Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

Just caught up with fifteen messages.

Happy birthday K. Cute picture.

Never had to clear out Dog’s ears.

@tizwozliz Why are sleeping labs so cute. Dog is laying next to me, and somehow it just calms you down.

Given Dog a new nickname , Cobweb, as he keeps getting cobwebs on his snout. Not even sure where he gets them from (apart from I know it’s outside, my house is not that dusty).

Love shortbread. Especially choc chip shortbread.

Not sure I could cope with two dogs.

Oh how sweet @tizwozliz . What a beautiful photo.

I'd love to think we might have such a harmonious scene at the weekend, but we shall see.

Happy birthday to K @SpanielsGalore!! She is so lovely. It’s funny as she looks the same size as V on photos but he’s double her weight 🤣

Here you go @TheHungryHungryLandsharks , this is my little horror at 2.5 years and a shade under 50kg. As you can see, not an ounce of excess weight, if anything a little too lean, though it doesn't help that she's completely out of coat currently. She will look a lot more floofy and cute in a few weeks time when the undercoat grows back.

Hope everyone's Tuesday is going well. It's cool and a bit breezy here today. Can't believe we've almost reached October, but it's a sweet relief for those who felt summer went on too long this year...

Started a new puppy survival thread 😬so that'll give me a nice social anxiety spiral for the week ahead 😨 Still, it'll stop me clogging this thread up with puppy talk even if I do end up talking to myself over there 😳

@CoubousAndTourmaIet We’re more than happy to have puppy pictures, though!

I can see why people think they’re golden retrievers (I could as well, holds head in shame), although I guess they’re alot larger.

‘Cool and breezy?’ Nope, up to 24 degrees again today. Washing is out. Didn’t think I’d be putting it outside again this year.

She is looking so lovely @CoubousAndTourmaIet. I am happy with puppy talk here too! I feel it’s relevant anyway as I’m sure there will be talk about the pair of them and how Brie is getting on with her new sibling.

It’s cold here too. 16 degrees and drizzly and I am freezing!

Only 15 degrees here @Silverbirchleaf and quite overcast so I'm not risking a wash.

People often mistake Pyrenean females for a "white retriever", from a distance it's an easy mistake to make. Suspect we might get more St Bernard comments with new pup, at least until his colour fades.

Thanks @YorkshireFelix 😊

Happy Birthday to K, she’s so pretty.
@CoubousAndTourmaIetBrie is fabulous. And I agree with the others, we are very happy to have puppy talk on this thread. And weather, and cake and all other things in between.
I keep over-dressing for walks. I feel a bit chilly in the house and it looks quite overcast, but when I start walking I need to strip off coat and jumper. Mind you, the rain is falling now so I’m glad I got my washing in this afternoon.

Thanks @Struckbylightning 😊Seemingly no takers on puppy thread currently, so you may indeed be stuck with my baby talk for a little while.

Same here with the overdressing at the moment, by the time we're halfway through our walk we're sweltering and shedding layers. I'm not going to complain about it being mild though, given that we'll be on toilet training duty in October.

@SpanielsGalore I know! I do think sometimes people mistake the relative 'chill' of Goldens (they're not going to go as bananas as a Mali, for example) for thinking they're super happy with their lives. Social media has a lot to answer for in the way certain dog breeds are portrayed/described.

Satan has always been very chill. A bit neurotic, but then given everything she would be. So I can completely believe yours can chill after a walk. 9/10 times, if I see a dog sitting nicely in a coffee shop or a restaurant or a pub, it's a cocker or a labrador.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet don't envy me too much for the walks! I have huge blisters today as I trie to break in some new trainers yesterday...bad idea.

Brie really is looking beautiful! And completely agree about her not being large in any way, shape or form. She's got lovely form and, most importantly, her legs look fantastic (not too fat, not too thin and no knobbly knees). DH always used to laugh when I pointed out knobbly knees on dogs...until he was very sharply told that it's often an early indicator of arthritis and/or dysplasia. Now he always looks at a dogs legs first before he looks at anything else - I've trained him well 😁

Speaking of which, until recently I had no idea it was so common in the States to neuter dogs before a year old (of any breed). I do wonder if there's a correlation between that and joint issues (+ cancer in certain breeds). They seem to have very poor standards for dog welfare. I saw a video of a Bernese that DD1 sent me yesterday - 5 months old and it could barely walk its dysplasia was so bad 🙁

Was 24here today in Norfolk. Even at 7am I was sweating and drunk an entire 500ml bottle of water on the walk. It's October tomorrow, so surely the weather has to change at some point? I don't necessarily want rain (although I have a horrible feeling we're going to go from really hot to just rain for months on end)...just some really nice cold, crisp, sunny walks.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks there is - I can dig out the research if you like. There's a sort of u-shaped curve (as I recall - it's been a few months since I read it) where likelihood of certain joint issues is highest if neutering is done at under one, lowest at around two, and then it picks up again if neutering is later than three. It's why I hung on so long with Bill even though he went full nobhead.

Tax paid: Bill and the teeny tiny stick he found on the Common this morning and insisted I threw for him. I could barely lift the sodding thing, he was running in huge circles with it.

That is a wonderful photo @Bupster

Aah, lovely Bupster.

I have never looked at the knees of dogs before. I shall be looking at every dog I see now!

Hang on… do dogs have knees?? Which bits are their knees? I see hips and elbows and maybe ankles. Where are the knees?

They sort of do on the rear legs @Struckbylightning The back bit is the hock, the front curve is the knee...kind of...

Edited to add that Landsharks is much better on the technical/anatomical than I am. I'm a one trick pony/LGD anorak.

@Struckbylightning Dogs have elbows in their front legs (arms) and knees in their back legs.
They are the source of all P's leg issues. Her patellas (knee caps) kept slipping out of place, so she had to have an operation to fix them in place. Cue arthritis and ruptured cruciate ligaments.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet It always surprises me how slender Brie is. For some reason, I always think PMDs are built like Newfies.

Looking forward to seeing puppy photos at the weekend.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Hope you're having a good holiday and the blisters aren't causing too much trouble.

Do dogs get knobbly knees? N has knobbly/swollen ankles/hocks/stifles (depending which vet is describing them). It's all in the lower half of her leg anyway.

Just incase you are missing Satan, we met her distant cousin on our walk. 😁

That’s a lovely photo. Who doesn’t love a highland coo.

Had a lovely autumnal walk through the woods. It actually rained yesterday, so everything felt fresher. It’s a pleasant and sunny 17 degrees so a nice temperature. Lots of lovely birdsong, which according to my Merlin app were robin, chaffinch, great tit and blue tit. There were also jays but they squawked and chattered, rather than being melodious.

Ah, my bad @SpanielsGalore I should have known you are the dog knee expert in these parts because of your unfortunate experiences with Luxating Patella.

The US Great Pyrenees actually can look somewhat like a white Newfie, chunkier legs, squarer head with a deeper stop. Ours have been from French/European lines so they tend to be leggy, long and lean. In a way it's a bit like the difference between show type and working type in gundog breeds, particularly Labs.

Love the Highland calf. Very cute.

I know about dog knees as I used to worry that mine had bald knees when they sat down 😂

Thank you @SpanielsGalore, that makes sense now. Knees only on the back legs. Isn’t it funny, I often think of dogs front legs as arms. Probably mostly because they dig their elbows into you when they sit on your lap.

Beautiful weather here again, but rather unseasonable. No doubt I’ll be sick of rain before too long so shouldn’t grumble. My grass seed has not done anything at all, possibly because I can’t persuade Merry to stop galloping about all over it, and she’s still digging holes periodically. Pest.

Lovely little Highland cow. My friend has a few and they are adorable.

@tizwozliz they do sometimes get bald knees. Might make it easier to look out for knobbliness!

@Struckbylightning I think of front legs as arms too 🤣 Drizzly but warm here today. I’m cursing the rain as I’d have been able to get so much washing dry if it held off.

@SpanielsGalore she is the spit of Vinny it’s so weird! Apart from her lighter muzzle. I’d love to see them side by side one day 😄

@CoubousAndTourmaIet happy puppy eve!!

P asks to be picked up. She'll sit on my hip and put her arms around my neck like a toddler. 😂

@YorkshireFelix Next time I make it down to England, I'll detour so they can meet up.
Someone asked me the other day if K was old, because of her lighter muzzle. I had to stop myself from calling him a cheeky fucker.
The face colouring is an extension of her white chest. You don't notice it from above, so I often forget she isn't black all over. She used to have a little white bit on the top of her head and white tippy toes, but the black hair grew and covered them up.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Oh you were correct. HHL is far more knowledgeable about dog anatomy than me. My knowledge is strictly limited to right knees. P's had luxating patellas, inflamed tendons and ruptured ligaments, plus the arthritis. So I have seen many x-rays, scans and diagrams. I know nothing about any other joints.

Are you getting excited?

12° and sunny here, so I am going to try to cut more of the grass. Although I have just looked out the front and black clouds are gathering. 🙄