# Georgia has landed!



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

A new little bundle of joy, named Georgia, has come to live with us   


She is a Working Cocker Spaniel puppy who will be eight weeks old on Sunday. This will be fairly brief because she has just fallen asleep  I can get nothing done! If we are not feeding, we are weeing, if we are not feeding or weeing we are pooing and if we are not doing any of those things then we can be found playing endless games of tug or tickle tum or just cuddling  


I have been broody for a puppy ever since poor Tigan passed. I vowed, after he went, and Esther, with all her problems, came, that we would get a puppy next time. Hopefully, I will be able to head off all the various behaviour problems that come with some rescue dogs and have an outgoing, friendly, companion to join me in all my various doggy activities. I have so missed meeting up with like minded friends.


This seemed like the right time as we are back in the house, the weather is improving, we can't go away due to Chris's health problems and it is so much easier to socialise a puppy in the summer.


All going to plan so far.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Lucky you, lucky Georgia to have a thoughtful new Mum (and Dad) 
I look forward to progress reports Pat.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Will do Jan.


Had a good night last night  Up at 2.30am for wees and poos then back to bed.


She is asleep at my feet as I type. Phew! After wees & poos at 5.30am, followed by breakfast, she has been roaring around like a whirling dervish for the last hour. More wees and poos then sleep. 


Esther spat out the lemon in her mouth and showed Georgia how to play bow bless her


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Up twice in the night, three times if you count 6am with shadow

Staggered downstairs to let him out, only to find he’s gone back to bed and didn’t even come downstairs
With me !!

He’s like my alarm clock gone wrong 

Georgia sounds perfect Pat, you need to master that camara on the IPad 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Can I bring her to you Sandra? I am always up in the night but it is, somehow, different when you have to venture outside.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well I don’t venture outside pat
Just open the door and if he’s bothered to come downstairs with me he takes himself out 

Maybe he’s decided I need regular toiletting!, or maybe as I spend a lot of time reading in the night I’m disturbing him 

This morning just me, an open door and a blackbird singing his heart out at 4am, wasn’t even dawn so prob the street lights confuse it 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I worked when I had Otto, one of my GSD's. If I had a day off, for any reason, he would be most put out that I was disturbing his rest


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Yes they are funny Pat 

I sleep with a fan running , and he won’t settle till I switch it on, it’s a bit like big brother is watching you !
Not a fan of open windows either, if a wind stirs the curtains he wants it shut 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I hope you ask him what his last slave died of?


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

You got the wrong sort of dog.!
My lab X lurcher sleeps for England.
Congrats on the new puppy. My little puppy is 6 years old tomorrow. Seems like only yesterday she was kicking up an almighty racket to come upstairs to bed with us. No prizes for guessing where she has established her night time quarters.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’ve always been onto a looser

New pup I wrap in a towel and take to bed with me 

I know

But my dogs always GSD have free range of the house day and night , are not allowed on beds or furniture , well ok once Albert gets up Shadow has 10 mins with me 

He has a duvet in our bedroom but prefers the wooden floor of the bathroom , and the bidet is his night time water bowl 

Never goes onto furniture unlike Winston our daughters cross Ridgeback that stays with us during the working day mon to fri , he’s permanently ensconced on a chair or settee , if he’s not charging around the house or garden 

He does sleep Spacerunner, and has a bladder second to none, in the van has no interest in going out before 10am 

It’s his bowels that are very sensitive so if he wakes me I assume he urgently needs out

Leap ( poetic licence ) out of bed, we’ve had a few accidents , downstairs , door open , him, nowhere in sight he’s gone back to bed, doesn’t even come downstairs 

I guess if a burglar breaks in he’ll wake me and send me down to deal with it !!

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

That made I larf


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well you’ve had GSD Jan
A law unto themselves 

Sandra


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

*Ian Dunbar*

I found this book online Pat, by Ian Dunbar. I attended a Dog trainers course run by him some years ago, a super bloke with down to earth ideas about dog training, you may be interested to read his *After You Get Your Puppy*
I haven't read it, too risky at the moment :frown2: still hurting.

https://www.dogstardaily.com/files/downloads/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Thanks Jan. A local dog trainer gives out free pdf copies of this book to people when you enquire about Puppy Classes. Very generous of Ian Dunbar to allow it.
As you will notice, he is very big on stuffed Kong toys, which is great, but if you followed the advice, to the letter, you would soon have an obese puppy. Puppies need distracting so often during their day that a new owner needs more tools at their disposal. 
Also, the attention span of an eight week old puppy is very limited and she soon tires of trying to extricate food from the Kong. I have implemented the rotation system of toys where there are three containers for toys and they are rotated at intervals to maintain novelty value.


Georgia is already showing her Working Cocker breed traits by "flushing" all the borders in the garden  So interesting to see these in-bred traits come out so early. 
On the training front, house training is coming on nicely, for one so young, with only the odd accident. 
She comes to call, understands "sit", "down" and "stand". already, at only just eight weeks of age. 
I am keen to control the "flushing" behaviour as it is purely a modified hunting instinct and that is not something I want in my dog. Very difficult to "get serious" about it, though, when they are so cute 


We have carried her, in a puppy sling, to a couple of events to socialise her. She has taken it all in her stride so far. Puppy Classes start in another week. It will be interesting to see how she reacts to the other puppies as she has been living with Esther for a week. Esther has a very "strong" character so I am thinking that Georgia may feel liberated when she is not around. This might manifest in either very submissive (as she is with Esther) or very extrovert behaviour when set free from her !


The vigilance needed for house training is very wearing  Looking forward to the time when we can enjoy a cup of coffee, or read the paper in peace!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Worry not

It’s a bit like potty training

Goodness knows 6 of my own and several grandkids I’m experienced 

Relax there are worse accidents in life

And as I told my kids fretting over potty training

If he/ she is still wearing a nappy at 16 start worrying 

Till then chill and let nature take its course 

It ain’t rocket science 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

So true Sandra. I was reminding myself, only yesterday, how many people I had helped to train their puppies. Georgia has been very responsive, unlike one owner of a terrier puppy who attended our puppy classes. She kept coming to class reporting problems with house training. She reported that she was following all the advice about rewarding the right behaviour etc. We advised using her crate more when she couldn't watch him. Next week she reported that he was weeing in his crate . We advised covering the crate in polythene (with care!) so that the urine would not leave the crate. No joy the following week, so we moved on to lining the inside of the crate with polythene so that if he cocked his leg it would stay within the crate. We waited, with bated breath, the following week for her progress report. Success! Phew! 


Be gone self doubt!


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

patp said:


> So true Sandra. I was reminding myself, only yesterday, how many people I had helped to train their puppies. Georgia has been very responsive, unlike one owner of a terrier puppy who attended our puppy classes. She kept coming to class reporting problems with house training. She reported that she was following all the advice about rewarding the right behaviour etc. We advised using her crate more when she couldn't watch him. Next week she reported that he was weeing in his crate . We advised covering the crate in polythene (with care!) so that the urine would not leave the crate. No joy the following week, so we moved on to lining the inside of the crate with polythene so that *if he cocked his leg* it would stay within the crate. We waited, with bated breath, the following week for her progress report. Success! Phew!
> 
> Be gone self doubt!


Must have been an old puppy, they don't normally start to cock their leg until they reach sexual maturity 6-12 months.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

He may have been in the follow on puppy class, Jan. Can't remember now. Terriers, though, can be very precocious 


Going back to your comment, Sandra, about potty training children. I saw, in the newspaper, yesterday that children as old as five, six and seven are found to be not toilet trained when attending school!


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Do you know, I smile to myself every time I hear that expression this or that breed are prone to this or that.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I do think that too much emphasis can be placed upon breed traits. Breeders are the worst for it. They will often tell new puppy owners that their particular breed is excellent at abc but needs to be "watched" for xyz. The worst advice from them is that "they will grow out of it". They forget that they are experienced dog owners and will nip naughty behaviour in the bud. Novice puppy owners often do not do this. So many people will excuse their dog's bad behaviour by saying "well he his an "xyz" - they are well known for it". Theyodi may be known for it but it doesn't mean the behaviour cannot be modified to fit in with our requirements of a dog.


Having said all that then we do have to be aware that certain breeds have been bred for generations to perform certain tasks and will suffer if this is not taken into account when dealing with them. Terriers like to dig. collies like to herd, gun dogs like to fetch, hounds like to chase. If we do not take these breed traits into account when handling them then it can make the dog's life poorer and even cause stress and anxiety.
So many people punish a Labrador or a Spaniel for picking up articles like shoes and remote controls and carrying them. They view the behaviour as "naughty" when the dog is just doing what it has been bred to do. Ideally the behaviour needs to be re directed on to toys etc but punishment is unfair and drives the behaviour underground to surface somewhere else like chewing the chair legs etc.


Georgia is showing classic gun dog traits of flushing undergrowth and carrying articles around. Our Whippet puppy, on the other hand. loved nothing better than to chase balls, butterflies, bees, birds etc. Although we taught her to fetch articles it was not a "natural" behaviour for her. Our GSDs wanted nothing more than to be with their special person and would round up the family if we went for a group walk. They rarely looked at wildlife, or thought about digging, and the odd one thought "fetching" was what humans were put on earth for.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well I inherited this hound, after a life time of long haired GSheperds

Who is quite sure what humans were put earth for 

To be protected, within reason, his reason 

To herd well they haven’t a clue and need it 

Digging, what’s that ?

And fetching? Just give me my teddy bear 

Strange things these humans 

I just need to stick with them, protect and care for them

If I don’t who will ?

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Georgia is progressing nicely. Housetraining well under way. Only mistakes are if we miss the signals.


She attended her first puppy class last week. It was a bit of a culture shock! They are held in a large Arcon type building with a special rubberised floor. They use clicker training which is fine as I use it myself but I found it all a bit "intense" for little puppies. This particular class takes puppies on a rolling basis so you just start when your pup is fully vaccinated. This means that some puppies are doing their sixth week. Georgia already knew a formal "sit", "down" and "stand". She can do a "puppy recall" and can manage to follow me around while attached to a lead. Well, I was pushed to my limits to keep up with the pace!
When I ran puppy classes we sat in a circle and the puppies played with toys. We would then demonstrate, with one of the puppies. how to train a position. Everyone would have a practice and then we would all sit down for a chat about house training or play biting etc.
This trainer, last week, did say she had made some changes and there would be "less chat and more training", phew! I expect, as we used to get sometimes, some people complained that there was too much chat and not enough training  If I spotted a bored puppy in my class I would get the owner to engage with it and do some extra positions while the chat was going on.


We took her to Wells Next The Sea on Saturday. Fabulous place for dogs. She socialised with all sorts of people, lots of different dogs and some small children (little aliens as we used to call them). We found a seat in the dog friendly café and watched some of the Royal Wedding while Georgia had a pup nap


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well obviously I went wrong somewhere

Maybe my other dogs over 30 yrs were malleable 

This hound isn’t 

He remains a beloved family pet , a gentle giant to family and friends , he adores the grandkids and they him 

But he still becomes a hound from hell in the van, a guard around the garden 

And I don’t see anyway to change him 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

It is possible to change behaviour, Sandra. But, like us humans, it is very difficult and takes hours and hours of work to achieve. Most people give up and accept what they have


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Georgia continues to keep us amused with her antics and amaze us, sometimes, with her intelligence. 

In this hot weather, water is a huge attraction as it may well be for the rest of her life given her breed. We have a natural pond about fifty feet from our back door. We have fenced it again (last time was when daughter started to explore about 35 years ago) after she tried to catch a moorhen chick and ended up with an impromptu swimming lesson. 
Across the road is a bridle path that leads down to a small river. This bridle path is our favourite walk. If Georgia would just paddle in the river that would be fine but she launches herself at it and hurls herself around in the murky bottom like a whirling dervish!  If we go somewhere else she endeavours to find water or at least a bit of mud. Hey ho, we will continue to work on control but we still have the juvenile delinquent stage to come!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well we’re to old

A lovely puppy 

A lovely adolescent 

The older he gets the worse he becomes 
But hey

No one will get close to our home 

Or our MH 

Unless introduced 

And we take precautions 

He now travels in the garage with an open window 

Where he no longer needs to protect us to the same extent 

And we can fill up with deisal Ect without him going insane 

Of course he shares the MH when we stop

Or maybe behind open bars so he can watch every thing going on 

Out running swimming he couldn’t care less about anyone 

He runs with Albert with the bike 

So this is the MHF hound from hell 

A gentle giant, who loves his family 

Or not 

And we know him so well 

So no one is at risk 

And he’s getting old , he’s 10

Hasn’t yet stopped his over the top guarding 

He’s the Alfa mayo 

And nothing we do convinces him otherwise 

He defere s to Albert 

But me 

We fix eyes

As once we did when he tried so hard to tell me his guts were falling out 

And I missed it 

But hey I know when he needs out, needs feeding , needs his chew 

Boy have I learnt 

Sandra


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## nidge1 (Jul 26, 2009)

You lot think you have problems....... My better half came home a few months ago with a bengle cross kitten. Climbs the curtains like a assault course, shredded the back of a armchair, scratches on the leather settee, spreads cat litter like sand on the beach, fights whenever he can with the 2 rescue cats we have. Now he is a young cat though he is the most adorable bundle of fluff you could wish for and takes himself for walks!!😹😹😹

Nidge


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Ooh, three cats sharing! Not always a recipe for a harmonious household. Have you tried Feliway plug in diffusers.

We have a stray cat hanging around. I would love to give it a home but Chris says having a cat is not conducive to spending the winters in Southern Europe. I have put a shout out on social media to see if anyone has lost one. Have had one inquiry. I just have to figure out how to send them a photo of it. They live about five miles away but everything fits their description. It is very elusive so difficult for them to just come and take a look. I am trying to lure it indoors so that I can get it scanned for a chip. Fingers crossed.


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## nidge1 (Jul 26, 2009)

patp said:


> Ooh, three cats sharing! Not always a recipe for a harmonious household. Have you tried Feliway plug in diffusers.
> 
> We have a stray cat hanging around. I would love to give it a home but Chris says having a cat is not conducive to spending the winters in Southern Europe. I have put a shout out on social media to see if anyone has lost one. Have had one inquiry. I just have to figure out how to send them a photo of it. They live about five miles away but everything fits their description. It is very elusive so difficult for them to just come and take a look. I am trying to lure it indoors so that I can get it scanned for a chip. Fingers crossed.


Hi, 
have tried the diffusers but did not make a lot of difference to be honest. The scraps are getting less now that the kitten is getting older and only last a few mins and not really nasty probably more playing than fighting so think we can live with that. 
Best of luck with the stray.
Nidge


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Chicken works wonders! He has allowed me to stroke him and has even, tentatively, stepped inside the house (while Georgia was confined). That was last night. This morning he was waiting for me to feed him and I even got to pick him up briefly. If it is the lady's cat then he has been living rough for about 11 months and is two and half years old. He is very light  but not starving. We have noticed the odd pile of pigeon feathers and the mouse, we thought we had in the porta cabin, seems to have gone so he has earned his chicken 
I do hope he is the lady's and that she doesn't have a bossy cat that is driving him out. Some cats hate to share their territory so he may run away again if that is the scenario


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Don't whatever you do keep it Pat, Manny adopted us and our dog (Motley number one) 13 years ago, she is the biggest reason I don't like to stay away from home for too long.
She isn't well at the moment, another worry on top of all the others.:frown2:


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Chris won't let me Jan. 
We are already making contingency plans for if the owner cannot be found. I will feed it and get it wormed etc. Then I will ask one of the rescues to take it on their books for re-homing. I will, then, offer to act as foster carer for it until a home can be found. If no home can be found by the time we want to go away for our long trip in the Winter then I will tell them I can no longer foster it. He is quite a sweet cat but quite plain looking (a tabby with no white markings).
I am quite cross with the lady who has lost a cat as she is very slow at communicating over whether he is hers or not. I would be round like a shot if my missing cat had possibly turned up somewhere.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

patp said:


> Chris won't let me Jan.
> I would be round like a shot if my missing cat had possibly turned up somewhere.


Same here, since Manny has not been well I haven't seen my neighbours cats and hoped they were OK, this afternoon I saw one in the field in front, was I happy.
Why didn't I ask my neighbour your saying, because I don't speak to her if I can help it :serious: only a few people in the village and we have the worst neighbour ever.
Anyway, Manny has eaten one and a half packets of Felix today so I am very happy, hopefully its a sign she is recovering from whatever it was and the results on Tuesday will be negative.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Itd love a cat 

Shalom picked up from the street

Desperately trying to get some toffee from the floor 

We collected him 

And once he bit straight thro my hand 

He eventually left us 

And I’d go to the wall which divided our property each evening 

And we wewould meet 

We’d touch heads whisper to each other

But we knew it wouldn’t last 

But I loved that cat 

He’d returned to the wild 

And he loved me 

And me him 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Hope Manny rallies Jan. They are such a worry 

Sandra, I do love cats and would keep this one like a shot but I have to put Chris first. It is his dream to spend the winters in the sun and I can't deny him.
A cat might help with the rat problem?


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

No way will I have a cat

Unless one wandered in and I couldn’t get rid of it 

Like you we travel

And the hound from hell is more than we can cope with 

So no chance I’d willingly adopt a cat 

The hound from hell ?

Well we al have our weaknesses 

He’s my weakness 

But when he swims , runs , his face lights up , he comes alive 

And he couldn’t care less about guarding 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Well, "he" turned out to be "she". I took her to the vet to get a wormer. The vet thinks that she is about 3 years old and, because she is not pregnant or lactating, neutered. No fleas that we can see but I will treat her just in case as once they get in the house it is a nightmare.

I have put posters up all around the village and in the three vet practices in town. The trouble is that if, as we think, she has been living rough for some time then her owners may have given up hope of finding her.

I think I will take this opportunity to train Georgia to ignore cats. She is already fairly good with the cat being in the front drive so I will bring her in and teach Georgia to leave her alone. 
My friend is a cat lover and has offered to feed her when we go away. Not sure it is fair if we go away all winter though. We do have a porta cabin that is insulated and I could put a heated bed in it. All depends if I can find her a home. She is very sweet natured but adult cats are very hard to home. She is a plain tabby with no white and that doesn't help her cause. The cat sanctuary is not returning my calls. I have heard that they are full to bursting.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I think you should get in touch with Anglia TV Pat, make the story sound exciting and perhaps they will put a call out for you :grin2: 
What about a farmer, they like cats to catch mice around the yard,
or the RSPCA have you tried them?
Manny is quite happy when we are away because when we return she looks shiny and healthy, if it doesn't crave affection so should cope when your not there.

I do hope you can either find the owner or regime her.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

That's a thought I could give local radio and tv a try. I bet, however, that they get inundated 

RSPCA are, now, a waste of time unless there is a prosecution in it. I think many of their officers are ex police and see their job as getting convictions. Nothing wrong with that but they have moved away from looking after lost and stray pets and will direct you to other organisations if no cruelty is involve. They will, however, turn out if publicity is involved!
I should say, here, that the local RSPCA branches are run independently by the staff and so are much more likely to be helpful.


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