Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

@SpanielsGalore how are your girls doing? Fingers crossed P hasn't somehow injured herself again...

@tizwozliz so glad you had a lovely day - that food looks incredible! Sorry to hear about little pups paw! That's a huge looking thorn. Have you done anything else to celebrate your birthday weekend?

@YorkshireFelix glad to hear it went well😊Hope your DD starts to find it a bit easier and that you all managed to have a lovely long weekend.

Been a bit crap my end. Hen has had me at the out of hours vets twice in two days for vomiting. She seems to be a lot better now and hasn't been sick in over 12 hours so I'm hoping whatever it was has passed, but I was really worried for a while as she's an old girl now.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Gosh, your dogs do like to keep your OOH vets in business. I hope Hen is fully recovered now. I think everything becomes a worry once they are elderly.

@Struckbylightning Glad you found us. Sorry Merry is being a bit of a pain. Adolescence can be such hard work. I'd have said ignore her when she asks for a toy to be thrown, but then you said she caused havoc if you do that. I couldn't have a toilet roll on the holder until K was about 18 months old.
Does she have breakfast first thing? Would feeding her out of a Kong type toy keep her occupied while you have your morning cuppa in peace?

I didn't comment before on dogs moulting as I didn't think mine were bad. But P has been out of her cage for 4 days and my sofa has turned white. 😂

P is recovering well. I have switched her 15 minute walks to pavement pounding ones, as quite frankly the dandelion eating is doing my head in. I also figured the walks should be for physiotherapy now, rebuilding muscle, rather than mental health walks. I've also decided to let her off lead in the garden. She's pogoing up and down in the house and leaping off the furniture. I don't think pottering around the garden is going to be more harmful than that. I instantly regretted this decision yesterday when the first time she went outside on her own, she dug a hole and put muddy paw prints all over the kitchen carpet.

@SpanielsGalore I am pretty sure we account for about 75% of all money the out of hours vets make. But it is that horrible thing where they get older and you just worry more and more. If it had been DWS or Twatdog I probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid.

So glad to hear that P is back to herself! Even with the muddy paw prints on the carpet and the pogoing around, you must be so happy to see her happy again ❤

How are P and N taking her return to normal?

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks It took a day or two for the normal status quo to be resumed, which I wasn't expecting. K greeted P and sniffed her, but they didn't play. They're back to wrestling and bitey face games now. N and P pretty much ignore each other, so no change there.
P seems to be a bit more clingy at times, wanting to sit next to me and draped across my lap. And she is spending the evenings in the same room as us, instead of in the dining room. I'm sure the novelty will soon wear off.

I hope Hen is OK. Is she 13 now? Which is a good age, but never enough.

Took a photo of Saturday's pistachio croissant especially for you @TheHungryHungryLandsharks

We just had a lovely chilled weekend with some nice walks and some time at the allotment. Although the nicer weather seems to have brought out the people who enjoy an alfresco 💩 🤢

@SpanielsGalore - I know our vet was quite pragmatic about exercise during recovery, we did lots of long walks on lead after spay surgery with big pup as that was 'safer' than her doing less and bum tucking round the garden.

@tizwozliz ohhh that looks incredible and also huge!!! The coffee looks really good as well 😍

I know what you mean about the nice weather bringing people out...it's the one downside of summer!

@SpanielsGalore Maybe K was sulking a bit as P had been unable to play for so long? I know mine would - they sulk if one of them goes out to the vets and they don't!! Glad their bond is back to normal though ❤I'm hoping the novelty won't wear off and she'll stick to you, if only so you get more cuddles - it's so devastating when they decided they don't need you anymore (as Clem keeps doing to me).

Hen is nearly 14 now. So she is a very old girl by her breed standards, but as you say never enough. I'm just incredibly thankful she's only started slowing down the last year or so and she's not arthritic at all, just a tiny bit stiff if she lays on one side for too long.

@tizwozliz I feel I'm winging it a bit on the exercise front, as the advice was conflicting. For the last five weeks of confinement, P was allowed four walks of 10 minutes.
When I dropped her off, the vet said to increase by 5 minutes a week for the next four weeks. Then she can go off lead and back to normal.
When I collected P, the written instructions say for week 1 she is allowed 4 - 6 walks of 5 minutes. That's less total time than we were doing. Then it's 3-4 walks of 10, 15 and 20 minutes for the following three weeks. So we'd be in week three before any increase in exercise.
I didn't think to ask the vet about off lead in the garden. The vet nurse said to keep her on lead for at least the first two weeks. When I put her lead on to go into the garden, she jumps around and then charges down the door steps. Invariably being jerked backwards, because her lead isn't that long. If I allow her outside off lead, she waits calmly whilst I open the door and then trots down the steps. Then she potters around. She hasn't yet run wild.
In the house, she's charging around playing and wrestling with K and jumping on and off the furniture. I don't think pottering around the garden will be more harmful than that.

@SpanielsGalore I would do the same as you are doing now. I think it sounds sensible considering what you’ve said! I think you have to use common sense in these situations. I bet K is so happy to have her playmate back 😄

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I didn’t realise Hen was 14! Bless her. It sounds like she’s doing incredibly well considering her age.

The spring shedding is driving me INSANE!!! I don’t remember it being this bad last year but I guess he was still pretty young so maybe his fur hadn’t thickened up yet. It even gets stuck to my face! I feel overstimulated constantly and have to keep showering to make myself feel better 🤣 I don’t understand how one pretty small dog can produce so much fur!

It’s Rory’s birthday eve! 🎉 his presents are all wrapped in doggy wrapping paper and it’s my working from home day so he’s going to be spoilt all day 🥰. Here he is posing for his happy birthday FB post tomorrow 🤣.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding - what stacking toy did you get him? I'm considering one for big pups birthday next week. She loves doing those sorts of things (little pup gets way over excited and has no fine control!)

@tizwozliz an actual baby’s stacking toy 🤣🤣. I plan to teach him to put the hoops on the pole part with the help of lots of duck flavoured treats!

Aww happy birthday for tomorrow! He looks very fetching!

Thanks all for your reassurances, I have to keep reminding myself that she is still very young. She will be 1 in a couple of weeks - it has been a loooong year for me!!
@TheHungryHungryLandsharks definitely not sick of you guys. Even when I don’t post, I do enjoy reading all the tales of naughty dogs and delicious cakes! I am thinking of starting agility classes, I think it may help both of us. That did make me laugh about your husband abandoning you with adolescent Twatdog, though I would be furious forever too. But I have thought about moving out myself from time to time! I hope Hen is better now.

@tizwozliz I also sometimes drive places with Merry because she is very chill in the car.

@SpanielsGalore I give Merry her breakfast about an hour after we get up. When we first get up she is full of joy about a brand new day and bouncing off the walls. We do have a Kong but most of the time she just ignores it because play is much more fun. She also these days ignores treats when we are out of the house, which makes outdoor training pretty tricky! I’m so glad for you that P is out of jail and recovering well. Those X-rays are terrifying! She’s going to have trouble getting through airport security with all that metalwork!

We are currently on holiday in Cornwall. We found a cottage in the woods in an old estate- it is basically Dog Heaven. Merry has been beside herself with joy every day. We basically open the door and she gallops about the grounds, there are acres of grass, woodland, ponds and streams. Think she’ll be very disappointed to get home to a boring old urban garden. She has tried chasing ducks and squirrels, but we saw a deer yesterday morning and she did NOT chase it into the woods thank goodness.
I tried to post a picture of our beautiful holiday garden but for some reason my phone/ Mumsnet have suddenly decided that my photos are not suitable. Not a jpeg I think the message said…

@YorkshireFelix not yet! She’d be very offended if she knew people were aging her up 😂 but she’ll be 14 at the end of May. I’m actually planning to go to Norfolk for her birthday as it coincides nicely with half term.

I didn’t think working cockers shed that mich?! I thought it was just the Satans of this world that did I.e the show lines. I feel your pain though, I used the rice cooker last night and the sodding rice came out with fur in it…how?

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding happy birthday to Rory! He’s grown into such a handsome little man!

@Struckbylightning I honestly don’t blame DH! I mean I’m still angry but I see why he did it as I would have if I had a choice!

I don’t know if I’ve said before, but Twatdog was soo awful that if I hadn’t been his breeder I’d have returned him. I did a LOT of crying. He wasn’t even that bad, just so bloody happy that nothing got through to him. Everything was a game, or fun. So if you told him off for jumping or barking, it encouraged him. He slept maybe 6 hours a night and was up at dawn every day. Even the other dogs gave up on him in the end. It’s why he had his sex toy…to give me a moment of peace and give him something to destroy. I spent months crying on and off over him.

Everyone always says puppyhood is bad, but I’d take an entire little of puppies every day for the rest of my life over a single hour of adolescent Twatdog.

Ohhh! Where abouts in Cornwall? How much longer are you there? I’m very jealous you’ve managed to go in a ‘quiet’ time and avoided the school holidays!’

I don’t know is anyone else is still having strange weather, but it’s awful here. Started my walk this morning in a jumper and coat as it was so cold, and finished it in just a T-shirt and was drenched in sweat 🤢

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding Happy Birthday Rory. 🎂🥳 I hope he had fun opening all his presents.

@YorkshireFelix P is awful for shedding at the minute. Every time she shakes, there is a shower of white hair. She only has to brush against me and I am covered.
The other two don't seem so bad.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Sorry but I did laugh at the hair in the rice. 😂 I am always amazed at how hairs end up in the fridge. It's built in and up high. DS tells me it's because I am covered in dog hair and they fall off me when I get things out.

The weather is the same up here. There is at least 10° difference between being in the sun or the shade. You go from needing a coat and hat to stripping down to a t-shirt, then putting it all back on again. It's very annoying. Just bloody pick one!

@Struckbylightning I love Cornwall. We used to holiday there every year. When we moved from The Midlands, it was a toss up between Cornwall and Scotland. Scotland won based on house prices.
Your holiday cottage sounds amazing. Does it have a proper secure garden? So often a place is ruined by not being able to let the dogs out for a quick wee, because the enclosed garden isn't dog proof.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Gosh that sounds bad, I’m amazed Twatdog survived to adulthood! At least Merry is a good sleeper, she settles at about 8.30 and, at home, wakes at about 7.30. Since we’ve been here though she wants to be up and out at about 6ish. I think that birds and the excitement wakes her up.
We are staying on the Rashleigh estate near Fowey. We found this place by chance as it was a cancellation. We have looked about booking it again but it’s booked solid for the next year. It’s also usually out of our price range. Apparently most of their guests are regular returners and book years in advance. I have been wondering what would happen if we claim squatters rights and just refuse to leave…🤔

@SpanielsGalore it gets everywhere 😫But I am resigned to it as the only other option would be to ban them from the house give it's so open plan, and they were not made to live outside in a kennel.

Your DS is probably right! It's incredibly though how sticky it all is...except when it comes to staying on the sodding dogs.

I'm glad it's a nationwide weather problem. It's driving me bonkers. I've just had to shut the back door as it too cold...

@Struckbylightning Oh he was horrible. But he's my baby and he was (mostly) worth it.

Oh that sounds absolutely lovely and very lucky! I'm not surprised if they get repeat visitors - we always go back to the same 2 cottages every time we go to Norfolk (in part as they're the only ones that allow so many large dogs). You're very lucky it's just Merry because as soon as you add another dog, or more, it seemed like the number of properties available vanishes 😥

I'm expecting lots of lovely photos shortly, including of Merry living her best early morning wake-up life!

Drives me mad when places allow you to filter by dogs but not quantities of dogs.

Under 1 degree here this morning, now 15. Still a bit cool for my liking. The bluebells seem to like this weather though I don't recall seeing so many, so early and for so long in other years.

Hoopers tonight, little pups distance is great these days, now if only I could get her to wait at the start...

My phone tells me it is 14° here, but it is clearly lying. It's bitterly cold. Not only is the back door shut, but the heating is on. My weather station tells me it is 14.7° in my living room and that doesn't lie. My feet and hands were like blocks of ice this morning.

@tizwozliz Hope hoopers training goes well. We have gundog training tonight. The trainer made a comment last week about someone's dog needing to practise sitting and waiting. I think it was aimed at me. 😂

Hi Everyone, I was a poster on the puppy thread last year. Lavender pup has hit adolescence big time - strong, shout, bitey, says “make me” when asked to do anything 🤣
The sex toy that @TheHungryHungryLandsharks recommended is back out of the cupboard after several months so she attacks that in the evening witching hour instead of me!
Fortunately the training appears quite well embedded and she is greedy so I am hoping that gets me through the next few weeks (months??! years??!)

And she can look cute…..

@Lavenderdog Nice to see you again. How old is Lavender pup now? I shall pray adolescence goes quickly for you. 😁

We went to dog training last night. K surprised me with how well she did, but that's not the point of this post.

Training is held in the estate grounds of the local castle. Lots of trees, bushes and acres of grass. The second class arrived as we were finishing and they all got out of their cars to wait. When I went to put K on the back seat, I saw dog piss all over my back wheel.

Is it just me that thinks letting your dog cock its leg up someone's car is fucking disgusting? Especially when you are surrounded by nature.

@Lavenderdog lovely to hear from you!! It's so good that she still loves treats as it makes handling the awful adolescence so much easier (I think). I have no idea what I would do if mine weren't food motivated as all my dog ownership experience relies on them being little fattys (like owner like dog).

I echo Spaniels, how old is she now? She still looks so tiny but then again she is a small breed and other than the spaniels, we all have huge dogs by comparison so everything looks small 😀

Oh no @SpanielsGalore that's rotten!!!! Hopefully if you got back to it quickly you were able to wipe it down?! Glad to hear K is doing well. Is she still being good on her walks?

I am so sick of this weather!!!! Lovely this morning on the walk, not a cloud in the sky. Now it's windy and cold. I am not amused 😑

She’s just over a year now . She’s a standard schnauzer so not that small and she’s pretty solid! (Though guess she’s still small compared to a GR!)

@Lavenderdog I love schnauzer’s! My work friend has two of the mini ones and they are so incredibly sweet. I agree that I’d rather do the puppy stage 100 times over than adolescence!! You will get glimmers of nice dog shine through so just hold onto those, as she will definitely come out the other side. One thing I wish I had done was try and be extremely consistent with training, even on those weeks where they are being horrendous. I have let a lot of things slip and even though a bit of maturity has gone a long way with Vinny and his behaviour, there’s a few things which we’re going to have to unpick as we’ve got into bad habits. I am going right back to basics again (for the millionth time!!).

@SpanielsGalore it sounds like K is smashing her gundog course. I think the car wheel thing is grim. I would never let V do that. Our village is all on street (half on the pavement!) parking and there’s also wheelie bins everywhere and he’s obsessed with trying to pee on those and car wheels but I never allow it.

I managed to get him to sit still for 10 seconds in the woods today for a photo with the bluebells 😌