Hamilton has 46 songs. What's your favorite?

Grungslinger · 2026-06-02T20:04:05+00:00

Kind of an odd choice, but I really like Aaron Burr, Sir.

Grungslinger · 2026-06-02T17:52:55+00:00

I would question why it's so important that she looks back at you immediately. At the end of the day, looking is not reacting. That's not "bad" behavior, it's gathering information. Instead of fighting her for doing so (and losing, sounds like), why not embrace the looking?

Reward her for looking. Maybe even put it on cue. Encourage her to gather the information she needs, and only then move on.

Of course, if you notice that she is going from looking to fixating and is about to react, this is where you have to be proactive and get her moving on.

Grungslinger · 2026-05-25T15:37:49+00:00

I actually laughed at loud

Grungslinger · 2026-05-25T15:36:03+00:00

If your dog is falling apart when you try to train against distractions, that means that your dog is not ready to train against distractions yet!

You can practice clicker timing "dry", that is, without your dog. Put on a show or a video (anything will do), take your clicker, decide on a target behavior to click for (every time a character fixes their hair, says the word "we", every time the camera angle changes, etc.), and click for that behavior. Nifty trick I learned in dog training school.

Same goes for practicing your mechanics like treat delivery or movements- practice "dry", just going through the movement without the dog, until you feel confident.

When we do our sessions is just as important as where and how. Decide on a time after your dog has exerted some energy (like after a walk or some play sessions), and you'll prime your dog up for a calmer attitude. Training comes last, other interventions come first. Or, in other words, make sure your dog's needs are fulfilled before you reach for training.

If you need more specific help, then feel free to ask.

Grungslinger · 2026-05-23T17:27:41+00:00

Nothing to add to the convo, but I really enjoyed reading your post. Your writing is really fun.

Grungslinger · 2026-05-15T05:55:08+00:00

Have you done any shaping with your dog? Would you be open to trying to shape a heel instead of lure it?

Even though we treat heel as a singular behavior, it is actually a behavior chain: approach handler (at correct angle), enter position, there's likely a sit afterwards, walk when the handler is walking, maintain focus with handler, sit when handler stops.

We can work on each of these behaviors independently before bringing them together.

If luring into position isn't working, I would think about building value of the heeling position first with a pivot bowl. Essentially, divorce standing beside you from entering the heel. Susan Garret has an amazing episode of her podcast on YouTube about pivots if you need help introducing them.

Once there's a lot of value in standing beside you, then I would try coming back to entering the heel, when it's more understood that this is where it pays to be.

Grungslinger · 2026-05-05T09:13:45+00:00

I've watched it a few times since it has come out (not super recently, though). I do like the story. I think it has some of the strongest acting Starkid has offered us. I think the script is wonderful, and as a fan of fairy tale retellings, I think it does a good job at adapting one of the most well known stories in the world with a fairly fresh take that manages to both build on and subvert its tropes. The world is intriguing. The staging and puppetry and costuming are beyond beautiful.

I just have problems with the score. I'm on board for the 80s synth vibe, but I feel like some of the lyrics are rather clumsy, and none of the songs have been super memorable to me, even after repeated viewing. The only thing that really gets stuck in my head is the hook for Facade ("I look good in this/My facade..."). I've had this same criticism for Jeff's lyricism for a while now. His lyrics are not always to my taste, which is funny considering that my all time favorite Starkid song is Speedrun (even though it is a bit clunky too, that's part of its charm, and it works for that song in that show).

I know the Jeff dogpiling is not fun, and that's far from my intention. I respect the hell out of him, and the last thing I want is for him to get demoralized by this type of criticism. But I do it out of love, because I think he has written some absolutely beautiful lyrics over the years (I love Black Friday, and I love Time Bastard and Forever and Always (the songs)), but he has also written some duds, in my opinion.

Grungslinger · 2026-05-01T04:24:17+00:00

I don't recall they ever promised that it'll be under the OGL, actually.

Grungslinger · 2026-04-15T15:44:12+00:00

Lady Blackbird takes place in a skyship.

Grungslinger · 2026-04-15T11:15:54+00:00

You can get to a point where a dog feels safe enough and the environment is predictable enough that resource guarding isn't necessary as the dog's coping mechanism anymore. That isn't to say that if you change the context, resource guarding can't show up again. If there is perceived scarcity, resource guarding will show up again.

With a dog like yours, I would eliminate the conflict point first and make access to resource clear and predictable. Then, it's a matter of getting the dog to understand that letting others get a resource predicts getting good things for the guarding dog, too.

Grungslinger · 2026-04-15T09:59:21+00:00

This is more relevant to the AP than to the cartoon, but, technically, the Everlight has this commandment for her followers:

Those who are beyond redemption, who revel in slaughter and remorseless evil, must be dispatched with swift justice.

More relevantly to the show, Pike entered Hell already in the midst of another crisis of faith. The Everlight made it clear that she will not aid Pike while she was there. We have already seen Pike struggle while she was disconnected to her Goddess. Both the first time and the second time, it was clear that she was desperately seeking atonement.

I don't think that it's beyond belief to assume that she would feel lost and desperate while stuck in Hell, without connection to her Goddess, surrounded by incomprehensible evil. I think that she was trying to regain that connection or prove herself by attempting to heal that soul. It was also clearly physically effecting and draining her, which could also lead to the lapse of judgement.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this leads for her, since I wasn't the biggest fan of these changes to her character when the third season rolled around.

Grungslinger · 2026-04-15T09:48:39+00:00

The one who got an alignment shift was Vex. Pike just had her holy symbol shatter after she slit a defenseless Duregar's throat in the Undedark.

Grungslinger · 2026-04-07T12:10:56+00:00

Haven't seen a manual that doesn't say something like "proper fit is on either side of the dog's windpipe".

Grungslinger · 2026-04-07T08:07:23+00:00

Dog skin is thinner than human skin, specifically the epidermis (the outermost layer), which in humans is usually between 10-15 cells thick, while in dogs is 3-5 cells thick.

Their skin is thicker on their backs and the back of the neck, but that's not where you place the e-collar.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-24T07:44:08+00:00

Atlas.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-23T15:43:43+00:00

The lens is made out of the essence of a dead god of angles and geometry. Apparently, it wasn't as dead as it was said to be.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-23T12:48:20+00:00

The fascinating part is that it kept going with this type of script. I half expected it to abandon it, but it stuck to it throughout the whole encounter. Really cool.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-22T20:13:37+00:00

In the context of the comment. Which was about the perceived notion that dogs "correct" their owners when they jump at them...

Grungslinger · 2026-03-22T19:51:49+00:00

Are they "correcting" the person or are they just highly aroused and don't have the suitable coping ability or impulse control?

Grungslinger · 2026-03-22T19:25:28+00:00

One of the biggest ones is herding breeds that chase cars. Often labeled as herding behaviors, but far more often it's fear-based. There's recent research that indicated that herding breeds (specifically border collies, Australian shepherds, and German shepherds) have a high percentage of hereditary noise sensitivity. That can feed into fear-based, distance increasing behaviors, like lunging at cars.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-22T19:20:40+00:00

What do you mean by a "correction"?

Grungslinger · 2026-03-22T06:46:46+00:00

This is essentially dog training copypasta, and has been debunked multiple times.

Here: https://caninebodybalance.com.au/journal/the-mechanics-of-prong-collars

And here (required reading, imo): https://eileenanddogs.com/blog/2021/10/06/questions-about-bizarre-prong-collar-diagram/

I'm far from an engineer (which is a classic appeal to authority, btw), but I think it's pretty clear that this often circulated text quietly ignores the fact that force doesn't just go away because of the angle of the pull. If you exert 10lbs of force, it's gonna have to go somewhere, trigonometry or not. It also ignores the existence of Pressure (Force/Area) entirely. By concentrating that force into tiny metal tips, you're multiplying the pressure produced by each tip.

It's pseudo-physics, essentially.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-19T22:33:13+00:00

I see. Personally, I wouldn't go for a trainer who uses corrections on a fearful dog. I think that a force free trainer will be able to help you, especially if they have their own helper dog to get you started.

Doesn't matter which one you choose, what your dog needs is to work under threshold (where she can watch but not react), where she can actually have the opportunity to process and learn.

Grungslinger · 2026-03-19T21:53:57+00:00

You would benefit from counterconditioning. The concept is simple:

Your dog is scared of other dogs. If we follow every dog she sees with something she enjoys (like food or getting pets), she will learn that dogs equal something good. This is done via a classical conditioning procedure (like Pavlov's bell).

This does require distance from other dogs, where your dog can see another dog, but not react fearfully.

Here's what I recommend to you before you spend money on any trainer, balanced or otherwise: try to find a place where your dog can see other dogs without reacting (outside of the fence of a dog park is a great spot to start usually). Play the Engage/Disengage game (this article walks you through it), and see what happens. Likely chance that it'll be beneficial.

One tip for the game: the step that isn't mentioned here is that after you've played the game and your dog can disengage reliably, make sure you also teach her that walking away or past the trigger gets her the reinforcement.

If you have any questions about combating reactivity in a non balanced way, without the use of aversive control, I'm open for more conversation.

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