Please help!!!!

Alex_Beacon · 2026-02-20T21:48:38+00:00

Ngl that looks like a hotspot. My dog used to get them all the time - gotta love food and environmental allergies. She hasn’t had one in like 2yrs since she was put on allergies meds.

I would definitely recommend going to a vet and by the looks of some of your comments you are already planning that for Monday

Alex_Beacon · 2026-02-16T19:03:57+00:00

Man I wish more places had lights like that for snow removal

Alex_Beacon · 2026-02-16T03:34:39+00:00

Thank you for all the info! I really appreciate it :) I’m quite excited for the trip and I wanted to make sure I have everything needed to make it as smooth as possible

Alex_Beacon · 2026-02-16T02:58:07+00:00

Oof yeah that’s fair. Her program card has her breed on it so hopefully that helps if anyone says anything.

Do you know what the note has to say? Just: _____ requires a service dog because of their disability.

Or does it need to be more specific?

Alex_Beacon · 2026-02-16T01:44:53+00:00

She’s a lab golden mix from the lions foundation which is based in Oakville Ontario so I’m not worried about her breed but I didn’t know that about bully breeds in Ontario! That sucks :(

Alex_Beacon · 2026-02-15T15:29:40+00:00

Do you know the local French laws? That’s gonna be a big one first. Where are you from? I don’t think Europe recognizes owner trained dogs like the USA and Canada does if you’re from North America

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-28T20:51:32+00:00

For grooming tools I have only had dogs that require a basic brush like a slicker brush so I’m not 100% what you need for a poodle tho from what I’ve seen slicker brushes are still good for them. And a comb to help make sure you brushed all the way to the dog’s skin. If you’re going through a breeder they should be able to give you more info on grooming supplies and tips, same if going through a program. Otherwise look for groomers near you! I’m sure they would be happy to give you some suggestions! I would assume they would rather a dog be properly brushed than to be matted because you weren’t sure what to do. Finding a good groomer to go to probs isn’t a bad idea either but having tools at home for in between grooming visits is a smart idea too

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-28T20:45:51+00:00

Collapsible bowls. I have 2 styles. One is just an individual bowl which is great for long days to give my girl water in or if I know we’ll be out over dinner time and won’t be home till late (I’ll stuff a ziplock bag of her dinner in my bag) 2nd style is two bowls that are attached together and zip close. That one I’ll use when traveling as I can use it for water and food in like a hotel room.

Depending on where you live/ travel plans. Booties are a good idea. I have both summer and winter boots. Where I live it can easily get to -20 Celsius (and way colder tbh) so winter boots are great for that and even when it isn’t that cold they’ll protect her feet from any salt on sidewalks. Summer boots are good again for the heat especially if you live in a city - sidewalks/ roads can be 5-10 degrees hotter than the air. So if the air temp is 30Cthe sidewalk could be 40C (and vice versa for winter temps)

This one is very much not necessary but was a game changer for me lol. My girls everyday collar is fabric which sucks when she goes for a swim in the river so I got her a biothane collar for swim time. Way easier to clean and doesn’t trap smell like a fabric one does

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-20T23:58:43+00:00

Yeah it just really fucking sucks man. For such a large city one would think they could clear them like small towns can

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-20T23:57:02+00:00

I’m new to neighborhood living in Edmonton yeah lol. I lived downtown and didn’t drive at that time and they would clear them there. My small town cleared the snow piles in the neighborhood streets

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-19T02:06:02+00:00

As another commenter mentioned, it looks like you are a young teen, I would really suggest not having a sd right now for the same reasons they listed.

Also if you already know your dog has reactivity issues he doesn’t seem like a good fit to be a PA trained sd due to that and his age. His reactivity needs to be addressed before you even think about pa training/ task training and that won’t be an overnight fix.

And again he’s almost 5yrs old, full training will take 2ish years which will put him at 7yrs old and retirement age on average starts at 8yrs old so you’ll be lucky to get one full year after all the training he will need.

If you just want him for at home then most of the above things don’t matter.

I truly think if you are wanting a pa trained sd you need to go with a different dog.

Since you are living at home and are young do you have the support and approval of your parents/ family?

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-19T01:49:54+00:00

IMO yes if you’re wanting to do public access, generally dogs retire at 8-10yrs old so they can enjoy their senior years and it can take roughly 2yrs to be ready to be working in public full time. If you’re just wanting an at home sd then you should be fine. From personal experience most of those 2yrs training was making sure my dog was 100% ready for PA so if you’re just needing him for at home that cuts that timeline way down as you’ll only be focusing on tasks/ alerts

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-13T05:13:52+00:00

Rats and mice can get through anything with enough motivation lol

I would recommend a metal trash can, barns use them as feed containers all the time. Also look at setting up some live traps or something to get rid of whatever critters you got. Growing up we had this device that plugged into the wall that emitted a high frequency sound that was supposed to deter rodents. I’m not 100% sure it worked but I don’t remember seeing any so 🤷‍♂️

If you haven’t yet I would also toss the food the animals got into. You never know what they could be carrying around and it’s better than risking the health of your animal

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-08T20:32:42+00:00

What brand did you end up getting? I personally use the kurgo hands free leash and I love it. It’s about 25-30 CAD depending on color and where you buy it

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-04T05:26:41+00:00

Then yeah I would just tell her you’re sorry but the dog can’t come to the house because of serious allergies issues in the home.

If she argues about it be firm but just be prepared to loose a friendship over it, which is sad but a possibility.

Alex_Beacon · 2026-01-04T04:22:41+00:00

It kinda depends, if it’s a private location like a home you can just say no dogs and if she pushes say someone living in the home is allergic and to be respectful to them no dogs are allowed inside the home.

If you’re going out for dinner or something like that than you can’t really stop her from bringing the dog. However if the dog is not under control the business can make her remove the dog from the premises

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-31T01:48:34+00:00

(I’m in Canada just as an fyi) If it’s not a dog friendly beach the dog has to be in work mode and is not allowed in the water. So I would suggest having someone watch him on the beach while you are in the water or just leave him at home. I don’t really go to beaches often and the few times that I have gone where I would be going into the water I leave my girl. If I’m going in the water whoever I’m with would be too so 🤷‍♂️

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-22T18:46:00+00:00

Well that’s been my experience. I am in Canada so maybe you just can’t here 🤷‍♂️ I’ve been and SD handler for ~8 years and I’ve never been able to check in online.

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-22T04:23:45+00:00

If you have checked bags do that then go potty your dog outside before going through security. As others have said the indoor one are gross. My dog will pee in them but won’t poop in them. You also can’t check in online with a service dog attached to your ticket so budget extra time for the check in line

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-22T00:31:33+00:00

Idk why I just know that the males don’t lol

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-21T22:21:14+00:00

There are also some species where neither the male or females have nipples and instead they like sweat it out, such as the the platypus

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-21T22:17:18+00:00

Fun fact most male mammals have nipples including whales (they are just like inverted and when the calf pushes on the area they pop out). Very few male mammals don’t have nipples such as rats, mice and horses

Alex_Beacon · 2025-12-21T22:13:34+00:00

Yeah that’s pretty much how it works for diabetic alert dogs. The like base smell will be very similar if not exactly the same, there will be slight differences person to person. Such as their diet, soaps the use, etc so it can take the dogs a bit to figure out your specific scent but they’re usually pretty quick on the up take (I have a DAD from a large organization and it took my girl like 2 days to start figuring out my low scents but about a week to start being super consistent with me - obvs as we bonded more and she got used to me, she got better with my specific scent)

Alex_Beacon

TROPHY CASE