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.

@SpanielsGalore Perhaps unfairly, I find human males far more irritating than dog males. 😂

It was honestly awful. Should have taken 30 minutes to get there, walk to the shops and get a coffee/bacon roll for Eris, and get back took about an hour. The only good part of it was I had a full stamp card so my coffee was free!

Oh no, I am sorry. It's so hard when people get older as age does seem to catchup to them so quickly. One bowl of shreddies really isn't that much, but if he's not feeling 100% I imagine the thought of cooking is simply exhausting. It's lovely that you'll take his dog out for him though - does his dog get on with K? Or do they just ignore each other and do their own thing on walks?

He's 10 years old and usually quite sedate. Although we went to a different woods today and he was quite frisky at the change of scenery.
I'm sure it will be fine. I'll walk him with K. I've walked regularly with the owner for a few years now, so the dog knows me well. He's learnt I am the bearer of treats, so to come when the whistle blows. 😂

Tiredness level: tonight I went out for a walk without a lead, any poo bags (attached to the lead) or any reward snacks for pupsy. Had to improvise with some baling twine from the car which in the end I didn't need to use. And got cold and wet. 0/10.

Have you seen the dog present thread? Someone posted asking whether they should buy a certain dog bag as a present and lots of responses as to what they use from ‘the bag is brilliant’ to ‘I stuff a poo bag in my pocket’.

I use a small cross-shoulder dog bag which has three pockets - phone, treats and poo bags. A slightly larger one in summer for a water bottle and collapsible water bowl.

In many ways, dog owners, like new mums are duped. Adverts suggest you need a baby change bag, whilst a larger handbag or everyday rucksack will suffice. Same with dog treat bags. They’re only really cross-body bags.

I was on there 🙄It made me really stressed.
And I'm one of the stuff a poo bag in my pocket people.

If we were out for the day we'd take a small rucksack, but for every day local walks of an hour or two, no bag at all.
In my case, it's partly because I'm little and our dogs heads are level with my waist. A huge bulky cross body bag like the one on that thread would get in the way - it'd smack the dog in the head every time I moved. Just couldn't handle it for the sake of a few poo bags.

I do hate present threads 😬 People were suggesting poo bags, leather leads, licki mats, all of which I'd have no use for and would end up binning.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I’m definitely more of a ‘stuff poo bags in every coat pocket’ type of walker. I’ve used a very small bag in the summer when I’m not wearing a coat and don’t have pockets but my dry robe dupe has loads of pockets so I can load them up.

I did have a near miss once during the school run when Pablo squatted in the middle of the pavement in a busy place and I had no poo bag on me 🤦‍♀️ I panicked and went to head back to the car because I knew I had some plastic bags in there but was worried it would look like I was just going to leave it there! Fortunately, a kind woman saw me and gave me one of hers 😂

@brushingboots oh noo! I just posted on the other thread that I lost Pablo’s lead in the woods today 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I also got wet and muddy and was absolutely starving so I was quite grumpy by the time I got back to the car 😂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Sorry, I missed your post yesterday.

I'm not sexist. I find humans in general more annoying than dogs. 😂

🥳 for free coffee. Not sure it would make up for the crowds though. I hope Eris enjoyed her bacon batch roll.

K and C (vizla) pretty much do their own thing. But on occasions when we've sat on a tree stump for a rest, they have had a run around and play together.

I'm going to see if I can nip to Tesco and get some Huel drinks or good old Complan. I'm quite worried about him. He told me he thought he was having a heart attack the other day and just lay on the floor, struggling to breathe. He lives alone and his children all moved away, so he has no one local.

@brushingboots How can someone, who has earned lots of commission on her promoting of dupe dry robes, be cold and wet on a walk?

@VanGoSunflowers I found a black and silver slip lead the other day, so draped it over a fence post. Walked past a few days later and someone had added a second identical one.
I lost a lead in the woods once. Someone found it and hung it on a post, so I got it back on my next visit. Hopefully yours will turn up too. 🤞

I have a small Nike cross body bag for walks. It always has poo bags, plastic glove, hand gel and whistle in it. Then I add my phone, drink bottle, keys and leads. If I take water for the dogs, I carry it separately.
But now I have my changing coat with huge pockets, I don't really need a bag.

Just sick of bloody rain!!! Totally bored with it 😠
Yes, I know certain areas have needed rain, but this area doesn't, so an occasional dry day would be a nice change.

That aside, Brie's Essential Estate kibble has just arrived with a couple of really nice freebies in the package - one for dogs and one for humans 😊

Sorry about the situation with your neighbour @SpanielsGalore 😔Loss of independence is so hard. It does sound as if he needs some support if he isn't eating properly. I'm sure Complan would be a help.

@SpanielsGalore My dh drinks Huel and has one most days for lunch. If you have a Costco nearby, they’re cheaper but you do have to buy eight at a time. I think they’re half price compared to the shops.

@SpanielsGalore Oh I will freely admit I tend to find human males more irritating but that is possibly because MoD colleagues still try and mansplain defence and security issues to me after 20 years of me working on the subject...and let's not get started on the leg spreading on the trains or their attempts to wrestle the arm-rest from me.😀

The free coffee mostly made up for the crowds. It was even busier today. I think for my own sanity that I'll be trying to avoid going into town at all before Christmas - I always forget how bonkers it gets, particularly in supermarkets. Honestly people must waste so much food because it's like everyone's shopping trolley just triples in size the weeks before Christmas.

Oh it's nice that they get on! I hope you manage to find some high calorie drinks for your neighbour.

I have a barking bag, mostly because I need c. 10+ poo bags for a walk and there is no way they, my keys, my phone, my swiss army knife and spare lead are all fitting in my pockets. The pockets do help keep everything separate which is really the most important thing.

Our Christmas tree has gone up. House is decorated and, most importantly, the first of the presents are wrapped 😀

God, it's taken me forever to catch up. I have a bloody great bag for walks as I generally need treats, top up treats, recall treats, extra for nice walking (lasts forever), a long line, poo bags, spare poo bags, emergency poo bags for when I forget to replenish the first two, a bottle of water in the summer, toys/dummies, clicker for training, torch, whistle, spare clicker and spare whistle for when I forget where I've put them or drop them somewhere, etc. etc., and - crucially - if all of this isn't already in the bag or in the fridge waiting to be put in the bag, it's not coming. I have a single brain cell that often goes on strike. I have still managed to leave the house without long line, poo bags and once, memorably, wellies - I was still in my slippers. I've also left the keys in the inner door, and had to boot the front door open to discover that.

If anyone is curious as to why adolescent boys are most likely to be relinquished to shelters, I can lend you Bill for a week? Might also help explain my single brain cell.

@SpanielsGalore Very reasonable question! It wasn’t raining when I went out in my Barbour and then suddenly it was and it was horrific.

Re bags, I just use coat/gilet pockets apart from the two days of the year where it is warm enough not to wear either and then I’ve got a fab little Patagonia bumbag. I have a poo bag holder on every lead though I only really use one lead. If I’m going out training with dummies etc I just fill my coat pockets as several of my Barbours have game pockets. But as I discovered last night none of that seems to be necessary given that we did a walk without a lead, any snacks or poo bags (except a random one that I found in the car). All I had to offer pupsy for her nice heelwork were the crumbs of old pate in my pocket.

Did someone recommend a really nice, possibly custom, boot liner/mat thing here recently ish? I can’t find it. Could have been @TheHungryHungryLandsharks? I thought I’d saved it but it seems not.

@Bupster Bill has such an adorable face.

@brushingboots I used Rhino Boot Liners - they have a bit of a long dispatch (think mine took three weeks), but they are very good quality. I have one of their back seat hammocks for Twatdog and Eris, but under that I also use Pet Rebellion seat covers to try and doubly protect my car! Not sure if it was mine that was suggested, but they are good.

@Bupster I see Bill is still as handsome as ever!😍I would happily take Bill for a week - but you'd need to take Twatdog as my house isn't big enough for six dogs.

@brushingboots Ah, there's your mistake. I wear mine all the time now, regardless of rain, as it's so warm. I'm still only wearing a t-shirt under it.

@Silverbirchleaf Unfortunately I live in the back of beyond, so have nothing like that. I think I saw the ready made bottles in the local Tesco, so I'll go tomorrow and pay their rob dog prices.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Last week I went into the big town and thought I'd treat myself to shopping in the big Tesco. I bloody hated it! It was so busy and I didn't know where anything was. So I grabbed the absolute essentials and left.
I loved shopping during covid restrictions. Fewer people. Everyone going the same way and keeping their distance.

I headed across to my friend J's house around 1:30. Went to two chemist's on the way to buy some Complan/Fortiflora type drink and they both closed at 1.

I got to J's around 2pm and he wasn't up. I was on the phone to 101, requesting a welfare check by the time he eventually opened the door. I took C to the woods with K. Unexpectedly, C was not happy to discover J wasn't there when we got to the woods and refused to leave the car park. I put a lead on him and he walked with me, but he wasn't happy. He panted a lot, which I couldn't decide if it was a sign of stress or he wasn't used to walking at a normal pace anymore.

I didn't know what to do about J. I tried phoning 111 for advice, but there was an 85 minute wait on hold! I think he needs to see a doctor at the very least, if not be admitted to hospital for some IV fluids. So after I dropped C back at home, I tracked down J's brother. He said he'd go round to visit and try to contact J's daughter, who lives in Aberdeen. So at least family are now aware and they can try to get J some help.
It's difficult, isn't it? I probably see J more than any of his relatives, but I'm not family and don't want to overstep. I also realised when I was phoning 101 and 111, I don't even know his surname.

Have you considered adult social services? They can offer an array of services and help.

I asked his brother about any care in the community available in the area. I'm not sure what I can organise as a non relative. I'll speak to them both tomorrow and take some bits of shopping round. Hopefully someone will have spoken to the daughter by then and she can come over.

@SpanielsGalore also you can search Age UK’s website for any services they provide near you. It’s so lovely that you’re looking out for him.

Thank you. I didn't know that. I'll have a look now.

Just want to say @SpanielsGalore , as a person who had to rely on the kindness of my parents neighbours to help them out (me being 100 miles away and not able to drive), that the world needs more people like you. Thank you for doing what you can to help your neighbour xxx

Echoing @CoubousAndTourmaIet - I wish the world had more people like you @SpanielsGalore.

Definitely try age UK but also see if he might accept something like Cook meals, or Wiltshire Farm Foods - DMums neighbour is quite elderly (90s) and uses both for quick, easy and relatively healthy meals.

We had a shocker of a day this morning. Eris did a runner at Knole Park (local deer park - dogs on leads) after I dropped her lead instead of Hens when my hands were too full to pick up the dog poo. Off she went after a deer. She didn't exactly go far, but every time I caught up to her she scurried off again barking and thinking it was all some great game. I nearly got assassinated by the golfers (there's also a golf course) in my quest to hunt her down. Then, my bacon and cheese muffin place (my once a week treat as opposed to my bacon roll place) had no bacon and cheese muffins. And, even worse, neither Waitrose nor M&S which are the only supermarkets in that part of town, had any satsumas.

And, I am sorry if this is controversial ,but Clementines are shit. The only good orange at Christmas is a Satsuma. So I am about to head out to Lidl, Tesco and Sainsburys! Wish me luck!

Guess what? Rain again. And the two week forecast is showing rain every single day 😧 I hope her coat arrives this week...

I've ordered her a different harness to try because she's outgrown the hound harness, hence DP's worries about it rubbing. He did the morning walk with her on the martingale collar.

She's very quiet. Can a dog be too quiet/calm? I don't know. Maybe she's bored with the rain too.

Oh god @TheHungryHungryLandsharks That sounds like a bit of a scary moment with Eris, but typical that she saw it as fun and gave you the runaround. Hope she and you are both okay.

Sorry about the disappointment over the muffin and I hope you were able to locate some satsumas. I'm inclined to agree that satsumas are better than clementines but we love mandarins even more 😋

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions and kind words. I like to think I'm doing what most people would.
Up until P went lame again, we used to meet once or twice a week to walk the dogs together. Friday was the first time I have ever called at his house. I think it was fate.
I'm going to walk K along the sea front and then go shopping for some tempting bits and take them round.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Naughty Eris. 🙈 That sounds as much fun as my walk the other day. (Damn. That's reminded me i was avoiding the sea front. 🤦‍♀️)
No bacon and cheese rolls sucks. It's the least you deserved after that stress.
Where do tangerines come on your scale of small orange fruits?

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Damp and wet here too, but fortunately not raining.
It aways worries me when they're quiet. With my lot, it usually means they're ill. Although if K is quiet and out of sight, it means she's shredding the toilet roll.