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. 😂

@SpanielsGalore I’m sorry to hear about P, I’d be gutted too but as you said 10 minutes a couple of times a day is better than no off lead at all. I didn’t realise she is only 4 too. You have done wonders with her since she first came to you. Bless her. I feel like you are well overdue a good few months of no dog problems at all!!

@Bupster very lovely to see Bill’s squishy face!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I just drink filter at home but we do have a very lovely Moccamaster and Wilfa grinder combo. We have an absolute beast of a machine at the restaurant so I always walk 5 minutes up the road and get one of the girls to make me a double espresso because I don’t know how to use it 🤣 It’s the only perk of owning the place.

We went up on the moor at Howarth again on Sunday and V was such an incredibly good boy. Recalled every time and if he saw someone approaching he came and walked to heel without me even prompting. DH was amazed! Also today he willingly dropped his rabbit ball at my feet after retrieving it for the first time ever. He’s gone from running about with it in his mouth like a madman, to kind of bringing it back in my general direction but only dropping it if I’d give him a treat, to bringing it right to my feet and dropping without me even asking. Next step is to try and get him to deliver it to hand, but I am thrilled with our progress 🥳

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Oh dear. Bless him! Was he embarrassed when you pointed out that it was, in fact, a nipple? When we had our first girl, DH was forever professing she had lumps and they were always either warts or nipples.

Do you have any photos of Merlin? You've shared group photos but I don't think individual ones of your boys (or maybe you have and i've forgotten...)

@YorkshireFelix to be fair, that sounds like a very big perk of restaurant ownership! Possibly the biggest perk? Can V going in the restaurant?

Ohh bless V!😍Sounds like he might be (I don't want to jinx it) starting to turn into a 'proper' dog (as DMum would call it). Mine do exactly as V has started doing though - comes to heel when they see someone, particularly quickly if they see another dog. It's such a lovely feeling, isn't it? Because it shows that they're starting to sync to what you want and expect without you having to give the commands. I always think it's one of those 'first bonding' type moments - but I am particularly soppy about doggy/human bonding when it comes to training moments!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks
This is Merlin. We got him at 8 weeks old, in summer 95, shortly after moving to Lancashire. Magnus had stayed in Cumbria with my parents.

I do think he’s starting to mature ever so slightly. But every time we’ve gone forward a bit, we end up having a couple of weeks of terrible behaviour so who knows! I’ve always had 18 months in my head as a ‘milestone’ and he will be there at the start of Dec. Considering he’s been a dick since 6 months I feel like we are due some light at the end of the tunnel soon 😄

I do take him to the restaurant sometimes but only when I know it’s quiet. It’s a small place (we only have 4 tables of 4 then two window benches which seat 3 people each side, then 4 tables of 2 out the front if the weather is nice) and it’s hard to walk him in there without him disturbing everyone. It’s funny as we walk down the high street and he dashes to the door of each shop we pass as he thinks DH is in there. It’s good practice for him though and we have managed to successfully eat a pizza with him sat by the table a couple of times. I won’t mention the times where he’s jumped up and nicked the crust straight out of my hand…

He he lovely. Is Brie a bit bigger than he was?

Merlin photo for @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . He was from one of the top show kennels at that point, albeit that they bred rarely. He was my third PMD and was a true gentle giant.

That's the weird thing @YorkshireFelix , it's hard to say because it was so long ago and the boys are usually considerably bigger. Brie isn't supposed to be so enormous, we aren't quite sure what happened to her 😂

18 months was definitely a turning point for us @YorkshireFelix when it felt like that transition to adulthood. It definitely sounds as if Vinny is maturing and your training is starting to pay off.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet oh he was absolutely gorgeous! His ears were so dark compared to his body! Is that normal for the breed? Whenever I see photos they all seem to be white...but then again, whenever I see photos of Goldies they all seem to be small and yet Twatdog exists!

@YorkshireFelix i'm a bit jealous in many ways - 18 months for a younger dog is 'adulthood' really, isn't it? I bet he surprises you now and doesn't take any steps back and it's just smooth sailing from here! I still have another three years before I can really consider Eris an adult...put like that, it sounds like a horribly long time.

Oh bless him for hurrying to each door! I bet his tail wags sooo much that it Practically propels him down the street. I am struggling to think of anything better than a dog and pizza. Perhaps dog, pizza and cake? 😍

All this thinking about your restaurant made me crave pizza tonight, but I am (still) trying to be healthy. So I had a salad...and then an entire family pack of guillian chocolates. I don't even like them but chocolate is chocolate.

He was very dark as a puppy @TheHungryHungryLandsharks - this is him at 10 weeks, but unfortunately he faded off considerably by about 8 or 9 months. The coloured dogs are referred to as Blaireau (or Badger) and all ours have been coloured but there were some pure whites in their litters also.
Sorry for all the photos tonight, folks x

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Please don’t apologise. I’m lovin’ all the photographs.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I am loving the photos too, they are gorgeous. Especially the puppy pic - beautiful colouring!!

I am hoping you and @TheHungryHungryLandsharks are correct and we really are at a turning point. I have thought this many times in the past though so I won’t hold my breath 🤣

Also @TheHungryHungryLandsharks I would say dog, pizza and coffee 😉

@CoubousAndTourmaIet absolutely beautiful 😍It is so funny how their colours change when they get older. Satan was such a dark sable when she came to us, now she's completely golden.

@YorkshireFelix ohh you're right. Dog, pizza, coffee.

Maybe I am unreasonable, but there is something about going into Central London in the rain that I find even more thoroughly miserable than my usual commute. The walk to and from the station just makes me want to go into Gails or Ole and Steen and never re-emerge. But that could be the fact I forgot my umbrella at home, and am too cheap to pay for a taxi, speaking. 😫All I want is my bed

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I googled your coffee machine! It looks amazing! I have a Sage barista express impress. Takes a while to learn to use it and it’s really frustrating when I don’t get the grind size right but it’s also one of my prized possessions!
Twatdog is such a handsome boy. Even with the expressions he pulls ❤️

@CoubousAndTourmaIet when do you think you’ll get on to Alchemised? Do you have a long list of books to read next at all times? I have back up books, and back ups to those in case I don’t like one of them and need to start something else! I think I mentioned my next read is TOG but my back
up to that is Stephen Fry’s version of the Odyssey. I know he is a bit marmite but I love his versions of Greek mythology. I’m reading a book about the Ancient Greeks to DS at the moment too.
LOVE all the pics you’ve posted ❤️

@YorkshireFelix I would definitely leave the house and walk 5 mins up the road for an espresso out of a professional machine! Your pizza place looks so
cool, I am definitely going to visit if I’m ever in that area! Also amazing to hear about V’s progress!

So are we thinking I may have at least another 18 months before Pablo grows up 😂 I can’t complain where he is concerned really. I was thinking the other day that it may be easier for a first time dog owner to go through the puppy stage as I have no idea what it’s like to have a mature and calm dog! So maybe it’s not as much as a shock to the system? Also wondering where to place myself - still straddling both threads but is P a pup or an adolescent at 7 months?! Who knows 😂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks hope the commute in to London isn’t too taxing and your day goes fast!

@SpanielsGalore how are things with your girls?

Hope all is ok for everyone. Sorry for the essay!

Good Morning

Coffee? I can definitely see the appeal of a proper potent brew when you have an early city commute @TheHungryHungryLandsharks but at Vinny's place I would take a lovely veggie pizza and pass on the coffee, thanks @YorkshireFelix 😁

@VanGoSunflowers With the time frame, I don't think so necessarily, you seem to have a calm pup and I do think Pablo will be relatively mature at a year, as Brie was. You will still notice subtle changes at around 18 months, as we're doing now. I see your point about not having a comparison due to him being your first dog though. As I said on the Doberman thread, it can sometimes work to your advantage not having any preconceived ideas as to how a dog should behave, but there are also minuses to not having a comparison in that you don't always know what your dog's weak points are... All you can do is trust your instincts.

Amazon is saying next Tuesday for my book order because that's the release date for Brimstone and I chose free delivery. I'm okay with that because I only started the third book in The Nightshade Crown trilogy last night and it's 460 pages so it'll take me a few days.
My To Be Read pile is embarrassing - probably around 100 because I bought loads of books last year but then had issues with my concentration when I lost my mother. I stupidly signed up for the 50 book challenge on the What We're Reading board here at the start of this year 😬 but I dropped off it pretty early when I realised how highly competitive it is. It's quite intimidating! My partner reckons some on there are listing every book they've read in the last 10 years and he may well have a point 😏

So anyway, this morning I'm sitting here with my second mug of Clipper organic tea and a snoozing girl who has had breakfast but still can't be arsed to go for a wee.
Rain again, everywhere is sodden so we're doing a few more road walks.
Two tiny victories yesterday:
We had to walk past a big truck that was stopped with the engine idling and just as we were walking past, it started moving. Brie didn't baulk at all, didn't even flinch, just calmly continued walking. For us that is huge, given that it's only 3 or 4 months since we had the behaviourist out who said she'd get worse. That is massive progress for us and we've done it on our own!
Second positive yesterday was greeting the Shetland sheep and they seemed to remember her from all those months ago. We've done field walks all summer and not been near that bridleway but as soon as they saw her they came running to do a nose boop with her. Then they walked alongside the fenceline beside her all the way up. It's so sweet.

Hope you all have a good day. Sorry for the waffle and all the photos x

Hi all. DSis is visiting this week, so apologies in advance if I miss anything.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Oh that's a pain! I'm logged in on my tablet and keep trying to log in on my phone and failing miserably. Recently discovered I used my Gmail account insteadofmy Hotmail one, but I have no idea what that email address is. 🤦‍♀️

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Lovely photos. Isn't it funny how they lose their colour as they get older? P's the opposite, as she's got more speckles and spots as she got older. She officially registered as liver roan, so I expected more colouring to come through TBH.

@YorkshireFelix Awwww sounds like Vinny is all grown up. 💖 Long may the good behaviours last.

@VanGoSunflowers P is so big now! I bet he still has more growing to do yet too. My spaniels seem to peak around 7 months and just fill out after that.
I think K hit adolescence at 7 or 8 months. Her perfect since 11.5 weeks old recall went right out the window. 🙄 Not sure we've got it back yet, although she is better at staying closer.

Pleased to say N is fully recovered. She's finished the meds and is back on her normal food after a few days of white fish and sweet potato. And we have celebrated a solid poo. 🥳

I have re-thought my action plan for P. Since the physio session, she is showing very very slight signs of improvement. Blink and you would miss it, but occasionally she stands with her feet in line. It's only for seconds at a time, but it hasn't happened at all for two months so I am taking it as a positive. So I am not going to bother with x-rays for now and have booked another physio appointment instead. Hopefully with shorter walks and regular physio, she'll be fighting fit by the new year. 🤞

K is turning into a naughty little sod and needs some discipline. 🙈 Anyone want her for a few months to teach her some manners? 😂 She's the spoilt baby of the family here. She's discovered she can jump and tries to leap up and snatch food out of your hand. And yet still has impeccable manners around the dining table. So perhaps I just need to sit down to eat a sandwich. 🙄

Hope everyone has a lovely day, despite the rain. Yay for dupe dry robes. 😂

So glad N has recovered from her stomach upset @SpanielsGalore
Also relieved to hear that you're figuring out the way forward for P - hopefully once you get her back on an even keel with the physio and her new exercise regime, she'll have some stability for a good while.
As for K; the little minx is obviously at that age where she's pushing the boundaries. It sounds like you'll have your work cut out with the jumping! We're still working on that one for greetings, I must admit😬
Hope you have a lovely week with your sister x

@SpanielsGalore I'll have K if you like! Pop her in the post and pupsy will sort her out.

Today is definitely a dry robe dupe day.

I am not really here and just lurking because my life is horrible but just wanted to admire puppy Merlin @CoubousAndTourmaIet and say well done to your traffic progress! That's ace x

Thanks @brushingboots M was a treasure. Progress with B feels good after the gloomy prognosis from the behaviourist.

Without wanting to pry, I'll just say that I hope that life will become less horrible. I'm so sorry if you're in a period of stress. Sending much love xxx

On the same theme I hope @YorkshireFelix 's daughter is having a better week.

And also that @Bupster is a bit less knackered.

The Doghouse isn't quite the same without the three of you, but I know only too well that sometimes life gets in the way and things are shitty for a while. Hope things pick up for everyone x

@VanGoSunflowers I am Jura's No.1 fan! Mostly because I have had the same machine since 2020 (bought in April - so just after lockdown hit), and when I am home (so 4-5 days a week), I use it 4-5 times a day. It has probably made about 5,000 coffees in 5 years and it's yet to fail me. Expensive, but worth it! It's saved me a fortune on coffees.

I think I am to Jura what @brushingboots is to DryRobes 😁We should be getting commissions from the respective companies.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I stopped at my 'local' in Charring Cross this morning for one of their coffees and it was lovely. They use unpasturised milk, which is quite creamy and thick, and makes the most lovely coffee but gosh it fills me up. The coffee is a meal by itself, never minding the huge pastry I bought from home (which is mostly scattered across my desk as it just flaked into nothing whenever I tried to eat it).

So pleased you and Brie managed two victories in a day! Tbh it sounds like all the dogs on this thread are really growing up 😊She must be such a gentle giant though for the sheep to walk to calmly next to her. Mine love a sheep and although they don't do anything other than stare at them, the sheep hate them. Satan is a little sheep chaser and cannot be trusted, however.

@SpanielsGalore so pleased to hear about P's progress (ongoing physio sounds like a very good plan) and that N is better!

I would happily take K for the day or forever. I can't promise I will teach her any manners...she'd probably come back worse tbh as she'd pick up on the bad habits of mine...but I'd be very happy to take her off your hands 😁You can take Twatdog and Eris (who doesn't want a Golden Retriever puppy?!?!?).

Hope you feel a bit better soon @brushingboots! I hope pupsy is doing what little doggies do best and giving you lots of cuddles (although not whilst she's wet, of course - no one wants stinky wet dog cuddles, do they?).

I am spending most of my day walking to and from various meetings (and then sitting in them wondering why they couldn't be an email) which is giving me a great opportunity to get soaked. I've crossed Whitehall four times already this morning and twice I have been sprayed from a puddle by a passing bus. On the plus side, I managed to liberate (steal) and umbrella from our buildings entrance!

Thanks, @CoubousAndTourmaIet - I have been lurking but just not feeling able to post so much. @brushingboots I hope you're okay x

As some of you know, poor Bill has been struggling on and off with reactivity for months, at least since August. We'll have a good few weeks, then something will go wrong again. I've been avoiding places with lots of other dogs, so he's not getting much social time, which makes me feel bad for him (though it did help to hear that most of you have dogs that don't have a big social circle - I think it's because there's just the two of us that I feel so guilty).

My behaviourist team very kindly did me a graph based on the diary I've been keeping that shows he's improving without any doubt, but it doesn't always feel like that at 6pm in the rain when he's started roaring and barking at someone walking along the fence of the dog park, or you're trying to get him home and he loses his absolute mind at a cat. He's flourishing at 1-1 training - I just wish I could help him interact with the world more calmly.

I am now thinking that there might be a digestive element still. I'm taking him off eggs and pork (might be sulphides, might be tripe, but there's definitely something in one or both that makes him fart which might be giving him real discomfort). Half of me feels like I'm clutching at straws here but this is definitely more than adolescent nobheadery or trigger stacking - he can cope with really difficult things and then be fine for days afterwards. I do think both of those feed into it, but if there's anything else I can do to make him feel better in himself I've got to try.

Anyway, this is a typically long-winded way of saying there are some days when things are great and I can happily jump on and post some pictures of the squidgy-headed hooligan, and others where absolutely everything makes me feel a bit inadequate.

It's good to have an update @Bupster , I genuinely miss the tales of your much loved squidgy headed numpty.

Sorry that Bill has become hard work. We've never really had a circle of friends for our dogs, but I know being a couple is different and although we have no kids it's still been a family unit of dogs cats and us. It can't be easy for you having to isolate Bill so much and your own social circle narrowing as a consequence. Please stop feeling guilty though. Bill is clearly very devoted to you, and you to him. I'm sure he's perfectly happy without his friends.
I tend to keep Brie away from other dogs but my partner has the idea that she needs to meet them. He has no understanding of dog etiquette and takes risks that I wouldn't, such as walking her up to a dog that is carrying a stick or a ball. I worry about her face getting ripped in half one day because of him wanting her to make friends. It's very much a dilemma for all of us I suppose.

Have you tried the Dorwest Herbs Skullcap & Valerian to calm Bill a bit? I'm assuming you probably have, given that @brushingboots is a Dorwest devotee, but if not it might be worth a look.

As to the farting issue, please can I suggest trying lamb as the main source protein as I did for @VanGoSunflowers and others? M didn't get along with chicken, R was lethal if she so much as looked at a sliver of turkey and neither A nor B have got along with fish in any form. Lamb has worked for every single dog of ours and I honestly swear by it. We've never had excessive flatulence or loose digestion from feeding lamb.

x

Always thought I’d be a ‘real book’ person but got a kindle and was converted. It’s backlit so easy to read in bed without disturbing snoring dh. You can also buy a lot of books for 99p so I have quite a lot ready to read. Have kindle unlimited when on offer. Otherwise, it’s usually cheaper for me to buy individual books.

Lovely autumnal (felt like Spring ) walk this morning.

@Bupster I had a dog with IBD. A behaviourist told me the stomach is the second brain. And this was definitely true in his case. His behaviour was connected to how he was feeling. On a good day, he'd play with P. On a middling day, he'd ignore her. On a bad day, he'd attack her. Sadly, she became a very good barometer for his health. If she wouldn't be in the same room as him, I knew he felt shit.
If Bill is farting, then I would imagine he does have some level of discomfort. So changing his food can only be a good thing. It might not help with the behaviour, but it will help his digestive system at the very least.

Also, as I mentioned before, I swear my reactive dog was autistic. He was a perfect family dog, but never learnt to cope with the outside world. I took it as a win that I managed to get him to the stage where he could see a dog in the distance and not run 100 yards to attack it. He never had a social circle - he didn't even like his brother. But that's fine, as he didn't want one. In fact only 2 of my 6 dogs have played with strange dogs. The others just aren't/weren't interested. So don't feel bad about that.

It's difficult, but do try to focus on the positives and the progress you have both made. I know it's easier said than done. I'd come home after a bad encounter and spend the next three days in tears.

Bill is very lucky to have you in his corner, doing everything possible to allow him to live his best life. 💖 It may not be the life you envisioned (mine certainly wasn't), but it's the life for Bill.

And do try to post on bad days. They're probably the days you need support the most. X