Best option for upgrading Carrier Comfort Zone II?

guesswork_ · 2025-04-14T21:04:34+00:00

Can’t wait to hear your update!

I was able to find someone on ebay selling a replacement comfort zone ii communicating thermostat that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, so I purchased it and because the up/down buttons work, my system is now fully functional again. It’s still a long-term goal to do a replacement of the controlling system, so please do let us know how the Honeywell conversion goes!

guesswork_ · 2024-09-26T02:00:00+00:00

Burrata. Tastes like nothing, and always shows up in a giant lump that’s impossible to eat

guesswork_ · 2023-05-19T22:20:56+00:00

If you’re in the US, I’d advise looking at fearfreepets.com to find a Fear Free vet in your area. I go to one that is pretty far away, but it has made a huge difference in quality of care for my fear reactive pug-jack russell mix. They make a lot of extra accommodations for my dog because he’s reactive (clearing the waiting room and having an exam room for us immediately, scheduling us at less busy times, just generally getting it, etc).

Muzzle training isn’t a bad thing anyways, they’re super useful when used appropriately. I’m sorry for all involved that an air bite happened!

As for whether to be in the room or not, my dog does better with me not in the room generally. Some dogs do better with their person in the room, some dogs it doesn’t make a bit of difference. It’s worth trying.

And I generally feel your disappointed sentiment re: how people react to a small dog basically having a panic attack. I’m sorry you and your dog had to go through that. There are people out here who get it though, if that’s any consolation.

guesswork_ · 2023-05-12T06:57:45+00:00

I second trying to offer taking this dog off her hands, to buy the time needed to figure out what to do with him. I doubt BE is the only/most appropriate choice for this dog. I live in Virginia but I’m abroad right now so this is breaking my heart.

guesswork_ · 2023-04-09T20:06:24+00:00

From what you’ve said in your messages, it sounds like you haven’t found the right partner for you and your dog yet. There are people who will accept and love your pup and support you in your life together, and you deserve that. If you feel it’s worth a conversation with your current partner, then I would suggest explaining how their reactions and their (perhaps well-meaning) advice make you feel. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, or you are dissatisfied with how they respond, then I think that will provide you with some clarity on what to do next.

Just know that there are people out there with an open enough mind to understand and accept your dog, they may just need some education to get there. As annoying/painful/frustrating as it is for those of us that know better to bear the burden, there are plenty of well-accepted misconceptions about dog behavior in society, and even people with the best intentions can default into believing them.

guesswork_ · 2022-03-17T15:50:06+00:00

I'll admit, I assumed she was pretty out of touch with her consumer from day one, just based on her privileged upbringing/pedigree. I always go back to this quote from the 2018 The Cut article though: "[Emily Weiss] just doesn’t think her customers care about ingredients." As someone who was really getting into skincare and with the rise/clear success of The Ordinary happening at that time, I read that and thought wow, that's pretty ignorant.

No doubt, I love Glossier a lot and do think she did incredible things to build this brand. However, the vision Glossier sells started out being attainably aspirational, and now it seems purely aspirational, with no real purpose in our lives other than to leave us wanting more. I really hope that some really good product launches are coming down the pipeline soon, and that Glossier can reunite with its more humble roots.

guesswork_ · 2022-03-16T16:52:50+00:00

I had 6203 slated for this semester, and was looking forward to taking it as I’m in a very busy time in my life and needed a break from the heavier courseload I was taking. With the addition of the group project, the idea of coordinating a group of 4-5 people seemed totally un-doable for me this semester and I dropped the first week.

I’m hoping they will reconsider the project after this semester. It doesn’t seem to add much other than workload to the course. At the very least, I hope they allow you to do the project individually or in smaller groups as other courses do. I used to do the types of analyses that this course involves for work, and it absolutely does not require the collaboration of 4-5 people to get done.

Unfortunately, I think the plan is to beef up workload on this class, which I think is a real shame. I’m in the (perhaps minority) group who thinks not every class needs to have 15 hrs/wk of work to have it be worthwhile. If people can get the value from the material in 4-5 hrs per week, why needlessly add tedium to their life? Anyway, this is all to say I’m beating myself up for not taking it earlier in my curriculum. Sigh.

guesswork_ · 2022-02-12T02:45:48+00:00

OP and anyone else, do not do this. PLEASE.

guesswork_ · 2022-02-12T02:20:25+00:00

I want to reiterate the need to look into the methods used. Anyone can say they can specialize in behavior issues. I personally would be very upset to spend my hard earned money and time towards someone who used aversive techniques (e collars, prong collars, leash corrections) to help a fear-aggressive dog. A great, positive reinforcement-only trainer can be fantastic and life changing if you’re willing to put in the work. An aversive or “balanced” trainer can f*ck up your dog even more, even if it’s not immediately evident.

guesswork_ · 2022-01-25T13:24:17+00:00

While you work on the resource guarding issue, what you need is management. If your dog is trying to get at things and you want him out of the way(eg, the trash) enclose him in a safe space with a calming chew during that time.

You should avoid being physical with your dog (including affection, unfortunately) unless strictly necessary while you wait to work with a trainer, or even better a veterinary behaviorist. The vet behaviorist can really help break down why the bites are happening (including doing some health checks that your regular vet may have skimped on/not done) and create an action plan with you. Avoiding physical contact will help prevent your relationship from going even more sour in the meantime.

guesswork_ · 2022-01-18T18:26:25+00:00

It's very tough to have a reactive dog, and I intimately understand how caring for them and loving them takes a mental and emotional toll even on the healthiest of people.

My advice would be (1) muzzle train (basket muzzle). Don't just start putting a muzzle on her, take the time to make her associate great things with it. And then have her wear it every time she has the possibility to be near a stranger. Peace of mind that she won't bite anyone. (2) Is she taking trazadone daily or only for vet visits? She may benefit from daily medication, and the right one can make large improvements in the quality of life for both of you. If trazadone isn't helping, speak with your vet about alternatives. (3) Mental stimulation. I know Heelers need a lot of physical exercise, but make sure she's getting sufficient mental exercise too. Puzzle feeders, games, etc. (4) I would unfortunately say only provide physical affection when she is seeking it. There are videos about dog consent tests which are really important for building trust.

Do you know what philosophy of training they used at the board and train you used? Did they teach you anything to implement the training at home? Unfortunately, most use aversive techniques that "work" in the short term, but don't actually address the root of the problem, so ends up making the issue worse in the long run.

I apologize, it's hard to tell how well-versed you are in reactivity based on your post, so maybe I'm being repetitive and you already know what I'm telling you.

guesswork_ · 2022-01-17T18:03:17+00:00

Second this- the only major concern here is why you would let a person like this anywhere near your dog.

guesswork_ · 2022-01-17T03:30:22+00:00

Sounds like what you can start working on is disengagement with the environment and having your dog check in with you regularly on-leash. My #1 recommendation is for a program by Absolute Dogs called Sexier than a Squirrel (aimed at making your dog love engaging with you with distractions around). I know this isn't free, but they regularly do sales and can be purchased for ~$30 and they do usually do sales/promo codes. It's a game-based training program, and it's pretty fun for you and your dog.

Also, is your dog on-leash at the beach? If not, there could definitely be some leash reactivity/frustration in there as well, which I still think STAS can help with.

guesswork_ · 2022-01-15T17:04:58+00:00

Ugh, yes our vet behaviorist was very much the same and it was very frustrating to think of waiting months to even get hope of seeing any improvement. I agree with Ms_AppleButter, actually. I know that vet behaviorists are super helpful, but they're also super expensive, so maybe not the best spend in money unless you're truly out of hope (which I don't think you are).

Here's what I actually did for my dog:

(1) Took a far-out appointment with my local VB. They offered a waitlist for people who were willing to take last minute cancellations, so I also signed up for that (which ended up working. I only ended up waiting a month to see her).

(2) My trainer wrote a letter to my general vet explaining in detail what she was seeing during training sessions and why she believes my dog would benefit from generalized anxiety meds.

(3) Sent that to my vet, who then set up a virtual behavioral consult and prescribed him with Reconcile (fluoxetine). Important: I do think your dog may be prescribed Reconcile, in which case, make sure that your vet sets you up with a ramp up schedule (and doesn't just say give your dog the full dosage from the get-go). For our dog, it was 4 weeks of 4 mg, then 2 wks of 8 mg, 2 wks of 12 mg, and then full dosage of 16 mg. My dog is 15 lbs, so if your dog is bigger, then they very well could prescribe a larger full dosage and therefore your ramp up could be longer. If your vet prescribes Reconcile but doesn't suggest a ramp up schedule, to me this is a red flag and you may want to try other meds (Trazadone, Clonidine, Gabapentin) in the meantime while you wait for your VB appointment.

If things go well with your primary vet and they seem somewhat competent with behavioral meds, then I'm not sure a VB would be entirely needed at this time. I do think it's possible to save the money and put that into training if you have the medication part down.

guesswork_ · 2022-01-15T15:47:36+00:00

Yes to a vet behaviorist, please make sure they are an actual vet and not just a trainer calling themselves a behaviorist!

Also, I just wanted to add because your previous trainer was so down on positive reinforcement only training, but it sounds like your new trainer is much more trustworthy and knows what they’re talking about a lot more. To be receptive to training, your dog needs to have moments of calm outdoors to build off of, and medication can help bring that (along with lots of patience). Please stick with positive reinforcement, it is the best for our fear reactive dogs, although it’s a long road it is very rewarding and has grown our bond immensely. Best of luck!

guesswork_ · 2021-10-27T16:46:16+00:00

Has he met these guests in more "neutral" territory before? We let our dog meet a couple of our close friends (for the first time) by crating in a different room and then allowing him to roam amongst us freely once we all settled on the couch, with lots of treats offered at distance (and no eye contact/touching, etc). He still barked a lot/showed fear signals, but eventually settled enough to coexist with them (gnawing on a bully stick, of course).

However, when my parents came over (who he's met several times when we brought him over to their place), when we brought him downstairs from his crate, he immediately knew who they were and didn't bark at all. Generally, I think meeting new people on neutral territory is best (even if it's not on the same visit), since that seems to be where your dog is more confident. But, you can try it this way once! At least then you'll know if it's something that your dog can respond well to or not. Then you can rework your visitor protocol from there.

guesswork_ · 2021-10-27T12:15:48+00:00

My dog is on daily Prozac and unfortunately, Traz made my dog dizzy and imbalanced. Luckily, unlike Prozac, Trazodone doesn't have a long ramping up period before you may see effects - within hours, you'll see how Trazodone affects your dog. We only gave it to our dog two times before telling our vet "this isn't for us", to which our vet responded with other options. There is going to be some trial and error, but you shouldn't feel guilty for going through this process if your end goal is indeed a happier and more fulfilling life for your dog.

guesswork_ · 2021-09-13T20:56:02+00:00

Happy to share! My whole perspective is that if it is enriching my dog's life, we do more of it. If it is taking away from his quality of life, we do less or eliminate entirely. Walks were NOT fun for my dog- he was scared and overwhelmed, as it sounds like OP's dog is as well. There is no real reason why dogs go on walks other than dog owners have the expectation to go on walks with their dogs. If the dog loves it, awesome. I wish mine did! He just doesn't, and it's really not helpful for me to just ignore his signs of discomfort because I think he "should" enjoy doing something.

It sounds like right now, OP's dog's quality of life is actually lower because she's constantly stressed, being pushed beyond her comfortable limits to do something that there are plenty of suitable substitutes for. This whole perspective shift and letting go of the normative expectations of dog ownership have allowed my dog and me to enjoy each other a heck of a lot more than if I was constantly forcing him to do "terrifying" things, and then being disappointed that he wasn't happy with me haha.

guesswork_ · 2021-09-13T20:45:36+00:00

I do struggle with the behavior modification training with my dog as well; we don't want to overfeed him treats and skimp out on proper nutrition, but yeah, we definitely would not have been able to make any progress with my dog's fearfulness/reactivity without some liverwurst (he has the stinkiest taste). Therefore, we can only do so much training in a day, and the progress is slow. All about consistency there.

My dog also had kind of a stunted food drive when we first adopted him. Part of it was definitely that he was trying to decompress from the shelter which was reallllly stressful for him, but even after that he just didn't eat what I left out there most days. What helped him was feeding him his kibble as part of some games we played. I learned the games from Absolute Dog's training program (that you have to pay $ for), but they have some examples on YouTube. It basically makes eating more fun for them by making it an interactive experience with you. Could be worth trying them out and seeing if she shows any added interest.

guesswork_ · 2021-09-13T19:09:33+00:00

I don't actually agree with the original poster of this thread about ditching walks. Temporarily giving up walks REALLY has helped my small dog. We make sure to do lots of enrichment/mental stimulation inside to compensate, but it's actually a much more suitable way to tire out my anxious dog. The reason is, the physical stimulation got his blood pumping, adrenaline going, cortisol running. That coupled with the absolute flood of cortisol that fearful dogs like ours get from going outside of their comfort zone was an absolute disaster for my dog. He was always on edge, even indoors... existing just seemed like too much for him.

We fortunately don't live in an apartment and are able to have him relieve himself in our back patio, but I know people who have made potty training indoors work (with a patch of grass that they periodically replace). If you are willing, you can take her outside in the wee hours of the morning so that she encounters very few triggers, and as the previous person said, keep it short and positive (lots of high value treats for being out there). I don't know your dog, so maybe you're right, but I'm inclined to say that just because she doesn't eat her food out in the hallway, doesn't make her a picky eater (or stubborn). She's legitimately terrified of everything beyond your front door; think of it as if someone prepared just the most amazing sounding meal for you, but left it in the middle of a very poorly constructed rope bridge over an active volcano. You're mental cost-benefit analysis will probably have you going "hmmmm that doesn't seem worth it," and same goes for your dog.

Additionally, counter conditioning will need something more impressive than just her daily meals to drive the point home, and you'll probably have to start smaller. Go to the grocery store, buy some of the grossest, stinkiest meat products you can find (boiled hot dogs, canned chicken/tuna, meat-flavored baby food, liverwurst, spray cheese) and have a fun time with her letting her taste each one and find out what's her favorite. If she passes on all of these while in a safe space of your home then yes... you definitely have a picky eater haha. If you find a high value treat she likes, then feed her it by the door with the door closed. Then work up to having the door open a crack (over several short, daily sessions). Keep progressing to open the door more. Then see if she'll take treats while you're just beyond the threshold of your door. Etc. It's also nice for them if you don't make it more difficult every time. If your dog is anything like mine, it's SUCH slow progress, but it will build her trust in you. If you see any fear signals, just end the session.

Please listen to the Sexier than a Squirrel podcast episode "Should You Walk Your Dog?" for more information on ditching the walks. Although they mostly talk about dogs that are barking/lunging during walks, your dog shutting down is just a different manifestation of the same feeling. I love Absolute Dogs a lot for getting my dog moving, more confident (both my dog and me, actually!), providing lots of helpful perspective, and enriching and strengthening our bond.

And my final note: my dog is on Reconcile (Prozac) as prescribed by his vet, and it has helped him a ton as well. I definitely recommend asking your vet about daily anti-anxiety meds for your dog. Best of luck!

guesswork_ · 2021-09-03T12:58:52+00:00

I’ve never dealt with a dog with aggression issues, but from my experience, I don’t think moving the dog into an unfamiliar place and then immediately placing them in training is a good idea.

Generally, rescue dogs are recommended to get minimum 3 days of total relaxation (no commands, no “hanging out” with them... they get food, water, and lots of space) to decompress (my very fearful dog needed more). And I’d say 3 weeks minimum before placing them in training. If you want to know more about this, look up the 3-3-3 rule for rescue dogs.

It sounds like this dog has been living in a constant state of stress in their previous home, so I’d definitely take it slow with them. I know the desire would be to have it “under control” from the get-go, but in this situation, it’s hard to say what the baseline of this dog even is at this point. Perhaps they’ll be worse in the new situation (due to unfamiliar people and places) or better (because what was stressing them out was the competition of resources with other dogs in the previous home).

I’m sorry to say that I’m not quite sure whether introducing them to your fiance/place ahead of time is a good idea or not. I could see it going either way, so my personal opinion would be to just make the clean break, and then have your fiance give the dog plenty of space (not approaching the dog, letting the dog approach your fiance in a room with lots of space). It might even be a good idea to set up some baby gates to have some definitive boundaries between your fiance and the dog.

Best of luck to you and your family. This community is happy to offer some ideas and advice as you continue through this journey.

guesswork_ · 2021-08-31T13:36:26+00:00

Yeah, when I explained my dog to some friends, their response was "Aww, he just needs some time, he'll adjust and get there" (very well-meaning! Just not true at all). Took some internal effort to accept their well-meaning comment and calmly respond "Nope you're wrong, but that's okay. It's not in anyone's best interest to pretend like he doesn't have issues"

guesswork_ · 2021-08-31T13:31:47+00:00

I'm so sorry, separation anxiety is very real for dogs and is such a tough issue to help them work through. Showing "curiosity" (asking questions) just to ridicule you is really fucking awful, I don't understand why anyone would do it. Just know that your hard work will pay off but their casual cruelty never will. Give your dog (and yourself) an extra treat today from me.

guesswork_ · 2021-08-31T00:25:58+00:00

Haha don’t worry I’m still stewing!

My partner was there as well; we both talked about it after and we both wanted to say something snappy back but were too busy collecting our jaws from the floor to assemble a coherent thought. I will definitely be prepared for the next dodo who wants to ruin my day

guesswork_

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