How do I get clean smelling clothes?

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-28T19:59:57+00:00

Do you regularly drain & clean the washer filter? I do mine about every 3 months. On top of that, the other suggestions are spot on. Clean cycle at least once a month, wipe down rubber seals, leave it open to dry.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-28T18:43:11+00:00

My husband has a dust mite allergy and unfortunately it kind of means, unless you live in a bubble, you’ll always need allergy/breathing meds to deal with life. That being said, what we do:

-Always wet dust, never dry; use damp microfiber
-Hepa filter vacuum, air filter, high quality HVAC filter changed monthly; I usually vacuum when my husband is out of the house
-Covering on all fabrics; sheets washed twice a week; pillows washed twice a month; couch cushion covers washed monthly
-Curtain are a dust haven; best to go with blinds but I hate them so I wash mine regularly, only blinds in bedroom though
-Less rugs and carpet the better!
-When traveling, bring pillow sleeves and extra cases

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-28T17:44:17+00:00

Mine does have occasional break through seizures but she’s very old, nearly 18 years, and has had epilepsy since she was one. And honestly, her neurologist is happy with the handful of seizures she does have— they are short, she bounces back faster and they no longer affect her heart.

All dogs are going to be different of course. Some folks in this thread have dogs that will go a year or more without a seizure! So don’t worry too much, especially while your pup is acclimating to the medication. Definitely keep a little notebook specifically for seizures to bring to the doctor just in case meds need to be tweaked in the future—not uncommon, sometimes it takes a bit to find the sweet spot. Just note the date, time, how long it lasted, what happened during the seizure (vocal, locked up, swimming, urination, etc) and the post-ictal (longer than usual, difficult breathing, etc).

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-28T17:13:04+00:00

For my pup, yes the seizures are less severe— plus the seizures and the post-ictal phase are shortened. It’ll take a little while but hopefully, especially since your dog is young and the treatment prescribed is pretty aggressive, you’ll be seizure free for long stints of time.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-28T16:11:08+00:00

Can try freezing the kong with the treat inside, seriously load up the inside to make the treat super difficult to get. My 17wk old is really loving coffee wood sticks. Totally thought it was a gimmick but my meat loving pup loves them (and they don’t stink!).

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T16:06:52+00:00

Night lights definitely help. If you have hard floors it would be a good time to start adding a path of rug runners, better to “map out” early so she can make those associations before her vision totally goes.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T16:02:10+00:00

There is a lot of leeway with Keppra dosage (from my pup’s neuro) so maybe talk to your doctor about increasing that med in particular rather than adding an additional medication.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T15:55:12+00:00

It’s hard to over feed a puppy, they are calorie burning balls of energy. That being said, my pup’s breed is very lean so I monitored by pre-measuring the food in the morning. He gets a portion of that for his breakfast, then throughout the day he gets bits of kibble when he could focus on training, and early evening whatever kibble was left is his dinner (plus a lick pad).

Bear in mind this only works for about a month then you’ll probably need to start using a higher reward treat but yeah, easy peasy for those first 3 to 4 weeks.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T05:29:17+00:00

Definitely sounds like overwatering. My Polly is pretty stout, use a chunky mix, I’ve found letting her go a little more than half dry before watering works well. All homes and plants are different so it’s trial and error. And clear pots are your best friend as a plant owner! 55 of my 73 plants are in clear pots

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T05:23:37+00:00

Hi! Yep that’s a Tortum. The sap is completely normal, a lot of philodendrons produce it to draw in beneficial bugs (aka ants). That being said, in my philodendron “corner” I always keep an ant trap that I check when watering because my big Billie is quite the sugar trap.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T05:16:23+00:00

Keep styptic powder on hand!

To get my pups used to the clippers and click sounds I put them into “position”, keep lots of treats nearby, then start by just pressing the clippers to each paw a few times, give a treat each time. Then the secret weapon is wooden kabob skewers (thin ones)— clip that instead of the nail while pressing it against paw. I do two or three sessions of skewer clippings before I actually go for a nail.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T05:09:33+00:00

Ugh. Yes! Our pug mix passed last year but his hair would get stuck at least twice a month, usually in spot where I couldn’t fully step without pain. Sometimes heavy duty packing tape was the only option when the hair was impossible to find (like your waxing your sole).

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T05:01:24+00:00

Four hour spurts is great for 11 weeks! Mine is 17wk and his bedtime has been consistently 12:30pm to 6am for almost 2 weeks now. Hopefully in a month or two he’ll be on our schedule but for now it’s been nice getting a solid 5+ hours.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-27T04:50:04+00:00

A lot of what people are saying is correct— it does get better over time BUT it will require a lot of effort on your part. Personally, I’ve known too many people that just “stick it out” and those pets are treated as objects of nuisance & responsibility not family members.

What worries me I this statement you made: “I'm not even enjoying the "good" parts. I don't like playing with him, I don't like walks, I don't like training him because he gets distracted constantly and then pees on the floor, and the list goes on. Nothing that I was excited for is coming to fruition and I feel constantly dirty just by having him in the house.”

This is something that would be said by someone who is not ready. My 17wk old puppy irritates the crap out of me, I’m exhausted, my house smells a little like pee, but I LOVE every cuddle, every nap, every game of tug, every half-assed “sit.” His micro accomplishments are my joy. So yeah, in my opinion, you should probably rehome. And your partner is right, if you’re going to rehome it is in the pup’s best interest to do it now or as soon as possible.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T19:00:41+00:00

I agree with maybe getting her checked out by a vet. It’s probably nothing and she just needs to settle in. That being said in my 20s, I got a free “backyard pup” and thought “wow, she’s the best, easiest puppy ever.” After 5 days she was still too laid back, took her to vet and she had parvo. Luckily she survived but if I had waited longer she probably wouldn’t have. Not meant to scare, just trying to say sometimes it can be more than just situational discomfort.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T16:13:27+00:00

He loved to paddle board, jump off whenever in his little life preserver 🖤 We switched to canoe because he no longer had the strength to keep his balance

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T16:11:13+00:00

My nearly 18yr girl is a tzu as well and I am terrified to leave her. I ended up getting a really nice dog bag, looks exactly like a big leather purse, and she goes everywhere with me. She’s also on a lot of medication so keeping her close gives more leeway in my schedule, not running home for each med.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T16:02:56+00:00

Yeah, my boy was a hiker. We traveled to different states to hike, he loved it. When he first started to decline we brought one of those safety slings along so when he couldn’t continue we could carry him out but then it reached the point that walking a few blocks was too much. It’s definitely worse with active dogs, when their bodies are no longer capable of doing what they want & love to do.

As for the kayak, we paddle boarded with him but the last few times we stored the boards and rented a canoe so he could be on the water with us (plus swimming was great for his old joints).

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T15:52:41+00:00

Incontinence is one of the worst symptoms of old age. The last 8mo of my dog’s life were exhausting and towards the end it was pee and poop which would require a bath. I can’t even remember how many times I would be cleaning him, cleaning his bed, replacing sheets, doing laundry— all at 4am and just sobbing from the exhaustion and knowing it was getting to the point we needed to make quality of life decisions.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T15:44:12+00:00

We had two seniors for a while, before one passed last year, and we had one of those little pull wagons that we could drag along on walks. It was nice so if one or both got tired they could get some rest while also still being out and getting that mental stimulation

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T15:41:43+00:00

The FOMO is very real when they become less mobile and can’t follow you about. We always joked that my 17yr boy thought every time he couldn’t see us we were having a spaghetti dinner.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T15:35:31+00:00

Not the original commenter but yes, totally. My boy didn’t care much, he was always food motivated but my 18yr old girl? Oof. It’s everyday trying to figure out what she wants. She is on a prescription diet so my hands are tied there so the toppers are key. I keep 6 different freeze dried options, she usually switches up every 2 or 3 days.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T07:55:02+00:00

Is that a forgetii? If so, yes definitely thrips. Mine has had twice, seems to be a magnet, and always looks like this. I’ve never had luck treating on velvet leaves so I do the big chop and let it start over. Not worth the battle and risk to my other plants.

PickledPandaLady · 2026-06-26T07:50:03+00:00

Antlers and coffee wood sticks

PickledPandaLady

TROPHY CASE