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. 😁

I think a gun dog should be able to jump onto the podium personally

I do quite like a Clumber Spaniels, but I am so sick of Golden Retriever's never placing in the Top 5 for Gundogs. It's definitely a conspiracy at this point.

At least the flat coat was pretty...

Bloody Cocker Spaniels always winning the group or coming second 😤I mean, it was a pretty Cocker Spaniel, but in my (very bias opinion) no prettier than Satan.

That’s a good point, but I do like a clumber.

Satan is too good for them.

I think there was a conspiracy to promote more vulnerable and unusual breeds. Out of the line up, the only dogs most people would recognise are the cocker, corgi (vulnerable) and King Charles spaniel, and the KC was a Blenheim variety (which I’d never heard of before either).

That's how my arthritic 10 year old springer gets in the car.

The Clumber was probably a good example of the breed. But they aren't my type of spaniel.

The cocker won the group last year and came second this year, so she must have something going for her. Or the judges are biased.

The golden retriever was a lovely dog. Nice to see a darker one doing well.

Sorry I’m scrolling back a lot as I’ve been lurking and not replying! He is completely fine now - the sweet potato did the trick.

@SpanielsGalore Yes always sit at a distance, although I’ve not been putting as much effort in as I should have over the past few months so we’ve not practiced a lot. Sometimes he does it perfectly and other times he will come back to me and sit instead. Same with whistle recall - he often does the classic spaniel thing of recalling but will come the scenic route back instead of straight to me 😄

The walking with someone else present thing is really odd. I walked him round the block with dh last night and he just zig zags and keeps spinning around then pulling then coming back and getting under our feet. When we went to Scotland and we walked him with both dh and dd present it was a nightmare as he did the same thing, then if someone walked ahead he would pull and pull. It’s like he’s not sure where he’s meant to be when we are all there.

I think I’ve said this before but I always think about how V’s breeder almost kept him as the people who were due to have him pulled out last minute due to ill health. I wonder what he’d have been like living in kennels with the other 8 dogs. He doesn’t know how good he’s got it 🤣

I can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks of rest already. I bet it feels like forever for you though. K always manages to get herself into mischief doesn’t she!!

Also thanks for the info re the pre-existing conditions thing @SpanielsGalore@TheHungryHungryLandsharks it is interesting.

Is that what I think it is 🤣🤣🤣

Ugh the app is being all glitchy and jumbling up my typing so I am giving up, but glad to hear it was positive all round @TheHungryHungryLandsharks and well done to your friend for her win!

Hope everyone has a good week and all the dogs behave!!

Probably! They had great fun shaking it about as it was all rubbery and wobbly 😲

Thank goodness they have a leave it/drop it so I didn't have to touch it to wrestle it out a mouth!

That's how my arthritic 10 year old springer gets in the car.

@SpanielsGalore - if you look at the hip scores of the parents/grandparents you'll find they're non existent or pretty bad. (I may be being unfair, perhaps 57 is a perfectly good result for a clumber...)

I'm not a fan of clumbers in general though tbh, we've seen some meetups of 30 plus at clumber park and mostly they're overweight with droopy eyes.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks suggestions on how to spoil a lab when he turns one are welcome 😆

Here he is on our walk yesterday actually watching some dogs playing behind me and not being a total dick about it 😂

Just saw the lab that won best in breed - yuck, crufts is definitely not my thing

@VanGoSunflowers I love how slim Pablo (and all the other labs on this thread) is. There's something so incredibly satisfying about seeing slim gun-dogs.

How about a giant cuddly toy? 😃

@YorkshireFelix keeping my fingers crossed for you today!!! So glad V is back to himself and you no longer have to worry too much about him...perhaps he was just trying to get some sympathy.

@Silverbirchleaf I think you're right on the conspiracy! Which I do understand...but equally, there are often good reasons why breeds because less popular and it's almost always down to health/longevity.

Flat Coats are a good example of that, I think. Really, they're a very good family pet and typically very robust in terms of personality. But the high rate of cancer puts so many people off them. I know of at least one woman (who bought a puppy me, actually) who switched from Flat Coats to Goldens after she lost her third Flat Coat to cancer. Same as Cavaliers - lovely robust dog - but the skull issue is why they've declined in popularity.

Morning All. Hope everyone and their DDogs are all well.

Nothing much happening here. P is still on crate rest. 15 days to go until we are back at the vets. Only 11 days of sedatives left.
N is at the vets today for ketamine and acupuncture. I've booked her in at the local vets to save a trip to Aberdeen.
K is alright, but almost seems a little depressed at times. If I had any mental energy left, I'd worry about her. I'm hoping it's just because she's missing her playmate.

@YorkshireFelix I think I need to switch to sit at a distance. Theoretically it should be easier. At least she already knows sit, as opposed to stop.
Have you heard back about the job interview yet?

@tizwozliz Show labs bear very little resemblance to working ones.

Show labs are chunkier for sure but they still shouldn't look like the one that won Bob at crufts imo.

I read that as ‘show lab bear’, as in Grizzly Adam bears, which though was apt, as big labs do look a bit like a bear.

However, slight confession, Dog is carrying a bit extra weight (aren’t we all). Trying to reduce his food, then discovered ds was giving him too much, plus he helped himself to the treat bag that fell on the floor yesterday.

Had a nice walk today. Weather was unexpectedly mild with blue skies

I've just looked him up. I must be used to seeing obese show labs, because he looked alright to me. The one I meet on walks must have 10kg on the BOB winner. He's a waddling barrel on legs. It's extremely sad to see. She told me a few weeks ago the vet said he needed to lose weight. I don't understand how she couldn't see that for herself.

@Silverbirchleaf I'm carrying loads of extra weight and continue to eat crap. By contrast, I spend hours researching the best foods for my dogs and keep a strict eye on their waistlines. Two of them have arthritis though, so they need to stay lean to help their joints.

@VanGoSunflowers How to spoil a lab - good, toys, food and cuddles! And a lovely bottle of red and Take-Away for yourself for being such an awesome dog parent.

@SpanielsGalore Are you sure you looked up the right one? best of breed was a female.

This one

@tizwozliz Sorry. Right dog, wrong gender. I watched a video of the black and yellow dogs being judged for BOB and didn't notice the gender. She's not my type of dog. Very deep chested which makes her legs look very short. But she does seem to have some semblance of a waist. All the ones I see in real life are the same width all the way along.
I just went on their website though and IMO she's one of the worst looking dogs they own. Shows how much I know about show labs.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks i think a giant cuddly toy is a good shout seeing as he ripped the arms off his poor elephant 😂

@SpanielsGalore I hope you’re ok, it really sounds like you’ve all been through the mill lately! ❤️

@Silverbirchleaf I never thought to treat myself for being a dog parent for this long ☺️ I think I shall!

@tizwozliz I didn’t/don’t follow crufts but jeez, that poor dog does look too heavy to me! Very different shape to all of our svelte labs that’s for sure!

Pablo is sat snoozing away next to me. Took him to a cafe to meet a friend for lunch yesterday and while we were eating he was as good as gold (by that I mean he sat very still begging for the crusts from my sandwich) before and after he was very hyper! Although he did have a few people come over to fuss him so I’m hoping that’s why! Still thinking I need to do more training in busier places though. Which is a tad difficult when I don’t like going to busy places myself!

Hope everyone is all good

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/crufts-winner-clumber-spaniel-lee-cox-animal-cruelty-2001-b2935243.html

Just when I think the Kennel Club might finally be turning a new leaf (or at least trying) they do this. Surely they need to strip him of his win!? Perhaps I am very unreasonable, but once an animal abuser always an animal abuser in my eyes. It takes a particular sort of person to harm a dog and he still has links to what is so clearly a puppy farm but another name. Eurgh.

@VanGoSunflowers so glad to hear Pablo was a good boy! No harm in him not being 100% perfect in busy places. Mine probably wouldn't be either...but I also tend to avoid busy places as I don't like people 😫

@SpanielsGalore How is N doing after her vet visit? Hope P is recovering well and K isn't too depressed with her partner in crime still out of action.

@VanGoSunflowers Glad Pablo enjoyed his cafe visit and was mostly a good boy. I used to take pizzles for P when we went out to encourage her to settle. I've never taken K out. I bet she'd be hyper throughout. 😂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I saw that report. I honestly don't know what the point of the KC is anymore. Half of the deformities in dogs seem to have been brought about by their preferred standards in shows - flatter faces, sloping backs, etc.

I also read he is listed as breeding about 6 different breeds. So I would agree with the puppy farming.

N is a bit stiff today, so she's had a rest day. Apparently it's quite common to be stiff the day after acupuncture.
P is still crated. Mostly settled, but squealing if she thinks she's missing out on a walk. Two weeks until our next appointment and only one week of sedatives left. God help me.
K is alternating between being the sweetest creature on the planet and a little shit. 😂 She took off after a deer yesterday and I properly lost her for so long I was about to cry. 🙈
I've signed up to do an on line training course next week for high prey drive dogs. Should be interesting and hopefully won't leave me feeling a complete failure.

Hope your gang are all OK. Is your DH enjoying being based back in the UK? And is he getting on your nerves yet? 😂

@SpanielsGalore I know, it's just so annoying as every time I think they are making progress, they do something like this. Yes, he has everything from Chinese Crested's to Beagles 🙄He's going to be judging the Utility Group in Crufts 2029 apparently...

Hope N isn't too bad today ❤

Ohh poor P is going to be a bit manic when she comes off sedatives, isn't she? Poor girl. Is K sticking close to the crate still or is she now reassured that P is okay and leaving her alone a bit more?

K really is a little turd 😂Fingers crossed the course is useful. It's hard though, isn't it? Some Spaniels clearly do have such high prey drives and others, like Satan, wouldn't know a prey drive if it bit her on the bum...admittedly she's clearly show line, but still you'd have thought there would be some sort of drive there.

DH is doing his best not to be irksome...and to be fair to him, he does more than his fair share around the house (domestic, I am not) etc, so I have nothing to complain about BUT I might smother him in his sleep. When he's not snoring, he's twitching like some sort of demented chicken and last night he woke me up by squawking.

The rabble are really happy he's home though, particularly Hen as she was a puppy when we had DDs and he was home for a few years around then so she's very fond of him. She's been demanding her right to sleep up the top of the bed every night so she can snuggle between us.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Mmm, some people can’t read posts properly, and I’m not talking about you! I mean, she argued that you should sell to families with children (which you already said that other people were happy to do), but also explained she got a (small, non goldie-sized dog) when her child was…ten, which you’d already stated that ten and above was fine for you!

@Silverbirchleaf I know. And she didn't get my Fosbury Flop joke😟I thought it was a good one!

Not at all dog related, but did you see Kent and Sussex are sending the gritters out tonight? 😂Then next Wednesday/Thursday it's due to be 15. Given you live close(ish) to me, I assume you're in for the same weird weather...