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.

This is what V’s physio uses for some of the exercises they do 😃

Plenty of labs work as sniffer dogs, they're definitely not all about retrieving. Little pup's litter mate works for the police. You don't see golden retrievers in that role but I've always assumed that's because generally working line goldens are rarer. I'd have assumed they could do the job?

I think with walks it's as much about routine as anything. We don't have much of one and they don't turn feral if we skip a day of walks completely. They very much go with the flow. Also, they are absolutely wiped out if we do something like mantrailing which probably involves walking less than 1.5km total. Far more so than a 90 minute romp round the woods - which if anything winds them up more than calms them down.

In the winter especially, it's rare for mine to have 2 hours of walking mid week.

That's actually very reassuring to me @tizwozliz because I sometimes worry that I'm not doing enough with Brie. We don't have a set routine either, we go when the mood takes us. I don't think I could cope with a dog that was climbing the walls to go out if it missed a walk.
We did an hour long loop today at a very relaxed pace and she's perfectly happy with that.

Midge usually has a walk of 45 mins to an hour. I try and go somewhere different every day. Some walks he’ll romp around, others he’s on the longline and just wants to sniff.
I used to take him for a walk when I picked my daughter up from school. I get everything ready to go so he can come with me if he wants, but generally he just sighs, turns over and goes back to sleep.
He is quite happy to miss a walk if it’s too wet or hot. He’s such a lazy dog!

Boo has about an hour in the morning. The same in the afternoon and a trot around the block in the evening. If it’s raining however he’ll happily not bother.

Mine are fed at 8 ish and 4 ish and everything else is when we feel like it. Some days they'll have two walks. Some days they only get one. And if the weather is really foul, they don't get any.

Interesting day today. When I left the house to walk K, it was a balmy 15°. We walked in the woods for an hour and when we got back to the car, it said it was -5.
Went home and loaded the other two in the car to head down the seafront. Nipped to the loo, and opened the front door to torrential rain. Quickly swapped my coat and set off.
I decided to go back to the woods for shelter, but as soon as I turned left out of my street, P became totally stressed out. So we turned round and went to the sea front after all. Fortunately the rain let up whilst we were there.
So it looks like I'm going to have to stick to the sea front for the foreseeable until P gets used to the car again.

I spoke to my NDN as I left with K.
NDN - You'll end up with her being the only one with everything that's wrong with P.
Me - Well that should be the way, as she's the youngest. But you never know, I might have added another one by then.
NDN - A litter? You could breed her with...
Me - No
NDN - .... a toy poodle.
Me - 😑

@YorkshireFelix I can't do shaping with Bill either - I wondered if I was getting frustrated and projecting it onto him, but you've reassured me, as they are clearly separated at birth. Shaping drives him nuts. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, WOMAN? Screw you, I'm off. And I'm having your hat."

Ahhh, so relieved @SpanielsGalore , thought I was letting the side down here with my "when the mood takes us" walks but you're doing them too. Might be an hour could be 20 minutes or may be a stay at home day. Phew.

Sorry that P got stressed out in the car, but how clever that she knows exactly where you're heading.

Strikes me as a bit tone deaf for your neighbour to say you'll end up with just K. And as for the other bit - well, as you know, that's where the money is these days 🙄

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I often set out with good intentions of being out by a certain time. Then before you know it, I've wasted three hours on MN. 😂

I agree. It was a little insensitive of NDN. And totally out of the blue. P wasn't with me and we weren't talking about her.
She adores K, so I thought she was after a puppy when she suggested breeding her. She then said spaniels are too high energy, so perhaps she was hoping the poodle would water it down. 🙄
But you're right, I could make a fortune. No need to pay out for health tests. And cockerpoos sell for more than their pedigree parents.

P was like this last time. We spent weeks only driving three minutes to the sea front. Once she was comfortable with that, I tried adding a few minutes on by driving round the block. But she stresses as soon as I turn left and she thinks she's not going to the beach. She's constantly turning round in circles, panting. I assume the trips to the physiotherapist has set her off again. Which is odd, as when we get there, she drags me into the building and is all over the physio like a rash.

@SpanielsGalore
I'm sure I said to Landsharks recently that I could make more money and generate more demand by crossbreeding Brie with a random poodle, GR or Lab than by having a purebred, registered litter of PMD's with a health tested stud dog. It strikes me as quite sad. Anyway, I daren't breed her because we'd end up having to keep them all 😬

Poor P 😔 Anxiety is such a horrible thing and she's had more than her fair share of trips to vets to deal with. It's no wonder she has travel issues really. It must be frustrating for you when you have to keep starting again from scratch. Have her supplements arrived yet?

@Bupster ha I’m glad it’s not just us!! He just whines at me and stamps his feet like a petulant toddler.

@SpanielsGalore oh no I’m sorry she’s gotten stressed again. You must be gutted after all that hard work you’ve done with car journeys. Hopefully you can build it up and be able to turn left again 🙁

Oh and yes, I'm like that with mumsnet @SpanielsGalore It's terrible. I could get out earlier or be reading, knitting or painting, but no, I'll be on some ridiculously random thread about foods not tasting like they used to, whether a house needs a porch or what sort of shoes go with this dress...And then half the day has gone. I need to get off here and reclaim my life, but I might miss something that needs a bit of snark 😬

V has hurt himself, it’s his back end but I don’t know which leg. DH was playing with him (wrestling on the rug 🙄 but he genuinely was being gentle/mindful of getting V too over excited) and he suddenly got up on the sofa and did a horrible howl for about 30 seconds and was circling around but sort of crouched down. He then laid down next to me really subdued and wouldn’t even take a treat. He’s taken himself off to the corner of the living room to lie down and he didn’t seem like he was limping when he moved over there but I couldn’t get a proper look. He’s very tired regardless and has curled up to sleep so I’m reluctant to try and move him. Hopefully he’s just twinged something but I’m going to call the physio in the morning. He has an appointment with her on Weds anyway but I suspect she might try and squeeze him in asap. Poor baby 😭

I end up engrossed in the most random of threads like ‘which boarding school near London would suit my child.’ As if it would ever be relevant to my life at all. But I still read the whole thing. I have so much knowledge about really random stuff because of MN.

Oh no @YorkshireFelix 😮Poor Vinny. You're having such a tough time. Could it be his back do you think? If he's crouching but not limping. Our little S girl had some back problems and it sounds similar. I hope you're able to see physio or vet tomorrow if he's no better.

Yes, it’s amazing g how you get engrossed in subjects irrelevant to your life. I’m always naming other people’s babies.

I'm always drawn into property ones although they have no relevance for paupers like me...

Sodding fireworks going off here. Presumably Thanksgiving related but who knows. Fortunately Brie is asleep.

Oh me too. They make me laugh because so many of our pet names appear. Our cat names appear to be trending 😆

Oh, we've had fireworks too. I never considered that they'd be Thanksgiving related. Fireworks were very much only a 4th of July thing when I lived in the states

Just looked it up and there is some sort of Sikh festival today so could be that rather than Thanksgiving I suppose...

It could be, I couldn’t get a good look at him properly as he was on the sofa then he just laid still for ages. He perked up a bit after snoozing for ab hour and is walking normally, and I’ve moved his back legs etc around/had a feel and he’s not showing any very obvious signs of pain (but I don’t really know what I’m looking for apart from him making a noise, moving away or snapping at me). I feel so bad for him 😭

@YorkshireFelix
Maybe he just twisted awkwardly. Hopefully he'll be fine. Try not to worry, though I know that's easier said than done.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I should be painting my kitchen!

Yes, the last of the supplements arrived today. Some of them are herbal remedies (like chamomile and rosehip) which are mixed in water and then her kibble is soaked in it for 15 minutes. It must smell delicious to the dogs as K sat there drooling on the first morning. 🤤 Then there's more medical type supplements for her joints.
Really hope it helps her. 🤞

@YorkshireFelix Poor Vinny. I hope he hasn't done anything serious and is feelig better by the morning.
Now I want to know about boarding schools in London too. I already know all about the house prices there. 😂

@Silverbirchleaf I read one about naming a baby this morning. I really hope it was a joke one as the names were ridiculous. The first couple of replies were certainly piss taking.

Oh God I love the baby names ones. 'What do you think of the name Dyarrhea-Mae?'. Although I did come across an actual academic the other day whose name is Teairstayn, I shit you not.

ETA @YorkshireFelix do tell us how you get on with poor V. You've really been in the wars, poor bug 😕

Oh Lord, I've just found the Piglet-Joy thread 😂