Beyond Adolescence - V

[SpanielsGalore]

New topic for a new thread, inspired by a post about poo bags.

Does your dog's poo smell?

I was under the impression that dog poo only smells bad if the food doesn't suit the dog. Same goes for flatulence.

The only time my dogs' poo smells or they have windy bottoms is if they've eaten something rotten they've found on a walk.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Last time he went to Estonia, they were restricted to one area. Whether or not it will be different on a 6 month tour, I don't know. They're more security concious over there, as they are close to the Russian border.
In Kenya, they spent the first week in camp acclimatising and then were allowed out. He's in a field camp now though, so probably not advisable to wander too far.

I can't do wooden plank bridges with gaps in, or piers, or open plan stairs. They make me go dizzy. But it's the totally irrational fear of falling through the gaps that gets me. Not the height of them.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Thank you for explaining.

I wouldn't have thought a cage teaches a puppy that night time is for sleeping. By the time they come home at 8 weeks, surely their body clocks are already established? None of mine have needed teaching anyway. They've all happily settled straight away. In fact, they've usually already been sleeping for hours before they have bed time wees and go into crates.

I don't crate during the day. My puppies had free access to all of the downstairs of the house. First two puppies had a chew of the dining table legs and plaster mantlepiece. P and K both had a go at the skirting boards. And K decided the bathroom wallpaper needed stripping. She wasn't wrong! 😂
My home would fit somewhere between the pigsty and show home categories too. I could probably clean it more often than I do, but it's only me and the dogs and we don't mind a bit of dust.

I've never had to do the enforced naps thing either. Or had to teach a dog to settle. I never really understand why people say you need to teach it. Perhaps now it's just me and the house is calm, the dogs are calm too. But even when we were a busy house with 4 children, the dogs still slept when they needed to.

I only joined MN because people kept slagging off cocker spaniels, saying they were nutters or like someone with ADHD on speed. Yes mine run wild on walks. But in the house they are mainly calm and napping. They have the odd bout of playing and wrestling, but I bet it's less than an hour a day in total.

I do think mine need crate rest after surgery though. But that's probably down to the differences in our breeds. I did consider putting P in a pen, but she'd have been pogoing up and down all the time. As it was, she still managed to dislocate her hip. 🤦‍♀️

I don't mind a bit of flippancy. All the better if it's mixed in with a dollop of sarcasm. 😁

I'm just gutted though @SpanielsGalore because Puppy Thread was a friendly chatty safe neutral space until yesterday and now it's been completely trashed. I've actually shed tears over it just now.

She came back just to accuse me of being aggressive while she's being passive aggressive, and suggesting I treat my dogs like children, which put me on the defensive again. Now she's saying the thread needs a warning put on it. So I just can't do this any more.

I'm honestly really upset by it 😥

I'll try and get some new photos later for those who are asking @Silverbirchleaf and @TheHungryHungryLandsharks but honestly it's disgusting, sickening in fact, really nothing has the right to be so cute...

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I have been reading the puppy thread. I didn't take her 'dogs are not children' comment in the same way as you did. I didn't think she was accusing you of babying your dogs.
I thought she meant you could put a dog in a cage, because it's an animal not a human child.

Sorry you are upset. Give Odo a big cuddle. Then take his photo and post it on here for us all to gush over. 💐

Oh god, I probably took it completely the wrong way then @SpanielsGalore 😨 I shouldn't have responded at all.

Should I ask for thread deletion?

BTW, regarding surgery, yours was very different.
If Rose had needed surgery for cruciate or luxation I don't think we would have coped without crating, or at least penning in some way or other, like in a high sided whelping box or similar. Hers was to remove a large lipoma from her ankle, but she could at least put weight on it after a few days, albeit that it was in a horrible mess.

@SpanielsGalore it must be rough being restricted. I know my colleagues on compound struggle a lot. It's not something I can do. I need to be able to get away and value my ability just to go wherever I want, whenever I want, too much. Takes a particular type of strength to be able to handle those restrictions.

DDs wanted me to go with them to see 'Fall 2' but I passed that off onto DH. That's how much of a wimp I am about heights 😂

Still waiting for my Odo & Brie photos @CoubousAndTourmaIet

Something has gotten into Twatdog today. He's being REALLY wanky. Even moreso than usual. Even DH commented he's a bit 'uncontrollable.' No idea what's going on. But he's been zoomying for about an hour on and off and he keeps stopping to jab me with a toy. Bit of an odd dog, he is.

Sorry. I didn't manage to get a decent photo of O, thought I had, but he stuck his tongue out. I'll try again tomorrow.

This belongs on puppy thread really, but, y'know...😔

He had his first walks today. First just on our street this morning and he met a black Lab. Second walk this afternoon, down the hill, saw a few vehicles and two kids on bikes. So it was a nice gentle start for him.

He's very different from B and nowhere near as sociable. Three neighbours asked to pet him, but he wasn't tail waggy friendly, just kind of indifferent. B was very friendly right from the start and she still loves familiar people. I think I've said before that with dog people we know, she wants to greet the human, not the dog.
So I dunno, maybe @TheHungryHungryLandsharks will know if aloof and standoffish puppy will stay like that. Certainly Sylvie did, but all the others were pretty sociable as puppies. He and S both full French breeding, with more working dogs in the lines than the others.
So don't know if he needs more socialising or if we just let him be who he is.

Witching Hour was comical tonight. Galloping back and to like a tiny horse, with huffing and puffing and his elephant in his mouth 😂So cute, so funny.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks Bless TD and his wanky ways. 😂 He sounds very happy. Are the winds winding him up?

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Sounds like O had a couple of nice little walks. I'd let him be who he is. It doesn't sound like he's nervous, so not something that more socialising will 'cure'. He's just not fussed about meeting strangers. My gold boy was like that. He'd swerve out of the way if someone tried to stroke him. Personally I prefer that to them being like P, who thinks everyone is put on this planet to adore her. She's a complete PITA if you walk anywhere busy, pulling to get to everyone.

I've had my insurance renewals through. P's has gone up by £7.75 to £46.50 a month. K's has gone up by £5.34 to £32.02. So that's my £9 broadband saving accounted for.
I'm not complaining though. I've claimed around £5.5k for P this year.

Ah, that's it exactly @SpanielsGalore , Brie is like P and wants everyone to stop and speak to her, and indeed, it can be annoying when you just want a quiet walk and she's all "look at me", "helloooo" every time anyone gets near. Bless her, she's very sweet, but if O is more aloof it will make life easier.

Yes, I wondered if it could be the wind affecting TD. It's always made our dogs and cats go a bit skittish.

Brie's insurance has gone up to £76 this year, and we've never made a claim. It's only 7k of cover, but as we've said before, it's partly our location that bumps it up. I'll need to sort out a Pet Plan policy for Odo this week, before the breeder cover note runs out. Hopefully his will be a little lower initially but it'll still be around £250 pcm for their food and insurance. I'm just thankful they don't need groomers and dog walkers, because I doubt we'd be able to do it.

@SpanielsGalore I definitely had to teach Merry to settle, she was relentless. Chewing up the house, biting me, zoomies frequently. It was only after I read that puppies need 18-20 hours sleep a day that the penny dropped. So I looked up how to teach settle with a mat and a house line. Made my life much easier! House still bears the scars - even the toilet seat has teeth marks in it!
Bless Twatdog. Maybe it is the wild weather, but it sounds like an ordinary day with Merry tbh.
@CoubousAndTourmaIet glad Odo has had some nice walks.
I did that thing again of going off piste. Spied a nice looking path that I had never been on before, only to find that it was mostly up-hill and bloody hell it was hard work. Merry had very little intervention from me as I was too busy trying not to die. She had a fine old time flushing out millions of pheasants. I guess it is that time of year, right? Anyway I am lying in bed and my legs are so achey. I never learn…

So now I'm in big trouble. Counter surfing at 11 weeks. Now nothing will be safe! 😨He's also discovered that the kibble bags live in the understairs cupboard 🙄

Oh my gosh he’s gorgeous! What beautiful markings.

I'm not going to lie @Silverbirchleaf , he's the puppy of our dreams, he is a stunning boy. And I'm pleased to report that we've had another quiet, dry night so hopefully we've established a routine.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Yep. That's P. Even if someone is on the opposite side of the street, she'll be up on her hind legs trying to pull towards them. At four months old, she was trained to sit nicely to greet people. But it was all undone by people thinking she was a cute puppy and encouraging her to jump up. And it went on for years, because ever thought she was a springer pup and not an adult cocker. I should have been firmer.

O is a seriously cute bundle of fluff. ❤️

@Struckbylightning Must admit I just laughed at the teeth marks in the toilet seat. 😂

I read walking is only good for you if it's uphill. (Although I read it on MN, so it's probably bollocks.) So I bought a year's car park ticket to the local hilly walks. I like to think I'm getting fitter, as I'm not dying quite so much when I reach the top these days.

I found an off piste walk there, which sounds like yours. It's a bit of a scramble in places and I have to duck under fallen trees, but the dogs really come alive. They'll plod round other parts, then we get there and they're off.
I hope you aren't suffering too much today.

That's how it is with Brie @SpanielsGalore , people encouraged her to jump up because they got a kick out of having her paws on their shoulders and her face level with theirs. It isn't good and she shouldn't do it, but with familiar people, unfortunately she does greet them this way. It's why I'll be glad if Odo is more aloof/standoffish with strangers because he'll be around 6ft standing when fully grown, as Algy was.
Odo will need to be better trained than Little Miss Boisterous, that's for sure, or I'll be in big trouble. I currently outweigh Brie by a whole 2kg, with him not a chance. And I'm not getting any younger. So there is much work to do over this winter.

The hilly walks sound great! There's nothing better than feeling the leg muscles get stronger. It's so satisfying.

Because everyone on The Doghouse bangs on about rawhide being bad, I've been looking for alternatives. Did a lot of research and ordered some Lamb Cheek. OMG, it's rank! Never smelt anything like it. No way am I giving it to them. It's vile. And it looks no different from rawhide, aside from being three times the price...🤔Must cost extra for the stink.

@SpanielsGalore just seen your DS is in Kenya, my brother’s done that too and had a fab time. He’s off to Qatar any day now which is a little scary 😵.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet he is sooo gorgeous. What a bundle of fluff and mischief! I found a good way to discourage counter surfing on the Dog Training Advise and Support website, it worked a treat.
I’ve never seen lamb cheek, but I did once get some lamb skin, that also stank to high heaven. But the pup loved it. She also likes beef tripe strips, which also smells rank, I keep it all in a sealed plastic box. I regularly buy the rabbits ears, which don’t smell, but makes me shudder because the poor little rabbits and their silky fur. I try not to think about it…

Oh, thanks @Struckbylightning , I'll head over to DTAS website and look through the training advice for counter surfing. Need to also look at bite inhibition, because this little chap is rather nippy and his jaws are soooo strong already 😨 I'll have to search for some less stinky stuff for him to chew on, but I admit that a lot of dog chews make me squeamish, so I know what you mean about the rabbit ears 😬

Hope you & Merry have recovered from your exertions of the other day and are ready for more exploring, especially as it looks as if we're going into some slightly more settled weather.

Third successive quiet, dry night for us last night 🎉

Hope everyone has a good day today.

Lamb braids aren't too stinky, ostrich is also fairly inoffensive imo.

Some chews look more ‘natural’ than others, but you can definitely find some which aren’t too gross. Some do absolutely stink too 🤢

We are in the lakes this week and V bagged his first Wainwright yesterday, and was also brave enough to actually swim for the first time too! We couldn’t believe it, me and dd were hysterically laughing because he looked so funny swimming.

He was a bit of a nightmare trying to wander around Keswick but it’s probably the worst place to take him as it’s so busy. DH will be around on weekends from the new year onwards so we’re going to start taking him a lot more places and try and get him used to it. He doesn’t bark but does this awful hollering noise (not sure if yours do this too @SpanielsGalore - is it a spaniel thing?!) when one of us goes in a shop and he has to wait outside with the other. It’s very embarrassing 😬 We’ve not attempted any cafes etc for the same reason. But off lead he is a dream so at least he’s ok in some respects!

Sounds like a lovely half term break @YorkshireFelix and that is a gorgeous photo of V ❤

What a brave boy for swimming - I bet it was cold though!

@CoubousAndTourmaIet I just looked back at the photo and I swear he was actually having a lovely time 🤣 I think he was annoyed I was getting him to sit still for 2 seconds.

I didn't see it that way @YorkshireFelix , I saw him as being very adult there, like a well trained working dog. But obviously you can tell what is going through his mind because you know him inside out 😂 Sweet boy though ❤

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding DS has changed company and is in a more specialist role now, so he's enjoying Kenya a lot more this time round. Last time was a lot of 9 hour treks in the heat. This time there's a lot more sitting around looking at computer screens. Plus he's in a field camp equipped with a kitchen and a gym, not roughing it and living off boil in the bag ration packs.
Don't think I'd like him to go to Qatar. Estonia is probably just as close to a war zone, but doesn't sound as scary.

@YorkshireFelix Never heard of a Wainwright, but I assume it's like Munro bagging in Scotland.

Bless Vinny and his funny swimming. P is rubbish at it and does a very splashy doggy paddle, looking like she's drowning. K is a brillint little swimer. All you see is her little black head, gliding through the water. I actually mistook her for a seal when she swam out to sea after some birds.

The ony time mine really make a noise is when I go upstairs to get dressed without them. P makes a high pitched squealing noise. And K does the deepest little howl. I didn't realise it was her to begin with. She seems too small to make such a noise.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet My dogs think the level of stinkiness is in direct correlation with the tastiness of the treat.

Talking of stinky things....
This time last year, a basking shark was washed up on the beach. It was left to decay and overtime must have been covered by rocks and stones. Well Storm Boelo has uncovered it. It absolutely stinks to high heaven. And guess whose disgusting dogs have been feasting on it. I thought K had been eating human faeces at first judging by the smell of her breath.
This morning they have both produced mushy poos that stink of decayed shark. 🤢🤢🤢

@SpanielsGalore Yuk!

Dog has been very restless this afternoon and barking at any little noise, even a car driving past. It’s driving me potty!

@YorkshireFelix what a lovely photo. He looks so proud. Was it Wainwright who wrote those little white books about hill climbing?