza tonight 😁

@CoubousAndTourmaIet i woukd have been tempted to catch up with horrid man and give a poo bag ,

Perhaps I should have. It's probably the same people all the time that get the rest of us a bad name by not cleaning up. 😠

@CoubousAndTourmaIet There is no excuse for not picking up poo from the middle of the path.
I trod in some the other day that was left on the path. It's not a proper path, but the well trodden route through the field that everyone takes. I was slightly annoyed.

Raining here again. I'll be building an ark soon.

This is a proper gravelled footpath that runs between a small housing estate and the nature reserve fields. It's very well used and there are poo bins at either end so it's just really mean when people don't clean up. A lot of people do leave it in the long grass on the field edges (although we wouldn't), but middle of the path is very different and most people are pretty good at picking up along there.

Another rainy, misty morning for us too.

Well. The car has returned with four new tyres, new brakepads, new windscreen wiper blades and fully cleaned. I did not know they were going to clean it or I would have told them not to bother. I did apologise (honestly the layer of fur was about three inches deep in some places) but the guy said 'you must have a very hairy dog, or a lot of dogs.' And when I said I had five Golden Retrievers his eyes nearly bulged out of his head 😂I wasn't sure if it was admiration or terror. Possibly both?

@brushingboots I find it interesting how many of us have SUVs! I genuinely figured most doggy people would have estates. If/when your Land Rover does die, a all-wheel drive Volvo might be a good option - it's what I have. Fantastic off-road. Not quite up to the old style land-rover cars, but it is very good!

Was pupsy pleased to see you when you returned?😀I'm very envious of your day off walking although I do agree with @SpanielsGalore - are you sure Pupsy is a working cocker? You weren't mis-sold were you!? .

@SpanielsGalore I can freely admit that Twatdog does hold a (very) special place in my heart. I think only Hen really comes close - although I do of course love the others. But Hen was my baby whilst I had my babies. And Twatdog is just hard not to love.

Perhaps we should send P to visit Satan to help her learn how to say 'fuck off' and do the steely-glare of doom which is known to send other dogs running 😂

I'm surprised it's taken K so long to work out how strong she is! Mine learn it so young - I was constantly chasing the latest litter around the room after they barged down the whelping box. They'd gang up together into a little rabble and make it collapse. Gits.

I know what you mean about being miffed if they'd formed a bond with anyone else! I watch Eris smarm up to DD1 and I do think 'you little git. I feed you. I mothered you for 8 weeks (with Pen). I walk you. I train you. All she does is come alone with treats.' Although I am of course very happy DD1 finally has her own 'dog'

@CoubousAndTourmaIet that's so grim with the poo! I do get really annoyed by people not picking up - although our local forest has a 'flick it' policy. But I often think that if I can walk along with 5+ poo bags, then someone else can definitely bloody walk along with one! I think once I had 13 poo bags as two had a bit of a funny tummy😱The problem with approaching people is they get really nasty these days...

I do sometimes think that, post-covid, the world has gone a bit bananas in terms of manners!

Glad you got your car sorted (and valeted) @LandSharksAnonymous No SUV here, sadly, although our Octavia is the 4x4 estate version, albeit rather old and tatty.

As regards poo - 13 bags??? 😨Maybe you need to start putting a carrier bag in your pocket to keep them all together... Must admit that my chap has been known to employ the flicking technique but it does depend where we are. I feel duty bound to pick up, even on the moor where we're surrounded by sheep poo.
I think my days of tackling people are over. I used to pointedly say " do you need a poo bag?" on the odd occasion, but I think generally people are less polite now than they were years ago. From watching dog walkers, I do feel extending leads and phones play a large part in the fouling around here. People just don't seem to pay any attention to what their dog is doing.

We're having an off-day here. I'm headachy and grumpy, Brie seems very tired with this season and we're unanimous in being fed up with rain. The Met Office/BBC long range seems to suggest rain for at least the next 10 days for us😭

I noticed Brie had a slightly watery eye last night, it turned out to be a grass seed. I'd already got tons off her with the brush but I'll obviously have to be more thorough. That recent thread about grass seeds has given me complete paranoia, as if I'm not neurotic enough 🙄

Surprisingly, despite their size and weight, our chaps have never taken out our dog gates. They really don't seem inclined to. Maybe they're just too lazy.

@LandSharksAnonymous I am a Land Rover devotee but I would definitely consider a good Volvo if/when it comes to it! Some of them are massive though and despite having an old truck it isn’t actually that big really – plenty big enough but they are smaller than the new ones. Weirdly it’s quite slim at the front so despite having no power steering is quite easy to park.

Happy to confirm that my working cocker who apparently needs 19 hours exercise a day otherwise she’ll spontaneously combust managed very happily yesterday on…. 85 minutes, half of which was mooching with her Schnauzer friend at twilight, and no training at all. She still slept most of the day and then 11-7.30 overnight – and still wanted to go back to bed after her 7.30 wee. She is always utterly delighted to see me, even if I just go upstairs for a Zoom for an hour – it’s gorgeous.

Good morning, hope everyone is well.

Another drizzly start here in East Lancs this morning.

We didn't get out yesterday because I seem to have a hybrid of Sylvie, @LandSharksAnonymous's Clem and Greta Garbo at the moment.
The past two nights I was panicking about absence seizures because she was just lying in the living room, expressionless and totally ignoring me when I spoke to her. But then she reacted normally when my chap mentioned Freija so he gleefully informed me (in the manner of our first dog trainer) that she's just sick of listening to me rabbiting at her. I suspect he's right. The legendary Pyrie Deaf Ear is upon us - no acknowledgement that the owner exists (usually perfectly demonstrated on recall).
Then last night at bedtime I was fairly obviously getting "go away, leave me alone" vibes from her.
She's never really been a cuddler but with this season we're entering into grumpy cow territory. Don't know if we need to get her checked over by the vet, because she seems to be having a hard time with it. She's unusually tired and that's worrying me. Oh god, boys are so much easier 😩

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Oh no, poor Brie! Having only nursed pupsy through one season I am in no way an expert on this but what I did get for her which I swear helped was a bottle of Dorwest raspberry leaf supplements which I put in her food while she was on heat. She wasn’t grumpy or miserable at all though that could just be her, but I thought it was worth a bottle of tablets just in case.

Thanks for that suggestion @brushingboots , I'll have a look at those. I don't remember our other girls struggling this much, but Brie seems really fed up and very tired this time around.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I hope Brie is alright. I have very little experience of seasons. P sailed through her first two, but was very grumpy during her third. K has been alright during her first, except for ruining two sets of my bedding.

The cockers and I went to our favourite woods this morning. It feels like ages since we've been due to illness and seasons. The dogs had a whale of a time and have barely moved all afternoon.

Then I took N down to the field by the sea front and she managed almost a whole lap before slowing down. It only takes about 20 minutes, but DS has had to carry her back to the car on previous occasions.

Thanks @SpanielsGalore

She's eating, drinking, toileting as normal but just very tired and a bit disinterested. We did have a short walk earlier and she seemed okay. We're going to take her to the vet for a check up next week. Knowing Brie, she won't make it easy but at least they can hopefully run some blood tests. Her first season in March/April was normal, no issues at all.

Lovely to hear that K & P enjoyed their visit to the woods today. I'm sure they were relishing the freedom. It sounds as if N did well on her little walk too.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet i take my poo bag holding very variously! When DH and I do Norfolk this Christmas I’m expecting a similar number - Holkham Beach is amazing, but there is a distinct lack of poo bag bins once you get away from the car park. He’ll be designated poo bag holder though 😁

How are you and Brie feeling now? Sorry you were both feeling rotten 🙁

@brushingboots I know what you mean about huge cars! The XC90 is gigantic - but then with my rabble it needs to me. We also have a V90 (used to be v60 - but once I kept Twatdog I had no choice but I upgrade), which is 4x4 like @CoubousAndTourmaIet estate is. It’s probably better handling wise than the XC90, but lower down so I get blinded by lights. So DH will be taking that car on holiday and I will take the big car 😁

Can we have a pupsy photo (or any dog photos to the rest of you!!), as it’s been a while!

@SpanielsGalore how is P doing?!

I have to take Hen to the vets today - her wart has gone all crusty and nasty! I think she bashed it, but it’s oozing a bit. Very nasty. Poor Hen.

I hesitate to say a cheery Good Morning, because it's an utterly foul start here; lashing rain and blowing a gale. Brie is unimpressed and hasn't budged out.

I'm pleased to report that she was a lot more normal last night, came to sit on the sofa with me for a while and was very talkative with Freija at suppertime. She has been lying on her back for her usual chest rub this morning. I was relieved to finally find some blood spots last night, so now we're 100% sure she's in season and we're not looking at a pyo. She had seemed really off colour, tired and distant on Wed/Thur, but hopefully it was just an off day related to her season and nothing more than that.

Oh poor old Hen with her wart @LandSharksAnonymous , that's horrid. I hope it heals up well.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and that some of you at least have better weather than we do currently.

@LandSharksAnonymous You take both cars on holiday? Is that one for the luggage and one for the dogs?
I test drove an estate last time I bought a car. It had a bigger boot and better fuel economy and was cheaper. It was the practical choice, but it didn't make my neart sing like the SUV did.

Hope Hen gets on OK at the vets. Do you think they'll need to surgically remove the crusty wart thing?

I don't know how P is. I'm either paranoid, have Muchausens by Proxy or she's not well. It could just be her leg bothering her. I haven't heard back from the vet, so I'm going to book her in for repeat x-rays. And I have physio booked for next Saturday.
She's been licking her rear end a lot and the other pair keep sniffing her. So maybe anal glands? But she doesn't smell fishy to me and she isn't scooting.
But she's a bit quieter, sometimes clingy and was squinting yesterday, which is the only indication of pain that the vet noticed when P had pancreatitis.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Glad Brie is feeling better. Can they get pyo during a season? I thought it was after, but my knowledge is very limited.

The weather isn't too bad here today. A bit dull, but not raining for once.

Sorry that P is still off colour @SpanielsGalore , it's such a worry when you know they're not right but can't quite put your finger on what the issue is. I hope she improves otherwise you'll be trailing off to the vets yet again, which both you and P must be fed up with by now.

Pyo is usually after the season, you're right, but I was beginning to think I'd missed a season; we had a false alarm in August when we felt she was starting. I was relieved to find some spotting last night, because at least we now know where we are. She's so fastidious in her habits, there's no smell about her at all this time.

Would honestly love a dry day. So tired of rain.

Sods Law. The moment I say she's fine, she throws up 🙄

Looks like another rest day.