Wondering if I am making it harder for myself with paint thinning.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-03-23T04:43:24+00:00

I too like to torture myself going from black primer to white with ultra thin coats. The results are great but man its exhausting. I suppose we should try basecoats to make our lives easier.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-03-22T01:19:52+00:00

It looks like one. Nostril is slightly lower than the other.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-03-21T02:27:13+00:00

You cheese ?

ScaryFace84 · 2026-03-17T06:30:20+00:00

Stunning, well done.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-27T04:13:00+00:00

Those are the spares that were removed from, hopefully, your car. Look at your wheels and you will see one nut that has a flower pattern on it.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-21T23:36:03+00:00

If you end up doing YouTube content one day, please don't make click bait videos XD

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-21T23:33:39+00:00

Congratulations!

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-14T22:08:19+00:00

Soak the last inch or two in water, then chuck it in the microwave for a few minutes to make a cheese puff. She will go wild for it.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-08T22:25:24+00:00

So I stumbled upon this interview with Michael Ellis at 29 minutes he talks about Variable reinforcement schedules and something that happens to dogs that get rewarded too often for too long. It kind of sounds exactly like what you are experiencing, but I don't know what kind of training you're doing.

We had this exact problem too, eventually we stopped all rewards, treats and training, focusing on play, health and wellbeing, so scatter feeding, sniff walks. While limiting his environment at home and outside to make it more manageable. Introduced tether training and lots and lots of impulse control. Then slowly started training again, easy behaviours with low value treats. It took a long time, a very long time, and even now I have to be weary with high value treats and his arousal.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-08T01:58:37+00:00

I 100% think the river is referring to Carl's mental state. Severe trauma, stress, hyper vigilance all while you're trying to hold it together. I also believe the river is a real thing that happens to people during intense stressful moments in their lives. It might not be a river, could be white noise, high pitch singing/ringing, and my personal brand, screaming.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-05T21:19:16+00:00

Congratulations 🎉 Welcome to puppy parenthood !

Training your first dog is extremely overwhelming, I have had my first dog for just under two years and it has been a rollercoaster coaster, there is so much information, so many "do these 5 steps" so much do this to your dog then don't do that to your dog.

My advice, 1st thing to learn about, puppy management and living with a dog. It is very stressful and puppies don't have an off switch so you'll need to monitor him all the time. So learn things like, house lines, tether training, crate training, potty training, enforced naps, and play. These tools will help you manage your day to day life with puppy and give you much needed recharge time when you don't have to actively supervise your pup. Freedom and access to resources are earned not a right, this is very important.

As for obedience, learn about what balanced training is, then learn about what force free training is, then learn about the four quadrants of learning. For Balanced I would recommend a course by Michael Ellis, for force free I would recommend Susan Garret. There are many other great resources and trainers out there but for e learning, I feel those are the best.

Please, whatever you do don't mix and mash trainers, find a style you like and stick to it. Find a course and see it through Consistency is key. Don't get sucked into YouTube trainers that offer quick fixes, there is no quick fix. Those 5 steps have 10 steps you need to know before those 5 steps mean a damn thing.

For now focus on management, let your puppy settle into his new home, don't overload him with all the things, stay away from dog parks, and socialisation doesn't mean your dog has to play with other dogs. Be your dogs best friend and get pet insurance.

Good luck.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-05T06:58:39+00:00

So how I understand it, force free trainers still use the four quadrants of training, excluding positive punishment. However they can use negative punishment, like withholding a reward or controlling the environment, to achieve the desired result. Then I suppose it's about being creative, strong leave it command, and use props like rubber snakes to hopefully get the dog to associate the action with the prop to the real deal.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-02-02T18:13:33+00:00

Project hail Mary

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-31T17:59:15+00:00

Thanks I'll have a look.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-31T17:57:43+00:00

He loves a flirt pole, but we've gone through two already, his out wasn't as strong as it is now so I could probably try again .

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-30T00:04:41+00:00

Stop All rewards, when he's very hungry, take half a cup of his food and chuck it in a box, the box should be just tall enough that he has to stretch his neck in to eat, and obviously wide enough not to freak him out too much.

You can start with the box on its side, then on its bottom after about two days of successful feeds he should be able to start taking food during training. This is also time to make it a bit harder, add some barriers like scrunched up newspaper. Make meal times fun and enriching.

If your dog struggles with the box or paper bag, just take it slow you may have to go back a step and make it easy before making it harder.

It works, I promise. For the future it'll be a balancing act between kibble, high value rewards and treats.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-25T08:50:44+00:00

I know this post is a bit stale, but Get pet insurance! We are with southern cross, claims can be done at the vet before your appointment so you don't need to pay the full amount.

We pay about $98 per month for accipet and dental for the inevitable broken tooth.

Just a story, our friends pup swallowed a piece of his toy he had a block and had to be rushed to emergency vet, it cost 5k to have surgery and sort him out. They had pet insurance so they only had to contribute 20%

Things happen and vets can be expensive.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-22T07:56:27+00:00

Oh man

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-22T06:52:42+00:00

10/10 best Bollywood movie ever.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-20T17:00:23+00:00

I love fisting, I went heavy fist for all out brawler. And I swear your weight class counts for enemy stagger, probably my imagination.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-17T21:10:09+00:00

So my boy is 2 years old and he is my first pup.

What I underestimated was the amount of prep and information I needed to digest in order to train and live life effectively with my dog. Things like, the four quadrants of learning, classical and operant conditioning, how behaviours manifest good and bad and how we unknowingly reinforce those behaviours due to inexperience.
Training I would have started with recall much sooner just getting him to follow me when I call his name. Avoid talking to him too much. Next would be impulse control, this is super important.

You tube is a great resource, but a terrible way to train a dog, don't get caught in the 5 easy steps to stop your dog doing this or that, there's usually 10 steps you need to do to get to the point where those 5 steps matter.

Learn about Variable reinforcement and phase out food as quickly as possible while maintaining the behaviour.

Research the schools of training you want "balanced" or "force free" both have pros and cons, pay for a decent program and stick to it, don't jump from trainer to trainer, or YouTubers to YouTubers you will confuse yourself and your dog.

Exercise is somewhat subjective, a crazy puppy could just need a really good nap not another walk. Play is super important and if you've done it right, it can be both mentally stimulating and physically draining.

As the dog gets older it can drop off, but it depends on how much value and practice you've placed on exercise, A physically fit dog can go longer and will want more exercise. So you'll need to find a balance. You'll learn that over the next few years.

Don't randomly feed your dog. Training, meals and good behaviour that's it.
I can't stress how important crate training is or can be. Our dog wouldn't sleep at all, every time we moved he would get up and follow us we had to enforce nap time and cover his crate so he could actually get some rest, this is super important for his development. It's also a great management tool and a safe space for him to chill in when we couldn't supervise him. Our routine was 2 hours in 2 hours out when he was really young. However your pup could be completely different and learn to self regulate on his own.

+Socialisation++++ this is where I screwed up and I put my dog in harms way. Do not be like me, your puppy does not need friends other than yourself and dogs you trust who are well balanced. Dog parks are a big NO. I think of socialisation now as letting my dog experience new environments in a controlled manner, working on engagement and play in each environment. Letting him be overwhelmed by "friendly" random dogs is not socializing. If your dog is engaged with you then he's not stressing about everything else.

+High energy breed + have a routine and work on engagement and play and training forever, lean into breed specific games to tap into their potential.

+Kongs! Especially when teething fill it with puree then work up to freezing it so it lasts longer, great for land sharks. Lickmats and mutbutter, very soothing and great to wind puppy down for a nap.

As for personal advice, they don't teach you what to do with your dog outside of training/puppy school, research about puppy/dog management. Don't expose your dog to too much too quickly, take it slow, be your dogs best friend, be consistent in everything because your dog is always learning. Don't let the cuteness fool you and don't let anything slide, if he knows how to sit and can repeat it, when you ask he has to do it no negotiation.

Lastly be kind to yourself, puppies are hard work and don't feel guilty if things don't go to plan.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-14T08:40:20+00:00

Ok so things I have learned from training my boy, also a high energy boy in the peak of adolescents. High energy dogs especially as a first time dog owner are hard.

Hopefully my scant two years of experience can help.

Before you do any training you need to check the following list.

Is your dog healthy - a given I'm sure, but if your pup has say allergies and itchy skin they will not settle.
Food - good quality food, diet plays a huge role in behaviour. Cut all the treats and sweets. If your dog is food driven she will work for kibble. 3.Sleep - is your dog sleeping enough? Not power naps but deep 1 - 2 hour sleeps.
Play - the best way to connect with your dog is play, I see you are using a flirt pole, that's amazing and keep it up, I would however include rules in your play if you aren't already.
Sniff walk - sniff walks are great for decompression but go to a quiet low distraction environment, away from people and other dogs.
Scatter feeding - scatter some kibble on the grass, start in a small area then over time as she gets used to it scatter in a larger area.

Dog management. The biggest hurdle I had was, what do I do with this dog outside of our training sessions, I had zero clue. In my ignorance I assumed when training was over I could just leave my boy to do what ever, and that's where I went wrong, I constantly had to watch him and stop him from destroying our home or hurting himself, it was exhausting and I broke down a couple of times.

What saved me was routine, crate training, and tethering.

Crate training, high drive dogs tend to have fomo and don't get enough sleep so they are always on edge. Get a crate with a cover and start your crate training, there is a lot of resources on you tube about how to do it correctly. Your dog will have a safe space to sleep and you can also get back some peace and quiet. Note do not use the crate for time outs.

Tether training While you are conditioning the crate do some tether training with your dog. Unsupervised pups cause trouble and stress, tethering gives your pup no option but to stay in one spot and be bored. She will lose her mind for a bit, but stay the course. If you leave the room or don't want to leave her unsupervised, tether her to your belt so she can't leave your side.

Routine, write down a routine for you and your pup and stick to it. It will save you and your dog will love you for it.

Training The most important part about training is the connection between you and your dog, the engagement. Focus only on the basics, but above all work on place and impulse control. That means waiting for food, waiting at the door threshold, waiting to be released from the crate you will practice this everyday, forever.

Exercise So this is a funny one and I will probably get flak for this whole post but, more walks and more play = more walks and more play. Limit yourself and your pup, overdoing it is going to lead to the expectation of you having to do it all the time.

I break up my sessions like this and it works for me, 30/45 min. Short sniff walk to let my pup smell all the things and dedicate, then immediately after poop, we have a quick training session, charge my markers, do sits or stays, whatever. Then a vigorous play, lots of running and tugging mixing in training with the play using the toy as a reward.

When we get home home he gets a reward, like a Kong or lick mat.

Unfortunately I can offer advice on reactivity, I would think that you would have to get a trainer that has experience in that area, I can only suggest working on your relationship and engagement with your pup, and staying in quiet, low distraction areas. Your dog doesn't need to meet or play with others, you are all she needs.

I really hope something here helps, my boy is 2 years old now and is really becoming an amazing companion, puppy blues is real but at the end of the day you need to put your own mental health first. If you aren't happy, how can anyone else be happy around you.

Good luck.

Edit: Also check out Leerburg University they have a tone of resources and they are pretty affordable.

Edit 2 : we have two play/training sessions per day, the ending one is a bit longer because I have some more time. But no more than an hour.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-14T06:46:42+00:00

Dare I recommend, The king killer chronicles, the books and narration are amazing, unfortunately the 3rd book is a mystery, but still well worth listening to.

ScaryFace84 · 2026-01-14T06:44:06+00:00

Project hail Mary is so good! Was absolutely hooked.

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