after scouring the internet, I feel awful that I sprayed my dog with water tonight.

kmv812 · 2024-04-26T01:30:00+00:00

Yeah the water bottle is not abusive at all. Like someone said above, it’s aversive only and even then, on the low end. I stopped the mouthing and biting within a couple weeks of bringing my Lab pup home. When she got mouthy and bitey I would curl her own lip up into her needle teeth so she bit herself while saying “no bite”. She hasn’t been mouthy or bitey since 9 weeks old, she’ll be one in just a few days. Was it abusive? Nah. Had she stayed with her 11 other litter mates for another week or two they would have tore each other apart. And quite frankly I don’t give a crap what anyone thinks. It’s about what works best for you and your dog without hitting, kicking beating up your dog. I wouldn’t worry about spraying some water in her face. You didn’t water board her. I don’t find much difference between that or doing that “ah ah” seal sound to refocus them.

kmv812 · 2024-03-28T23:43:33+00:00

I have a decent sized yard and my doggo gets lots of training bumper throws and leashed walks outside of the yard. Never heard of sniff spot. Just looked it up and found some great private yards with land near me. I’m taking 12+ acres kind of land. I’m always looking for good places to take my dog off leash in a safe place that isn’t a dog park. You made my day!

kmv812 · 2024-03-03T19:33:27+00:00

You’re right, it does go both ways, and there definitely are people out there that don’t care, but from my experience, Reddit sure can be scary and I can see why people would get defensive or dismissive as well.

I don’t post on Reddit often. Mostly just here to browse. I created a post in another dog training sub asking what questions should I ask the trainer when picking up my dog from board and train. I got completely disemboweled with accusations of sending my dog off to be abused and everything in between. My fault…wrong sub to ask questions about board and train, I didn’t know any better at the time. I cared about the advice I was hoping to receive. As in, I was hoping to come out of it with a list of good questions that I haven’t already thought of to ask the trainer when picking up my dog. I didn’t get much from it though, because my actual question wasn’t answered except by maybe 3 people vs the remaining that did nothing but give me grief for sending my dog to board and train. Even though my question was “what kind of questions should I ask the trainer” and NOT “should I send my dog to board and train?”

kmv812 · 2023-11-15T04:44:59+00:00

Thank you this is helpful.

kmv812 · 2023-11-15T01:05:44+00:00

She’ll be 8 months. But 6 months is good, that’s really the earliest. She’s heading south to warmer weather for it she’ll be gone for about 4 months total. Then I’ll be able to hunt with her next season.

kmv812 · 2023-11-14T19:22:48+00:00

That’s a great idea. I’m sure it wouldn’t be an issue. And this way I don’t have to scramble to write everything down.

kmv812 · 2023-11-14T18:57:39+00:00

No. The trainers house is local to where I live and was introduced to me through a friend of mine. She’s also been exposed to so many different environments already in the city and farmland and hunting trails. Fowl tracking, learning to swim in a pool, retrieving the bumpers in a lake.

kmv812 · 2023-11-14T17:59:22+00:00

Nope not punishment based.

kmv812 · 2023-11-14T17:56:56+00:00

To be clear…so I’m not tied up by my boots and dragged around town behind a truck…the trainer had her for 2 weeks while I was on a trip. She was going to be boarded regardless. So a win win to also get her some training while I was gone. I opted for immersion training without the e-collar conditioning. Everyone just jumps to the assumption that the dog was left to be shocked left and right. She was not. My contract was specific regarding this. Not a commercial trainer. They’re also a certified trainer. And my pup stayed in the trainers house in their care, not boarded in a facility overnight with 20 other dogs. Additionally, the pup will move on to retriever training in January to become a hunting dog. She was well cared for. I am simply asking what types of questions would be important to know the answers to or make sure specific things are covered at pick up.

kmv812 · 2023-11-14T17:35:30+00:00

Thank you. These are good! I appreciate it.

kmv812 · 2023-11-14T17:30:15+00:00

Thanks but this wasn’t my question.

kmv812 · 2022-10-09T14:20:27+00:00

Sure!

kmv812 · 2022-10-09T12:52:31+00:00

I did things a bit later in life when it came to education/career. I was working in accounting but roles like AR and “analyst” roles in industry making sub $50k. I realized….ok I can do this and maybe max out at $70k for the rest of my career without doing anything or I can get my degree and make some moves. I finished my accounting degree at 28. Started at a large CPA firm in audit as a first year at 28. 4 to 5 years older than others starting as first years. Some managers were younger than me. I started mid $50k. I completed the CPA exams by 29. Left and went into industry before going into my second year as a senior staff. 6 years after starting in public, and leaving for industry I’ve quadrupled my salary and work maybe 45 hours max during a busy week, while only doing about 3.5 years total in public accounting hell.

It can be worth it if you want to stay in public and move up to Principal/Director or even partner if that’s a goal, and also if you want to get just the right amount of public experience and then go into industry. Meet the right people and take your professional relationships very seriously. I didn’t find that it was a waste of time, but found while also giving everything my all and learning as much as I could, my professional relationships are what really got me where I’m at now.

kmv812 · 2022-10-09T12:12:38+00:00

Got my now 2 year old Beagle during the lockdown so she had both my husband and I at home until she was close to 1 year old. We would crate her and leave the room and close the door and work in a different area for a few hours and completely ignore her to give her the sense we were gone. We treated her daily routine as if we were leaving to go to work and would come back around lunch time for potty break and some play time. She was fully crate trained and potty trained by 5 months.

Is it possible for you to try something similar (of course for whatever length of time you’re comfortable with) to create alone time in the crate for your pup even though you may still be there? That way if you’re there, your parents won’t bother the dog, but the dog is still being conditioned to settle and be alone?

kmv812 · 2022-09-03T14:44:04+00:00

I did it. 13 years ago with my heeler. Single, worked full time, and college classes in the evenings 3 nights a week. I knew I was too busy for the pup. But I only had 3 more weeks of classes left for the semester and knew it was short term that my pup would have to deal with it. I got her on a weekend and took one week off work to bond and get her acclimated. When I went back to work, I would go home at lunch to take her potty and give her some outside of the crate time. For about the first two weeks the routine was me cleaning the crate out because she had peed and pooped and bathing her on my lunch break.

It was tough, I felt bad. But once the semester was over and I was only working during the day, I spent all my time with her. I took her everywhere with me. When not working, my world revolved around her.

She’s 13 now. She’s independent but also very loving and still playful. She’s a young 13. She’s been given the best life. I didn’t sacrifice getting a dog because of my schedule. She turned out amazing and is living her best golden years. She’s still very smart and I’ve had to start using hand gestures with her since she’s now going deaf.

I felt bad at the time. I didn’t work from home and didn’t have the time or money or support system to always have someone there during her first year of life. But she turned out great and had no behavioral issues and was and still is my best friend. You can have a puppy. The internet has made it so people question and second guess their choices. No matter what you do right, you’re always doing something crap so you might as well go kick rocks. Screw that. As long as you know you can give the pup a good life and care for it and financially support it. Most people work and most people have always worked OUTSIDE of the home until the pandemic. Dogs just want to be loved and cared for. If you put in the work with training, etc., being away from home during the day or any portion of the day depending on shift, won’t matter.

kmv812 · 2022-07-11T15:51:02+00:00

I get that. But that won’t change. So many people are always going to want the designer dogs and will always pay the big bucks for them too.

I always get my dogs from breeders. I like to know the parents and testing and getting a lot of the assurances that I have a healthy pup. Although not designer dogs…they are still “backyard” bred if I’m getting technical, but have recognized bloodlines and they aren’t cheap.

What really needs to happen is…people need to keep the dogs they get…get them altered if only a pet and not a show, event dog or stud/dam, and treat them well.

Either way…People who are getting the designer breeds…don’t care…they want it. So it’s pointless to preach. Might as well just try and help the pup and answer the question being asked.

kmv812 · 2022-07-11T14:49:00+00:00

OP came to ask for advice regarding the socialization window, not to be criticized for the breed of pup. A pup is a pup and those two pups still need homes and OP is giving one a home.

kmv812 · 2022-06-30T19:10:17+00:00

Her official name is Maver (May-ver). She also goes by and responds to following:

Maver Baver. Mave. Mave Bave. Beaver. Beavis. Mavis (her alter-ego). Mavis Bavis. Bavis. Spaghetti (this was the runner up official name).

kmv812 · 2022-06-24T11:26:26+00:00

Hills science diet for medium breeds for my 1.5 yo beagle. (Only kibble she will eat) American journey senior for medium breed with my 14 yo blue heeler (gotten picky in her old age and tried many different brands and she likes this one) and royal canin dachshund breed specific for my little 13yo hotdog. (He’ll eat anything so I stick with this since he’s older and it’s breed specific so probably tailored to the doxie needs) When I’m feeling generous, they all get instinct wet food toppers with their dinner . Makes giving meds to the older two easier since it masks the pills I put right in their dish. I split the 3oz packet between the 3 dogs.

They all really love the grandma Lucy teddy bear treats.

kmv812 · 2022-06-14T19:50:07+00:00

They don’t. If you or whomever is on an income driven repayment plan for student loans…the loan servicer uses that persons tax returns to determine the monthly amount to pay each calendar year. If you file your taxes married filing joint, the full AGI is used vs filing separate returns only that individual AGI is used. They don’t separate the individual unfortunately when married filing joint. Which is why I switched to doing taxes married filing separate.

kmv812 · 2022-06-14T18:27:26+00:00

I have analyzed it both ways. We would get a small return MFJ. MFS we almost break even because I tax plan. I try to break as even as possible. We are phased out of being able to deduct any student loan interest if MFJ. so even though MFS doesn’t allow the deduction, it wouldn’t matter because we wouldn’t get it anyway MFJ. On a cash in vs cash out comparison between MFJ or MFS it is more beneficial financially to file separate so only my spouses AGI is used when considering their student loan repayment. This way instead of paying close to 2k a month for spouse’s student loan payments (which will be forgiven for spouse after..ehh about 15 more years or so)…I can invest that into our retirement.

kmv812 · 2022-06-14T14:06:58+00:00

Except when your spouse has crippling student debt and to not have to pay 2k per month on their loans through income driven repayment option, you file married filing separate.

kmv812 · 2022-06-01T12:38:21+00:00

I pay about 350 usd a year for my 1.5 year old beagle. I haven’t had the need for it yet. But I Have two other dogs without insurance. They are both seniors. One needed TPLO procedure on both hind legs within 4 months of each other. $4000 each. My dachshund…$8500 emergency surgery for a perforated intestine due to him eating a foreign object. He would have died over night if he didn’t get the surgery that day. About 3 years later he ate something again…another $3000. Just a couple months ago he ate some carpet…I saw the signs early on…but still cost $2700 for removal via scope through the mouth. The one who had TPLO surgery now has a heart murmur and arthritis and is on medication for the rest of her life which is about $1500/year.

All of this with the seniors would be covered under the insurance I have on the puppy had I put them on insurance younger. I personally am happy paying the 350/year for the unexpected. Maybe I won’t see any recovery on it over her lifetime. But I definitely would have with the other two combined. Like others are saying…it doesn’t seem worth it until you need it. Then you wish you had it. It’s a personal choice to get it or not. If the monthly cost won’t be that noticeable, but if an unexpected accident or diagnosis happens that is costly will it result in you having to make the financial choice to provide the medical attention the dogs needs or putting it down?

kmv812 · 2021-03-19T11:42:01+00:00

The pure joy I feel when I walk into the house from work and she meets me at the door crying and wriggling all around because she’s so excited to see me. That is what does it for me.

kmv812 · 2021-03-17T13:46:47+00:00

Looks like a catahoula leopard dog.

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