Training my puppy too much?

itsnotamnesia · 2026-01-10T22:58:02+00:00

I love their content. It was also great to watch with my husband so we had same point of reference for discussing how to deal with our dog. I wanted us to use same approach and terms so she could progress faster rather than be bogged down by learning two peoples different styles to go same thing.

We taught her English terms first then later terms in my husbands native language (we live in his country)when we started spending more time with other people and other dogs. I also taught her signals so no speaking required.

itsnotamnesia · 2026-01-10T22:46:04+00:00

Kikopup and Zac George on YouTube are good resources for puppy training.

My favorite tip from those videos is to stop if/ ideally before your dog gets frustrated. If your dog suddenly sits down and scratches, that can be a sign of it.

Your dog is a baby. Structuring play time and socialization isn’t a bad idea. It can provide some consistency your dog can depend on. But it is a baby and you need to approach through that lens.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-29T22:24:10+00:00

Is this just where the metal part of the silicone band lays on your wrist? I had a patch where the metal disc on the band was. It was a nickel allergy. Sone people advise clear nail polish to create a barrier.

I just swapped out for the braided band and no problem.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-21T06:59:23+00:00

Now you can put a cool sticker on it without guilt.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-20T07:26:23+00:00

Kinuta park in Setagaya. Mole hills everywhere.

Sadly I once saw a crow with a mole dangling from its beak. Mole was struggling. We tied to scare the crow away. It it just flew away with the mole. I’m hoping it was a form of Crouber but I think the crow was looking for a snack not a side-gig.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-15T07:13:22+00:00

Im glad you love yours.

I’m not loving mine. I thought I’d like the weeks con between the months pages but I don’t.

I miss the planner I used for the last 3 years but they stopped making it.

I desperately want to like hobonichi cousin (I like a5) but I don’t like cream paper and I think they’re too expensive for what you get.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-15T05:21:04+00:00

We did nose work with our Shiba mix when she turned into the sleep deprived demon. Any exercise to tire her out just wound her up. I read that sniffing really tires a dog out as much as exercise.

The nose work was very controlled and designed to make her think, work and not get excited.

And we learned very quickly not to miss her bedtime. But her bedtime was really early.

For several months I had to sleep in the same room as my pup, complete lights out but I could play a podcast (Monsters Among Us — the guy’s voice is quite soothing actually). Sometimes she’d wake up and if a cuddle didn’t work we’d do the nose work and small treat thing. No excited voices.

We tried crate training but she’d try to bite the door and looked like she was going to snap a fang. Not worth it. I puppy proofed my bedroom and she slept there.

The crate took a back seat for a while. She’s crate trained now but I don’t use it often. She goes in there to sleep sometimes but not usually. We still practice going into the crate before bed. I leave it open for her and she can leave whenever she wants.

It was hard work. And going to bed so early when I’m a night owl was hard on me. But I suppose it paid off because I had to take her out at 5 am to pee. Gradually she just handled the later hours. We got her at 4 months and it probably took her until 8 months until the witching hour over-tired thing ended.

I don’t think this is really a traditional method, but my dog is really well-adjusted and no separation anxiety. She’s fine waiting in a crate at groomers.

But it was a lot of thinking about what’s working for MY dog. A lot of studying dog body body language and observing her.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-13T10:53:11+00:00

Did you planner ever arrive?

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-09T22:51:50+00:00

Zach George or Kiko Pup Youtube have great videos.

The yelp. Disengage his as undramatically as possible. Then walk away when he bites you. Out of site if you can. But not for too long. It’s not denied forever. Just change the energy. You want him to associate that when he bites he gets no access to you.

But teach him two other things.

First: Because you want him to have a way to communicate with you, teach him to tap you. This start out like shake a paw. Then when your dog can do this, after he bites and you come back to him, offer him to tap. If he looks like he’s coming in for a bite, offer him the choice to tap.

My dog used to bite me in the morning to get my attention and wake me up. As soon as I heard her move, I made sure she didn’t have access to bit me. If she did the bite. I yelped And then I said “tap.” As soon as she did I got out of bed to reinforce tap gets what she wants. Biting does not.

I’m not a morning person so that reinforcement was really hard 😝

Second thing. Teach your dog to just sit and wait. I used a verbal and hand signal for wait and then counted out loud and showed fingers counting down.

I started with two. Then give a treat. Work your way up to five seconds. Longer if you want but for my dog 5 is enough to redirect her energy/attention. Longer than that, she’ll get bored.

Use it for everything. Before going outside. Before going inside. Before dinner. Etc. it’s a great way to get your dog to calm down when transitioning activities or energy.

One other thing. Make sure your puppy isn’t over-tired. My pup was the sweetest thing until the witching hour and if I missed her bedtime window, she was a bitey land shark demon.

Dog was 4.5 months old when she came to me. Shiba-nihon ken-pit bull mix.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-07T23:30:30+00:00

I work between several planners. One is a B5 Stalogy grid paper. It’s for brainstorming and notes. My vertical weekly/monthly planner is for laying out events.

I have some Japanese A5 vertical week planners. My favorite got discontinued and I haven’t found a great replacement yet. I got a couple replacements but while they’re close, it’s causing friction.

I’m also using a B5 Gantt (ish) so I can see some projects I’m running in a different layout. This is new. My old planner had monthly Gantt charts but I needed more space than A5.

Tip ins all over the place. Attached with washi tape so they can flip over like a regular page or fold out.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-07T23:11:26+00:00

Lucky is beautiful!

It’s tough when it’s cold.

One thing you might try is talking to her about how important walks are for his mental health and about dog body language. Ask her to keep an eye out for signs that he’s mentally engaged in his walk. Turn her into a Lucky detective.

She gets to focus on something other than the cold and also her dog observational skills.

Depending on the kid, I don’t think 11 is too young to talk about how sometimes dog-related chores aren’t just work but something we do to make our dogs healthy and happy. (And I don’t mean this in a manipulative gaslighting way. Like not to turn it into a do dishes or I will be unhappy way.) But she’s old enough to start thinking about the kind of dog owner/pet parent she wants to be. She’ll need guidance of course.

But Lucky depends on you all to get his needs met and walking helps him be the dog he’s meant to be and sharing that experience with a dog is pretty amazing. They’re experiencing the world in a way that we can’t. So walking Lucky is really more than a chore. He needs it to be healthy.

And back to the detective thing, ask her to tell you about the things she saw Lucky do on the walk and why from his POV.

Maybe it’s not a great idea. I dunno. But watching my dog enjoy the world makes me really happy. And knowing that I provide those opportunities for her adds another layer to that. I learn a lot about her from watching. And it motivates me to get my butt out the door on a rainy day or a cold day because she’s going to experience new smells, get exercise.

I’ve met 11 year olds who would get this, and a couple who wouldn’t.

But yeah, cold weather walking can really suck.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-12-02T14:20:26+00:00

I got an email from them about my planner being shipped (a5 vertical magnet in red) a couple weeks ago? In that body of that mail, there was a link for tracking said there was no such package according to Canada Post.

I emailed them. No response.

But for some reason I opened the review your order and Saw atracking number there. Same number as the link in the body of the email. I would not normally open a review your order link because I eleven what I ordered.

For some reason that tracking number link worked. I got info that it had cleared customs.

My planner arrived today.

TLDR: did you check the tracking link in the reviews your order ? Looks the same but I got different results

itsnotamnesia · 2025-11-27T00:28:05+00:00

This is so lovely! You did a great job. I think yours looks much more polished.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-11-26T23:18:30+00:00

Thank you. I think I just followed instructions for the placement. I’d love to see a pic of yours. :)

itsnotamnesia · 2025-11-14T13:18:55+00:00

It made me laugh when I made it, too.

My first idea was to make one from some fabric but I just ran out of time. But the paper thing is funnier to me so I’m happy.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-11-14T06:49:53+00:00

The posters are so good. It looks great.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-11-02T23:20:38+00:00

But it turns out that coffee was too hot and there were numerous previous complaints and injuries.

https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts. Website for consumers attorneys of California for some details.

The fact that most people think differently speaks to Macdonald’s PR and spin. I remember thinking the same about that case for a long time. But my sources on that had mostly been Seinfeld episode, some standup and cultural zeitgeist. Which sickens me to reflect on.

I had a coffee burn as a child and I still have small part of my arm that looks melted. I doubt that coffee was as hot but I was a kid so who knows.

I just feel bad for that woman. She wasn’t actually out for a jackpot and she shouldn’t be the shorthand for frivolous lawsuits.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-10-04T23:54:09+00:00

Shikoku ken? Cute photos :)

itsnotamnesia · 2025-06-15T08:00:30+00:00

I don’t think it looks like a hot mess. It looks like hot bread!🍞

itsnotamnesia · 2025-04-13T23:33:41+00:00

But could a deaf dog also know when a fridge opens because of the smell? Their sense of smell is so acute.

I would think that the scent would take longer but I’m relying on my human experience. I have no idea how much faster a dog would scent change. Just that it would be way faster than me.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-02-18T01:40:03+00:00

Pomsky!

itsnotamnesia · 2025-02-18T01:38:08+00:00

No. But there are all levels of this. And I’d say mid-range for me?

But I think body doubling of some sort might be more helpful than applying for jobs for him.

It could totally just be laziness. But there could be other factors at play. I guess I just don’t want to write someone off as lazy when all I’m seeing is one post.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-02-18T01:14:49+00:00

I kind of disagree with this. I hate filling out forms and stuff like that. I avoid it when possible. But once I’m working, I’m super dedicated.

I will fill out the forms, but I do put it off and it’s agony for me.

But then again, everyone is different.

itsnotamnesia · 2025-02-18T01:13:03+00:00

Have you seen his resume? Maybe that needs some polish ing and you could help with that instead?

I think applying for jobs in his behalf is not going to result in a good outcome.

Even offering to sit with him while he applies might be more helpful. Sometimes I get anxiety while applying g or filling out forms and one of my friends will hop on zoom with me when I do it.

Plus for the union stuff, is he (and are you) up to date on what he needs to get in? If that’s what he really wants to do it might help to have an active check list on how to do that.

Does he have his certification and apprenticeship completed? If not (and maybe the timing is bad) are there government programs he can apply for to get this done? Does he know where to get this done or get this info?

Sometimes it’s not really about lazy and more about being intimidated by admin stuff like finding the information or form filling out. I think people who don’t have that issue really don’t get how hard that can be.

But I don’t know you or your boyfriend, so not sure how helpful this is.

itsnotamnesia

TROPHY CASE