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.

Thanks @SpanielsGalore
Glad you managed a walk before the rain hit. It is foul here, no let up at all. Brie has had two toilet walks because apparently Odilon has contaminated her garden with boy wee smell 🙄She had her coat on at least.
I cannot fault your K for wanting to snuggle up in bed, I just wish I had that luxury instead of camping out on the sofa.

We were very lucky with this pup @TheHungryHungryLandsharks , the breeder went above and beyond, she was amazing. But yes, she warned us that he wasn't going to be the easiest puppy...😆

If I recall, Downton Abvey quietly dropped Isis tge dog from the programme. S/he just seemed to disappear.

The river Thames is called Isis through the Oxford stretch, and either their main boat or reserve boat in The Boat Race is (was?) called Isis.

Isis to me will forever be a dodgy nightclub in Nottingham

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks glad to hear all is good now.
@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding that sounds horrific! God some people are weird, and some people have far too much time on their hands. How very intrusive and creepy.

I read that thread last night, feel really sorry for that poor lady and I can totally relate to how she was feeling. I agree with you @CoubousAndTourmaIetand mine fúrer @TheHungryHungryLandsharks that there is no way a collie should be crated like that. I did buy a crate for Merry, mainly in case she wanted a den to retreat to, but she hardly used it. She used to wriggle under our bed when she needed a safe space. She moves around a lot when she’s sleeping so it just doesn’t seem right.

I agree, Isis would be a great name, if it hadn’t been ruined by those pesky terrorists. Isis in Downton died of cancer as I recall. (I was very late to the Downton Abbey party, but really enjoyed it when I got into it. It was wonderfully ridiculous.)

@CoubousAndTourmaIet really hope you had a better night!?

The storm seems to have passed now, in fact there seems to be a bit of sun coming through. DH wants to go to Brean Sands this morning, I will wrap up warm!

The sun is out here but it's forecast to be windy until 4. Just trying to decide where we can walk without being at risk from trees!

How did everyone manage the clock change? Pups are pretty flexible and often we get up and hour later on a Sunday so we just did that except it happened to be 6.30 not 7.30 when we got up and that's our normal weekday getting up time anyway.

K tapped me awake at 8:03. I was very happy with that. Dinner shouldn't be a problem, as they are fed anytime between 4:30 and 5:30 anyway.

It's a wet and windy7° here. Normal for Scotland. We'll probably have a refreshing walk along the seafront later.

We were up at 5, but with Odilon that's classified as sleeping through, and we had no stroppy barking so I'm calling it a win. It was a horrendous night weatherwise though, we were woken in the early hours by emergency vehicles whizzing through the village with their sirens on. DP and Brie got absolutely drenched on their morning walk.

So, I'm now getting snarked at on the other thread as Landsharks was. They all do this pathetic "you're the expert" thing. No I'm not an expert and I don't claim to be.
I'm not averse to crating per se, where it's done correctly, it's fine for medical use and for travel. An open crate at home is okay, so too leaving a puppy in one for a short time in your absence. I know not everyone can cope with free range from 8 weeks and some houses are difficult to puppy proof. But 11 hours locked in a crate is a lot for a young pastoral dog breed.

Anyway, clearly I need to 🤐because I'm a lightweight compared to our great dictator 😉 I couldn't argue my way out of a paper bag.

Hope you all have a good day, whether you manage to get out or not.

Sunny and windy here , but nice blue skies. Had a street walk today, so lots of sniffing for Dog. Avoiding the woods at the moment because of the sweet chestnuts which Dog has taken a liking to. Keep having to clear them out if the garden. The spikey cases are prickly little bug-ers.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Another win. Hooray!

11 hours in a crate. Nooo! I admit, we crate trained Dog and still use it if he’s left alone in the house, but it’s a big crate and he’s never in it for more than two or three hours. The rest of the time it’s left open, and he’ll quite often will go and snooze in there.

We've gone nowhere. After my earlier post, the storm picked up. The waves are crashing over the harbour and sea front road. Dustbins are being blown over. I opened the back door to let the dogs out and they said "No thank you".

All of my dogs have been crate trained. My first three dogs slept in crates for most of their lives. P and K only as puppies. Whilst the crate was still up in the living room, P and N both used it for naps. It's just a big comfy bed for them.

My first black cocker and my sprocker both saw their cages as their safe spaces. The cocker would hide in it when I vacuumed or if we had visitors. My sprocker had lots of health issues and would take to his cage bed when he felt poorly.

And you'll all be horrified to hear, he put himself to bed in there at 7pm and would be in there for 12 or 13 hours until I got up the next morning. I tried everything I could to delay his bedtime, but he would have none of it. He'd play up big time and be a complete pain in the arse untill I let him go to bed.

So it is possible for dogs to like cages, even if humans don't. Obviously I'm not advocating for locking dogs in them for hours at a time, or all day every day. But used properly and not as a punishment, they can be seen as nice, cosy dens.

Rory woke up at half 4 which is the old half 6 and his usual wake up time 🙈. He is loving this awful weather 🤣

None of my dogs have been crate trained. We've reared 10 LGD in four different properties including a city flat. From a physical perspective alone I have no idea how it would have been feasible to live with a large enough crate, particularly for the male Anatolian, who was reared in a Cumbrian cottage. I'm sure that people do crate LGD but for us personally it would never be something we would want to do. They are semi nocturnal breeds and move around a lot at night so they need space.

If crating is done correctly, fair enough, but in many cases it is not. I think the UK should follow the example of other European countries and impose restrictions, only allowing crates with doors removed, so it is genuinely a cosy den only when the dog chooses and it cannot become a prison. Where a crate is needed for medical reasons or for travel the rules do not apply. We do have a car crate for the puppies during the first few weeks of travel, but I wouldn't like to live with it inside the house and I don't think it's necessary.

I know it's a controversial subject and we have clashed on it before here, along with the ethical breeding/doodles debate, licki mats for therapy, headcollars/harnesses/slip leads, keeping dogs on leads (which I'm guilty of) and having a dog that you can't pick up and carry (again, guilty). When it comes to rearing our dogs, we all have different views and differing reasons for the decisions that we make around their care.

@CoubousAndTourmaIet Having a dog I can pick up if needs be was something I said I considered when choosing a suitable breed for ME. It was part of my criteria. Along with high energy levels for long rambles. Etc, etc.
At no point did I say it applies to other people's choices, so I don't know why you bring it up as a controversial topic we clashed on. I wouldn't dream of judging anyone who chooses a larger (or smaller) breed to mine.

Where did I say it was you I clashed with @SpanielsGalore ? It was the ex vet that most of us crossed swords with at one point or another. The conversation was so bizarre that I actually saved screenshots of it. A Leonberger person asked her if the rule also applied to husbands. Someone else asked her if it applied to horses.

I think I should probably bow out again at this point.

Oooh can we not fall out on this thread please. This thread is my safe space (my crate, if you will! 😉 Door open of course). This thread is probably the only reason Merry survived her puppyhood, some days it is still dicey…

We made it to Brean this morning, though at times I felt we would be blown off the motorway. The path down to the beach from the car park was basically a wind tunnel/ sand blasting machine. So the walk was rather bracing. We timed it ok because the heavens opened this afternoon.

On a different note, what has happened to @VanGoSunflowers?? Hope you and Pablo are ok.

I agree. This is a nice thread.

How’s all the dogs coping with the hour change? Dog slept in this morning - hooray, but still got his twitching hour at old -4pm so took him for a long walk.

Well last time you mentioned it you were definitely referring to me, so I assumed it was the same this time. Especially since you listed it as something we have clashed over on here.
I seem to remember you making a similar comment about abandoning injured husbands in the woods. And I said as I was divorcing mine, I'd leave the fucker to die. 😂

Absolutely no need for you to bow out. We are all adults and can surely have a difference of opinion without falling out over it. 💐

I will admit I do judge people who say 'I have looked at the 100s of dog breeds available and have decided a cavapoochon (or other ridiculous cross) is the breed for us.' Those people are nobs.

@Struckbylightning Haven't been to Brean Sands for years. We used to go for day trips when the children were little, as it was one of the closest beaches to us. Think we stayed in a Pontins there once too. It was next door to a fun fair.

@Silverbirchleaf Mine haven't noticed any difference with the time. We still got up at 8 and they had their dinner at the normal time.

We haven't been out yet today, as we're being battered by the wind. I think it's due to end at 6pm, so we might get a walk around the village later on. Although I'm already on the 🍷, so maybe not.

@Idstillratherbepaddleboarding @Silverbirchleaf mine did not get the memo about the clocks. I have been harassed an hour before every meal today. 🙁Rory looks absolutely delighted in that photo!

@Silverbirchleaf @tizwozliz you're making me feel a bit guilty for telling DH that the only anyone would think of Isis was the terrorist organisation 😳But not guilty enough to admit to him it wouldn't be the first thing that everyone thought of!! Tbh it probably says a lot about my mindset that I immediately thought 'Terrorist!'

@SpanielsGalore is it gentle taps K does or is it more 'pokey-prod of doom' that means 'wake up wake up wake up'?

Was your black cocker the one who had a few issues? I forget which one you say was a bit of a challenging dog! (For lack of a better phrase!)

I will admit I do judge people who say 'I have looked at the 100s of dog breeds available and have decided a cavapoochon (or other ridiculous cross) is the breed for us.' Those people are nobs.

I think I've said those people are nobs 😂No silent judgement from me (but do we expect anything else from the dictator?) 😁

I like this thread 😊Even if we disagree, it's still nice 'vibes'. Plus its interesting to learn more about different breeds - previous threads were been quite useful in understanding Satan a bit more given how many spaniel owners were on it. So absolutely no need to bow out @CoubousAndTourmaIet.

DWS was up to her nefarious tricks today with Twatdog. But she did only do it after the walk so I think she was trying to help him get clean...at least she's stopped doing it in public (mostly).

Calling @Ylvamoon to say someone on the puppy thread is getting a Tibetan Terrier, so I kind of namedropped you as mn's resident breed expert 🙂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I would say K is gentle, but persistent. And when you open one eye, she's sitting staring at you.

Yes. My first black cocker was the one with the issues. I think he was meant to be mine. I don't know if I have said before, but we had decided we wanted a black cocker and we'd call him C. The second litter we viewed had one black boy and his KC name incorporated C. It was fate. ❤️
He had so many issues and I swear he was autistic. But I learnt so much about dogs, dog behaviour and body language because of him. Far more than if I'd got a 'normal' dog.
I also made lots of lovely, knowledgeable, like minded friends through years of trying to help him.

I thought DWS had outgrown her nefarious ways. How does TD react?

All good thank you @Struckbylightning 😊 totally flat out with work unfortunately!

Hope you and everyone is all good. Pablo still had a lie in this morning even though the clocks changed and we managed a walk relatively sheltered from the wind today.

If anyone wants a couple of nice doggy series to watch, I recommend two on BBC IPlayer, and both on BBC Alba.

The first is ‘Muster Dogs’ and follow five collie pups in Australia being trained up as sheepdogs. They’re all from the same litter, but are being trained by different people.

The second is ‘A puppy for Padraig’. Each episode features a different Scottish dog and talks about its heritage, characteristics, meets owners etc. Lots of cute puppies. The theme of the programme is that the presenter is looking for a new puppy.

Both series are in Gaelic with English subtitles, although the Australian is actually mostly in English (Australian?)as it’s an Australian series, and the puppy one is 50:50, but is fine to watch.

@SpanielsGalore there is still a Pontins and a fun fair. The fun fair looks so old and rickety I was terrified when my kids wanted to go on it (years ago when they were little)!

The clocks changing had no effect on Merry. As I said before, she doesn’t get out of bed until I get up, which is usually somewhere between 7.30 and 8.30. I accidentally took her for her evening walk an hour early because I was looking at the only clock in the house which no one had bothered to change. So I am the muppet.
She is off her food again, I chucked out her almost untouched breakfast because it looked really gross. And then she barely touched her dinner. I am trying not to worry too much, but she doesn’t have an ounce of spare fat, so I might be worried soon. What is going on there? Do dogs get bored of the same food all the time? If I add tasty bits like ham or cheese she just rootles through and picks those bits out.

Glad to hear you’re fine @VanGoSunflowers!

@Struckbylightning - I forget, has she had a season yet? Hormones can have an impact on appetite.

But I have to say it took several food changes and a lot of wasted food before we could give meals that my older pup would eat consistently if not enthusiastically. Now she's 5 she's excited by mealtimes which I love as I found it so stressful when she was young, especially considering she's a Labrador.

I had lots of people advise a tough love approach, i.e. if she's hungry enough she'll eat but she lost a kg in a week and I thought, dogs have quite small lives, and if food can't be one thing they enjoy everyday then that's not much fun.

She also used to have a lot of food in puzzle feeders/kongs as she was more likely to eat that than just in a bowl. It's a known thing - contra freeloading.

@Struckbylightning It must be over 20 years since we went. I think the Pontins stay might have been 2002, as I have vague memories of ExH joining us late because of the Queen's Jubilee.

P was like Big Pup. I could barely get her to eat anything for the first year or so. We tried everything - dry, wet, raw, cooked. Different bowls - plastic, metal, pot, the floor, hand feeding. Tried making it into a game, rolling balls of raw mince across the floor for her to chase.
Someone recommended a cold pressed food (Markus Muhle) in the end, which had been the only food her fussy dog would eat. And P wolfed it down. Now she'll eat
anything and everything.

If Merry is still eating the nice bits, then I wouldn't worry she's ill. It might be worth trying something different. But I'm another one who doesn't do the tough love approach. (The hospital advised it with my DD and by day 2, she screamed at the sight of a food bowl. Never again.)