Beyond Adolescence - part 2

[SpanielsGalore]

No point banning coffee, as it didn't work last time. 🙄
Haven't had any cake updates from a while. @VanGoSunflowers Have you stopped baking already? You still had 8 cakes to go to make it economical.

It's obviously a difficult balance for you right now with the exercise @SpanielsGalore . When we had an old boy with two much younger girls it was hard, but at least we could share the load. Much more difficult for you on your own.
Same goes for emergency vet care. Two of us makes it doable even with a giant dog but I'd struggle by myself.
Our emergency contacts are an hour away, but Brie has a lot of trust in them so if we were incapacitated in any way I know she'd be okay with them.

I'm not ready to rule out another pup, even at 62. All the ageism/sizeism here on mn makes me 😡 In any case, there's quite a few over 60s in our village with GSD/Dobes etc so it's not as if I'm in any way unusual here. Experience counts for a lot with big dogs.

That's a cute photo of your girls ❤

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Yes. I possibly (hopefully) under sold myself on the age limit for a puppy. I know people well into their 60s and early 70s who have got them.
I must sort out emergency back up for my lot. There's not really anyone in the family who could have them or I would want them to go to, so they would need to go to SRS for rehoming.

We used to rely on my parents for back up @SpanielsGalore but now my cousin is our emergency contact. She's the one whose daughters are the vet/student vet and they'd take Brie. Even if she had to go to Pyrenean Rescue in the longer term, they'd be able to sort it out and follow it up to make sure she was okay. They love her and she'd be in safe hands.

100% agree age is just a number. Tbh age is the one thing I do not take into consideration when I sell a puppy😀The eldest person I've sold a puppy to was late 70s, but they'd had retrievers all their life and were fighting fit. They lived with their adult chid and the whole family came to meet the puppy and I was confident that if anything happened to the man that his child and their family would step in and take the dog. What matters is how confident you are in managing the dog

@CoubousAndTourmaIet DH is very very obliging...I have him well trained! He's not a huge dog walker though - he'll do it, and enjoy it, but he's perfectly content to take the older or younger ones for an amble and meet me later. He has great fun sitting in coffee shops and talking to people about the dogs. He's the opposite of me as if someone approaches me in a coffee shop and I have the dogs all I can think is 'piss off and let me drink my coffee in peace.'

Bless Brie for being such a character.

Agree that with bigger dogs it's experience over age. I'd argue that, actually, for giant breeds or breeds with particular characteristics (Lifestock Guardians, for example)...age is probably incredibly useful as those breeds are so different to every other breed!

I'm not sure if I've said before, but DMum is considering going back to a Goldie. She only changed because of the fur but given mine are (unexpectedly) there so often, her carpets are perpetually white anyway. She keeps going between Goldie and another rescue cocker.

@SpanielsGalore one of your girls looks VERY happy in that photo and the other one looks very unimpressed! 😂

Are you doing all the kitchen decoration yourself!? I hadn't realised it was all you!

I must say the issue with multiple dogs of different ages is the walks. I am so lucky that DDs are happy to walk Hen and/or Eris, which frees me up a bit - lots of kids say they'll do it and then at the first sight of rain they stop, but not my two. They'd be out in a blizzard if they thought they might get alone time with the dogs out of it.

@SpanielsGalore we love irrelevant photos.

This little face ❤ Look at her fluffy hair 😂 She's just so cute, my big mean old guard dog 😏
(and she still forgets to pencil in her right eyebrow every single time 🙄)

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I think in that elderly person's case, it's a bit different as he had family support. There is no one in my family that I would leave my dogs too, so I do worry that I could die before them and they'd all end up in rescue. Obviously we can't see into the future and I could die tomorrow. But I think if I got a puppy at 70, the odds of me dieing first are greater.

Is your DMum going to go on a waiting list for one of Eris' puppies?

K just wants to be loved. 😞 😂 I bought a big bed when I got K in the hope they'd curl up together, but P's having none of it.

My kitchen ceiling used to be brown wood, so I paid to have it plasterboarded over and painted white. But the walls I am doing myself. It is slow progress. Pretty sure K licked the paint tray last time. 🤦‍♀️

@SpanielsGalore would your son not take a dog on? Although I guess his job makes having a pet difficult?

I think DMum would rather claw out her own eyes than deal with one of my lot! If she did get another Goldie, I think she'd probably want one from one of the other breeders we know - one who breeds slightly smaller ones! She practically throws Eris at me whenever she's had her for a few hours. I did joke once that she could have Eris and the look she gave me would have scared Kim Jong Un 😀

If I am honest, I think she loves Satan so much she can't stand the thought of ever getting another cocker, or rescue. Her bond with Satan really is so special and I think it's because Satan was so reliant on her for so long. Satan really is her soul-mate.

Poor K! She can come to my house for cuddles as Twatdog would give her all the cuddles she could ever want ❤

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Oh Brie really is a beauty. I love that she has a little black line under her mouth - like a little moustache 😍Satan has one of them and it's soo cute.

What to do with the dog if I or my husband became incapacitated is not something I had thought about until a couple of weeks ago. I’ve heard from the owner of one of Midge’s litter mates. The owner is late 50’s a widower and no children. He’s just been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and the prognosis is very bleak. The breeder is on alert to take the pup back but the owner wants to try and leave it as long as possible. It’s so sad. I can’t stop thinking about the owner and M’s brother. I had a fleeting thought about offering a home to the pup, but putting my sensible hat on, I don’t think it would be practical.

Adorable. I want a cuddle!

She's very cuddly now, a real lap dog. She wasn't such a cuddly puppy, but is making up for it now. Squishy 🤗

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks As it stands, for one reason or another, none of my children are in a position to give the dogs the life I want for them. Hopefully I have a bit longer left yet, so things may well change.

The bond your DMum and Satan have is lovely. 💖 It's loving mine so much that puts me off getting a different breed. What if it isn't as people orientated as a cocker? Couldn't be doing with an aloof breed that snubs me. P's bad enough. 😂

@Nella68 That's so sad. The poor man. 😭
I've only started thinking about what would happen to the dogs since I've lived alone and DS, who was my back up, joined the army. There's also been several fatal car accidents this year on the main road just outside my village. It makes you think about how fragile life is.
I was talking to a woman who lived alone with her dogs. She said she has an instruction sheet for the dogs stuck on her fridge door, so if anything happens to her people know what food and meds they are all on. It made me think I should do the same.
I've given a neighbour a key now just in case of emergencies. Not that I am planning on dieing. But if my car breaks down I could be waiting for hours for the RAC to turn up, so it's good to know someone can feed the dogs and let them out for a wee for me.

@Nella68 oh that's horrible, the poor man! Good that the breeder will take the dog back and hopefully be able to find it a nice home.

@SpanielsGalore Hopefully you've got a lot longer, not just a bit!

I know what you mean - I was a bit worried Eris might be like Clem and have no interest in people. I love Clem, but the standoffishness does break my heart a bit (as dramatic as it sounds). I can't imagine having a breed that wasn't completely loyal to me and people orientated and with Goldies I know by and large what I am getting.

DH will keep the dogs if anything happens to me (mostly because he knows I will haunt him if he doesn't). But it's DMum who will take them if something happens to both of us - although she's getting older, she has the experience and the energy still to manage them and could employ a dog walker if she had to. Not sure BIL could face 6 Goldies in his house (including the one they have) - he spends most of his time running away from their own one 😂

Hope everyone had lovely morning walks! I skipped mine this morning - dogs will go out with DMum later - in favour of more time with DDs and DH. Wishing I had walked the dogs now as it's due to pour the rest of the week...

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I've fancied having a Toller for years. I think I live in the perfect area for the breed. I also know someone, who is very good friends with a good breeder, who said she'd help me get a puppy. But what if they aren't like a spaniel?! I would hate to get one and wish I'd got another cocker instead.

We haven't been out yet. Our morning routine is get up, go outside for the toilet, back inside for breakfast, go back to sleep for two hours. 😂

@SpanielsGalore I like the idea of a Toller too but why fix what ain't broke with a cocker? I wouldn't mind a working goldie but what I like about them is just everything pupsy gives me anyway plus the added inconvenience of the size and extra hair.

Good Morning,

Rainy again early on, so we haven't ventured out yet. It's supposed to be brightening up, so we've promised Brie a reservoir walk later because DP came back from Pets at Home cat litter run with a bag of duck food. So we're taking little girl to feed the ducks today 😆

Ah that's it @SpanielsGalore , the risk factor when it comes to looking at other breeds. Better the devil you know 😉

Funny what you say about your DH and your BIL @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . My DP takes longer to bond with our pets than I do. He was so traumatised by Algy's loss (because he'd taken him for the vaccine) that he didn't want another dog. With Brie he took a lot of persuading but he's definitely smitten now. I'm going gently and slowly with the second dog idea; think we have maybe two years to play with age wise for me and for Brie. The behaviourist said Brie will not accept a second dog, which was interesting. Certainly M accepted puppy R very easily. R accepted puppy F at age 9 but S tried to kill him 😬 so our experiences have been mixed. It may be that Brie will remain an only child dog, as Algy did.

That's very sad about Midge's brother @Nella68 , I hope he gets a good home when his owner gets to the point of not being able to cope.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks
What the hell has The Kennel Club done to their website?

@SpanielsGalore I think @brushingboots has summed it up well.

Although @brushingboots...do you really want the whining that comes with a Goldie? They're whingy little gits when they don't get their own way. All Twatdog did yesterday on the 4 hour car journey was whine the entire time. Whine because he couldn't get pats. Whine because Eris sat on him. Whine because the window was up. Whine because we were home. Whine because he couldn't fit on the bed😁 How is pupsy? I bet pupsy is a good dog and doesn't whine constantly...

@SpanielsGalore wish I could have gone back to bed for two hours, I'm rather jealous! Aren't tollers known for screaming though? Not sure I could cope with that!

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I have no bloody idea. Looks like a toddler did it. The 'Find a Puppy' page pisses me off to an irrational level. Idiots.

It's hard knowing when/how to introduce isn't it? And hard to predict how the dog might react.

I do find that men - at least the ones in my family and those who have bought puppies from me - seem to really mourn the loss of a dog so much more outwardly than woman. We obviously all miss our dogs, but men seem to wear their hearts on their sleeve a bit more about it despite the fact they seem to take longer to bond with them. DH took years to really bond with our first girl but when she passed he had to take annual leave as he couldn't cope with her loss. He's completely smitten with Eris though. I did have to gently remind him last night when he picked Eris up and plonked her on our sofa after the third time she tried to escape to DD1 that Eris is DD1s dog, not ours.

Let us know how the 'little' ( 😀) girl gets on with the ducks!

This is my dilemma. And the reason I have added two cocker pups since the offer of help to source a well bred Toller.
I love GR, especially working strain ones, but couldn't physically manage a dog that size. I imagine a Toller to be a good middle ground. 🤷‍♀️
I have a friend who has always had spaniels. She regularly walks and looks after her friend's Toller. I keep thinking about asking her how different the two breeds are.

I wouldn't be getting another dog for a few years anyway, so I have a while to keep stewing over it.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet They do say it's better to regret what you did than what you didn't do. But 'they' could be talking bollocks. 14 years is a long time to live with a dog you regret getting.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks hahah no I do not want whining! She doesn't whine at all because if she does she gets a sharp 'quiet' from me. She's fabulous, such a little love.

I deposited her at nursery this morning and left for a special work trip which will hopefully be sunny if the journey down so far is anything to go by. I've been on a lot of day trips over the last few weeks and she is owed a bit of time with me, not that she seems to notice as she loves nursery and she loves my friend who picks her up if I'm late back.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks That's the dogs' morning routine, not mine. 😂 I've wasted hours on MN instead of cracking on with the decorating. 🤦‍♀️

Yes Tollers have a unique sound. Which might be another reason I don't have one yet.😂
Making a noise as an undesirable trait in working strain cockers. Unlike their barky show strain relatives.
K is the most vocal cocker I have had. Both P and K will bark at things that frighten them and will squeal when chasing a deer. But K has started to whine when she is excited - for example, when she's in the car and recognises the route and knows she's going for a walk. But it's a quiet whine and only for a short time, so I don't mind.

Four hours of whining would have annoyed the hell out of me. I'd have stopped and made DH have him in his car. 😂

Not going to discuss men and dogs, as it would mean ruining my day by thinking about the ex. 😂 Suffice to say, he did fuck all with them when they were alive, couldn't face up to having them PTS, and (allegedly) was more upset than me when they died.

Damn. I've thought about him now. 🤦‍♀️ 😂

I think you're right about men and dogs @TheHungryHungryLandsharks , he was terrible when S died because she was very much his girl whereas R was my girl. He seems to be going that way with Brie too which I hope will soften him up enough to agree to a companion. It's very sweet about your DH loving baby Eris so much already💕

Brie never ever whines and hardly barks. We're still amazed how quiet she is, because all our others were very big barkers and we had to be mindful of it with regard to neighbours.

We seem to have turned a corner in recent weeks and she's maturing beautifully. At 20 months, she's much calmer on walks, not spooking at noisy vehicles now (even a fire engine whizzing past with siren going), not pulling towards random people or dogs. At home I can now trust her to be left in the living room without her chewing stuff or pestering the cat to play. She's in a really good routine with food, toileting, walks and bed. She'll settle nicely with us in the evenings while we watch a dvd. So overall I'd say she's pretty much an adult now.

The downsides - still lead biting occasionally, and the jumping up 😬 Thankfully she only tries to jump on people she recognises, but we still need to work on it, because not everyone can cope with an almost 6 ft tall dog putting paws on their shoulders to say hello. My heart is in my mouth when we meet our more elderly neighbours because we're terrified of her knocking someone over. So that's an area we do still need to work on. But that aside she's an angel, really no trouble. We're very lucky to have her.

@brushingboots Oh bless her! Do you want to swap - I'll take a nice (quiet) pupsy and you can have all the whiny losers lovely babies I have...

@SpanielsGalore is a waste though? I'd argue it was a very valuable use of time.

Tbh I cannot judge - I am meant to be sifting for a job I am on the panel for, but all the applications are boring me (in the nicest possible way - I want some sparkle from people not more 'I am an excellent candidate') and I keep having to reward myself every time I get through one. The reward being another cookie and a browse of MN.

Ahh bless K! Excited noises are fine. It's all the other noises that bug me. DH took Twatdog for the journey up and acted like it was all fine...and then yesterday whilst I was putting the key back in the safe (which involved going back into the back garden so I couldn't see the cars) he snuck Twatdog onto my backseat with Eris! It was only when I got in the car and heard the whining I realised what he had done by which point the bastard had driven off!!!

Sorry for making you think of the ex! 😀

@CoubousAndTourmaIet It really is so lovely when they really begin to mature isn't it? It makes everything else 100% worthwhile. Does the cat play with her at all? Or is it a very one-sided love?

I know what you mean about jumping up. It's the only thing I can criticise Pen over tbh. And it's made worse by the people who say 'oh it's fine.' No. It's not fine. One day she might accidentally assassinate someone...

Is there any rhyme or reason to the lead biting? Is it particular locations, or times of day, or if she's not had. walk the day before? Or is it just unpredictable?

I gave Twatdog a toy from the supermarket earlier. Only a small cheap thing. He ripped it's head off in five minutes and now he keeps jabbing me with his sharp claws on the hunt for another. Spoilt little prince. There are, of course, many more toys in the toy box. But he is not having them. Murderers don't get more than one victim a day.

I've wasted hours on here too @SpanielsGalore , on the Premium Bonds thread this morning. My run of luck seems to have petered out, although DP won about £200 this month.

Sorry but I can't help laughing at the idea of your DH shoving TD in with you and taking the sedate adults in his car @TheHungryHungryLandsharks Poor TD, he is much maligned on these threads 😉

Sadly no, Freija doesn't play. She tolerates Brie very well but if B gets too silly, F will give her a good whack in the face and she'll back off. Two of the big boy cats used to play really rough chasing games with Algy when he was a youngster. Boy cats are much more forthcoming than girls. The boys would also snuggle up and sleep with the dogs but the girl cats never would.

Thankfully the lead biting only happens at one end of the big meadow field now, so it's more manageable. It's clearly a place that makes her feel happy and she wants to play. As I've said before, I find them easier to handle when they're full size; when she was lead biting at 7 or 8 months I was coming home with bleeding hands, but that's not happening now. She grabs the lead but has learned control and isn't as rough so she's not hurting me. I think you'll understand that, having a large breed. Even the silly moments become more manageable as you become more in tune with each other.

The jumping up - yes we get "it's fine" 🙄 Most of ours have done it to some degree (aside from the antisocial aloof S) and it's not good, but I really don't know how you stop them or teach them not to, especially when it's someone they know and want to greet. The harness helps me because I can put my hand through the back strap to stop her jumping forward but DP is refusing to walk her on it now, because he's concerned that it rubs her teats and could hurt her 😳 That of course only came to light after he was worried about a "wart" on her chest that he found when unfastening the harness 😂

Aren’t Tollers retrievers? Are they mini labs?

Not sure if anyone is in the Ladies working Gun dog group? They’ve just started their twelves days of Christmas challenge . The one I did was making the dog sit, spell out ‘XMAS ‘ in kibble and then on your command they can have it. Found out that Dog lacks self control.