Bubitty

OH Dog lovers are so useful in wet weather I am finding! Every night they beg to be let out for a game and come back with black faces, paws, bums when we dont supervise them. OH is doing mud duty superbly! He records them while he wipes them down and gives them lectures on what dirty animals they are!

Puggerup, my heart goes out to you. Please don't be too hard on yourself and try not to feel so bad. ;)

I wouldnt worry too much based on what you have said unless he displays any more disconcerting symptoms. My OH had a massive panic attack a fortnight ago when he decided that Bubby was breathing faster than he would like and wanted to drive him to the emergency vet! There was nothing wrong with Bubby and it was just a very warm day. After we turned on the aircon he was fine

We agree completely on discipline but oh is more of a fuss pot than me when it comes to health. He is very paranoid about them and is a bit trigger happy with taking them to the vets etc. Funny story I must share. OH came home one day, I was in the kitchen cooking with Bitty. First thing he said was "my gorgeous girl I owe you a cuddle don't I?" I was so please and made a move to get my cuddle only to find him on the floor kissing Bitty and telling her she was his pretty girl etc. I was so embarrassed I went back to cooking!

Bitty is very much OH's dog. She belongs to him on paper and is one of the great loves in his life I think. There is no one like him in her eyes and he adores his Bitty. Often Bubby will be accompanying me and Bitty will be off with OH somewhere if we are doing chores in separate parts of the house. Every night during cuddle time, OH will yell "All dogs to their requisite humans please" and Bitty will run into his arms, Bubby into mine. I just love that he adores the dogs. I feel firmly that they aren't just *my* dogs. They are very much his darlings as well. He does half their walks, feeds them, helps me pack their bones/dinners and keeps an eye on their general well being. He has strong views about their upbringing and our raising of them is very much a team effort. Just wondering whether your partners are dog lovers as well or do they just co-exist with the dogs?

Thanks Corvus! I might try and increase her play times but set a routine like what you do. So I will commit to ZZZ amount of playtimes a day and if that is fulfilled I have done my part and do not owe her cute little face any debts! That will make me feel better I think. We have a saying in our home, no sudden movements or Bitty will think its playtime! I wish she had a clone of herself so they could wrestle all day! She’s just such a jolly little thing! And so inventive as well! We play tug, we play chasies and then she will run into the bushes, rip out a sugar cane and invent another game with that. I hate play bows! They break my heart! You can’t say no to a play bow and feel good about it! Both my dogs will ask for food, especially if cookies/cakes are cooling on racks or something is baking in the oven. It easy to say no to this but because play is so harmless, its very hard to put my foot down.

ohh thats a great idea Leema!!!! I will try that! She is reliably pushing the spong backwards now and it does look like wiping the floor but if you are savvy you will notice that she is only moving the sponge in one direction (back) instead of real wiping! I will try the distance thing as that may push it (the sponge) forwards when she comes at it!

Its the worse when they are "chilling" but will beg for a game first chance! Thats what gets me! Bitty will sit around like an angel because she has been trained to. But first sign of activity, she will shoot up, toy in mouth and beg for a game. It breaks my heart to send her back to sit down again. hey thanks for telling me about Kenz Ness! It really makes me feel better that people go through the same thing as well!

I think I believe in a sense of fairness. To me, refusing to play with her constantly is like forcing Bubby to compete in agility week after week even though he is a sleepy, mellow fellow. Plus I don’t believe in dogs dictating things. I would like to think that my dogs can tell me things or communicate with me! I am such a sucker! When I say no to her, she will throw around a toy by herself and roll around with it, looking so cute and sweet! Then I come over and start a game with her cuz I feel sorry for her having to play by herself. And she’s SOOO happy when I do play with her! CW, thanks for your post on Emmy! Makes me feel better!

Oh I know all about saying no and playing on my terms etc I just feel bad! I wish she wouldn’t ask me to play at all!!!!! I say no and she goes off and sleeps but then I feel like I am suppressing her urge to play which makes me feel nasty! Does that make sense? I like to raise them based on what their natural personalities are like and I feel like am squashing her natural personality!

True! I am so used to Bubby! He NEVER asks for much! Bitty makes me feel so bad!!!!! Like I am not doing enough for her!

Well it makes me feel a bit better now that you have told me the same thing happens with Paddy. I think I just feel bad! I try to play with her heaps but there is only so many times I can run around the backyard like a maniac! I suppose it’s more a “me” issue than a “her” issue!

I need ideas! Bitty is a very bouncy almost two yr old golden. She gets along wonderfully with Bubby who is a 5.5 yr old golden. The thing is I have noticed that Bitty loves playing and Bubby not so much these days. Bubby is/has always been a napper. Very mellow, practically comatose kind of dog. Or he likes to rat in the bushes. Bitty loves tug, zoomies, lots of running around etc Everytime Bubby does a stretch, (he does a stretch that looks like a play bow), Bitty gets soooo excited and she zooms over to play bow him! He will play with her for like 2 mins and then he’ll stop. I do my best to train her and we play every day but I really think she needs more play time than what I can give her. She is always up and at me with a toy in her mouth or play bowing me and it breaks my heart when I say no to her. Should I just stop worrying, man up and say no to her or does anyone have any ideas on how we can satisfy her want of playing a bit more? I do clicker training with her probably about 5 nights a week and she is a very well behaved dog. I think I feel bad more than anything because she is always asking for a game and I feel nasty saying no and making her be the kind of dog that sits around (if that makes sense).

Bubby does. One dark morning I was in a park and the dogs were offlead. This guy entered the park and started following me around. It was 5.30 am and very dark so I was really nervous and it was getting obvious he was following me. I called out "Bubby dog, come to Mummy" and Bubby ran over. He saw the man, ran over to him and started barking. Man backed off, Bubby stopped barking and followed him until he moved away from us. Then Bubby ran back to me. I was so proud of him! Since then I have noticed that he is pretty alert in the mornings. When he sees a lot of workers around the park, he will stop his sniffing and marking and just sit near me (about 3 m away from me) looking alert but very pleasant!

I am notorious for doing different things with each of my dogs. People have even told me I am mean by not letting them both do the same thing! I keep the relationship as even as possible but not by letting them do the exact same things. For instance Bitty is a darling with people. She just LOVES visiting people and makes a fantastic impression and everyone loves her. I take her out to my parents and to my friends places all the time because she has fans. Bubby on the other hand demands food when he is at people's houses and then whines at their front door until I take him home! So no visits for him! But he will get more interesting walks than Bitty (with plenty of stuff to sniff along the way) because he adores his walks whereas she is fat and I chose her walking path based on what I think will burn more fat off! I spend a lot of time teaching Bitty more complex tricks and charging up and down the yard with her like a maniac because she enjoys that kind of thing! Bubby, I only do very easy, basic tricks with and reward him with lots of yummy food. He is not really into training and tricks and likes to do the same 5 commands over and be told he is a little genius and get lots of cuddles.

Been reading various threads over the years and I notice that people sometimes get very upset when a breeder doesnt sell them a dog because say for eg they work full time or they live in an apartment etc I have always wondered what is the point of pursuing or arguing with a breeder who deems you to be unsuitable? When I was finding a breeder, I had golden breeders who told me that their goldens could not cope being home alone, breeders who said that I needed to feed a certain brand of kibble and ONLY kibble etc and various other people who didnt want to sell me a dog for one reason or another. My theory is that if a breeder doesnt want to sell to you, chances are their dog and their dogs breeding may not be suited to your lifestyle anyway so why do people get so upset about it? I ADORE my breeders! I work full time and they firmly believe that their dogs should be fine while I am at work because I must make money to feed said dogs. They have a bit of a giggle at tsk tsk at me for feeding the dogs a somewhat colourful diet but they dont dissapprove too much :D Its very nice to deal with someone who has similar values and views in terms of dog raising. It makes me wonder why on earth you would want to buy from someone who thinks you are unsuitable as you would probably clash with them.

This is what I do for the Bubster as well!

I am really sorry for your situation. Your split sounds amicable though. Is there any way you can keep both dogs and he gets full visitation rights and contributes to their food/meds etc? OH and I have agreed that if we split, he keeps Bitty, I keep Bubby but he will contribute financially every month so Bubby continues to live his normal lifestyle.

Awwww Happy Anniversary to you! It took a Golden didn't it! Now, you need another one and then you can start a thread about how you couldn't imagine life with *just* one Golden!

Bubby has always lived inside and Bitty owns OH so no problems with having the dogs inside at all. If its raining and they get really muddy he likes to take photos and videos of them before giving them a wipe down.

Oh how I wish Bubby would subscribe to this theory. But he doesn't!

Thanks heaps!! I will try a ball like you suggest Corvus. Thats sounds like it would work!

Hi Folks I am stuck with no ideas on how to move ahead. I would like for Bitty to be able to place her paw on a sponge and them move her paw around with the sponge still under it to create an effect as if she is cleaning the floor with a sponge. So far she will target the sponge with her paw and can keep her paw on the sponge for as long as I need her to. I am lost as to what to do next. I need her to move the sponge around with paw on it. What is the next step? Many Thanks!

I got a puppy that I didn't really bond with. I returned him after two days back to my breeder. I felt very guilty and bad about it for long time but when I got Bitty I realised I had done the right thing. Pup moved on and went to a home with three little boys who adored him. We bought Bitty from the same breeder two years later and there is no question that she is the right dog for me. She is completely different to Bubby who I have always deemed to be my perfect boy but she is just irresistible and has a personality which just shines! Not only do I adore her but the rest of our family is head over heels for her as well. Whilst I do think I returned the pup in haste and I was a different person back then to the person who raised Bitty, having Bitty makes me wonder if some things are just meant to be.

I can never find the information either but I have been feeding mine 5 mussels a week. Not sure if it is doing any good but they sure love it :p