Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

Didn't realise we were that close to the end of part 3. 😂

No doubt Hungry would get another dog…, and treat us all to some of that delicious cake she keeps buying.

After the usual stuff of helping out family and friends, I would plough money into my village so the harbour and church can be restored and used.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Sorry you have had a shit week at work. I bet the dogs are enjoying your WFH day. Enjoy the sun. Wet and windy up here, for a change.

K is fine. It has taken a lot longer for me to get over it than it did her. I think it's been the most frightening dog related incident I have ever had. Yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about seeing her little body being swirled around and dragged back out to sea. I can now understand why people drown trying to save their pets. I'd have gone in after her, even though she can swim better than me.

@VanGoSunflowers perhaps not then. I need to find her some books though as she's been eyeing up DH's books recently, and I absolutely do not want her reading them - last thing I need is another one in the family who is obsessed with true crime. 😫

If I won Euromillions? Easy. Retire. Move to Norfolk. Open a coffee shop/book shop that refuses to serve to children but allows dogs.😁

@Silverbirchleaf DH might divorce me if I had another Golden! Although...perhaps worth it 😂And of course cake, all the cake for everyone.

@SpanielsGalore Oh definitely! Only mine would be in Norfolk not my current place. But I'd love to see some of the older churches restored as they're falling down a bit 🙁Shame as Norfolk has some beautiful, and unique, churches.

At this stage I'd be more surprised if it wasn't wet and windy!

Oh 100%, I would go in after mine. I think it's just natural isn't it? You want to say you wouldn't...but it's heart over head. Hopefully K has learnt her lesson though!!

@SpanielsGalore oh my goodness, another stressful walk, I’m sorry! I did once launch myself into a river because I thought my (previous) dog was in trouble. She wasn’t… she just got out further down and came galloping back along the bank wondering what on Earth I was doing 😂
@TheHungryHungryLandsharks what kind of books does your dd like? Mine was and still is a voracious reader, she might have some suggestions. I remember she was really into Neil Gaimen, but I don’t think many people would recommend them these days!
@VanGoSunflowers great question. We definitely all need to dream! I would buy both my kids houses. Dd (25) because she is saving so hard for a deposit, but it’s slow going. Ds (23) because it’s really way past time he moved out of my house!! And I would buy myself a little cottage in the woods. I suppose dh could come if he really insisted.

@Struckbylightning she loves fantasy! Absolutely despises ‘young adult’ fiction that’s romance focussed (and long may it stay that way!) but otherwise she’s pretty happy to read anything.

She liked ‘Throne Of Glass’ but whinged about all the romance in the background 😂

I got (sort of) rained on this morning. It’s really wet in the air and made the muggyness so much more manageable! It’s due to be so hot next week so a bit of wet air this morning was lovely. Hope everyone has plans to stay cool - I’ve got my ice order arriving (for the dogs) 😃

Maybe she would like Gaimen then, but I don’t know if you would want her reading anything by him! Has she read the Lord of the Rings? What about Terry Pratchett? He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I re-read one of his fairly regularly, as they are absolutely joyous. Also, what about David Eddings? He has some great series to get your teeth into. My favourite is the Belgariad series, still have the whole collection on my Kindle. My sister gave me The Fourth Wing last Christmas, which I enjoyed, they are very well written, but the sexy bits were very sexy. I was clutching my pearls 😂
I haven’t been out yet today, having a lazy morning. It’s grey and very muggy.
Sorry what do you mean by ice order? Do you have ice cubes delivered?

I'd only be interested in an ice delivery if it was paired with the word 'cream' and came in a variety of flavours. I used to get Tunnocks Tea Cakes or Strawberry and Prosecco from the local shop.

I am thinking of changing the cockers' food. P hasn't had a firm poo in forever and K has bouts of dandruff. They are currently on Country Kibble, Turkey flavour. What's everyone else feeding?

@Struckbylightning hates Terry Pratchett. Loves LOTR and the Hobbit and loved the Inheritance Cycle (Paloni).

Oh I meant my food order although 'ice order' is slightly more accurate as it had 4 packs of ice-cubes in it, three packs of water and a bottle of wine. I meant to add more but I forgot - literally put in the wine to hold the slot then didn't add anything else to it😂

@SpanielsGalore We have some salted caramel ice-cream in the freezer...but nothing is better than coconut ice-cream. Sainsburys used to do a really good one 10+ years ago but I've never found anything remotely comparable since!

We're on Lily's Kitchen countryside casserole biscuits for those who have it as an extra and various types of raw + Twatdog on his Butternut Box. I just switched one of the Hen off Butternut Box and onto the countryside casserole and leftovers as she had gone off it and now she's older I'm slightly less fussed about her diet.

@SpanielsGalore we switched to Paleo Ridge raw essentials as you can get it from Sainsbury's and nobhead LOVES it, though this has contributed to him becoming a bit of a chonk and now needing to diet...

@SpanielsGalore we were using Butternut box with kibble (to reduce cost) but now use Forthglade, and do a mixture of the wet food and kibble. It’s nice not having to worry about making sure Dog has defrosted food, and we have more room in the freezer (to put icecream in!). We found when we changed food over Dog put on weight and it’s taken ages to get it off him.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks

What about ‘Realms of False gods’ by Steve Higgs. They may be suitable. Has she got a kindle - you can buy them quite cheaply there. (Disclaimer - I’m not sure what constitutes as suitable reading for 16 year olds).

Definantly not as warm today as expected.

@Bupster how are you!? How is Bill?

@Silverbirchleaf She's only 13! She's just a bit of a reading buff so will read anything she can get her hands on. At this point it's almost a bit of an addiction.

She doesn't have a kindle but DH has so I'll instruct him to download it for her so she can have a go.

Hope everyone has nice plans for the warm weather today. DDogs and I did a very short walk this morning as it was already showing as 20 on the garden thermometer at 6. The intelligent dogs are inside/in the shade. Twatdog and DWS are in the middle of the lawn playing bitey face. DH has been sent down the shops to get the items I forgot to add to the order yesterday - what's the betting that instead of everything I asked for he comes back with inventive substitutes.🙄

@Bupster I used to raw feed P, but struggled to get weight on her. I had to add so many extras in, that it cost me a fortune and was a bit of a faff. So we switched to dry food, as it was easier.

I hate making feeding decisions for the dogs. It stresses me out so much. I spend hours researching and not making any decisions. N has James Wellbeloved and looks really good on it. Yet in my head, it's an inferior quality one.
Note: I will do all this research into healthy dog food, whilst eating a tub of ice cream or a big bar of chocolate. 😂

And I am jealous of everyone who lives close to a Sainsburys. It's the one down side to living in the back end of nowhere.
The up side - when I got home from dog training last night, it had gone really warm. So I changed into a sundress and sat out in the garden. Drank a cold beer, admired the view of the sea and felt like I was on holiday.

Dog training was a blast. K did one retrieve and then point blank refused to do anymore. 🤦‍♀️

Which reminds me @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . Random question for you. Have any of your dogs ever picked up their puppies by the scruff of their necks?

Hello all. Sorry I’ve been so busy and burnt out so have been lurking and not posting.

Vinny turned 2 on the 8th!! Can you believe it! He’s still a shitbag but at least he’s my shitbag. Here he is rooting around in my garden waste bag earlier (and a smiling pic for good measure).

@YorkshireFelix Belated Happy Birthday Vinny. 🎂🎉
He's not that much older than K then. I didn't realise that. He was a big grown up when I joined MN.

I thought K felt chunky the other day, so I have just weighed her. She's gone up from 9kg to 10.3kg! 😱 I just told the NDN to stop feeding her treats and she's suggested K's pregnant instead. Now I'm paranoid, despite being 99.9% certain she was never out of my sight when she was in season.

@YorkshireFelix Happy belated birthday Vinny. That’s such a great photo of him rooting in the bag.

@SpanielsGalore If she is ‘with child’ (or ‘with pup’), we want lots of photos of said puppies. Hopefully it is too many treats though.

@SpanielsGalore Clem did it all the time - she even did it with puppies that weren't hers, including Twatdog and DWS. She used to do it move them out of her way, especially if she wanted to get to a bed and they were on it 😂 Pen did it a few times and would sometimes hold them and not let go, particularly if said puppy had been irritating her and not taken her 'warnings' (i.e. stop bothering me) seriously enough. Very much a 'you can't bother me if you're suspended in mid-air' mindset.

That's quite a weight gain for K! Possibly she's just filling out a bit?

@YorkshireFelix sorry to hear about the burnout. Hope all is okay and getting a bit better now ❤Vinny has such lovely clean teeth. What a gentleman, even if he does like garden waste.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks That's interesting. It came up in conversation with the gundog trainer and he said he'd never seen a bitch pick a puppy up like that. He said he doesn't do it, as he thinks it can make the dogs hand shy.

I'd like to say K has just filled out, but alas no. She's fat. The NDN's husband came outside and said he thought she looked better with a bit of covering, so I think we know where all the extra treats have been coming from. New diet and exercise regime starts today for both of us.

My food dilemma has been resolved. I took P to the vets this morning, as her anxiety levels are through the roof. She has pancreatitis again, so she's back on the Green Pantry 6% fat food. She also has ABs and pain relief for a week.

I do love a vet who goes with what the owner says. She said there's no way she would have tested for pancreatitis if I hadn't asked for it, as P has none of the usual symptoms.

@SpanielsGaloreHow old is she?! I always thought she was way younger!

The imminent insane hot weather is stressing me out because V won’t toilet in the garden. How am I going to walk him for a wee/poo when it’s 37 degrees 😖😖😖

Walk at midnight?!

@YorkshireFelix K is nearly 21 months old. She'll be 2 in September.

Can you drive V to somewhere shady with water for a quick toilet trip? Early morning and late night is alright, but it's a long time to go between wees.

Anyone else trying to sleep but their dog keeps getting up and flopping down in another, slightly cooler spot 🙈🙈?

@SpanielsGalore I think it depends on the dog breed and also the mother. Mine are pretty vocally gentle with their puppies but more physically 'corrective.' So they're less likely to really snap at them when they're doing something naughty or irritating, and more likely to physically respond (picking them up, batting them away, pinning down). As evidenced by Clem making DWS face-plant into the ground when DWS pissed her off 😂

Ohh poor K. She's a chunky little girl. I do wish people wouldn't feed dogs that aren't theirs. 😫I don't think you should join her on her diet though, you've got shortbread to make etc.

Sorry to hear about P. But great news that you knew what it was and the vet listened!!!

@YorkshireFelix little doggy umbrella and dog-crocs to protect his paws?

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding YES. I ended up sleeping on the sofa as they were marauding around the bed trying to find a comfy spot that got them in the fan.

I am dreading tomorrow and Thursday. 31 feels like 38. I was going to take mine out for a walk today - we did 30 mins yesterday and that was fine for a morning walk and then none in the afternoon and v. short one in the evening - but I got halfway down the road and even DWS was struggling, so we lurked there whilst they all pood and then I took them and their poo home. Lucky me. No walks tomorrow at all, or Thursday. They really don't cope well in the heat.

Interestingly Satan seems to be doing quite well according to DMum so maybe Spaniels aren't as badly effected by hot weather? Or maybe Satan is just so used to the fiery pits of hell that a bit of warm British weather doesn't bother her...could be that tbh😁

Dog was fine on walk this morning, but did go out early, and walked along country lanes with hedges either side so shady. Also have woods nearby so that’s helpful as well.

We did a 30 min walk at 7am. It was about 19 degrees here then, Pablo seemed ok with it but even by 7.30 it was starting to heat up. I think it’s very humid as well which makes it feel worse. That and the hayfever is making me quite breathless!

Looking forward to it cooling down. Everyone is out early morning or late at night which means more dogs and more dog owners and after attempting to walk Pablo in busier places and it not going well I’ve decided to go back to quieter routes 😂

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding luckily it’s not Pablo keeping me awake but Nextdoor’s dog is still acting like my personal alarm clock 😩