Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I'm glad you knew what I was on about. 😂

The field is approximately 7 acres. It's a mixture of wooded areas, long and short grass and has a pond. The dogs love it. It's great for letting them have a good, stress free (for me) run when they are in season. And gave me a chance to test P's recall after all this time. Thursday is offer day too, so it was only £7 for 50 minutes.

Sorry to hear your older ones were struggling in the heat. N is struggling in general at the minute and limping quite a bit. She's only up for short walks round the block really.

I may regret saying this, but can you send some rain in our direction. We’ve had three evenings of no water, and now they’ve set up water stations (but don’t tell you about them). My next door neighbour is on the vulnerable list, and got delivered some water which was left outside. No consideration that an elderly lady may not be able to bend and pick up the heavy water!

How’s all the pooches in the heat? Dog can’t really settle and is restless, and just wants to go
outside and sit in the sun or play ball.

@SpanielsGalore Jeepers! Seven acres. There is nothing like that near us 😯That sounds brilliant. How was P's recall?

Sorry to hear about N. Did you take her to the vet in the end?

@Silverbirchleaf mine are struggling! The younger ones want to be out and about doing things and the older ones just want to doze in front of a fan.

How do you have no water?!? You're not with South East Water are you...they are terrible 😐

It's due to rain here all next week, but still be really warm and muggy which I am not impressed by. It's going to make dog walking a bit grim and sweaty!

Yep, south east water. We have water during the day, not just the evening. I’ve been watering the back garden with washing-up water, but my front garden is desperate, and hasn’t had a water for days. Hopefully the plants won't die before the rains come.

@Silverbirchleaf that DSD thread is bonkers! I saw you commented as I was reading it. MN is such an odd place...

How can you only have water half the day!? Is it deliberate? I don't understand how that happens unless someone at HQ is switching a giant stop-cock on and off.

I met my soul mate on the beach this morning. A woman with 2 kids and her husband. Kids whinging loudly about being up so early to go to the beach and the mother said (not exactly but the gist), 'because I don't like people. That's why we're here early. And we're leaving as soon as it gets busy.'😂

Very much how I view crowds!

Met an absolutely lovely Golden Retriever puppy near the end of our walk. It was only 5 months old!😍It's funny how lovely puppies are when they're not yours...

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks sounds like a lovely holiday, though not the journey there! My parents live in Suffolk and I hate the journey to theirs, it’s such a drag!
Why on Earth does Twatdog wake in the middle of the night? That would be a dealbreaker for me, I really need my sleep!
@SpanielsGalore that dog field looks amazing!
What is the DSD thread? Mumsnet does seem particularly weird at the moment…

Another warm day here, warmer than forecast I think so had to rush to get the dogs out after swimming.

Big pup cut her leg/paw on Wednesday evening but seems over it now. Fortunately coincided with the really hot day so we managed a trip to the coffee shop and a very short evening walk. She's normally quite stoic about these things, I ended up shaving her leg a bit as I couldn't work out whether it was a scab or a large splinter. All fine by Friday!

That dog field does look amazing, one popped up on my Facebook the other day which was a really nice wooded area with a pond. Most of the ones I've used have been fairly dull and boring.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks P's recall was perfect. 😇 But there's an absence of wildlife there, so I won't count my chickens. Although K did find a toad in a hole. 😂 (It might have been a frog, but that's not as funny.)

I haven't taken N to the vet's yet. I was hoping to wait until her next acupuncture session and see the physio in the meantime.

Are you still on holiday or is it back to the daily grind on Monday?

Did the GR make you puppy broody? There's a man in the village with a GR puppy. I met them regularly when walking P round the village. It's amazing how much the puppy grew in those few months. He started off smaller than P and now towers over her.

@Struckbylightning The DSD thread is in the trending list. There's two of them now. Last update I read is DSD is going to seek legal advice, because she's just found out she isn't inheriting SM's house. Not that SM is dying any time soon.

@tizwozliz Poor Big Pup. Glad she has recovered from her injury.

This was the first freedom field I used and I think we have been well and truly spoiled. I have been to a couple of others when away, but they were nowhere near as good. Empty fields or bare ground. Unless you're into ball throwing, there wasn't much for the dogs to do.

Dull but muggy here today.
K is a bit quiet, which I am putting down to hormones. She was sick on Thursday, but has been fine since.

P digs the carpet when I am out. She has ripped a hole in this one, so I need to replace it. Any ideas on how to stop her doing the same to a new carpet? Other than crating her, I don't know what else I can do. I don't have any carpet free rooms to leave her in.

I forgot to mention, dogs found a deer leg on their walk the other evening, I had to wedge it in a tree to get them to leave it 😂

I've never seen deer in that patch of land before, it's a reasonable size but almost completely surrounded by housing. Lots of deer lately though, including a deer with two fawns. Mostly at a good distance fortunately and with some obstacles in the way.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Water went off again earlier. The reason given is the unprecedented demand in this hot weather. Funny how other areas aren’t affected. Locally people are blaming all the new house developments that have sprung up, but that’s occurred elsewhere as well.

The dsd thread is fascinating and has progressed. Now the new boyfriend has got involved and wants to oversee a meeting g.

“think she’s entitled to see the paperwork if decisions have been made that affect her future. “

This is a quote from the op I’ve just quoted on the thread. Dsd assumed she was going to inherit a lot, not realising that the house belongs mainly to the (evil) stepmother, who came into her life when dsd was 20.

@Struckbylightning the dog walking field being rented for 2+ hrs was a game-changer as it meant we didn't have to find things to do once we arrived, which when you have a dog and can't check-in until 4 is a nightmare! The journey there would have been way worse if we hadn't had somewhere to go for 4+ hours.

But we're pro's at this now - we have the dog walking field booked, the food delivery arrives between 5-6, we bring our coffee machine and the fans etc. Honestly, we're more organised than a NATO military drill 😂

I think he's waking up with the sunrise which is about 4:40 but obviously it's light 30(ish) minutes beforehand. It is driving me crackers though.😫

@Silverbirchleaf that's ridiculous! Hope you've got some stocks of water in...

@SpanielsGalore @Silverbirchleaf Honestly the DSD thread is just getting more and more bananas. I half-hope it's not true as the level of entitlement is just staggering...but then people do get very odd about inheritance!

@SpanielsGalore It made me broody for about 30 seconds and then it ran off, rolled in a dead fish and wouldn't recall to it's (very embarrassed) owner and I was suddenly not broody anymore! They do grow so quickly though...all gangly limbs and tiny braincells.

Back to work on Monday and leaving tomorrow morning! We did ten days. Technically could leave on Monday morning but a Sunday morning journey home is always easier as the traffic is lighter and really DDs shouldn't miss school...

Ohh P is being a good girl! Could be that she's worried she might be stuck on crate rest again if she's naughty? Dogs get funny ideas into their head sometimes. Will keep my fingers crossed N is just having a bit of a rough time with the heat, poor thing ❤

Could you get a spare bit of carpet that she knows is the designated area to scratch? Or do you think it's more 'Oh Spaniels isn't here and I'm worried' stressed scratching?

@tizwozliz Glad to hear big pup's injury wasn't too bad! It's warm here as well and I am doing a very good impression of a tomato - fat and red. 😑

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Hope you had a good journey home.

P is a good girl on walks. Unless there are furries or deer around. 😂

That's a good idea about the spare bit of carpet. I have lots of off cuts, as they always leave them behind. Thank you. 💐
The dogs are shut in the dining room and kitchen when I am out. She always digs by the stair gate through to the hallway. I assume it is a stress thing, as she doesn't do it when I am home. At the minute, the hole is covered with a rug, which is usually pulled back when I get home. I could get a piece of carpet and put the ends under the stair gate and the sofa. Then she can scratch without pulling it up. I shall sort it today and see if it works before getting the new carpet fitted.

I never knew people were so obsessed with inheritance until MN. Perhaps because my parents had nothing to leave. I have also apparently failed my children miserably by not having huge saving pots for them. Seems everyone should totally fund Uni and provide house deposits.

I was supposed to be helping at a charity fund raiser today, but the organiser cancelled due to the forecast rain. Currently blue sky and sunshine and my washing is on the line. Bloomin' typical!

@SpanielsGalore Got home about 20 minutes ago. Dogs so happy to be home - Twatdog pissed on DWS. All has returned to normal 😂

Fingers crossed she knows which bit of carpet to go for! But Spaniels are intelligent so she should pick it up. Bless her though for worrying when you're out...seems like despite her quirks she does love you!!

I don't get the inheritance thing either. But then DH/PIL and my parents are very much of the 'money is to be spent when you're living' mind. And I am very much of the 'money is to be spend on DDs and Dogs' mind. On the plus side, if you're failing your children I'm certainly going to be failing mine as I've told both of them that when they turn 16, it's find a job time and one of them isn't even technically a teenager yet. Better I don't post that on the 'other side' though as I'll be accused of being negligent!🙄

Sorry the fundraiser was cancelled! It's overcast but muggy here. It was due to rain every day next week but now it's gone back to Tuesday, so by tomorrow it'll be Wednesday and the next thing is we'll be on a hosepipe ban again.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I'm sure TD was just having a wee and DWS got in the way. He'd never do it on purpose. 😇 😂

Mine all got jobs at 16. Technically, they all got the same job and it was passed down through the ranks. And the eldest had a paper round from about 13 years old.
But they grew up in the days of ham sandwiches, a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar for school lunches. And a couple of biscuits a day was a snack, not a treat. Yet they'll still complain they were hard done by. 😂

We've just had a heavy rain shower and now the forecast has changed to no more rain today. I don't think we have a gazebo or anything similar, as the person in charge was worried about keeping our table dry. It's a shame after we've had nice weather all week. But hey-ho.

P's a weird one. She's a perfect dog out and about. All of her quirks are at home and/or centered around me. I sometimes wonder if she'd be happier living with someone else, but that's not something that can be tested really. I know she has no problems with other people eating. But then she'll eat DS's toast, but if he walks with us, he's not allowed to hold her lead.
This is P's digging spot.

@SpanielsGalore, was it you son who is off to Estonia this summer? My brother’s just found out he’s getting deployed to a similar country but can’t say where, and he leaves next week 😵.

In doggy news I just found myself saying to Rory, “that’s enough salad now, I don’t think you need anymore” which is something I never thought I’d say to a dog!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding Gosh that's short notice. That would worry me, since it wasn't planned well in advance. I am assuming if he can't say where he's going, he also won't be allowed to communicate whilst he's gone. Sending lots of stay safe thoughts.
DS has just returned from three weeks in Estonia. He goes back for 6 months next year.

My dogs all love salad. They come running when they hear the fridge opening and queue up for slices of cucumber.

My dogs like anything!

@SpanielsGalore yes it is a bit worrying! I wouldn’t say his role is front line though so that’s a bit reassuring.

Rory gets really annoyed when I give my tortoises salad as he thinks it should all be for him! And he hates them anyway 🤣🤣.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding sorry to hear about the last minute deployment of your brother!!

@SpanielsGalore I hate to think what DDs school would do if I sent them in with crisps and chocolate given how militant they are 😂

At first I thought Ps digging spot was just a lot of Golden Retriever fur as it looks similar to the clumps I keep finding in the house. I do sometimes wonder if P and Satan are related (although they look so different) as Satan has some very odd habits as well. I don't think P would be happier away from you though - for all her odd quirks, she clearly does adore you.

I got caught in every thunder storm possible the last two days. Every time I have stepped outside the front door it has rained. 😫This is going to be a terrible week for rain, I can feel it. Hope everyone else is having a better start to the week than I am.

I'm having Chinese take-away for dinner (followed by cake). Just put in the order and had to explain to DDs and DH that my food is my food, and I am not sharing - so if they want something I've ordered, they have to order one themselves. I take a very 'Smithy' from Gavin & Stacey approach to Take-aways. 😁

We had a short, but quite violent storm earlier which caused a power cut for a few minutes. What with that and the water shortages… (although so far, okay today).

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Chinese takeaway sounds nice. What cake have you got? I can't imagine you still have slices left from the last one you ordered.
I treated myself to poached egg and beans on toast. 😂
I gave P a pizzle in the hallway. She hid round the corner, but carried on chewing. So I guess that's progress of sorts.

@Silverbirchleaf We haven't had a storm, but it's rained pretty much all day. I dug my dry robe and wellies back out to walk the cockers.

I took N to the vets this morning. They took cell samples from her lump and have sent them off for testing. She is on the maximum dose of all her pain meds, so we can't increase those. I have WhatsApped the pain specialist to see if I can add anything else into the cocktail.

@SpanielsGalore Coffee & Walnut (homemade for once - by DDs though, not me) and it's delicious. The last one lasted about two weeks, but that was mostly because I forgot about all the slices in the freezer.

Chinese takeaway was delicious. I had salt and pepper chicken, beef chow mein and chicken balls😁And yes, I ate it all!

Poached egg is very fancy! I always muck it up when I cook it. But it does sound like progress for P- I hope N and K were equally blessed with pizzle sticks. N is an older girl isn't she? Hopefully the lump is just one of those older dog things and nothing serious. Sorry to hear she's maxed out on pain meds - it's so hard when there's only so much you can do.

Separately on the sickly puppy thread, I did not mean for you to be quiet - just those offering no helpful comments. 7 hours not drinking for a puppy is awful. Berating OP isn't going to help and will just detract from the serious issue. Admittedly, I would be far less concerned if it was one of mine not drinking for 7 hours at that age but something tells me OP's puppy is...less than healthy stock.

@Silverbirchleaf could you put buckets outside to collect the water? 😂

I should have dug the (fake) dry robe out for the dog walk but it's buried in the closest behind all the summer things. Sigh. Good Ol' British summer.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Yes. People repeating 'Wow' are not particularly helpful.
I never met K's Mum and I didn't meet K until collection. I spoke to the breeder and he recommended K for me at 5.5 weeks old. I trusted his judgement and didn't feel the need to do a 6 hour round trip just to see her in the fur. He sent me photos and videos. But that's obviously totally different circumstances to the cavachon. He's a respected breeder and I'd already had a puppy from him. I doubt any breeders of cavachons is reputable.

Did you see the advice on a different puppy thread saying not to give water after 5pm to help with night time toilet training? That must come close to being the shittest advice I have ever heard. From a dog trainer too!

Spaniels are prone to fatty lumps, so I'm trying not to worry. If she wasn't limping, I wouldn't have bothered to investigate it at all. It has grown rather quickly though, so that's a worry. I've already said if it's malignant we shouldn't treat it.

That sounds like an awful lot of food for one person. 😂 Or your Chinese does stingy portions. I struggle to just eat all of the chicken balls. Although that's with a big portion of chips too.

You'll be surprised to read I don't like coffee and walnut cake. Got to be Red Velvet or chocolate for me.

K and N did get pizzles too. But N has just whined to be let outside and had diarrhoea, so she might not get another one. I'm glad she whined and didn't go on the carpet like last time. I've only just got the stain out. That's the first time she has asked to go out in 17 months.

@SpanielsGalore Yes, quite!

I do think it's very different if you know the breeder well and have had a puppy from them before. The thing is, when OP posted her initial thread about the puppy I did worry about it (she ignored the comments about checking for parents health tests and socalisation and how 16 weeks was not ideal and focussed on the 'oh a puppy how lovely' comments). But she's got the puppy now so she just has to do right by it

I did see that thread. I chose not to comment as I didn't want to start an argument 😁I'm growing up! But I do often find that online the worst advice is often from alleged trainers or behaviourists...

Yes, I know what you mean. Hen has quite a few lumps and bumps but at her age I wouldn't put her through an operation. It's just unfair on them at that point. Fingers crossed with N it's nothing major and also that her tummy improves later tonight.

Speaking of fatty lumps...Satan has a wart on her head that's shaped like a penis - it even has a sticky up bit about 2cm high. I have a photo of it (but probably not one to share with this thread).

It was a lot of food, but I skipped lunch today in favour of a second shower after being caught in the rain, so I felt I earned it! The chicken balls only had 5 in there, so does it really count? DH and DDs split three dishes between them and didn't have cake, so perhaps I did go a bit overboard although I did 26K steps today so I've probably burnt all those calories just walking around in the rain

I forgot you're not a nuts in cake fan! This one is really good though. Maybe I can put DDs to work early making cakes. 😁I can be their official taste tester.