Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

@Silverbirchleaf Oh bless DDog! So it's not necessarily a bad experience...he's just had a few bad journeys with people getting worried/stressed and it's lingered in his mind. What a sensitive soul❤Hope this behaviourist can help!!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding I am going to be forever grateful that other than peeing on puppies, Twatdog doesn't really pee that much. The girl's scent mark way more than him. Clem is particularly awful - she walks behind the others and pees wherever they pee 😳

@VanGoSunflowers fingers crossed you can get tickets!

I bet Pablo had the time of his life yesterday! I had a quick google and it looks absolutely stunning 😍I always find the same when we go out Bedgebury Forest near us - heaving and then the second you walk off the main path it's quiet and you can walk for hours and barely see anyone!

It was all fun and games at my house last night! Satan, who is now completely blind (or at least acting like it - quite hard to know with her as she's a tricky beast and has form for convincing us she's blind for a few weeks and then suddenly does something that proves she can see!!), was over with my parents for dinner. She stumbled over Twatdog's paw on her way past him. Not hard or anything, and she's tiny so not like she could have done any damage if she had tried. But he had a complete meltdown - jumped up, yelping and crying and screaming the house down. Started limping across the floor like he was auditioning for Eastenders. But the noise set off Pen who came charging across the room and went for Satan. Only Satan stood her ground and fought back (and won)😩All are fine and it was resolved in about 30 seconds, but honestly could Twatdog get any more melodramatic? All that over being kicked by a dog that weighs 10kg.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Poor TD and his poorly paw. I know it's horrible when dogs fall out, but it's quite sweet that Pen came to his defence.

Not a lot happening here. It rained today and K and I got soaked on our walk. I didn't bother taking the limpy pair out. They had to make do with fish skin twists instead.

I have resisted commenting on the puppy insurance thread. I am sure the poster didn't mean to imply that people only need illness cover, because they don't take care of their dogs.

@SpanielsGalore i just gave up replying in the end! Can’t reason with someone who thinks such a small amount of money is going to be any use for any sort of claim (accident or illness). And it felt slightly deceitful to claim the insurance was so good when it wasn’t comprehensive and only covered £2,500…

But I’d argue the opposite of the implication - having comprehensive insurance makes you a good owner, not a bad or negligent one!

I did the maths - to get the same cover I have … (full comp. £12k, £150 excess), would actually cost that poster more with her insurance company than mine does with Pet Plan. (£10 x2 [assume that’s the price for illness cover + accident cover) = £20 a month covering up to £2,500

£2500 X4.8 = £12K comp cover.

£20 x 4.8 =£96.00. More than mine. And I don’t have dental exclusions, or crucial ligament exclusions either! But I’m being zen…as DD1 once said ‘knowing I am right is enough.’ 😂

Did K enjoy her 1-2-1 walk? Was she good? No chasing deer, I hope 😃

He is honestly a very funny dog. Will let anyone touch him in the ring, or me at home. But doesn’t like any dogs or other humans (including DDs) touching his paw at all! Just yelps and runs away.

So hot on my morning walk today! Was dripping in minutes 🤢 would kill for a bit of that rain!!!

Good morning all. I was just reading that thread on the neglected Spaniel. Heartbreaking read!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks poor TD being bullied by satan 😉 I hope they are all friends again now.
I sometimes wonder if Pablo even feels pain bless him. I know he must do, but on one walk he was busy looking at dog behind him and walked in to a lamppost. Didn’t even phase him.

@SpanielsGalore hope you get better weather today. It’s going to be quite hot here this afternoon unfortunately. Back to more sensible temperatures tomorrow.

I am on a health kick at the moment. Gave up alcohol about 7 weeks ago and gave up vaping three days ago cold turkey. I must admit the nicotine cravings are getting to me a little! Been walking more often as it seems to help!

Just had a look at the pet insurance thread. Crazy how people can come to wildly different conclusions about these things. I insure with Petplan - life time cover for up to £12k I think. Premium is about £70 per month. My logic being when I first took it out that puppies are prone to being idiots and hurting themselves. I’ve only ever claimed on it when I had to take him to the out of hours vets to have an injection to make him sick after he swallowed that dead rat whole 🤢 the vet claimed straight from the insurance and I only paid my £100 excess. Totally worth it!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks The ironic part was she was putting in a claim because puppy had had an accident. Is that an example of how well she looks after it? I've claimed £15k for P with only £600 maybe being classed as an accident. (She ran into a tree branch.) Don't know what that says about how well I look after my dogs. 😂

K was an angel as usual. Other people may not approve of her crawling under a fence and running amok amongst the crops, but hey ho. We haven't seen any deer for ages, thankfully. I have found she is much better behaved when she's on her own. Always recalls, instead of thinking 'if she's not coming, then nor am I'.

@VanGoSunflowers That poor spaniel. I don't know why people get a dog if they aren't going to look after it. The replies were silly though. She can't just go and steal him. She'd be prosecuted if she was caught.

I only insured for £7k, thinking it would be plenty. I didn't take into account that £7k in 2031 wouldn't be the same as in 2021. I can't increase now as it would be classed as a new policy and P's legs would be excluded.

You'll both be really envious to know it's pissing it down here.

Haven’t seen the insurance thread. Will read when I have a quiet five minutes or so. Have claimed for various bits and pieces. In the first year or so, probably broke about even (Dog had a benign tumour) but nothing (touch wood) in last year or so.

When I was phoning around dog behaviourists, One suggested asking the vet to recommend behaviour treatment for Dogs car anxiety and then to claim of insurance, but will this increase premiums a lot?

Rain, what’s that? Last week, we were forecast rain today and tomorrow. Currently it’s 27 degrees and will go up to 29 degrees later. No rain until Sunday now… . It’s flippin’ hot!

Hope all the poorly dogs are getting better.

@VanGoSunflowers i’m envious of your willpower. Was planning an August health kick. But sat outside at a friends house last night having a meal, and the dessert was mini donuts . Couldn’t refuse. It would have been rude…

@VanGoSunflowers They're best friends in the sense of Satan loves him and Twatdog loves to run away from her. I put them in the backseat together, ages ago, and she curled up with her head on his head and he spent the whole journey crying in terror! All she wanted was a cuddle. 😞

My parents both gave up smoking and said it got worse as time went by until one day they didn't crave it anymore...and they HATED the smell. The only downside was their sweet-tooth increased a lot as a result? Not sure if that was them trying to justify their cake consumption though... Tbh I just think it's incredibly impressive anyone can do it, so big kudos to you!!!!

@Silverbirchleaf it hit low 30s here yesterday but only 26 at the moment (ONLY!) I am really getting a bit sick of hot weather now. Due to go away in September and dreading it still being low-20s or something.

I'm not sure I would want to claim on insurance...I know that's what it's for, but I'm not sure the amount of sessions would make it worthwhile, if that makes sense? Benign tumour at such a young age must have been terrifying for you!!! Thank goodness all was well.❤

@SpanielsGalore K is a good girl. I have no issues with crops, but then I am not a farmer! Mine love to try and dig out rabbits which is funny because Golden's are meant to retriever, not flush or dig out little creatures. It's funny that she won't recall if one of the others doesn't! If one of mine doesn't recall, the others will go and get them

I thought the same as you on the spaniel thread! Also, letting out a dog that has spent so long in a cage...it could go very very wrong. One wrong move and she could get a very nasty bite (at best). Incredibly sad, but I wouldn't want to risk doing something even for the right reasons!

I hadn't realised if you changed it/increased the premiums that P's legs wouldn't be included! But that's slight naivety on my part as I have never really claimed for anything...if it's only a few hundred pound I won't claim as I don' want them whacking the premiums up.
😂

I am never going to complain about rain again. Ever.

One of my colleagues is in Central Europe at the moment and he said it's been close to 37 for weeks now. A few days of respite here and there where it's 'only 32'. ONLY 32!!!!

@Silverbirchleaf I think it depends on which insurance company you are with. Claims do not affect renewal premiums with PetPlan. P's has increased by a few pounds per month each year. But I have read of other companies increasing the price a lot if you claim.

14° and wet here. We might see the sun on Thursday, but it's only a 20% chance.

My willpower lives in the supermarket. I can make myself not buy things. But once something is in the house, I have no power to ration it. I bought a tub of ice cream that was divided into 8 segments. The plan was to eat one at a time. Turned out I could actually manage the whole tub in one sitting.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks We didn’t realise he had one until he jumped up and his leg started bleeding. It bled everyone. It looked like someone had been massacred in the garden. Turned out to be the tumour growth.

When I looked into getting a behaviourist for P, they were charging £500 for an initial assessment. That's well worth an insurance claim for me. But I claim for everything possible. Last week's appointment was ony £45, but I have claimed it as it's part of an existing condition.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Yes. They class upping the amount to £15k as taking out a new policy. I can't afford for her legs and pancreas to be pre-existing conditions. I'd have nothing left to claim for. 😂

I never realised that changing the limit was classed as a new policy. Sneaky.

I may not be entirely correct. Google says if I upgrade, any claims may become pre--existing conditions and excluded. Or they may be included, but only paid for up to the previous lower limit. I'll have to ask them at renewal time. The latter should be alright. I'd have £7k for her legs and pancreas and £5k for everything else.
I've only claimed the full amount once. But if her other cruciate ligament ruptures before November, I'll be shafted. Expect a link to a GoFund me page and a photo of P looking sad. Does this one tug at your purse heartstrings?

We had rain overnight! Ok, the water butt is half empty still and I doubt it's penetrated far down but the ground was wet. Although I think we're going to pay for it with extra humidity now.

For the people who wanted to know about dog swimming in the Lincoln area. We went to activities away on Sunday and had a fun time jumping and bobbing around. Not such a good setup if your dogs need space but lots of fun for us. Very proud of little pup, first time jumping into deep water off a dock and I think there's no stopping her now. They do dog swimming once a fortnight on a Sunday, humans need to wear lifejackets, optional for dogs.

We also were park running and mantrailing this weekend so pups were shattered.

On the cake front I'm currently enjoying raspberry cheesecake bites. This batch turned out a bit soft so I'll have to have another attempt at making ;-)

Cheesy reel :-)
www.instagram.com/reel/DbnfYYAtAij/?igsh=Y2d3YjZnYXV0eXhs

@Silverbirchleaf i honestly have no idea where the willpower has even come from so I am making the most of it 😂

@SpanielsGalore I am definitely envious of the rain. And yes, that picture would render me helpless to resist the emptying of my purse 😍 not that there’s much in it, mind. But you are welcome to its contents 😂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I am insatiably hungry at the moment. But the main thing that is working to keep me in a decent mood rather than raging from nicotine withdrawal is exercise so I’ve been running and strength training and stuff which is contributing to the increased appetite I think! I used a vape to quit smoking. I think I have cigarettes in the house actually but I couldn’t stomach one! Weird how it works. Hopefully I will feel that way about vaping at some point!

Hoping that my insurance continues to cover me for the very serious condition of having a dog that will eat any old shit given half the chance!

@Silverbirchleaf goodness that must have been really terrifying!!

@SpanielsGalore you'd still have skin and teeth! They can be expensive 😂Remember how much Twatdogs dermatitis cost me!?😫

Ohh Poor P. She looks so sad. What's the little knobbly bit on her bandage?

@tizwozliz those cheesecake bites look amazing! Do you have a recipe? The instagram link wont work for me (think it's cos I don't have an account)!😞

@VanGoSunflowers honestly the withdrawals sound like me 99% of the time - angry and hungry.

Probably a good thing I never smoked...but then my vice is cakes and sugar, so probably even worse given how much I consume! For breakfast today I had a brownie, after lunch I had a magnum and after dinner it was a twix 😳

Are you taking Pablo running with you?

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks My sprocker had skin problems. His first appointment with a dermatologist cost just under £3k. Honestly. If I never make another claim, I have already had more than my money's worth out of PetPlan.

The photo is one the vets sent me after her cruciate ligament surgery. I assume that plastic knobbly thing is a catheter.

@VanGoSunflowers 'Eating any old shit' is one of P's exclusions. 😂
When she ran into a stick and it pierced the back of her mouth and went down her neck, I had to make sure the vet wrote she was impaled on it and she hadn't been eating it.

It's rained all day here. Not sure I can face evening walks. K's drying coat is still wet from lunch time. If I do venture out, it will be in my wellies and fake dry robe.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I have been adding running in to our walks. Well, short bursts of sprinting. I let Pablo off and he stands and stares at me and I run in the other direction as fast as I can and he chases me 😂 much more fun than couch to 5K.
I’ve just ordered a huge pizza for one. I’m full up after a meal and then starving again two hours later! Trying not to replace nicotine with sugar but I’m not
sure pizza is much better 😂

@SpanielsGalore I bet that was painful for P! I wonder if the vet records it as eating any old shit on their notes 😂

@tizwozliz I could eat all of those cakes right now they look fabulous!

ETA I wish I could send our weather your way @SpanielsGalore and have yours here for a while!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks This is a very similar recipe, I have used this one before, although this latest batch is from a book.

https://theloopywhisk.com/2019/05/01/small-batch-raspberry-cheesecake-bars/

There's also a blackberry one that I'm going to try

theloopywhisk.com/2020/08/31/blackberry-cheesecake-bars/

@SpanielsGalore oh that explains it! I was squinting away trying to work out what it was...I really am blind!

I'm still so so jealous you're getting rain. It's cloudy here but still really muggy 😞

@VanGoSunflowers ohhh even though it's only 9;30 I'm now craving a pizza! What toppings did you get?

@tizwozliz thank you! They look so delicious and super easy to make as well.

We saw the Doberman that attacked DWS when she was a puppy earlier. We've seen it a few times since, and it's always been un-muzzeled and off lead...today it was muzzled and on a much shorter lead. So something must have happened. Just hoping no other dogs were hurt in the process of getting the owner to see reason! Poor DWS though. Whenever she sees the dog she always goes as far away as she can. 😞

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I imagine something quite serious must have happened if the doberman is now muzzled and on a lead. The owner certainly didn't care before.
Poor DWS. It's lucky she's only scared of the doberman and it didn't make her fearful of all dogs.

I had a bad day yesterday. Wallpapering was a nightmare. I got two pieces in and then ripped it off and started again. Found out the ex has been dating someone for months. Which I don't care about, but it would have been nice if the kids had warned me, so I wasn't blindsided if I bumped into them in Tesco. My boiler broke. Hopefully it can be repaired, as I can't afford a new one. And for all you people craving rain - it's bloody baltic up here! Torrential rain and gusting winds. I wore my dry robe to take the dogs out.
I hope everyone else is having a better time of it and better weather.

@SpanielsGalore Yes, i think it must have been very serious 😞Owner seemed completely unbothered when it went for DWS so to suddenly muzzle it...

Ahh no!!! They do say bad things come in 3's though, so hopefully that's everything. Sometimes I feel like people's attempts to spare feelings/withhold information just causes more problems - best intention, worst outcome type situation.

Sorry about your boiler/wallpapering! How long will it take to get someone out to fix it? 🙁I'd still take the no boiler/freezing over the ongoing heat down here though! I don't think i've had a sweat free walk in about 4 months.

It's all going horribly wrong here as well! So at least you're not alone in your suffering (not that it's really a positive). Work's terrible; lots of people without jobs in limbo, lots of people trying to muscle in on their 'new' roles (which we don't start for a few weeks) and practically pushing the incumbent out and dancing on their graves. At this point I am genuinely considering taking SUPL as my day is 99.9% full of HR issues at the moment. I was not made to do HR issues. It's like training a Golden Retriever to become a protection dog. Not natural 😫

On the plus side, because I am getting so frazzled, I'm doing a lot of cuddling the dogs and taking long walks in the morning/evening so my weight loss is going well😁

@Struckbylightning Devon holiday now booked. Staying near Ivybridge. Kept your list for reference.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding Hope the flyball is going well. It’s always exciting to watch on crufts, and I saw it live in a local hall once.

@VanGoSunflowers lovely picture of Pablo by a magnificent tree.

@SpanielsGalore Thats certainly a good Daily Fail sad face.

@tizwozliz lovely picture of dog and cake. Thought Pablo had outdone you in the photo stakes for a second, but cake, playing hardball!

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Sounds tough.

Did you have rain yesterday? We had one heavy ish shower, and by the time I’d got my washing in, it had stopped! 30 predicted again for next week. Please northerners, send the rain southwards!

@SpanielsGalore Hope the decorating went better today.

@VanGoSunflowers well done with your health kick, I’m impressed! I also took up vaping to quit smoking, but I’m not quite ready to give that up yet. I think it was only the vape (and chocolate and gin) that kept me going through my twin nightmare of menopause and puppy rearing!

@SpanielsGalore the stick impaling sounds terrifying! How have you not had a breakdown with your doggo’s illnesses and injuries?!
Sorry you’ve had such a shit time recently. I’m sure it doesn’t help that you are also having shit weather, a washout summer is so depressing. Hope the boiler gets fixed. And I think you are very brave doing wallpaper. I used to work as a decorator and I HATED doing wallpaper. Plain painted walls all the way for me.

@Silverbirchleaf it’s always exciting having a holiday booked in. Hope you have a lovely time.

The last couple of days have been a bit cooler. Last night I actually needed my dressing gown for the first time in months. Took a cardigan out with me this morning but took it off pretty soon. Yesterday Merry chased a deer, the little shit. First I knew of it was seeing a big brown bottom bounding off through the broken, followed by a skinny little black bottom in hot pursuit. She ignored my calls so I just stood in the shade of a tree and waited for her sheepish return. She was probably AWOL for about 10 minutes and was so puffed out her tongue was virtually dragging on the floor!
I have recently started to think that she might be getting a bit calmer, but realised this morning that she is in season again, so it might be just that. I’m going to take her to be weighed this afternoon, find out if her extra goodies have had any effect, but she doesn’t feel any fatter to me.
On her walk this morning some bloke greeted her with ‘hello sexy’ which I thought was a bit icky…

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Sorry work is horrible. I thought it would get less stressful once the job losses were sorted. Sounds like it's got worse instead. It's not nice of the new people pushing the current post holders out before their time.

@Struckbylightning I must admit I am fed up of having ill dogs. It's very draining. My sprocker became ill in March 2021 and it's been o e thing after another since then.

P never made a sound over the stick. Carried on with the walk and happily jumped in the car at the end. I only took her to the vets later on, as her face was lopsided and I thought she'd been stung. Apparently the stick was pushing her tongue to the side. Her face straightened back up once it was removed. And that is why I keep telling the vets she has a high pain threshold.

Don't suppose you fancy a bus man's holiday, do you? I'm only putting lining paper up, but it's taking me forever. I've done 4 strips today in three hours. I've done 15 pieces altogether. Only two of them have been straight forward. The others have all involved door frames, the heating thermostat, plug sockets and light switches.

How did the weigh in go? I agree calling a dog sexy is a bit weird. The deer chasing sounds fun. I can't recall mine away from chasing those either. Or rabbits and birds.

Pleased to say the boiler sparked back to life all by itself. Just as well, because this horrible weather you are all craving brought a couple of tiles down off the roof. Had a man round today to quote for replacing them. £400! Fuck that! It's a half hour job at the most.

The dogs are all fine, but not liking being shut away from me whilst I am decorating. They're only the other side of the stair gate and can see me, but they're all giving me their best sad faces.