Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

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

@Struckbylightning glad it's not just me finding it awful this year. They look like they have little wing flaps like aeroplanes at the moment - someone asked me if Twatdog had had an operation the other day because of his coat!😫

Hope everyone is keeping well. The weather here continues to be crap. Every time I step outside, it rains. Even if it wasn't raining two minutes before. At this point I'm starting to think there's magic involved and a perpetual raincloud has been charmed to stay above my head😂

In more worrying news, Twatdog has a little red lump just above the cleft of his lip. So naturally I am in full blown panic mode. Probably nothing, but he's such a wanker about the vets that I can't even really take him to get it checked out - the last time I had to physically carry him inside and DH had to pin him to the ground to have him sedated. I'd (obviously) rather avoid that again.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I forgot to say, my white pair are shedding like mad. Every time they shake, it's like a snow globe explosion.

Poor TD. Does it look like an insect bite or a sting? Hopefully it clears up on its own and you won't have to take him to the vets.

Weather is equally crap up here. I end up wet on every walk. It either rains on me or it's so muggy I end up soaked in sweat.

Having a quiet weekend up here, as I am very tired. N still has diarrhoea, which makes walking the other pair awkward. I've bought some Pro Kolin paste for her. Hopefully that will help. If not, we are booked into the vets on Tuesday.

@SpanielsGalore photo attached! It’s absolutely tiny and not grown since I noticed it last night, so that’s something. It isn’t raised either, so I’m wondering if it’s dermatitis? Not a bite or sting I don’t think.

Glad it’s not just me drowning in a sea of dog fur and getting wet on walks - and either it’s rain or sweat 🤢 but it’s meant to improve next week and be 22+ and sunny everyday. So by next Wednesday I’ll be whinging it’s too hot 😂

Hope N perks up soon and it’s nothing serious! It’s always tricky when they’re older as it’s hard not to worry about them. Do you think she’s eating something in the garden? Or is she also not well in herself?

Or rain and sweat!

Dog had a red lump on his lip line. Unhelpfully, can’t remember what happened.

Have you got a vet’s attached to your insurance company you can speak to for help and advice?

It's not been too bad here, wet yesterday morning but mostly stopped by the time we got out. Little pup went to archery with the OH today so big pup and I walked into town to get a coffee, called in to the pet shop, then caught the train one stop up the line and walked home from there. First time on the train, and she handled it like a pro.

Also got insurance renewal through and pleasantly surprised to find it's only gone up by a fiver a month (on a combined policy). Wasn't sure how our first significant claim might affect it but doesn't seem to have gone up any more than previous years.

I'm not sure that's something I'd rush to bother a vet with @TheHungryHungryLandsharks

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks dogs to get little spots on their muzzle sometimes, just like human spots 🤣.

We’ve had ok weather here today… until the second I took Rory out 🙈.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks that kind of looks like he’s just scraped it on a stick or something. I would keep an eye on it for a while. Merry collided with the back door a couple of weeks ago. I would have called it a gash, and was thinking it might need a stitch, but my (experienced collie owner) friend had a look and said it didn’t need the vet. It healed up fine, but she does have a little bald scar there. New nickname is Scarface.

Weather was fine today, if a little chilly. We lost another ball to the river 🙄

@tizwozliz I haven’t attempted any public transport with mine yet, so brave of big pup!

Thanks @tizwozliz @Idstillratherbepaddleboarding @Silverbirchleaf @Struckbylightning - I just worry about him (far more than the others tbh) given he's a sensitive little flower and how dramatic he is at the vets. At least the others can be taken to the vets!

@Silverbirchleaf we haven't but my local vet is very good about having people just pop down for a quick lump and bump check if they're worried - and typically he doesn't charge (unless it needs a proper examination). Not sure I'd trust a phone consultation!

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding I've never seen little spots on muzzles of my girls before. The older two have a couple of warts, although no penis warts.

Sounds a bit like the rain cloud is following you and me 😂I had the same thing happen this morning. At this point I am convinced it's just following me!

@tizwozliz ohh good big pup! I hope she was well rewarded for her (expectedly) stellar behaviour - I assume treats or toys were bought at the pet shop?

@Struckbylightning ohh poor Merry! How did she collide with the door? Chasing a ball? Being dopey?

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks when you said about the rain cloud following you, it made me think about that character (was it Linus?) in the Snoopy cartoons. When he was grumpy or sad he had his own personal little cloud which followed him around 😂

Yes of course, she was both chasing a ball and being a dope. DH was standing in the doorway playing ball and he let her get over-excited!

I’m amazed you have a vet who lets you pop in for random checks. That’s really good.

How do you guys feel about your vet practices? My sister often says that she feels ripped off by hers, that they are always trying to foist more expense onto her. I don’t feel like that at all- I know vet care is expensive, but it just makes me appreciate the NHS more, because it reminds me what it would be like if we had to pay for our own healthcare. Also my fave vet at the practice has told me ‘just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we actually should’, and they usually offer options of care for on-going stuff. I also had a vet nurse teach me how to administer injections because she told me it was much cheaper to get the drugs online and administer it myself. She saved me a few bob!

@Struckbylightning that's honestly what it feels like!😂And I've had a lot to be grumpy about recently (work-wise).

Ohhh DH! Honestly. Men and common sense around dogs seems to be in very short supply...as you say, let them get over-excited and then wonder why injuries happen😫

My vet is still independent, so their prices are really reasonable and it's probably why they're so good about letting you pop in for quick 5 min checks. I know they have a waiting list to join and last time DMum (the local gossip) spoke to a receptionist it was something like a 6 months waiting list...

When I did Hen's last check-up I think it was £60. That was for her annual vaccinations and the appointment. They do often try and upsell things, but they're not pushy and like yours they don't push treatment just because they can. They also don't try and push castration or spaying - I think too many vets offer it far too young as a quick way to make money and prey on novice owners.

I know a lot of people hate how much vet's charge, but they are a business at the end of the day and it takes a lot of skill/dedication and training to become a vet.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I'd agree that looks more like TD has scraped the pigment off his nose more than a spot/bite/sting. But I understand the worrying part. I'm forever worrying about mine. Mainly because there's usually something wrong with them.

N still has diarrhoea. She's booked in for acupuncture tomorrow, so I'll see what the vet says then. Will also discuss her lump, as the tests came back inconclusive. The lab is recommending removing it for further testing. But it's in an awkward place and I'm not sure how deep it goes.
P vomited last night and isn't herself today. (Or I am worrying over nothing.) She has been a bit clingy for a while and is doing lots of lip smacking. She also seems to be standing with her leg at funny angles at times. But again, that could be me seeing things.
K is fine. Although yesterday she was a little shit and barged N out of the way to steal her dinner. Obviously white fish and sweet potato is more appealing than kibble. It wouldn't have mattered, except for it had three meds mixed into it, so I have no idea which dog ate them.

Sunny here with no rain forecast until 4pm. So my washing is on the line and I have booked the field to walk the cockers.

Hope everyone has a good day. 😊

We had a lovely walk and P wasn't too stressed in the car, so hopefully she's getting used to it again.

Forgot to comment on my vets.
They were taken over by IVC, so prices have shot up. (But then hasn't everything?) They seem to have a high turnover of staff, which I think is down to it being a rural practice. Youngsters these days don't want to be going out to cows at 3 a.m. in the middle of winter. Until recently, we didn't have any OOH vets for pets and had to travel 60 miles to ones in the big cities. We now have it in the week, but not weekends.
But they have never tried to upsell anything to me. They don't push vaccinations, flea and worming treatments or neutering. And when I go in and say 'I want you to do x, y or z', they usually comply. The ones I have spoken to also consider quality of life over profit. Can't ask for more than that really.

@SpanielsGalore I think you and I are peas in a pod when it comes to worrying!

Fingers crossed the vets find nothing serious with N and it's just a bit of 'old woman's tummy' (as I call it). And with P...could she possibly be worrying about N or are they not close enough? I know whenever one of mine are a bit sick the others start acting oddly as well. But glad to hear she was okay with the car - she's a funny duck, P.

I hope K was well reprimanded for stealing N's food. Poor N living with such a delinquent. 😂

We don't have an OOH vet anymore. The practice used to have one, but it became too expensive so they've cut it and ours is now about 15 miles away which isn't too bad but it's big town driving so it can take 60 minutes plus on a Saturday. There's one closer, but one of the vet's there once suggested Twatdog was 'out of control' and 'aggressive' so I refuse on principle to take any of my dogs there and bad mouth it at every opportunity because I am a petty cow.😂Any vet that mistakes submissive urination for aggression is not someone I want near my dogs...

Once again, I got caught in the rain. There is definitely some sort of rain cloud hovering over my head. Wish it would water my rosemary though...it's looking a bit ropey 🙁

Our local vets are lovely, and also independent. Lovely little community vets. We gave a vet hospital about five miles away for ooh stuff and emergencies.

Just booking a holiday , and the first home boarders I contacted had space! Found a really good dogsitter in the past and then he moved away. This one has the dogs in their home, and is within walking distance of our house. Hope the fact they have space doesn’t mean they’re useless!

Fortunately we've not had much cause to see the vets but we've never had any issues. They're not pushy at all, we had one conversation about spaying when I said we were waiting until 18 months and getting it done elsewhere so they could have a laparoscopic spay and that's it.

The vets I used for spaying were also really good. Equipment failure the first attempt at little pup's spay but they were really very good at how they handled it. The vet i think was really upset about it. They also offered to take big pup when little pup eventually had her spay so she'd have her for moral support! This is little pup's preop 😂

We've also been to the out of hours vet and just ended up speaking to a vet for 5 mins and going home, no consultation so no charge.

So 3 different places and no pushing of treatment at any.

Big pup's one complaint would be the vets are sometimes stingy with the treats, even when she's doing her best sit. She loves the vets!

@tizwozliz That was good from the OOH vet. From what I have read, the one we had to use demanded £300 up front before they would do anything.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I think we probably hold similar views on lots of things. Give it another decade or so and I'll have converted you to cocker spaniels too. 😂

P and N aren't close. They pretty much ignore each other, but don't mind sharing a sofa.
P is indeed a funny duck. It's a shame, as up until February 2024 she was the perfect dog. Totally bomb proof and could take her anywhere. Then she had the second operation and everything went to pot.
If you count saying "Oi you little shit!" as a reprimand, then yes. K was reprimanded for stealing N's food. That's as stern as we get here. It's no wonder she's a delinquent.

I don't blame you for not going back to that vet. A vet nurse wrote my dog was "grumpy and aggressive" on his admittance sheet once. I had a massive rant at the vet and made them cross it out. He was scared and everything about his body language was telling her to leave him alone and she ignored it. So he escalated to an air snap. I suggested they send their staff on dog behaviour courses, so they would know what they are talking about in future.

@Silverbirchleaf I hope the pet sitters are good ones. 🤞

Talk about nosey neighbours!

@SpanielsGalore I hope your uncontrollable springer is being well behaved today 😂Let us know how N gets on at the vets?

I can definitely think of worse neighbours to have. Tbh, that would be about the best neighbour I could have in my view. Such a glossy coat and slim beauty ❤MN DogHouse is always the best place to come to see healthy and happy dogs. I feel the dog owners here are a disproportionately 'good' in terms of animal welfare and having healthy dogs compared to the rest of society.

I do agree that vets and vet nurses (and receptionists tbh) really need to understand animals if they're going to work with them. I was quite unimpressed that they couldn't tell the difference between aggression and submission but i'd be even less impressed if they couldn't work out how to respond to a nervous dog (surely they get them all the time?!)

@tizwozliz Poor Big Pup! Do they not know that she deserves treats for just turning up?

Tbh it's quite nice to hear that so many people have good vet's near them - MN always seems to bring out the 'vets are a stain on humanity' brigade. @Struckbylightning clearly you're not alone in having a good vet!

@Silverbirchleaf when and where are you going?

I sometimes miss overseas holidays, but then I remember the cost of dog boarding and also my dislike of flying and immediately stop missing them 😃

Once again, I got caught in the downpour - only this time it was on my way from home to the station with the dogs this morning and I wasn't wearing a coat as it wasn't meant to rain!!!! I was so soaked that when I got up from my seat that I squelched. I just squelched when I got up to go and get lunch. Lovely. 😳

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks September but don’t know where. Our (youngish adult) sons usually join us - free holiday for them. Probably a lodge somewhere - Devon? Northumbria? Somewhere pretty? (Any suggestions anyone?)

Or maybe hop across into France or Holland . Living here, the tunnel is only an hour away, but having had broken wrists, possible broken elbow (mixed views on whether there was a breakage), plus dh with diabetes and heart problems, then travel insurance is a bell ache to get. Hence had British holidays recently.

Went for nice walk through woods. Last minute swooped cardi for a coat and glad i did. It poured down. Sunshine and showers since. Very ‘April’ weather.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I don't think I have ever used the word poppycock before. 😂 Must be a free for all on pheasant shoots! 🙄

@Silverbirchleaf I don't know those areas, sorry. We've always done Cornwall or Scotland.

Yesterday my phone predicted rain to the minute. Today it is totally wrong. It's supposed to be 13° and raining all day. Instead it's roasting and I need to shower after walking the cockers and before taking N to the vets.

@SpanielsGalore Any Cornish and Scottish recommendations welcomed.

We stayed here a few years ago, lovely location and lovely accomadation.

www.glen-nevis.co.uk

Hi all!
I found my vet to be quite pushy about castration the last time we went for a health check up, he wasn’t even 12 months at that point. Jury is still out on getting him castrated at all, I’m leaning towards no as I think his temperament is perfect but I haven’t seen him bolt after a bitch in heat yet and that does worry me a little.
It’s my birthday today, so I had the day off. Took pupper for a walk to somewhere we haven’t been in a while and it was very busy with dog walkers but he has really done me proud today. I think the training is finally sinking in 🤞 next step is to actually seek out busier places to proof it in which will be a huge change in mindset for me 😂
Took myself in to the town afterwards for a spot of lunch and a good coffee. Left Pablo at home for a couple of hours - he now has free range of kitchen/living room when I go out and he just sleeps on the sofa or potters around. Doesn’t even bat an eyelid when I leave 😂
He is 14 months old today! Hope everyone and their puppers are doing well ❤️

I agree it nice to hear positive vet reports. Surely most people go into veterinary practice because they love animals, not just to make money. So far Merry loves going to the vets because of all the treats. Mind you, my old girls used to feel like that, until she had a few actual medical issues, where they had to do Bad Things to her. After that she was really scared and used to try to climb up on my lap in the waiting room.

@SpanielsGalore definitely a welcome kind of neighbour!
@Silverbirchleaf we had a lovely holiday last month on the Menabilly estate in Cornwall. But we were lucky to get a cancellation because as far as I can tell it usually booked up for a year! In a couple of weeks we are staying in Fen Cottage in Norton Subcourse in Norfolk. It belongs to a friend of my Mums - I’ll let you know how it is after we’ve been! … and I’ve just realised that you are booking board for your dog, so you are not looking for dog-friendly. The world is your oyster then!

@VanGoSunflowers Belated Happy Birthday wishes. 🎂🥳 Sounds like a lovely way to spend it.

Vet visit went well. N pretty much slept through the acupuncture. The lab has suggested removing the lump for further analysis. We're awaiting the go ahead from the rescue. The vet wasn't worried about the week long diarrhoea and thinks it will eventually settle down on its own. We have some more probiotic paste and we're to stop the Arthrocam until she's better. She wouldn't eat the white fish last night, so we have switched to turkey today.

P is having an awful day. It's bin day and she is a trembling mess. Doesn't help that we have four bins and a glass box, so the collections last for hours. Plus she can hear shattering glass from all round the village.

K had me up at 2:30. No idea if she needed the toilet or not, as I sent her outside on her own. She seems fine today though.

We've had all the weather today. Headed out at lunch but was still in the car when the heavens opened. Rain, thunder, hail, lightning - the full works. So I went and got a coffee and sat in the car park until it blew over. And the sun came out, and the chamomile in the fields smelt amazing and we had a lovely walk and then it chucked it down again when we were back in the car. So pretty much perfect. It's one of the benefits of having dogs sometimes, there's no way I would have even bothered trying to go out if I didn't have to walk them.

Another ‘wrong coat’ walk today. Wore my big coat because it was grey and drizzly, but ended up tying it awkwardly round my waist because it was warm and muggy. So annoying.
@VanGoSunflowershappy for you that Pablo seems to be calming down on walks and in the house. There is hope!
Merry now has a new weirdness. For daytime naps she still needs me nearby, sometimes even sleeping with her head on my lap, but when I go up to bed at night she chooses to stay downstairs on her own. What’s that all about?? She used to sleep under my side of the bed and graduate to her bed in the corner of the room. I guess it’s a good sign of confidence, it just seems a little odd.