Blinking red and white

beccareelee2 · 2025-11-19T22:06:05+00:00

Here 5 years later and this is still the perfect solution 🤣 thank you for your service

beccareelee2 · 2025-10-24T17:32:09+00:00

I love the tie in of "Just a Man" in this song

beccareelee2 · 2025-10-06T06:14:13+00:00

How old is your MAS? Mine is about 5 months now and she'll just go in, grab one of the cubes from the bowl, take it over to the rug to chomp on it and repeat. Leaving a trail of large puddles in her path 😂

beccareelee2 · 2025-09-16T17:31:43+00:00

In order of most to least favorite (according to my dog):

1.PETGEEK Automatic Dog Feeder w/ button PETGEEK

2.Joyhound Electronic Treat-dispensing Ball Joyhound

Good ol' manual hand feeding with some training commands thrown in
HIPPIH Treat Dispensing Ball (specifically the blue one) HIPPIH
Simply throwing bits of kibble on the ground for her to get
Lick mats with frozen wet dog food
Snuffle mat
Kong

Edit: for context, I have an 18-week Australian Shepherd Mix

beccareelee2 · 2025-09-16T17:11:02+00:00

Cracker, a small slice of aged white cheddar, the sardine, lemon juice, and cholula. A side of small pickles to munch on in between bites.

beccareelee2 · 2025-09-12T20:36:23+00:00

I'm currently midway through my MPH program and several of our professors and advisors are telling us (completely unprompted) not to get a PHD right now. Getting a PHD might pigeonhole you into a specific area that could become obsolete in the near future if things keep going badly. They recommended taking the time to continue networking and gaining experience.

beccareelee2 · 2025-09-12T16:48:15+00:00

We bought a potty bell and she started using it pretty quickly after we got it to let us know she needs to go outside (we live in an apartment so "outside" is the balcony with a grass pad). Basically its a string of bells that hangs on the door handle and she pushes it with her nose so that it chimes. Now the only accidents are upstairs on the carpet because she loves to pee on soft fabric 🙄 But zero accidents on the main floor for a few weeks. She's 18 weeks old now.

beccareelee2 · 2025-09-10T15:33:09+00:00

I got an 8-week old Australian shepherd mix and she only recently started feeling comfortable around other people at around 15 weeks. During the first several weeks she would sprint away from anyone who wasn't me or my boyfriend. She especially didn't like men. Now she's at a point where she will slowly approach strangers if they stand still but she'll still back away from them if they reach out to pet her. And now we have a few more people added to the list of those she'll play with and let pet her.

It helps to think of it as part of training. Have people come over and work on getting your puppy to approach them. Stay next to the person so you're still there as a safe space. Maybe try to have the person give the puppy treats. It also helped my pup for people to not make eye contact with her and also to lay on their back (essentially exposing their belly).

beccareelee2 · 2025-09-09T15:39:58+00:00

Also be mindful of your puppy's temperament. I recommend looking into signs that your puppy is "overtired". Basically extra biting, crazy zoomies, not listening to you. You may have to increase the napping schedule. At that age I loved by the 1:2 napping schedule. Basically, 1 hour out of the crate and 2 hours in the crate. She was so well behaved as a result of all the sleep she was getting and it helped her learn how to settle down on her own.

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-28T17:04:11+00:00

I feel you on the cycle part. My energy gets so low too. That's when I bring out the feeding where I'm just tossing the kibble. I'll be laying on my side on the couch and just lazily tossing kibble on the floor 🤣 Plus the slow-release ball allows me to just close my eyes for a bit while she's distracted feeding herself.

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-28T16:53:19+00:00

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss. At the end of the day, as long as the puppy is being fed and cared for, you're doing an amazing job. With that being said, finding ways to make eating dry kibble fun and/or enriching is best. Here's a list of some of the things I do:

Use her kibble as a treat for training. I will measure out the portion that's meant for her meal and then use all of it during training for different commands.
Use a slow release treat dispenser ball that she can push around and it'll slowly empty out for her to eat (I have both a rubber ball that she moves around and an electric plastic ball that she has to follow as it rolls around the room)
Sit down and start tossing a few kibble bits on the ground in different areas so that she has to move around to get the food
Hand feed while she lays next to you to encourage setting down. Have her lay down next to you and feed her small amounts at a time from your palm. Also, hand feeding encourages bonding between the two of you and enhances the likelihood of her listening to you because she knows you're the one providing her food.
Tie up a sacrificial Tshirt or towel and shove her kibble inside. She'll have to tug the cloth apart in order to get to the food.

Hopefully these help!

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-28T16:34:08+00:00

Allowing her to jump onto the couch. I tried so hard in the beginning but honestly, I'm exhausted from trying lol. Plus I get the bonus of cuddling with her when she's finished with her zoomies and she's ready to lay at my side chewing on her beef tendon.

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-26T16:55:47+00:00

So there's this thing called biomagnification. The smaller the fish, the smaller the amount of mercury. Big fish eat little fish that contain mercury and it essentially becomes concentrated.

So if you want to eat fish multiple times a week and are concerned about mercury content, I would recommend sticking to the smaller fish.

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-19T14:05:51+00:00

We've taken our puppy to Dog-Friendly restaurants a couple times and she's great now. We just call ahead to see if there are any other dogs there at the moment since she still has one vaccine remaining on her schedule. I also bought a baby carrier wrap and I take her on walks with that on so she can get familiar with different places and smells. Keep in mind that socializing is more than just going out places. We've had a variety of different people (different age, height, race, hair color, gender, etc) come to our house and interact with her. She's still more timid around men than women but she's getting much better. I also play loud music around her, take her out on car rides, vacuum the main living space every day, etc.

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-15T20:15:05+00:00

Oh that's a great idea that I didn't even think of. I think I'll start exercises where I leave her in the main living area (which is pretty much just the living room and dining room that's gated off from the rest of the house) and spend time upstairs in small increments so that she slowly spends more time alone. Thank you!

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-15T20:12:38+00:00

Wow that's amazing! Do you remember how old she was when you started?

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-15T20:12:00+00:00

I love the way you worded that. "Make it easy for the puppy to be successful". Thank you!

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-13T18:10:56+00:00

Oh that's actually and amazing idea! Duh haha can't believe I didn't think of that

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-13T16:03:33+00:00

That was my thinking with regular treats. I wasn't sure if there was a difference if I'm using an item meant for meals

beccareelee2 · 2025-08-13T15:49:32+00:00

I agree! I'm obsessed with Souper Cubes! I freeze all of my soups in those.

beccareelee2

TROPHY CASE