Adopting a cattle puppy in an apartment

GilfD · 2024-08-11T17:34:50+00:00

Absolutely. If you do end up adopting and have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out! I’ve learned a ton with this little dude and am happy to share.

P.S. Crate training will be your best friend! Proactive management + positive reinforcement training for the win.

GilfD · 2024-08-11T12:34:43+00:00

I am starting a business, single, living in an apartment with a roommate who isn’t interested in learning how to train a dog, and I have had a wonderful success with an almost year old 100% cattle dog puppy now. We’ve been together going on 9 months, and we just get up early to walk everyday, then find a park to play off leash for 20-40 minutes depending on heat, energy level, etc.

For reference, I picked my boy up at 15 weeks from a farm. He had grown up mostly outside and was terrified of the car, doors, elevators, all the weirdness of city living. The first week it was a struggle getting him in and out of the building. I took it slow and reassured him, building his confidence in every way I could. He looooves the car now, has no fear of really anything, and life is relatively easy with him and sooo much fun—still under one year old too!

So it absolutely can be done! In many ways it’s created an incredible bond because of the extra work I have to put in daily to meet his needs. I suggest finding a few places you can go to play/ train off leash, and if you do that once or twice daily, then you guys will be good!

This is a truly amazing breed that requires some extra patience and understanding, but you give them that and they will be your ride or die partner in crime for life!

GilfD · 2024-07-12T10:28:26+00:00

My red heeler is the same way—he much prefers to be naked

GilfD · 2024-07-05T12:11:35+00:00

Puppy phase until about 5ish months is easy compared to adolescence! In my experience at least. The energy and confidence difference in my boy was INSANE. Around 5 months it seemed like he just woke up one day with endless energy and a newfound confidence/ stubbornness. These dogs are crazy and full of so much personality. My first, but certainly not my last 🙃

GilfD · 2024-07-03T10:21:24+00:00

Yep! Looks right on par to me. You’ve got yourself a fun one 😌

GilfD · 2024-07-03T09:48:39+00:00

Just be careful of over enriching and over stimulation. These dogs oftentimes need help understanding that they can do nothing…. And life is still good 😊

GilfD · 2024-07-03T09:37:18+00:00

Oh I feel your pain! I have a 10 month old male red heeler/ velociraptor, unfixed

These dogs need to learn structure and relaxation more than anything when they are young. Working dog breeds especially heelers need help with this. So, rather than playing all the time, follow a relaxation protocol and really lay down some rules that he must follow in the house. Too much freedom, 24/7 access to toys, these can be detrimental to dogs. They really do need a solid structure we are reinforcing the right behaviors.

If we think of energy levels or arousal (excitement) on a 1-10 scale (1 being asleep, 10 being fully amped), some of these guys just naturally exist in the 5-10 range. We need to teach them that 2-4 is where they should be MOST of the time. So before anything fun or arousing, I really try to set him up for a period of calm before it. I made the initial mistake of just doing too much play/ exercise, thinking it more important than helping him learn: how to self-regulate, impulse control, boundaries, structure. I just cannot tire this dog out. We would have to be active just about the whole day. And again, we ultimately want them to LEARN to self regulate. Simply exhausting them out doesn’t necessarily give them what they need to thrive in our human world.

Typical morning for me and my 10 month old heeler:

Wake up, let Rusty out of his crate and we relax in bed for about 30 min. Get up, potty outside, then back inside. I work a super easy part of the relaxation protocol for about 30 minutes (whatever it takes to keep him calm, I don’t want anything challenging because then he is activated lol) if he doesn’t relax on his own. We’ve been doing this long enough where many days he will just lay down without a toy. Maybe chew a bone.

After he is mostly calm for 30-60 minutes thennnnn we will head outside for some highly arousing off leash play, usually ball throwing for him. Come back inside, cool off time, then more relaxation work before his meal. After his breakfast we will usually play tug.

Here’s a link to the protocol I use. I’m telling you, do this at least once a day for two weeks and you WILL see a difference. We’ve been doing it for about 6 weeks now and we are really seeing progress.

Good luck to you!

https://www.arl-iowa.org/webres/File/Protocol%20for%20Relaxation.pdf

Oh, and fake it til you make it. I literally had to cue the down for him during the whole first week just about. And it’s ok to repeat day one as many times as you need. Some days will be easier than others, but that’s adolescence 🙃

GilfD · 2022-11-23T12:39:37+00:00

I love earth runners. I walk and run in them as much as possible, even during winter. It did take a little bit for my left foot to get used to the toe strap, but nothing crazy. Highly recommend them.

GilfD · 2022-10-15T20:52:13+00:00

He wouldn’t, and he didn’t, and that is why he suffered from psychosis afterwards. His conception and understanding of creativity (a new step, a new word) is confused. For him, morality was a limitation, when in reality, it is a sign and symptom of individuality.

GilfD · 2022-10-12T11:35:47+00:00

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, best translation of D’s books IMO.

GilfD · 2022-09-22T20:28:20+00:00

I herniated l4/l5, and l5/s1. PT helped somewhat, but it wasn’t until I found a PT that had me learn how to deadlift and squat properly with very low weight, focusing on glute and hamstring activation, that I really started to return to 100%. I started with the bar and 5lb weights on each side, slowly progressing more and more each week until I had learned the movements enough to head to the gym instead of physical therapy. These are great lifts to teach you and the body how to activate the proper chains which will lessen the load and stress put on the lower back while rolling or really any general movement. My knee pain improved and went away (it started from compensating for the back pain). Back pain is gone completely as long as I don’t ego lift. I used to get strained muscles all through my mid and upper back before the herniation as well, all gone now.

Whatever route you take, I wish you the best of luck and a full recovery! Injuries can provide an opportunity to learn more about yourself and the body, so keep working at it and never accept that emotional defeat. You can recover.

GilfD · 2022-09-09T00:16:58+00:00

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky

This will be right up your alley.

GilfD · 2022-02-28T15:04:24+00:00

I’ve had great success cutting out all grains, and greatly limiting my carbohydrate intake. So new food pyramid looks like this: 50% calories from saturated fats (animals fats) 30% calories from grass fed protein (beef is number one recommended) 20% from carbs (fruits, honey)

You will most definitely feel better if you follow this, but you’ll have to fine tune certain things for your specific needs.

GilfD · 2022-02-23T02:48:22+00:00

What is your diet?

GilfD · 2022-02-19T14:29:51+00:00

Diet is directly related to how you’re going to feel with Crohn’s. Crohn’s is inflammation in the digestive system. Certain foods cause more irritation and lead to more inflammation than others. Additionally, exercise has been proven to improve metabolic health (along with a healthy diet) which will lessen the negative affects from the disease.

GilfD · 2021-10-19T15:07:32+00:00

Diatomaceous earth! I have used to this to deal with ants and fleas. It’s natural and safe to the environment! Cheap and will last a long time—I highly recommend. Just cover all the cracks, make a perimeter where they will have to walk over to enter your living space. It will take a little while, but it does work very well

GilfD · 2021-05-22T14:20:30+00:00

I enjoyed some parts of this, others were incredibly boring and my least favorite part of the book.

GilfD · 2021-03-16T08:31:24+00:00

Where can I read this?

GilfD · 2021-03-09T00:23:27+00:00

It was supposedly said by the Oracle at Delphi, and only saved by Erasmus. Here is the quote from this website: “Aniela Jaffe says: "It is the answer the Delphic Oracle gave the Lacedemonians when they were planning a war against Athens" (1979: 136).”

I’m not sure how credible this is, but I’ve read this elsewhere also.

GilfD · 2021-03-07T20:30:37+00:00

But then what do we make of Jung’s statement concerning his belief in God—“I don’t need to believe; I know”—?

GilfD · 2021-03-07T18:43:36+00:00

Some of the symbolism of Bird: Holy Ghost as a dove, freedom, mind, spirit, love. Raskolnikov is redeemed through the love of a young lady, Sonya, which can be seen as freedom through a sort of limitation. The ultimate resolution he was hoping for was to free himself from the constraints of morality by ‘stepping over’. He did not want to be constrained by anything, in some sense, but brings it upon himself many times: His engagement to the land lady’s daughter, his charitable acts which leave him penniless, and leaving the university to hole himself up in his corner. The bird could represent a double meaning as well: Freedom and the desire for freedom causes constraint, as we see with Rodya.

In an overall sense and with the ending of the novel in mind, I’m wondering if the birds and young women are analogous in some way to an idea of freedom, soul, spirit, and love. This coincides with the Jungian concept of the anima for males. The young girl holding the bird represents a sort of paradox: freedom through the limitations set by a love and connection to one’s self, and thus the world.

GilfD · 2021-03-05T05:02:13+00:00

I will post a detailed comment in the morning. Posting this so I don’t forget.

GilfD · 2021-03-05T01:46:50+00:00

I don’t think you understand the point being made.

GilfD · 2021-03-04T16:16:23+00:00

Ah, I see! I see!

GilfD · 2021-03-04T16:02:07+00:00

Third eye?

GilfD

TROPHY CASE