Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

So many replies! @Silverbirchleaf yep he sure is a lab 🤣.

@VanGoSunflowers Billy used to do the hyper focus face with enormous eyes. Rory opts for his signature “suspicious” look that conveys many emotions 🤣.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks thank you 🥰. He always rolls the ball to us by lobbing it out of his mouth! We have managed to teach him to put it on the sofa for us now in the living room so we don’t have to keep leaning down.

I had a quick read of the dog-kicking thread too, and my main thought was yes, I might kick out as well. In fact I did kick a dog (not very hard, more a shove with my foot) who kept trying to shag Merry. It would not take no for an answer and the owner was far away and not doing a damn thing. I don’t think Merry would appreciate me trying to pick her up.

Here is her hyper focus face, she definitely has the ‘collie eye’!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding oh bless Rory! How long did it take you to teach him? I imagine given how smart he is and his love for the ball, not long 😂

@Struckbylightning poor Merry! Sexually harassed on her walk 😞 I’ve definitely toed away a dog before (usually little ones, sadly)!

Twatdog is very happy this morning. He saw his two favourite dogs: his Golden girlfriend and his ‘spare’ girlfriend the GSD. Made me smile as I heard this voice say behind me ‘oh sweetheart! He’s cheating on you!!’ And then GSD girly shot past me toward TD 😂😂 she did manage to convince him to leave Golden girlfriend by throwing herself around on her back in front of him and waggling her bum.

Thank you @SpanielsGalore & @TheHungryHungryLandsharks I think I am doing Pablo a bit of a disservice, his neutrality around other dogs is coming on really well. Not perfect, but a far cry from where he was 6 months ago!

He got barked and lunged at by three separate dogs on this morning’s walk, all unavoidable (from my part anyway) all small and vocal. He really doesn’t like it bless him, he seems to get almost ‘nervous excitement’ - a more watered down way of how he behaves at the vets. I often thought if another dog came over and attacked him out of the blue, my best bet would be to just let him off the lead to give him a chance of getting away as I almost certain he wouldn’t defend himself?!

Twatdog is such a handsome boy. I’m glad he got some female attention after his ordeal at the vets!

@Struckbylightning Im always in awe of Collie’s when they are ‘switched on’ like that. I’ve watched loads of videos of them doing their thing, herding sheep and whatnot. I love that look of concentration, I always think they look so clever, like they’re about to deliver the best and most profound life advice you’ve ever heard 😂

@VanGoSunflowers I just read a thing about dogs and scent and thought about your cute story of Pablo collecting your random belongings (incredibly adorable!). The article was about how dogs assess the passing of time by the fading of the owners smell. When I go out I now leave my PJ’s in her sleeping spot, hoping it keeps my scent lingering a bit longer.
I fear that Merry’s profound life advice would be ‘first, find your ball…’
@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Twatdog is indeed very handsome. Maybe skinniness is contagious…?

@Struckbylightning I wish it was. I'd love to be as slim (proportionally) as him.

Utterly adorable that you leave your PJs where Merry sleeps! Do you think she uses them (obviously not as pyjamas...although she is very smart🤔)

@VanGoSunflowers Oh bless Pablo! At least he's that bit older now so a bit more resilient. I hate it when it happens, but I always get more annoyed when it happens to younger dog as it can cause so many issues. I hope the other owners extracted their dog sharpish?

Pablo and Twatdog would make a right pair. They could flee together and be cowardly😂Of all my dogs, I know he is the one that would never 'protect' me if the need arose. Not that I think any of them would...but the girls would at least not run away!

@Struckbylightning I didn’t know that about the passing of time being linked to a smell diminishing! I do leave him one of my T-shirts that I’ve slept in to lie on if I go out and leave him if I remember. I’ll be sure to do it every time now though.
If you think about it, “first… find your ball” is very sound advice if we use “ball” as a metaphor 😂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks no they didn’t unfortunately. One did put hers back on the lead when she saw Pablo was on a lead but didn’t pull them close enough to her so they took up the whole (wide) path so all I could do was move as far to the side as possible (standing in the bushes) to give as much space as I could. Another was a man talking to another man and the dog was off lead and being ignored. All I could do was speed up to get further away from it. I try and see them as training opportunities 😂

Oh definitely Pablo and TD would probably rely on the girl dogs to protect them 😂 I certainly hope I’m never in a situation where I need protection from a dog as I don’t think Pablo would rise to that challenge either bless him

Another hot one here and no signs of it letting up much. We all went swimming yesterday which was a welcome chance to cool off after 34 degrees in the day, but it's not super relaxing as it's an organized open water swimming venue, so lots of other people about and dogs have to wear lifejackets but better than nothing.

We're managing a short local walk first thing but even then it's a bit warm for much more than a plod.

I need to move to the coast!

@VanGoSunflowers 'Twatdog and Pablo' sounds like quite a good boyband...

Poor Pablo. He sounds quite resilient though, so even if these little dogs don't like him...at least he's not too phased?

@tizwozliz I know how you feel! Was 22 here at 7am. Which is usually fine, but the sun is just so strong and there's no breeze which makes it quite oppressive.

The problem with the beach this time of year is all the nesting birds...so you can't let them off lead for a good run around! Or at lest that's the problem on the beaches we go to 🙁

@SpanielsGalore Is it still cold for you!? If so, can you send some of the cold to us.

We had a very short walk today as it was heaving and I kept bumping into people which ruins my walk. I know I have beef against the doodle world anyway, but we saw a Goldendoodle that was so fat, on top of not being clipped in any way so the coat was really matted, and honestly the poor thing...took all my self control not to say something. It was stumbling around and panting like crazy. 😞I just don't understand people

It’s very hot here too! Despite my best intentions I didn’t manage to leave the house until after 9, but I took her to Otterhead Lakes, it’s really cool under the trees and there are streams to paddle in and a lake for a proper swim so the pest was happy. Now I’m just a bit paranoid about ticks, especially as I had to have a wild wee in the bushes! I found one on Merry and one behind my knee after our walk yesterday. Nasty little things.
@TheHungryHungryLandsharks the poor fat doodle, that’s really sad.

@Struckbylightning oh I just googled! That looks so beautiful.

I'm surprised you got ticked though. Don't think I've seen any this year...DDogs definitely haven't had any, which is a first. Not sure what i'd do if I got a tick on me though - I'm a massive wimp! 😂

This is the worst year we've had for ticks so far. Normally, the girls only pick them up further a field when we're on holiday but they've got a few locally this year.

I've not seen any ticks, not that I think I'd know one if I did see one, but I did manage to brush against some hogweed in the woods last week and now I have to wear a glove every time I'm outside like some kind of pound shop Michael Jackson impressionist as the 'scratch' starts blistering as soon as it's in the sun. I didn't even notice at the time - if it weren't for the blisters, and my sister having burned herself on Giant Hogweed once while strimming for work, I might not have worked it out. I'm not sure if this was Giant or normal hogweed - I suspect the latter as the blisters are only small, but it's a pain in the arse I can tell you!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks It's been glorious here for the last few days. A perfect 24ish°. Shorts and vest top weather. Due to start raining in an hour though.

Funnily enough, I've just picked crawling ticks off both P and myself. It's not as bad as last year though.

Not seen any ticks here. Currently 26 degrees here, with a nice breeze. Felt hot earlier but quite pleasant sitting in the garden now.

I think we should all move in with @SpanielsGalore and her lovely 24 degree weather.

I’ve only ever seen a tick on V when we’ve walked him at Clumber Park. Ive never seen any walking him around where we are in W Yorkshire thankfully! He’s constantly covered in grass seeds at the minute though and it’s driving me mad.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks by the way, to answer your question about the pajamas, I think she does use them. Can back today and they were still warm, and with a slight coating of hair.

So far this year I have pulled 2 ticks off her and 2 off myself. I have also squished several which I found wandering about on both of us.

@Bupster poor you with the hogweed! I was freaked out when I first read about that stuff, and I know it does grow along the river. The Council are quite good about removing it, if it gets reported to them. What is the treatment? Surely you can’t be Michael Jackson for the rest of your life?

Have any of your furry beasts been bothered by foxtail grass seeds? I keep seeing warnings about it embedding itself in dogs paws and ears, but I’m not sure how common such injuries are. Maybe I just need to step away from social media?

@SpanielsGalore could you cope with all of us moving in? Because if so I think @YorkshireFelix is right and we should all de-camp North.

@Bupster that' sounds horribly painful! How long will it last!? How are you and Bill coping in the heat?

@Struckbylightning that's very sweet of her!!

We get a lot of foxtail grass seeds around us but usually in the ears/back of the neck so they're easily plucked off. Plus they're not bugs so I don't mind 😂

It's due to thunder here next Thursday. Is it sad that I can't wait?

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Well I have beds for 5 people, which will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The rest will have to make do with sleeping bags on the floor.
Although we had thunderstorms last night and it's 14° with constant drizzle today, so you might all change your minds. 😂

@SpanielsGalore beds for five...so I guess that's a bed for each of my dogs and I can take the sofa? Everyone else can sleep outside. 😀

14° with constant drizzle sounds like the absolute dream right now!!!! It's a bit breezy today and the parasol nearly went flying off over the fence into next door's garden so we had to take it down. But it's too hot to sit outside without it. Bit of a conundrum as I very much take the 'if it's nice weather, I have to be outside' approach...

Afternoon all!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tick in real life, ever!

@SpanielsGalore I don’t mind where I sleep and neither does Pablo. I will bake us all cake.

My living room is currently 28.5 degrees and it actually feels cool because of how hot it has been the past few days!

We ran away to the coast this morning to escape the heat. 19 and cloudy when we got there just before 9 and 21 and cloudy when we left after lunch. So nice to do more than just a bare minimum walk at the crack of dawn. Park run, play on the beach and out for lunch.

I've invested a significant amount of time, money and effort in trying to rig up shade sheets and aluminet, filling paddling pools, draping the windows in foil emergency blankets so my house looks like a crack den. I've bought another fan, I've stacked freezer blocks behind them, I've even got dog-safe ice cream. Bill:

@Bupster Because he’s worth it!

Believe it not, I almost feel cold. My Apple phone weather app tells me its currently 20 degrees, feels like 17. Brr. This time yesterday it was 26! I actually feel like putting on a jumper.

@SpanielsGalore Please can I have a bed, or at least share one with a Goldie. My sleeping on the floor days are long gone. I’ll bring some Pimms and lemonade.

I agree, 14• and drizzle sounds like bliss. My phone says its 24• but I am melting and struggling to sleep. What isn’t helping is my neighbours seem to be having a party (football related?) and the drone of my fan is not quite drowning them out. Selfish pricks.
@SpanielsGalore I’m happy to sleep in the shed at this moment in time. I can’t bake, but I could bring gin…
@VanGoSunflowers I can’t believe you’ve never seen a tick! So lucky. When we were kids we lived in Cumbria and picked them up all the time. My dad used to burn them off with a match!
@Bupster Merry also lies in the sun, but only for about 10 minutes at a time. Does your crack den decor actually work? Asking for a friend.