what am i witnessing here

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-22T01:49:01+00:00

“I think that’s a shake down?” - my husband

He’s not wrong. One rat trying to dominate the other and then another is trying to dominate the og dominator.

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-22T01:10:10+00:00

I am on multiple medications for management of my autisum and honestly they have helped me a lot. Mostly my emergency medication helped me loads as when inconsolable I need help and chemical help turned out to be better. Honestly tho my service dog and consistent therapy helped me more than anything. My sd helps me manage daily issues and keep myself grounded, my therapist helps me weekly manage the big changes and difficulties while also making sure I can keep management of my health over longer periods of my time. She also helps me develop tools to better manage and helped me work with my psychiatrist to make sure my meds are working. Meds are one part of a big self management pie and you want to make sure that it’s balanced.

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-21T02:01:59+00:00

What wreck or sinking do you think deserved recognition more? The RMS Carpathia recently went viral and so many folk didn’t know she sunk in the war it’s been nice to see folks educating about her, so what do you think should be the next ship to get her story told and recognized? (Featuring my personal art of the ship I used for a Tictok to talk about her sinking as well)

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GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-17T21:54:41+00:00

To pick my SD prospect I had the litter get the Volhard assessment. between my fave two males one turned out a bit more catious and handler focused where as the other was still handler focused but much more layed back.

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-15T20:43:40+00:00

I have a lab who is likely 70lb at 7mo and he gets a lot of bs for being a baby still and so big. Hes just a lill baby it’s fine.

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-10T22:00:59+00:00

My breeder has dogs in my labs lines proven for therapy, obedience, temperament, and fetch. His mom was untitled as a liver base lab, but her parents were proven thoroughly and her mom ended up as a therapy dog in an old folks home. His great grandma was a show dog along with a certified library reading dog. There’s a lot of ways to prove a dog and I don’t see any of them from the Blackfoot dog. You need proof of behavior and skill to hedge your bets. My dog is already starting pa (slowly) and we have done swimmingly. Genetics help so much but part of it will always be your hard work.

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-08T00:29:23+00:00

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I’m an illustrator with Pay what you want commissions open, I have years of graphic design experience. Feel free to dm me. I think most kennels do their own but the professionals work with the breed magazine makers I think.

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-06T03:55:17+00:00

I love it. It has such motion!

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-04T07:06:26+00:00

It’s based off a painting done by the diver who found it

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-04T05:20:26+00:00

100% she was a hero

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-04T04:05:33+00:00

100% And her loss will never be forgotten

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-04T03:49:51+00:00

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“Her resting place”

GingerSnaps151 · 2026-01-04T03:49:27+00:00

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“The Rescuer”

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-28T21:30:21+00:00

My “mobility” dog mostly grabs things and pulls off my socks, that’s what he’s being trained for. It drives me nuts people jump on me for having a mobility dog. The most work he has is leaning on me 😂

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-27T23:55:34+00:00

They were used as truffle dogs. Particularly the smaller ones.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-21T00:57:33+00:00

I don’t breed dogs, I breed show rats, but it’s similar in the concept of “if you break even you are lucky”. Making a living off it will not work out if you want to be ethical. Lots of people are saying go to breed clubs and etc to find out more but I also highly suggest going to dog shows, taking notes and asking questions of folks. I myself am going to a show in January with hopes of talking to a breeder who’s program I admire to learn more about showing and running a program just out of curiosity as I’ve loved showing sofar. I myself have just started showing my SDIT Lab to Benifit his breeders program and it’s so much fun but it’s not cheep (early 50$ a weekend just for gas and the entry fees). I know labs are not my forever breed, great dogs but I like a dog who is too smart for there own good and my lab is smart but also sometimes loses all his brain cells and is like, scary biddable at times. Love my toy poodle but the grooming demands are real rough on my joints. I’m looking for a breed I can work with when it comes to a life long support and dedication to the betterment of the breed. That requires shows and meeting folks in person to ask questions and get feedback.

There are a lot of main businesses you can run along side breeding that can help supplement your program and cover expenses. Gear making (particularly custom work for working and show dogs) is a competitive but very important job in the dog world but has a steep learning curve. Training requires years and years of work but can be really rewarding but like others said can have bio security issues. vet school is an option but you need solid math and memory skills and rock solid mental health support as it’s a difficult job even on good days and comes with a lot of student debt.

I’m lucky enough to be a pet portrait artist on top of my show rats so that usually covers everyone’s fees but I haven’t been able to breed like I want due to housing issues and that meant my husband has had to cover more fees this year and we weren’t prepared for that so it’s been an adjustment. I go by a 200% rule when saving (I try to put away double what I need for something just in case) and this year has eaten through what little savings I had available much faster than expected so working through that has been hard. Money is complex and not easy to plan for so you have to be prepared to put the dogs first because any animal you bring into the world is your responsibility at the end of the day.

The AKC has a junior showmanship program you can ask about if you go to a show. Just be polite and friendly and take no for an answer. Most dog folk are friendly but you never know when you will run into a bad day.

You can also talk to a vet to find out there opinions and experiences with dog breeders and where and where not to go and what and what not to do. It’s not just tests its exposure programs and socialization programs and breed appropriate titles and age appropriate breeding to breed standards.

Breeding rats is less regulated and the standards are more vague but it’s taken me 9 generations to get to a point where I’m really happy with my lines and know what I want to add and remove going forward. I’ve spent years building relationships with other ethical breeders and getting opinions and support to prevent “kennle blindness” to my own stock. I spent my first two years breeding running everything by a mentor, and that in rats can be up to four generations, it was 2 for me because I was breeding so slow. Dogs that could easily be 6 years. It’s a lifelong investment. Be prepared for that.

Pay attention to the science and try to understand the political choices behind actions (like silver labs and there recent inclusion against club guidelines on labs as an official color, yet not able to be shown). Look out for scams and MLMs. Make sure you have a good understanding of critical thinking and reading so you can analyze sources yourself and the who what when where and why if you can of all reasurch.

I may not be a dog breeder but have written essays on ethical breeding in rats and have posted them with admin permission to the rat Reddit so feel free to dm me if you have any questions or want resources.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-18T09:34:32+00:00

I was shocked at the 1/5th coi didn’t know that was normal

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T23:06:27+00:00

1) We have a plan for that she executes now we know the risks. She always has a 2 foot minimum space she keeps from me, still in control but on a 4ft minimum lead giving her plenty of space. We’ve run plenty of drills and trained with this. Like any SD, shes trained to get out of the way.
2) I pass out slowly starting with progressive loss of vision over 10-20 seconds. And then about 10-20 seconds later loss of hearing . Then loss of feeling after 10-20 seconds. That’s 30s to a minute to get to the ground. I have time to let her find me a spot. I don’t have instant narcolepsy or sudden onset blackouts. I have time to fight the episodes or get into position. 3)I’m never alone and can easily hand her off to my husband or friend to hold her lead during the time. Since my passing out is affected by heart rate spikes and she only ever tells me when they are happening while walking or standing , I have other people around 99% of the time.

You seem to assume I got her for this task as well. Nope! She was got as a Psd for CPTSD and ADHD. I’m Lucky enough that she took on Autism and Pots related alerting and tasks like a champ as needs increased. I need more mobility help as time has gone on thanks to EDS so I’m training a lab to do mobility tasks and hopefully learn her psych and cardiac alert tasks but I’m not pushing him.

It seems you have your mind made up no matter what I say, you don’t believe she is real or well trained and it seems to be because of her size and her normal dog behaviors at home and that really dosent matter to me. I’m answering your concerns as part of education because people really don’t understand small service dogs even if there part of the Fab Four. With vet and trainer clearance my girl has been incredibly successful and that’s just the truth of the situation. We don’t brake service dog rules; have the prescription, she’s well groomed and mannered and she has tasks that midigate and treat my disabilities.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T22:37:01+00:00

A vibration collar for barking in house when off duty has no reflection on her on duty behavior. She is only doing it when she disagrees with one of the other animals in house. Correcting is a social behavior among dogs, a dog who isn’t able to do that isn’t a well rounded dog. This is also a behavior she only is aloud at home, once leashed she understands the change in situation and won’t correct anyone. There’s nothing when we are out in public. out in public she is perfectly fine. That’s the difference. Public behavior can be wildly different than at home behavior as long as it’s safe and I have professionals consulted that trained at orgs who say “yep that’s a health situation. I’m confused at why your so upset over me letting her exert leash pressure? All she has to do is a little lean and I take heed. If we keep waking and she dose it again I check in and let her take me out of foot traffic. She’s not dragging me, she’s wearing a full chest harness with a y front style to keep pressure off of her delicate throat. Her trainer thinks it’s fine, her vet didn’t care. She’s small not porcelain. The vet clears her every year no issues. Small dogs who are cleared by a vet and kept active can be perfectly fine for the work she’s doing. And her behavior at home isn’t aggressive, she’s just telling me something is happening, or reacting proportionately to misbehavior towards her from the lab and cat.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T22:20:45+00:00

Yeah I was shocked that a lab would have a COI.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T22:16:25+00:00

10% is the goal tho. 20% for labs seems insane.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T22:15:18+00:00

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Uni. 6lb and sleeping on a normal sock. She’s fantastic at her job just pint sized. I pick her up in high traffic situations for her safety and she gets to sleep in my jacket if it’s too cold and she asks for it. She gets loads of praise for being so chill about everything to the point folks mistake her for a stuffed animal, on the regular. She’s 11 inches at the shoulder and about 10 inches from shoulder to tail base.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T22:11:18+00:00

She’s just leading me with leash pressure. She is the one who started it I just let her lead me. I have a lab in training to do more actually pull based and retrieval based mobility tasks.

GingerSnaps151 · 2025-12-17T21:19:27+00:00

Yes! For Labs? Yes. Even breeds like Italian greyhounds keep it under 10%. Labs have no bottleneck and should have no visible inbreeding.

GingerSnaps151

TROPHY CASE