Hello to you all,

My pup is nearly 9 months old, she has just started her season and whilst i understand the importance of

keeping her safe, i.e either not taking her out at all, or if i do keeping to main streets etc where there is

less chance of males roaming free,the fact she could leave a scent trail straight to our house etc. My worry

is when she is finally allowed to venture back outside and off lead how will this affect her outdoor

training,lead,recall,socialisation etc. All of which she is coming on in leaps and bounds. The recall off lead is

100 percent (i do realise this may one day be put to the test, im not relaxing her training just coz she is

100 percent). She adores her walks and is now very good on lead,did have a glitch a couple of weeks ago

but thats ironed out now.

I know i am able to keep up the recall at home,calling her when she is busy etc. But the socialisation side

of it and the lead walking is another story, im baffled as to how that will go. As i know consistency is the

   key, how can i be consistent when i will have to effectively ground her for at least 4 weeks. If i

try the lead walking at home in garden for instance this is just going to confuse her even more than being

kept in i would have thought.

Please your comments and advice would be most welcome. Has anyone had their dog tearing off when finally let off lead after such a long time, was it a case of back to square one, or am i just a born worrier.

Thank you in anticipation of anyones help.

Julie  ps, is it normal for her coat to lose quality whilst in season, she has gone a bit dull looking.

You could lead walk her in safe dog-free zones for the first and last week of her season but personally mine don't go out of their own garden (even then, they are supervised constantly) from day 8 onwards.  It's never affected their training or overall body condition - if they're in good nick beforehand, 2-3 weeks will not undo all your hard work :)

Some people do walk their dogs in safe areas for longer periods - it's personal choice.  If you can pop her in the car and take her for a stroll round the city centre for example she's unlikely to meet any stray dogs and you'll be sure of keeping up her socialisation with normal day to day sights, sounds, traffic etc - just avoiding doggy interaction :)

At her age her coat will be changing and can look a bit dry and sparse (particularly in coated breeds) - this is common in juvenile coats but normally further seasons should see an improved coat as the season starts which generally continues to improve until around 12 weeks after the season has finished - then they usually start to moult again :rolleyes:

HTH, Teri 

Cavs are well known for dropping their coats after a season - usually just in case for that important show!! :-D

Oh hello again lucy,
Thankyou for your response too, its good to know these things isnt it. I guess yours does it often then before shows:rolleyes:

I dont know why i got so worked up,well yes i do, Its been alot of hard work looking after her rapidly growing coat and so many people comment on how well she looks and the gloss etc that i was i suppose overreacting. The training has been such a breeze-ish that i was again in a panic. (we had a glitch with the walking but thats sorted now) . Oh bother, im rambling. sorry.

Anyways thankyou to you for what you said.

Julie

Sorry for the delay just got caught up in another post.

Thankyou Teri for your advice, i didnt even think about town walking, great idea. I am just having a panic arent I?

We have worked so hard,i just had visions of having a loony on my hands at the end of it all. I dont think i will be as worked up if she was into her second season as then she obviously would be older and the training would be more ingrained. As the question of her body condition she was so glossy and the overall feathering tail and back end was coming along nicely just down the centre of her back seems dry and dull over the last few days. Her ears too are very long and usually fluffy but again these look abit bedraggled. Thankyou again for your input, you have put my mind at rest on the socialisation thankyou.

Julie

You're welcome Julie :)
You'll both get through it unscathed - with luck your (girl's) juvenile delinquent stage will be over before you know it!  I, on the other hand, have ones that perpetuate the JD stage for much, much longer :rolleyes:  (but I love 'em :D )

Regards, Teri
pssst we all panic at things!

Cheers Teri, I needed that added extra at the end of your post.

Lot more relaxed today,

I guess i may be on and off here at certain stages, may catch you again. Ta.

Julie.