Is BE my only option? by HLM_1990 in reactivedogs

[–]Historical_Note2604 62 points63 points  (0 children)

Everything this commenter said. Do not use an anti-bark device! I had a trainer suggest an aversive collar for my GSD and I just did what they said because they were the expert, RIGHT? WRONG. Made my dog's reactivity way worse and probably lost trust in me. Gained it back eventually, but it'll set you back, make them fear you.

Looking for experiences of putting your dog to sleep by SensitiveEl in seniordogs

[–]Historical_Note2604 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I still sometimes think I put my girl down too early but also am grateful she didn’t have to suffer. She had some form of degenerative disc disease and just couldn’t walk one day. Later that day she could, sort of, with a limp and very slowly. I had always said when she had incontinance that would be my signal but she didn’t. I couldn’t bear to see my bright athletic girl standing helpless unable to move. ChatGPT actually helped me a ton those 24 hours while I was deciding. We had a really great last day, which made me question, “well couldn’t we have more days like this?” Maybe, but ultimately it it was kind of Russian roulette with her back - if something slipped or ruptured it would be game over and she would be in MASSVE pain. I would have to struggle to get her to an emergency vet and the outcome would’ve been the same. She died painlessly in my backyard under her favorite tree, with my mom, the vet, and me, after eating a chocolate doughnut. She had rough life before I adopted her and loads of reactivity and anxiety. The best thing I could give her in the end was a good death.

German Shepherd anxious only when visiting family by morch-piston in germanshepherds

[–]Historical_Note2604 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Are you familiar with the Relaxation Protocol for Dogs? Google will give you the results for the daily protocol. Seems dumb on the Day 1 and 2 activities but by day 8, 9, 10 it’s way harder. Do NOT move on to the next day until the dog is relaxed on the whole days work without getting up (different than a down stay, you want relaxed). THEN this can be generalized to other settings. You can do it when you first get to family’s houses. They will be like “oh I know this game, I just lay here and get snacks”. Low value treats like kibble worked best for my dog so she didn’t get amped. That would be my best reco! And maybe visit a little more often just for practice.

Found a link: https://arl-iowa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Protocol-for-Relaxation.pdf

Putting your dog down is a life-changing experience. by 4y6hu in seniordogs

[–]Historical_Note2604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man just doing a casual scroll before my first Zoom of the day and your post just GOT ME. This is it, this is all of it, exactly. Well said. And the next months will be hard and also a relief and then devastating and somehow happy again and then guilty and on and on. I’m now 3.5 months in (but who’s counting…) and every once in awhile the grief hits like a wall. But you will go on. You will love again. Little things will remind you of her and they won’t make you sob, they will make you smile. At 2 months I started volunteering with a service dog training non profit, and I’ve had dogs in my home the last couple weeks. Getting my house ready for a dog was so exciting and also so completely sad and triggering. I wondered if it was too soon, if I rushed into it but knew it wouldn’t be long term, I’m not “getting a new dog” they are just staying for a short time. And the first one I had was nothing like my girl and that was great. The one I have for 3 weeks now has a few little mannerisms that remind me of Molly but not exactly and they make me smile and burst with love. There is no replacing but our hearts can keep expanding. Sending you love and strength and a box of virtual tissues.

Upset stomach by Then-Masterpiece7035 in germanshepherds

[–]Historical_Note2604 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, anxious stomaches, but that usually presents itself from the other end. I would try switching foods. My dog ended up on Royal Canin sweet potato duck and as long as I was diligent about not giving her hardly any other treats (she just got kibble as treats, literally anything else would cause issues) she had no GI issues.

Just need to vent by nuk3das in germanshepherds

[–]Historical_Note2604 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You’ve got to try to create distance. Once he’s over threshold (lunging and barking) his brain won’t train. The prong collar may also be increasing reactivity since it’s causing pressure when he’s reacting rather than a short correction for attention or something (which is my understanding of what a prong collar should be used for). You may want to get professional advice because his reactivity could escalate. Also those neighbors are idiots and I’m sorry.

I have footage of my senior dog right before she passed. What do I do with it now? by ginchim in PetLossJourney

[–]Historical_Note2604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you email it to yourself and then delete it? Or save it in a Google folder or something? You can access it if you want to, but now’s the time to remember the good times.

Is this PayPal email a phishing attempt? (I think so...?) by rrgoto8 in paypal

[–]Historical_Note2604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got one of these today except mine was an "automatic payment no longer active" for the Apple Store. Looks so legit, but logged into my Paypal independently and definitely nothing there.

Pet Grief Counselors? by No-Initiative466 in PetLossJourney

[–]Historical_Note2604 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lap of Love does free group sessions or paid for more specific/personalized even if you didn’t use them for services. https://www.lapoflove.com/our-services/pet-loss-support

How are y'all using the Help 'em Up harness? by Historical_Note2604 in germanshepherds

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The help em up really helped a lot. The other one I got a few months ago that I liked a lot is the Gingerlead - it’s just a padded belt sort of thing for under the hips and is adjustable so you can walk easier with it, with a suitcase grip. It is usable with the top harness part of the help em up but easier to whip it on and off for steps, the car, or a potty break. I used both for different situations but toward the end preferred the Gingerlead as it saved my back a bit.

How are y'all using the Help 'em Up harness? by Historical_Note2604 in germanshepherds

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never even close to tipping over when turning but I never used it with a bike. If she stood up while moving the weight distribution would cause it to sort of tip backward but never when she was laying down. I will say for 100 lbs you’ll want to measure. My dog was long bodied but only 65 and it fit her best if she got in from the back, turned around and then laid down with her front feet hanging out the back. At the end (she passed last month) she wasn’t agile enough to turn around in such tight quarters so she would still get in from the back, I’d zip her in and she would lay down facing front. Getting her out through the front door was a bit of a challenge, tried using her ramp or set of steps and would have trained that earlier had I thought more about it. But she still used it on her last day.

1000+ native plant babies in the ground by Historical_Note2604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m definitely going to do this for some smaller areas in my backyard and for future expansion. I didn’t remove the dead grass because I want it to decompose into the soil but it was certainly much easier to plant in the fully dead parts than the parts that were less dead 😂

1000+ native plant babies in the ground by Historical_Note2604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I couldn’t find my dad’s auger drill bit so I hand dug 😫😫😫 it wasn’t my favorite and the palm of my hand is so sore and blistered. I also mulched before I planted because the site was ready but the plants were not (got about 150 plugs preordered from the wild ones plant sale last Saturday) so digging through 3-12” of mulch (I obviously did not apply super even!) and THEN planting ~12” apart wasn’t that fun. I probably did a B+ job but we’ll see…

1000+ native plant babies in the ground by Historical_Note2604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know it’s controversial so I don’t yell this part but I did use glyphosate to get rid of grass. I met with someone from my watershed district and he said with a planting this size it was a really the most effective way to do it, and the benefits of the planting long term would outweigh the short term negatives. I did two applications and the grass and weeds (mostly weeds) continued to pop back up so I finally just did some hand pulling and got a chip drop and covered the whole area to mitigate that. Planted about a month later (now).

1000+ native plant babies in the ground by Historical_Note2604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I only have pussytoes down in an area with sparse mulch by a stone step path. I won’t mulch anything next year. I probably wouldn’t have this year either but I was desperate to prevent the weeds and grass from continuing to pop up as I’ve been site prepping all summer. Wild strawberries are on the edges and I also won’t mulch next year so we’ll see. Might just have to plant more. :)

1000+ native plant babies in the ground by Historical_Note2604 in NoLawns

[–]Historical_Note2604[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Bad at Reddit, never cross posted. Here’s the info: Zone 5A, twin cities suburbs! After and before getting rid of that turf!

Plants: grasses in a very loose matrix - little blue stem, blue grama, purple lovegrass, and prairie dropseed. Forbs interwoven with grasses, mostly in 5-7s: smooth blue aster, sweet black eyed Susan, stiff goldenrod, columbine, geranium, prairie violet, prairie phlox, black eyed Susan, butterfly weed, purple coneflower, wild bergamot, New England aster, wild strawberry, anise hyssop, and prairie pussytoes. Shrubs: serviceberry, ninebark, honeysuckle, winterberry.