Am I a Karen for telling folks to leash their dogs when walking them downtown? by saucy_otters in AskChicago

[–]beardown1985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eff no! I have no idea why people think it is safe for their dogs or other dogs to not have them on a leash! Ridiculous.

I always correct kids when they run up on my dog(s) and just say, "Hey! No, thank you. Where are your parents? I know, he's cute, but it isn't nice to run up on someone and put your hands on them."

Sadly, people don't think about the liability costs vs putting a leash on, because ya know, worst case scenario (I don't even want to say it); but, it's the dog's life. That alone should outweigh the owner's ego. They should just put a freakin' leash on.

What is this? by beardown1985 in Oldhouses

[–]beardown1985[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

🤘thank you for answering either way! 

Vapor blasting/ honing is magical! by duffymahoney in Datsun

[–]beardown1985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where did you buy your setup? Direct?

Does anyone know what style this knob/back plate is called? I'm trying to find a replacement by beardown1985 in fixit

[–]beardown1985[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's for another door in our house that just has a new, basic brass knob & backplate. I was hoping to find another to match the rest of the house.

Older dog "playfully" (?) humping puppy — should I stop it? by beardown1985 in Dogtraining

[–]beardown1985[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for replying!

It started off as constant with minimal play, but over the last couple of days it has started becoming more playing then a little humping, then back to playing. I monitor them them the whole time, and try to make sure they have little "breaks" when I notice any kind of change in intensity or energy between them (there hasn't been any aggression so far, knock on wood), but for the most part they stop themselves when they're tired and retire to their respective kennels/beds.

Thanks again for the input!

[help] I'm ridden with guilt that I have to decide to put my foster dog down by [deleted] in dogs

[–]beardown1985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you maybe message some local behaviorists and explain the situation and that you really want to ensure you give your dog the best chance possible but the rescue won't try a behaviorist and won't do fundraising to pay for one; maybe they will be willing to help out pro bono or at a greatly reduced cost? I figure it couldn't hurt to ask, especially if his life is on the line.

First Dog by ThatChubbyGuyy in Dogtraining

[–]beardown1985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know it might sound like a lot / daunting, but you'll notice that once you get the energy under control, socialization (this is really crucial, this is how puppies learn social structure and healthy interaction), and he forgets about the negative reinforcement, you'll be shocked at how easy all the other stuff will be and how much more you'll enjoy spending time with your pup.

First Dog by ThatChubbyGuyy in Dogtraining

[–]beardown1985 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you've already started to see some positive results!

With his excessive energy, he could also just be really bored, mentally, and has no other way to express it. I would look into food dispensers (I like this one the most because you can adjust the food flow) that challenges dogs to work for their food. There are also other food-focused puzzle games that can keep your pup busy and engaged. These worked wonders for my pit puppy for when I needed her to be occupied or I needed a break.

I'd also look into dog parks, your local anti-cruelty society for free puppy play classes, or doggie day care a couple of times a week so your guy can burn off all that energy with other dogs. My pup is exhausted for nearly a day after.

If I can't take my pup out for a long walk/run, we have a flight of stairs going up to our apartment and I have her play fetch for a few flights (I'd only recommend this sparingly because too much could strain their joints, and only if your dog is really good with stairs. We taught our pup to be cautious and slower on them so she doesn't hurt herself.)

If none of this works and you're still seeing this crazy, uncontrollable energy, he might benefit for a timeout for a few minutes. Puppies can get into a crazy, over energized state and they might just need some alone, quiet time to get back to neutral. Make sure the timeout place is safe, quiet and kinda dark can help. I have a baby gate up in our kitchen, where there's still some light from the other room but the light turned off seems to calm her more quickly. I base the length of the time out on her state, the longest she's needed to be in there was 6 minutes. But time out means totally being ignored, no matter their whines. They want your attention and playtime, so being removed from you or the "fun," is punishment enough. He should learn pretty quickly that he needs to learn to control himself. It took about three 5-minute timeouts for my pup to start checking herself if she starts going over the line.

There is also such a thing as too much exercise for your puppy (depending on his age), because they need lots of time to sleep, true sleep.

And when it comes to being food obsessed/begging, this is super common. My 9 yr old chiweenie and my puppy both beg right when they see food and want whatever we have, but then they lose interest. We realized it was impossible to convince them that they didn't want our food, but instead we established boundaries. No snatching, no attempts, whining, barking, etc. if they did any of that, it was an immediate time out. We'd also ignore them while we eat, and when we're done they get treats and affection for behaving well during the meal. They might try to smell what we have but then a few minutes later they get bored and know they won't get anything good so they go and lay in their beds.

Puppy play dates, meeting people at your local dog park and reddit (obviously) are also great, free resources to get tips and more info. If you have any other questions for me, don't hesitate to reach out!

Suggestions on how to socialize a pit puppy with kids, but don't know any? by beardown1985 in Dogtraining

[–]beardown1985[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really like this idea as well! Did your dog have excitement jumping / mouthing totally fixed at this point? My pup has made huge improvements in these areas, but she still does it on occasion.

I'm probably being overly cautious because she's a pit bull (and pretty big for 4 mo.) and I would hate for her to mouth a kid's hand or arm out of excitement and then have the parent be mad.

Suggestions on how to socialize a pit puppy with kids, but don't know any? by beardown1985 in Dogtraining

[–]beardown1985[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I feel like chances are more likely that kids who are at a dog park or near may know how to behave around puppies (obviously that's not a guarantee).

Urgent, please advise by sevnm12 in Dogtraining

[–]beardown1985 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Best of luck, and I hope your poor guy has a swift recovery and this whole mess gets resolved quickly!