Beyond Adolescence and General Chit Chat - part 3

[SpanielsGalore]

Not tagging anyone. I'm sure you'll all find your way here if you want to join in. 😁

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks my apologies but you’d be trading a Twatdog for an Ausshole.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks sorry I have been buried under a mountain of work and tissues 😂 feeling better now though. Break up Friday for a week, just three deadlines to hit first 🤦‍♀️

@SpanielsGalore sorry to hear she’s not coping well but that really is a sweet photo. Have the kings helped any?

How is everyone else doing? It’s been lovely and sunny here. We’ve been doing more chilled walks this week with me being ill- same amount of time, no training other than avoidance and I have to say it’s been lovely 😂 I’ll be back on it next week no doubt!

Lovely walk this morning. Bar one dog, had the woods to myself. Still a bit muddy in places, but drying up nicely.

I’m not an all-year-round put washing outside person, but have got the dog blankets washed and all the line outside. Feels like Spring today.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I just saw on the crufts thread you referring to your breed as ‘golden deceivers’ and I wondered if it was a typo or a glorious new nickname 😂

@Silverbirchleaf walks have been quieter around here as well which is surprising given the shift in weather. It’s almost warm enough to stop wearing my dry robe for walks which isn’t ideal as it has everything in the pockets 😂

I have a question - the last two times I have left Pablo at home, he has dragged his supposedly non-tip (heavy ceramic) water bowl across the floor and spilled its contents everywhere. The mess isn’t an issue, it’s the fact he leaves himself without a drink that’s the issue. I’ve been looking at getting another bowl such as this one but wouldn’t he be able to just do the same with this? Any suggestions for how I can stop him from up ending his water bowl please?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CZ3NGJRF?ref=cmswrcsocpapandp0CDDSKQZ7EKW3TDHGZDE&ref=cmswrcsocpapandp0CDDSKQZ7EKW3TDHGZDE&socialshare=cmswrcsocpapandp0CDDSKQZ7EKW3TDHGZDE

@VanGoSunflowers Oh it's a longstanding nickname! They reel people in with their loveliness as adult dogs so people don't realise what little tossers they are...then BAM, your life is ruined 😂

Have you managed to hit any of your deadlines? Only two days left!!!

Do you know why he is tipping over his water bowl? It is bordem, or a worry thing? I wouldn't bother replacing it, unless he is going for very long periods (or hot weather) without water. Perhaps get him a secondary water bowl just in case it's needed for hot months?

@MooseBeTimeForSnow we'd only be swapping arseholes then...a shame as I would love the chance to own a dog who's sole purpose isn't to drive me crackers (as mine have done the last two days).

@Silverbirchleaf ours have been the opposite! It's like all the fair-weather dog walkers have re-emerged from their hibernation 😁It was so lovely here yesterday though, I think it got up to 15 which was glorious. Just dreading the rain returning later this week.

No exciting updates here, other than me, DWS, DH and Twatdog are all ready for Crufts 2026. Twatdog is going with DH to mooch around and DWS and I are heading to the showing. I don't have high hopes for her, for the same reason Twatdog was never succesfull (i.e not breed standard colours), but at least I don't need to worry about her embarrassing me with her winky sucking ways anymore.

Is anyone else having trouble posting? I keep typing replies to people, then the page glitches and reloads and I lose it all. It's getting very frustrating.

@Struckbylightning I have no advice I am afraid. Like other people say they could never have a spaniel, I say I couldn't have a collie. We meet three on walks and two of those are always carrying sticks.

@VanGoSunflowers I've ditched my dry robe this week. I made the mistake of wearing it yesterday and I was sweltering.
Same as HHL asked - is P bored or stressed?
I have three different water bowls. One is a normal floor bowl. One has a tank of water and refills as they drink. I imagine that would be a disaster if Pablo knocked it over though. The third is in a high feeder stand.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Good luck at Crufts. 🤞 Did I miss the brag about DWS placing in a show already? I think she and TD are a lovely colour.

The first off lead walk for P and K together will be in a freedom field. 😂

I phoned the vets to discuss P. They've added an extra couple of meds to try to help settle her. Also, the vet said the short toilet trips can actually be a 5 minute walk, so we've started doing two short walks around the block.
The cone came off on Tuesday and that made a massive difference. As soon as I removed it, she stretched out in the cage and went into a deep sleep for hours. So I think that was bothering her more than I realised. She's not worn one before. It also means

that when I'm in the kitchen with the other pair, she was able to enjoy a sardine filled frozen Kong.

Thank you for your nice comments about my wallpaper. It's from Dunelm, of all places. I couldn't find anything I liked in all the usual go to DIY shops.
You've already seen my kitchen. So you may as well have before and after photos of my living room too. 😁

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I say every year I’d love to go for a mooch around Crufts. Dd is excited to watch it. Last year Vinny kept watching the tv then looking behind it to try and find the dogs 🥲

@SpanielsGalore glad to hear she sounds a bit more comfortable. I can imagine wearing the cone is awful! Especially when trying to sleep. That photo of P and K separated by the crate is so sweet 😭😭😭

Its raining again here today but we’ve enjoyed two mild and sunny days and it’s been so lovely. I took V out for his walk yesterday down the canal and back round the river and he was a shit and kept going way too far and not listening to me. But instead of getting stressed I put him back on his lead for a bit then when we got to a less interesting spot we did loads of stop whistle, recall and off lead heel practice and he did great so I felt like I turned it around a bit.

We have a 1:1 with our trainer on Saturday morning. We’ve not seen her since the summer as I had to cancel our sessions when V’s leg was bad in the autumn/winter. I need to use the time wisely but not sure what to focus on really!

I’ve not been doing much gundog stuff with him recently but he did do the most perfect retrieve and deliver to hand of his dummy when we were staying with MIL so he’s not forgotten what he’s been taught at least. The second one he decided to run about with it in his mouth and not give it back, but I’m going to take my wins where I can !!

@SpanielsGalore do you post in safari or Chrome? I have issues in Safari but Chrome is always fine, so possibly worth trying that?

No bragging for DWS. Not sure I can brag when there were only three puppies competing when she qualified...it was hardly stiff competition particularly when one of them nipped at the judge 😂

Next time we have our house done (which I sure will be soon tbh) I'm flying you down to do it. Your house always looks so nice and cosy 😍

So glad P is Kong free and starting to feel a bit better. I bet she's going to be a total lunatic once she's free though

@Struckbylightning Oh I feel your pain on holding things. Could you take a soft toy for her? Something that is a bit easier on her jaws and less likely to cause any issues?

@YorkshireFelix Ohh bless Vinny! Maybe that was his way of telling you he needs a friend?

I am just hoping this year that the dog that win's doesn't have the same proclivity for aggression as last year's winner did - I think we all said at the time it wasn't a particularly nice dog!

Let us know how V's training goes this Saturday! He's definitely improving though from everything you've said - still just got that little bit of puppy mania (like Bill, @Bupster!). You'll miss it when it goes though and he becomes the bestest good boy who never runs off...or will you? 😂

@SpanielsGalore That wallpaper is so pretty.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks You’re showing at Crufts! How exciting. Hope to see you on tv (even though I don’t know what you look like!). Went a few years ago.

How can walks differ so much from one day to the next. Yesterday, had a lovely Spring walk through the woods. Today I was that dog owner in the park who’s dog wouldn’t recall and was more interested in other people’s balls. Waiting for the Facebook post …

(snigger - that’s tennis balls…).

@SpanielsGalore Glad the recovery is going well also.

@SpanielsGalore @TheHungryHungryLandsharks I am fairly certain it’s boredom as there are no signs of anxiety - he is calm when I leave, calms down fairly quickly after I am back etc and no toileting or destructive behaviours. I suppose it’ll be trial and error to find something that works and will be mopping up a lot in between! Would like to find a fix though in case I do need to go out for more than an hour or two

Having one of those , ‘is Dog under the weather?’ evenings. He seems to have drank alot of water today and seems quiet this evening. Eating , walks, and poos are normal. Maybe just tired, but you know when you feel something isn’t quite right. Half expected him to be sick at some point.

@YorkshireFelix What do you want V to do in day to day life?
I was pondering this as I walked K yesterday and thought I didn't want much from mine. I started off with a list of three verbal commands, two whistle ones and loose lead walking. I think it grew to about 10 verbal ones by the end. I need to crack on with it.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I post in Chrome. Not sure if it's MN or my tablet on its way out. But I don't have problems with FB.

My eldest won a Taekwondo medal in similar circumstances. It was still worthy of a brag. No one else needed to know there weren't many entries.

I'd have to drive down so I could bring the three amigos with me. 😁 Do things get done quicker down south? I had to wait months for the fireplace people to alter that. Then months more for the plasterer to patch up the wall.

@VanGoSunflowers Good luck finding a lab proof water bowl.

@Silverbirchleaf Hope Dog is alright. It's always a worry when they go quiet.

@Silverbirchleaf how is your boy today?

@VanGoSunflowers last day before you finish!! Excited?

Bless Pablo for just being a puppy 😂He'll grow out of it eventually! Twatdog used to cry and snuggle a blanket that lay on my bed whenever I left him alone anywhere. Wimpy.

@SpanielsGalore Oh congrats to him (although assume this was a while ago?)! Brag away! Much more impressive than being told you're pretty (which is basically all dog shows are).

Depends on who you ask and what you need! I always think it takes ages. It's taken my three weeks to get a NHS dentist appointment...but I had a new plumber over yesterday after only ringing a few days ago.

Speaking of Dentists...has anyone had a filling recently that was so painful you couldn't actually chew on one side of your mouth? I had one on Wednesday and not been able to chew on that side since...and the next time I can be seen is sodding Tuesday!

Not long got back from the walk. He was okay, but quiet, although still pulled towards the park entrance (street walk today, raining). Eating, sniffing and pooing normally , so maybe just tired after lots of running around on yesterday's morning walk. Guess we all need a duvet day once every so often.

@Silverbirchleaf glad he's a bit better! If you are worried though, never any harm in a vet visit - worse than can say is it's nothing and charge you 😆

I spend half my life at emergency vet visits. I don't even have to give my name anymore as they recognise my voice....which is slightly embarrassing

@VanGoSunflowers Merry went through a phase of doing that. The first time it was quite funny and cute, subsequent times, not so much! Maybe he will just grow out of it, if he’s just doing it for shits and giggles. Presumably he wont dehydrate in a couple of hours, and if he’s thirsty he can just lick the floor…
I was thinking about this earlier; I don’t think Merry or our previous dog drink or in fact do anything when alone. Merry doesn’t seem to leave her spot by the door and I always felt the the old girl didn’t drink when we were out because the first thing she did when we came home, after greeting us, was run to the kitchen and have a really long drink. In fact, I rarely see Merry drink out of her bowl at all - she tends to ask to go outside and then drinks from the bird bath. Little freak.

I have this theory that dogs have a ‘standby mode’ which they switch on when left alone or are bored. Kind of neither properly awake or properly asleep, just kind of waiting for their hooman to return.

I was also regretting my coat choices today. I didn’t take my lovely dog-walking coat because it’s been so mild recently, but I missed my pocket things, including my hat because the wind was really cold!

@SpanielsGalore I want him to be settled indoors (which he is amazing at now so I can tick that off), have a solid sit and stop whistle, solid recall and stay close to me. One thing I’m not sure we will ever achieve is I always had visions of having a dog who would come everywhere with me and we could do walks and cafe or pub stops etc, but he’s a nightmare if we go anywhere new and it’s just plain embarrassing. He finds the world extremely over stimulating I think! I took him for a boring pavement walk in a different area recently and even that sent him wild. He also can’t cope walking on lead if he’s with more than one person (ie me and DH or if DD is there too). He’s ok with loose lead walking on our usual walks with just me, but again anywhere new he goes loopy and crawls along pulling like a train. If he had the right home he would be an incredible trialling or working dog but I’ve made peace with the fact he’s happy and I don’t need to try and give him that as it’s absolutely not my world at all. I would actually seriously consider sending him for residential training for a few weeks as I think it would build his confidence so much but it’s ££££ and dd would miss him terribly (me not so much 🤣). I do agree with @TheHungryHungryLandsharks though that he’s actually doing pretty well considering he’s a mental spaniel and I am a first time dog owner. I think about the things I used to stress about a few months ago and he’s an angel now in comparison.

How is P doing?

@Silverbirchleaf funny that as V is under the weather today too. He was super tired this morning but I just put it down to him waking a few times in the night, but he was looking very sorry for himself this morning and didn’t finish his breakfast. He’s not wanted to go out much and I was expecting him to be sick of have an upset stomach but he hasn’t. He’s not touched his tea at all and hasn’t even eaten the piece of cheese I tried to offer him. He’s mad for food so it’s concerning! We’re meant to be at his 1:1 training in the morning but I’ll have to see how he is. I might still end up going with him even if he’s a bit off and I can leave him in the boot and just use it as an opportunity to get some advice from our trainer as I’ve not seen her for ages.

Has your pup been ok for the rest of the day after his walk this morning?

@Struckbylightning Rory would definitely be happy to lick the water off the floor! His preferred drinking place is the shower cubicle after someone’s been in the shower. Billy’s was the toilet and he’d grumble for you to flush it so he could have nice, fresh water (even though it would have already been flushed, we’re not that gross!).

I rarely see Rory drink from his bowl either, unless he’s just back from a run.

@Struckbylightning I was also lulled into a false sense of security today, thinking it was warmer than it was. The wind was chilly, and so I came back to get hat and gloves before setting off.

Dog definantly has a standby mode. He can appear to be fully asleep, and then is instantly alert if something interesting happens.

Regarding drinking, Dog definantly drank a lot more than usual the other day, which was one of my concerns. He seems back to normal now, and pinched half a panini of the work surface yesterday.

@YorkshireFelix Yep, I had that image pre-dog too. Also a first time dog owner. The car situation has hindered us alot, but things are improving (just had dh in the front seat, and me in back with him. He didn’t try to escape - a big improvement, - and was more interested in the sausages he got for sitting or lying nicely).

Are you aware of the Ladies Working Gun Dog group (LWGDG)? There is a subscription membership but they do lots of free stuff as well. There may be courses there that suit you.

Hope V is feeling better. Our dog training was cancelled due to waterlogged field.

@Struckbylightning @Idstillratherbepaddleboarding

Have you seen the thread about water bowls? I don’t think bird baths, showers or toilets would be approved off! Dog does like a muddy puddle.

When we got our second, it came as a surprise that I had to remember to fill the water bowl up! Older one far prefers whatever rainwater she can find in the garden so whilst I would refresh and refill her bowl so she always had water available it never got empty. Mine don't tip or pick up any sort of bowl so can't advise on non spill.

Loads of rain overnight here, the walk we did yesterday is now under a foot of water in parts. We went out to one of our favourite places for a good off lead runaround before ground nesting bird season starts tomorrow.

Handsome boy.

What is ‘ground nesting season?’ Never heard of that before. Are you forbidden to let dogs of leads?

@Silverbirchleaf Yes my trainer does some of the in-person events for LWDG and I almost joined before Christmas but decided it would just become another stick to beat myself with as I’d probably not engage with it enough to justify the cost. I do follow them on socials though and find some of their content useful.

@tizwozliz lovely photos as always!

Training went super well today, I’m so pleased. We do it in an enclosed field on Ilkley moor so I was worried he would just hoof it around and not listen as it would be very exciting for him. He surprised me a lot and recalled perfectly every time! I said about me wanting him to stay closer when off lead so we started teaching a turn whistle and introduced some controlled hunting to practice it. He got it really quickly so I’ve got some foundations to build on. He LOVES to hunt but I’ve never really done any hunting games with him so he very much ends up going self employed sometimes when he’s off lead and has his nose down in the bushes. Trainer said hunting for dummies etc is a good way to teach him to keep close as he will ‘find’ things in a short radius of me, so will make him want to stay close by. I think I’m going to have to relent and but a training vest as it would make life a lot easier for me.

He seems more himself today. He didn’t eat his breakfast but then had it as soon as we got home from training so I’m glad he’s had a decent meal at least!

I’m not a member either but engage with the free stuff.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! It’s so hot here I walked the dogs in leggings and just a t-shirt this morning 😍

I’m spending the day with a potential adopter for the dog I met a few weeks ago, as well as the dog and the fosterer so hoping it all goes well!

Hope P is recovering well @SpanielsGalore and that @VanGoSunflowers is enjoying her time off!