Well its been a while since I posted on here, so Im not very up-to date with everything, but am doing my best to catch up!
Basically, we are looking for some advice about what to do with Rosie. Just before Christmas she ran into my mum, knocking her over and unfortunately now my mum has damaged ligaments in her knee and is unable to walk proparly,drive etc. I am able to take Rosie out for on-lead walks before and after school, but she is only getting a good run at weekends. Yesterday she managed to jump the fence that separates us from our neighbours (I think it's 5 or 6 feet high) and got into their garden. We got her back safely, but if it happens again and there is nobody around to help, mum would be unable to get her back. So we are looking for any ideas that might help. Will Rosie settle into a new routine of mainly on-lead walks what with still being young? Or would a dog walker be our best option? If so, can anyone recommend anybody local to Linlithgow/Edinburgh?
Hope that your mum gets better soon. Sometimes you can't stop them running into people if they are clumsy I know as Tara bowled my mum completely into the air on a walk. Thankfully mum landed flat on her back and just came away with a lot of bruises. Tara has also run into me several times and floored Mason on a beach walk. Zak runs into us quite often though not usually with any force he just can't seem to get the brakes correct or he is running forward while looking sideward he runs into trees that way as well. We dont let my mum walk Tara as she is too fragile for it.
I think that the fence jumping may be due to a lack of exercise. If we don't exercise Tara enough she becomes a horror. It should be better when we get the lighter evenings as you will be able to walk her for longer on an evening so she won't need so much of a walk during the day. A dog walker would be another option and the vets on the high street have a book full of dog services that include the local walkers and some advertise on the vet's notice board. Though a dog walker may be an expensive option. Though I can't recommend any as Graham walks ours on a lunch time.
If your in edinburgh, you could maybe ask Marie (aka tootsmazza and masons mum) about the doggy day care place he goes to - I'm not sure how expensive it is but I believe they get a lot out of it, especially Mason who i think she said was always knackered in the evenings!
A dog walker sounds like a good idea, and for the record Stumpy bowls me over regularly and he gets an off the lead walk at least once a day. He still runs about like a loony. so maybe, it's an age thing. oh please let it be an age thing. Stumpy is 3.
If Rosie is social with other dogs then I can't recommend doggy daycare enough. Its basically £13 a day (which in Edinburgh issn't that much more than a dogwalker) and your dog is in an open shed leading into a large paddock where they can run around and be part of a pack through the day and get as much exercise as they want or need. Sometimes Mason gets dropped off and I'm told he's slept all day on the sofa in the office, other times they tell me he has spent the day running like a loon either with the other dogs, or, more usually, up and down the fence separating him from the owner's horse, who he races up and down for hours. They also walks the dogs out for at least an hour each day so they are exercised. Its not cheap but I like the people who run it and I know where he is and what he is doing - with about 25 other dogs each day! If you want more details check out website www.dogdaycarecentre.co.uk GL
Thanks for all your replies. We seem to be doing okay with Rosie at the moment. She hasnt jumped the fence since the first time and we are managing to get her out a bit more often which does seem to help calm her down.
If it gets any worse I think a dogwalker would be the best route to go down as Rosie can be a bit shy if there are a lot of dogs all together.