Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

Coffee and walnut cake is my favourite, my Mum used to make it so it also gives me happy memories.
Yesterday I was wandering the garden and shocked to see the soil was starting to crack, it’s been so dry. Thought to myself - we really need a good downpour. At that very moment the heavens opened. Maybe I have a Gift!?

@Struckbylightning ours was as well. Now it’s sodden!!! Perhaps you could bring your gift over here?! 😂

DDs found the best recipe for it, so I’m happy to share if you want to give it a go! How is Merry doing?

@Struckbylightning Unless your gift also works with 'we need some sun', then you can keep it.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I don't like coffee either. In or out of cake. Or fruit and vegetables in cake. Cake is meant to be unhealthy. Don't stick a carrot in it and pretend it's good for you.

I agree. I wouldn't get an unseen puppy from someone I didn't know.

5 chicken balls is a piddly portion. I get 8 or 10, depending which takeaway I use.

Your description of Satan's wart made me laugh out loud. It reminded me of a water splash on my kitchen side, that I photographed and sent to a friend. Yes, we are both very mature ladies. 😂

This thread has certainly taken an ‘adolescence’ turn!

@Silverbirchleaf we’re charming like that. Just be glad I’ve spared you from penis wart!

@SpanielsGalore oh no. Coffee cake is amazing and delicious and the best thing known to mankind. Other than a good mango. A good quality mango is the best thing ever but so rare. Even rarer than an intelligent Golden Retriever.

I could pick five or ten, but I chose five as I didn’t want to be too piggy! 😂

Feeling really sorry for the OP of that thread, but the puppy sounds so sickly. Poor thing. Really hopefully the rescue will be better equipped to help it.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks how is Merry doing - that’s a question. How can something be so annoying and yet so adorable at the same time??

Most of the time I think she is doing very well. She does have a lovely temperament, wherever we go people say how beautiful and wonderful she is, she still thinks everyone we meet, human and canine, are going to love her. And so far she is mostly right. On her birthday we took her to Langport and there was a beautiful Insta lady taking pictures and videos of her, and a queue of people wanting to play with her. She was in heaven!

She does have one nemesis and unfortunately it’s a golden retriever! It absolutely hates her on sight - it yells and lunges at her and then it’s ‘brother’, which is a husky also joins in. They are walked on extendable leads and I’m always scared they will break loose and have a proper go.

I suppose the only thing that still annoys me is her lack of chill, when she’s not asleep she demands to be played with, and it gets a bit much. I’m still hopeful it’s just her age and she’ll grow out of it.

I would actually like to see the penis wart…

And yes please to the cake recipe. I’m not much of a baker, but I might give it a try!

@SpanielsGalore I agree about vegetables in cake. It’s just wrong on so many levels. Like non-alcoholic booze.

I'm not coping with these swings in temperature at all, I left the patio doors open this morning and the kitchen got cold enough to click the heating on (12 degrees). I have mostly stayed dry and dodged the torrential rain though.

Does anyone have any recommendations for tiny tick removers? That is the tick being tiny rather than the remover. The ones I have don't really work on very small ones (the little plastic fork kind).

We've had some lovely walks admiring the poppies this week, they're really stunning at the moment.

I'm still working my way through the gluten free pastries I bought for my birthday. I'm rationing myself to one a week at the moment which I feel is very restrained.

Work is driving me mad at the moment, I'm coming up to my 2 year burnout point. The temptation to take the summer off is very real.

@tizwozliz what a beautiful poppy field! The weather here has been very showery, with some downpours and some bright sunny intervals, but the temperature stays pretty warm, so my back door is staying open. Or that could be my menopausal inner body temperature..!
I think one pastry a week is incredibly restrained!

The only downside-side of our woodland holiday last month was the tiny ticks. I picked one off my own foot and 2 off Merry, as well as finding some wandering on us. I found that it’s a lot easier to just use my fingernails to be honest. Nasty little buggers, I hate them.

@tizwozliz Sorry. I've only got the green plastic hooks that come in two sizes. This is why I switched to the Seresto collars. Everything else kills the tic once it's bitten and then they are impossible to remove.

Following on from the poor puppy thread, I was just reading the KC rules on registering litters. They don't allow parent/child or sibling matings. Does that mean grandparent/grandchild matings are allowed? What about half siblings? There's no bloody hope really, is there!

We've done short walks round the harbour and sea front today. I took P and K to the freedom field yesterday and I have booked it again for tomorrow. I might only take K though. P is only supposed to do half hour walks and she's finding the ten minute car journey very stressful.

@tizwozliz not a popular suggestion (and certainly not one I would share outside this safe-space thread), but I use tweezers when they're very tiny. If any is left behind, I go back in with the tweezers again. But mine know not to move when I'm examining them, so I can take the risk that others might not want to if their dogs are more figgity.

Can you share your secret as to only one pastry a week? Is it sheer will-power? Some sort of inhuman ability like flying? Or have you got them locked up in one of those weird padlock boxes people get for their fridge/freezer and someone else knows the code and only lets you go to get something at 10AM on a Sunday!? 😧

@Struckbylightning the adorable but annoying is a skill that all dogs are born with. Glad to hear Merry is still improving ❤It's definitely an age thing, I am sure! She's so young still. I'm not surprised people want to pat her - she is absolutely stunning. And, in all honesty, it's so rare to meet a Collie that does want to be fussed (based on my experience) that people are probably over the moon that they've found the unicorn of Collies!

Tbh Golden Retrievers can be vicious little buggers. I always say this, but they're really not the 'happy' dog people assume. I know quite a few none-dog friendly ones. I hope Merry isn't taking it personally though!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/16/how-to-make-perfect-coffee-and-walnut-cake - the batter can look a bit lumpy (as in not properly mixed) when it's just sugar & butter & eggs but that's normal! It smooths out as it cooks😊

I'll share penis-wart another day (with an appropriate warning beforehand) and I'll tag you so you don't miss it! 😂

@SpanielsGalore technically, I think.But no one would actually be stupid enough to do it - even puppy farmers know that that sort of inbreeding makes unsellable dogs (which will be all they care about, rather than the defects the dog will have).

Is the field too far to walk to? I know in the countryside ten minute drives are usually 15 miles or so, so I imagine it probably is...

I do the tweezers too but poor puppy has a little bald spot on her eyebrow as I find it impossible not to get few hairs too.

Pastries have to be defrosted overnight before cooking so that helps on the willpower front. Requires a bit of forward planning, I can't just have one on a whim.

Looks like might get soaked or blown away at Hoopers tonight, maybe a bit of both.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I reckon breeders could get away with close matings. I bet the vast majority of people don't look the parents up and only know their puppy's heritage once they get a 5 generation certificate from the KC. And that's if they pay the extra for it.

Google maps says it would take me 2 hrs 21 mins to walk to the field. I think we'd ned to use it to lie down and rest for an hour before walking home. 😂

@tizwozliz I hope you manage to dodge the rain tonight. The weather has been awful lately.

@SpanielsGalore they probably could tbh, but I just don't think anyone is thick enough to risk it! Although, the stupidity of humans always surprises me...

Oh, that's quite a long walk 😂Have you decided whether to take P or not?

@tizwozliz How was hoopers? Did you get blown away?

Honestly, your self control over pastries is impressive. They wouldn't last a day in this house 😂

Once again I managed to time the walk so I got caught in the downpour. Left home and it was sunny. Got to the woods and it was raining. Got home and it was sunny. 😑

@Struckbylightning here you go!

First half of Hoopers was dry, and then I'd reversed up to the fence by the field so when the heavens opened me and little pup sat in the boot whilst course running and only came out for our turn :-)

3 years today since we brought little pup home.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Poor Satan. 😂

Is your DMum still on the look out for another dog?

I'm not going to take P. The physiotherapist said she should only do 30 minute walks. Last time I thought 'fuck it, she needs to live life', her cruciate ligament ruptured. I took her on Tuesday, so I think another visit might be pushing my luck.
The only down side to the field is you park outside the gates. If you could park inside, I'd take her and put her back in the car half way through.
The walks to the harbour and sea front are ideal for P. It means she gets 5 minutes on lead warm up and cool down, with 20 minutes of off lead in between.

N still has diarrhoea. She seems fine in herself and is eating and drinking, so I'm not too worried yet. Perhaps it wasn't the pizzle after all. I'll switch her to white fish and sweet potato and see if that helps. I can't starve her as she's on too many meds.

K is on day 14 of her season. She seems a bit lacking in energy, but is coping well otherwise.

@tizwozliz Happy Homecoming Day, Little Pup. 🎉

It’s been one year today since I brought Pablo home! Happy homecoming day!

I didn't realise they shared a gotcha day @VanGoSunflowers :-)

I remember realising that their birthdays were close as things you mentioned tied up with stuff on my Facebook memories, like vaccinations and first walk out etc.

@tizwozliz I remember you mentioning that too! So much has happened in a year! Has the three years gone fast for you?

I have today off after being buried with work recently so I’m going to take him to his favourite place (Calke Abbey) for a walk

@SpanielsGalore Poor Satan indeed. She is a literally dickhead. 😂

Yep! She wants another Spaniel and probably a Cocker, but she'll wait for Satan to pass - not sure it would be fair on Satan. And also putting another dog through the torment of having to live with the little termite would just be cruel.

Hope you and K enjoy your walk and she's a good girl! I really dislike the fields you can't park inside for some reason...not sure why.

Ohh poor N. If she seems fine in herself, it could be that she's eating something in the garden as well? Mine do that sometimes...

Happy home-coming day @VanGoSunflowers and @tizwozliz! Hope V and little Pup have lovely days to celebrate and are given lots of treats.

Is anyone else finding this year is a really bad year for shedding? Mine are literally losing clumps and I'm grooming them twice a week. I just patted Twatdog as he ambled past and a clump of fur fell out into my hand. He looks a bit like he's growing spoilers like an aeroplane.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks that is magnificent. It really is a teeny tiny penis 😂

Then and now!

Happy Gotcha days!

@VanGoSunflowers Belated Happy Gotcha Day, Pablo. What a cute puppy. 💖

Happy Gotcha Days to you two! 🥳@TheHungryHungryLandsharks yes about the shedding! Merry is short haired and honestly I would have thought that she didn’t have any hair to spare, but she’s shedding like crazy. There are drifts of the stuff everywhere and when you stroke her your hand comes away coated in hair. To add insult to whatever, I haven’t been able to hoover this week because Merry shredded the Shark filter which I had put in the sun to dry after cleaning it. Yes she still gets up to mischief given half the chance.