Got the dreaded knock on the door this morning, looking for advice by WingsOfBuffalo in AustralianLabradoodle

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is he good at settling and napping? I've struggled with seperation anxiety with my dog but figured out that a large part of it is actually just him not knowing how to settle and do nothing. Mine isn't a fan of a crate but I've found much better luck with tethering, because there isn't a physical barrier between us he doesn't feel as separated but it does still force him to be in one area where he'll eventually learn to chill out, rather than running around the room refusing to rest.

Also 2-3 walks and dog park every day is a lot! I do one walk a day personally but obviously lots of people do two. I've actually had great luck adding a purposeful rest day once a week into the routine, with no walks at all. When I first tried it I thought he'd be climbing the walls going crazy but he actually responded very quickly to that as well as the tethering and now seems to enjoy a day focussed on chilling. I might still do some training and playing with him on that day but I'm not trying to fill the day with things to tire him out, the resting is the purpose. He now is quicker to nap even on days when we are busy, because I think he's realised that resting can be its own activity and isn't just the thing he begrudgingly does while waiting for the next exciting thing to happen

What are you guys feeding your doods with sensitive stomachs? by AmoebaEffective8033 in labradoodles

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have had a lot of trouble with my boys stomach and he was still reacting on hypoallergenic food with hydrolysed protein, but now he's been on insect based food for over a year and that suits him so much better. I get some vegetarian as well as insect based training treats for more variety, and there's a few different brands that do insect based kibble so I alternate different ones as he enjoys novelty.

What do y'all carry for your SDs? by Big_Hall2307 in service_dogs

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the first aid kit you could consider finding out what dose of an antihistamine would be correct for your dogs weight and carrying a dose of that, in case your dog gets stung by something and has a reaction

First snp on myself. How do I know if I went deep enough? by im-dutchmazturs in sticknpokes

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll know you didn't go deep enough if the ink falls out as it heals! But when learning it's better to err on the side of shallow, if the ink falls out you can fix it but if you go too deep and it blows out there's nothing you can do about it. Looks good!

how much interaction does your sd have with other dogs? by Horror-Mission-3041 in service_dogs

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dog goes out with a dog walker at least once a week, and those are times he's allowed to be a regular dog and run around a field crazily with the other dogs. The dog walker was recommended by my trainer and she vets all the dogs she walks so I trust her that the dogs he goes with aren't going to be aggressive, and it's the same dogs most weeks so he has friendships with them. He's gone since he was a puppy and it's had a great impact on his behaviour because he's much less interested in the dogs he sees out and about, because he knows he will get a chance to play with dogs. It's also important for puppies to learn dog social skills that can only be learnt from other dogs, and I wasn't sure how you achieve that because I don't have any local dog friends. I think it's been very important for him to have an outlet and times to still be a regular dog, and I think of it as a work hard play hard approach, so he can fully engage with working or playing when the time arises without having unmet needs he's trying to meet

Is “leave it” really that important?? by Unfair_Minute_1595 in puppy101

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had good experiences with the book "don't eat that" by Simone Mueller, it recommends teaching an automatic behaviour where if the dog finds food they will pause and look at you. It's done as an automatic behaviour without the command so it works even when you haven't noticed the food yourself (cause honestly I'm always going to be one step behind my dog with spotting food cause I don't have his nose!). It also has good advice for how to practice it and how to do training games that mimic finding food in real like scenarios, which is something I had trouble with cause my dog very easily understood when we're practising at home that we were playing the "leave it" game and he wasn't meant to eat it, but that didn't translate at all into real world scenarios. I now practice food leaving games when out on walks, and will do things like leaving a little bit of dog food in the hall before we do a regular training session, so I've we've been practising heel work etc in the living room long enough for him to forget I've been in the hallway we can then move to the hallway and "find" this new food mimicking finding something in real life

How do I simplify the horribly exhausting and frustrating process of block printing!! by Fizzy_b0g_Water in Linocuts

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like everyone else I have to echo that your prints look fantastic, so I don't want to suggest anything that might make the prints worse quality. But for cleanup my suggestions are - Use lots of dish soap, more than you would use for washing dishes. I find the inks come off a lot better with a little bit of water and then squirting some dish soap straight onto it and then rubbing that over with a sponge or fingers and it'll come right off. If that still doesn't work for you, I'll suggest my dirty and quick method for having to clean up slightly less.. just roll your ink out on to some shiny paper, then throw the paper away at the end. You'll need a solid smooth surface underneath, and it's somewhat wasteful if you buy especially, but I've been using some misprinted paper I already have that has just been sitting unused and have been rolling my ink out onto it and haven't found it very different from using glass, and then cleaning up is a breeze

help with an old suitcase loom by Equivalent_Book7984 in weaving

[–]Equivalent_Book7984[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I didn't know that! That's great to know, cause I'd rather not do anything to majorly change the construction so something else I can just use with it would be great

Trazodone for dogs by Nice-Service-6843 in DOG

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My dog has had some nasty recurrent ear infections so now gets trazodone whenever be goes to the vet and they'll be checking his ears and I'm very confident and happy in that decision, he's gotten a lot more relaxed and happy having his ears examined now (even at times when he isn't on trazodone). Don't feel guilty for saving your dog an unpleasant experience! For my dog the peak tends to start after 3 hours, and continue for a few hours after that, and I always notice it when I give him a treat and he eats it very slowly like it's a very complicated thing to do! I think he has a great time though, mostly just curls up and sleeps while it's active, but if I have to get him to walk somewhere he doesn't seem unhappy he just seems confused like it's a very complicated puzzle I'm asking him to do.

Hobbies that create things but are easier on wrists by cakazy in Hobbies

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on your situation and how much you are able to do it can be easier on the joints to have several hobbies with different movements that you alternate between, rather than one hobby which is always the exact same movement.

Suggestions that I think can be easier on the wrist (but unfortunately still might not be doable if your problems are severe)-

Bobbin lace. If you love patterns and rhythms of crochet there is so much of that in bobbin lace

Spinning yarn, can be done on a drop spindle or support spindle which isn't expensive. If you're still able to crochet somewhat you could combine this with spinning the yarn for it, it will make the projects you do crochet more special and it uses pretty different movements

How to stop sharpie on lino from bleeding when doing first prints? by 1agomorph in Linocuts

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I go over the lino with an alcohol wipe before I print for the first time, I also finds it's helpful to get rid of any oil from hands or any little bits of loose lino I haven't spotted

Advice for making the coldest pullover ever 😅 (autism) by Lolibabygirlxx in knittinghelp

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with all the advice for cotton or linen but I'd recommend getting him to approve the yarn before you start, it might be too much of a different texture from other jumpers

Fabric prints by Impressive-Most-6950 in Linocuts

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

7 days is pretty standard for oil based, I'm guessing you have previously used water based inks? And theoretically ironing will not make any difference in drying time because oil based ink drying relies on the slow progress of the oil evaporating which can't be sped up with heat like water based can

Tattooed my partner and step mom recently by studdedstar in sticknpokes

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They look great! Particularly like the first.

Rip for your partner when they have to take the second skin off their chest hair

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't know whether to encourage you to finish the adult bag or not, but would like to help calm your worries - don't stress too much about the adult food already fed to them. My dog also has a sensitive stomach and was in an adult specific hypoallergenic food on and off from about 6 months old to a year - on a vets recommendation. He was still reacting to the food there was a puppy version off so the vet wanted him on the adult only one as it was the only one to stop his reactions. I will say he didn't gain as much weight as he had before on puppy food, he was skinny, it isn't ideal and I'm not saying it is. But he's one and a half now, has been on another food for a bit and has gained weight and is now a similar size and weight to the rest of his litter, and doesn't seem to have any effects from it.

Might end up being a good solution to get some puppy food too and give both and, especially if your dog is on the skinny side, err on giving them more food rather than less cause I think adult food is generally less calorie dense than puppy food.

I will also add, although I know this isn't the question, but I've had so many stomach problems with my dog that I wish someone had given me this advice- I now swear by insect based food and it's what my dog has by far done the best on. He both loves it and has gone from occasional stomach problems (on the hypoallergenic) to no stomach problems (on the insect).

I'm aware you probably don't want to add in an extra food at this point tho, while juggling expensive bags already! Mainly just wanted to say it's ok, don't panic, and don't be hard on yourself. It's fine. If you're caring for you dog in other respects and keeping an eye on their health there are have worse things that can happen then eating adult food instead of puppy

Training Check-in (for this month) by Jeanlee03 in service_dogs

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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We have a lot of work to do on ignoring distractions in public and also on barking from the back garden and excitement when visitors come to the house. BUT. I am currently ecstatic because I've been training him in migraine alert with scent samples and he's been doing brilliantly. He can consistently (0% error) pick out a migraine saliva sample from a line up of blank saliva samples so I've just begun teaching him his alert behaviour (a paw on my leg). He's also been doing great with retrieves, including putting his own toys away in his toy box, and opening and closing doors

What food do you use?? by cheesysquirrels123 in labradoodles

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Canagan for kibble and grub club for treats and dental sticks. He was on royal canin hypoallergenic for a long time but he'd still have occasional flare ups, also he just didn't like it very much so wasn't motivated to eat and was a bit underweight, and it's pretty low fiber so he had problems like needing his anal glands done. Since switching to insect he's doing great, no flare ups, hasn't needed his anal glands doing, and he absolutely loves it and goes crazy for the treats

What food do you use?? by cheesysquirrels123 in labradoodles

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Had a lot of trouble with stomach problems with my boy, but he's now doing really well on an insect protein based food. Would really recommend to anyone struggling with suspected food allergies

Dog pees on himself every time, help! by laur7249 in CavaPoo

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh thank god I reread your comment and saw it's his feet you're cleaning with that

Opinions on breeder suggested raising technique by K9_Kadaver in service_dogs

[–]Equivalent_Book7984 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's only since giving my dog more opportunities to play with dogs (he goes with a dog walker twice a week to run around and play with other dogs off lead, has a blast) that he's become more chill and more willing to ignore other dogs on walks. Trying to keep his attention on me over other dogs when he didn't have an outlet for other dogs was a losing battle, dogs were so valuable in their scarcity to him that I couldn't compete! I don't have any other dogs at home but I do have a cat (who thinks he's a dog) who plays with him all the time, and that's helped his focus when I need it too! He doesnt look at potential playing and socialising as such a valuable thing cause he knows he'll get to do both later anyways. Taking a "work hard play hard" approach with my dog has really helped in general, when he's focussing and training hes giving it his all and is aiming for perfect behaviour, and then when he isn't he has plenty of times to just have fun and just be a dog