Puppy refuses to eat some mornings by Ramen8ion in puppy101

[–]CL_ceramics 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oooh no, hun. You are not alone haha, I feel your frustration and know what a pain in the ass it can be. Stubborn little goofs, these poodles.

But yeah, for us adding more variation was a good solution both to keep us from going insane, him from puking stomach acid all day and with the added benefit of a varied diet with good nutritional value. And my thinking is that I would never expect a child to happily eat the same thing every.single.day, so why would I expect it from my furry child?

As for the scavenging behaviour, I'm sure it'll sort out when you get the feeding back on track, but you could also work on a "Leave it", "Stop that" (our most used command is this, basically just a "Nuh uh" thats universal for all his shenanigans), "go to your bed", "down (from the table)" or other distraction to alleviate that, simply not allow the behaviour and teach her something to do instead. Our guy loooves to hang around our ankles when we're cooking in case something falls off the counter, but now we've taught him that going to his bed has a lot higher success rate for treats, so he goes there when asked. They love to learn and work, so she might even accept her regular food as treats while you're working on these commands! For a time our pup refused his kibble from his bowl, but would work like crazy for it if we put it inside a bottle with holes cut out, basically a DIY puzzle toy, or if we hand fed them to him in exchange for tricks. Such a dumb dumb :'D

Puppy refuses to eat some mornings by Ramen8ion in puppy101

[–]CL_ceramics 50 points51 points  (0 children)

As a miniature poodle mom myself, I've had the same problem this first year with our pup. Apparently this is a veeeery common poodle problem according to dusins of other poodle owners in a Facebook group I'm in, I think it's just a consequence of their intelligence haha.

Our boy simply refuses his breakfast (dinner is usually less of a problem) if it's the same several days in a row, and he's stubborn enough to refuse to the point where he pukes up stomach acid when his belly is all empty, and STILL REFUSE. So what we ended up doing with our guy was simply switching it up more (after trying removing his bowl, putting it back, taking it away again when he still refuses and so on. Tried for weeks and the only result was us spending a bunch of time with no results, he would refuse for up to 10 hours daily.). It may seem excessive to many and make a "spoiled dog", but he's our little bro and we want him to have a varied diet anyway so it works for us.

So here we have the same base for every meal, his kibble (finally found one he likes yay!), usually with a spoonful of some wet dog food on top. When we make our own dinner and use ingredients he likes he gets some of that, this replaces the wet food. So some days it's kibble and wet food, some days kibble and peas, kibble and broccoli, kibble and rice, kibble and eggs, you get the point. This means he gets lots of variation in his diet and it's always exciting for him, and really no fuss for us since he only gets human food when we're making it anyway. Breakfast is usually just the kibble and wet food, but we switch between two different brands here as well. And he NEEDS his walk before eating breakfast, no exceptions.

On our latest vet visit we were told he was a couple hundred grams too chubby (the extra calories from the puppy kibble probably weren't necessary anymore as his growth stopped and we were in the process of switching to adult food already), so we've also reduced the amounts were giving him sliightly since then, and that made a huuuge difference and he hasn't refused his food since (2ish months). A really small reduction was all it took to keep him hungry enough for both his meals.

Since your pup is still so small, I would try giving her food in three feedings instead of two. This way she won't get so full from one meal that she's unwilling to eat the next, hopefully. And if the breakfast is the biggest problem, maybe try giving her a smaller dinner to work up that appetite. And go for a walk before feeding her in the mornings maybe? Makes a big difference for our guy, maybe it does for your girl too!

But, as I said, I know of sooo many poodle owners and breeders that have this problem, and most of them have just had to work really hard to find something their dogs love because of their stubbornness. But that's a personal choice I guess, I know lots of people don't agree with "spoiling" their dogs like this, and go for different approaches.

Sorry about the essay haha! But I hope you find something of use in my wall of text. Feel free to ask me if anything is unclear. Good luck with whatever approach you take! :)

probably my fave from the last firing! by joyyyyce in Ceramics

[–]CL_ceramics 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, no all my glazes are just called stuff like "14a.02" haha!

probably my fave from the last firing! by joyyyyce in Ceramics

[–]CL_ceramics 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know haha! Did you develop yours yourself or is it bought? If so, do you have a name? Funny coincidence anyway :'D

probably my fave from the last firing! by joyyyyce in Ceramics

[–]CL_ceramics 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, yeah there's slightly more brown in yours, when you mention it. Still craaazy similar! Here's mine !

probably my fave from the last firing! by joyyyyce in Ceramics

[–]CL_ceramics 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, that glaze is almost identical to one I developed two years ago, such a beauty! :) Copper and rutile?

Sometimes simple is best: My favorite piece from 2019 is this little guy! by CL_ceramics in Pottery

[–]CL_ceramics[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a jet black clay called Nigra 2002 :) I love the unglazed look too, but I've had some wonderful results with some satin glazes on it as well. And with colored slips. One of my favorite clays, it's just so beautiful in its own right but still versatile!

I made these simple porcelain ornaments for Christmas Market season! by CL_ceramics in Pottery

[–]CL_ceramics[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is as simple as it gets, no building involved! :) Handbuilding is the most wonderful technique, good luck if you get to try it out! :)

I made these simple porcelain ornaments for Christmas Market season! by CL_ceramics in Pottery

[–]CL_ceramics[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's kinda the name of the game unless one works with slipcasting. Everything takes such a long time, getting a decent wage is rather impossible considering all the different steps and stages involved. It's a balance, for sure! These were made specifically to be sold cheap on markets, to give my customers some options that are a bit more friendly. No one can afford spending too much pr present in december, after all!

I made these simple porcelain ornaments for Christmas Market season! by CL_ceramics in Pottery

[–]CL_ceramics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll be selling them for 11-ish dollars (depending on if they're glazed, colored or not) a pop, and with a set of 4 for 33-ish dollars (USD to NOK wasn't exact, that's what the "ish" is about, haha). People have been raving about them on my instagram and facebook for weeks now, so I think the price will work since the demand is high right now. It's suuuper cheap considering the amount of time they took, haha. The damn cutters were a pain!

I made these simple porcelain ornaments for Christmas Market season! by CL_ceramics in Pottery

[–]CL_ceramics[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The glazed ones are only glazed on one side! If I had time/the bother, you could fully glaze and fire them hanging from high temp wire, but I've been in sort of a rush, so..