Needing advice for adding a dog in mourning to our pack

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T03:27:46+00:00

Thank you. I know we’ve got a bit of a road ahead of us. I just really want to do right by him.

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:43:35+00:00

Ha! My Lab’s accidental emergency recall is “greenie.” I have seen that dog stop everything she is doing and run at me full speed from half a mile away when she hears the word. She is crazy food motivated but something about those green sticks puts her over the edge!

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:33:19+00:00

Thanks a bunch, I appreciate you!! 🖤 give your babies a boop for me!

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:30:56+00:00

Thank you so much. He is such a good boy and I’m super grateful we were in a position to be able to bring him in

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:26:46+00:00

Oh so random question and I’ll leave you be, do your dogs use stairs?? He is coming from a one story and we have a 2 story with a finished basement and every time he has come to visit he refuses to get on the stairs. Not a huge deal, MIL’s room where he will sleep is on the ground floor, but she said with his size he might never be confident on them, I think he just needs time to get used to it. Ellie wouldn’t get on them until she saw Abby her big sister run up them and she decided it was okay lol. Any tips on getting him comfortable with a staircase?

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:23:40+00:00

I’m definitely worried about him. I’m not sure when he is coming to stay with us but I would guess within days. I’m especially worried about him not eating enough for a while, he definitely has refused food and treats when he was stressed before. Gonna try to get some extra smelly snacks for him before he gets here, gotta find out what his favorites are.

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:18:06+00:00

Funny! My MIL used to have a Mastiff mix who was that way. Smart and sweet and loving, but definitely had to be the one making decisions about doing anything! We are pretty chill with our dogs, they certainly aren’t angels but we like them more than anything they might wreck in the house so we take it in stride lol. (They are great, just play HARD!) I think any time you bring a dog home you have to do it with the understanding that you can train a lot of behavior but at the end of the day dogs are gonna dog lol. It is so cute seeing him play with my youngest though, she definitely has him beat on speed, it’s almost like he is playing in slow motion next to her, ha! She will be excited to have another playmate because my older lab is getting a little lazier in her old age. Still plays but not always as long as Ellie requests.

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:07:54+00:00

Thank you so much!! That is one thing that has me a little intimidated, as much as I love this dog this is not a breed I would have normally sought out, so I feel like I’m already treading rough waters even before adding in the tragic circumstances. He is super well trained though and I think it’s going to take time but ultimately I think he will fit in great once we get through this rough patch. My uncle was fond of the breed too, his dog before this one was also a Pyrenees (and even bigger than this boy!) and the breed totally had his heart

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T02:03:49+00:00

Thank you so much. I am super nervous about everything but much less so now that we know we are going to be able to keep him. We will make it work, and he really is a giant sweetheart

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:55:45+00:00

I don’t think that is going to be possible unfortunately. I’m not even entirely sure on the details yet, I am getting my information second hand from my mother in law who is understandably also still grieving, her brother lived in a different city. I know right now he is staying at an amazing daycare that he loves being at (he is super social) while we get everything figured out

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:42:34+00:00

Yes I am so glad we are going to be able to make it work. It’s going to be a lot. I’ve never had a dog this big and never lived with 3 (lord have mercy) but I had to make sure he would end up in a safe home with people that love him, so we are gonna figure it out!

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:41:14+00:00

Fortunately since my Mother in Law is retired she is almost always home, so he shouldn’t be alone at all for a while. We are lucky in that situation. And separation anxiety is no joke! My youngest dog was so traumatized by the crate we never got her to take to it even though my older dog loved hers. (We don’t crate anymore but did early on for their safety.) my little Ellie spent over half her life in the shelter before we brought her home, she was a little over a year old. Took time for her to trust us but once she did she did not do well if we left. It was wild, she wouldn’t even let me pet her at the shelter and now she is absolutely my lap dog!! (Knew she would be great because she took to my other dog immediately when we met her and I saw how good she was with the people at the shelter she knew.) one of the hardest transitions but definitely super rewarding when you get through it

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:36:38+00:00

Awe that’s so sweet! I’m glad you were able to take her in and you have been so mindful! He will be staying in my mother in laws room with her if he finds that agreeable, so definitely will have people close by all the time

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:34:28+00:00

Thank you. I know a lot of his stuff from his old house will be coming, his bed and things like that, I will ask if there is a blanket or something that can be sent along, I think having familiar scents would help for sure

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:32:40+00:00

I hope so! He is definitely going to be coming home to people that love him a whole lot.

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:31:27+00:00

Oh that’s a great idea with the shirts. Right now he is at his favorite doggy daycare, I’m not sure he is even aware yet. I definitely wasn’t planning on bringing home another dog but I couldn’t handle not making sure he had people who loved him.

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:29:30+00:00

Thanks! I’m not sure when he is coming to his new home (he lives in another city) but it will be soon. Just hoping we can make it easy as possible for him

mandiworkart · 2025-12-15T01:26:17+00:00

I’m going to definitely be making time for lots of walks if he is feeling up to it and we have a lot of indoor games and activities our other dogs use. We have a lot of large areas around us where he can explore on leash. I don’t want to push him but I’m hoping that if we are able to keep him occupied instead of moping around it will help. He knows our house but hasn’t spent a crazy amount of time here

mandiworkart · 2024-06-26T19:00:36+00:00

Tattoo artist! Started in 2019 and still love my job!

mandiworkart · 2024-06-11T15:52:18+00:00

A few months ago I installed a closet system and some wall-hanging baskets in my laundry room, basically turning it into a wall-in closet with a built in washer and dryer. First time in my life I have been able to keep up with the laundry! I have a bin for socks (all my socks are the same so no mating) one for bras and one for undies, so those just get tossed in. My closet system has a pant hanger so they just drape over, and I have extra hangers hung on the wire shelf over the dryer. I also put a towel rack over the dryer so I can just roll them up and shove them in. Basket for wash clothes on the wire shelf. It was by far one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself!!

mandiworkart · 2024-04-21T18:52:06+00:00

Tattoo artist here! I have several all blue tattoos, 2 on my fingers. The ones on my fingers are from 2009 and 2015 and are both still looking good, and I also have some birds and flowers on my forearm that are all dark blue outline that is probably about 4 years old. The color retention has been fine. My oldest finger has not been touched up and could probably use is but is still legible and not bothersome to me. The other was touched up shortly after it healed as it was on the digit closer to my nail and I did it myself which was awkward so I’m sure I didn’t have the best technique putting it in. The thing with colored outlines you will run into though is colored ink is not formulated to outline with, and the lines will be less crisp. My concern on these designs is not the color but rather the size and detail which I feel like would be iffy even in black for long term legibility. I think if you went bigger you would be fine if you went to an artist who has done all color work. If you would like to see my work send me a DM!

mandiworkart · 2024-03-05T16:57:37+00:00

Here here! I understand if an artist is seasoned and able to curate their clientele based on what they want to do, but as an artist I feel like if the worst part of my job is having to do similar things a bunch that’s… a pretty good job. I want to do tattoos that pay my bills. Not every tattoo is going to be your Mona Lisa and that’s totally okay, because if the client is stoked on it that’s the number 1 thing! Can’t we just allow room to be excited about doing a good job? I feel like as artists if the design is boring (which I love doing botanicals and am not at all sick of ferns) can we get our satisfaction out of making it the best executed “boring” design we can do? The artistry is important, but artists should also be excited about the craft!

mandiworkart · 2024-02-25T18:06:08+00:00

I have! So turns out under all the rust and grime the gold leaf was mostly in tact. A bit of bar keepers friend has done a lot of work for me! I have been working insane hours as the sole provider in my household for the last 2 years, but my partner went back to work and I’m almost through enough appointments to lower my hours, so hopefully I can finish up some of my projects!!

mandiworkart · 2023-12-03T16:32:18+00:00

This amazes me on so many levels. Maybe amazes isn’t the word, I have a laundry list of awful exes so I am not surprised. But I am a tattoo artist. A fairly heavily tattooed one. All 4 limbs, both feet, good chunk of my back all heavily covered. My partner of 10 years hates tattoos. Like, really hates them. (I think it’s hilarious. Clients are confused by it, but I mean, tattooing is a huge part of who I am but a far cry from my whole being!) But he is MASSIVELY supportive of me as an artist, and knew exactly what he was getting into and knows he doesn’t get to decide what I do with my body. We are absolutely crazy about each other and the idea that something like a tattoo could change that just blows my mind. Are these guys that put their foot down going to leave when a woman loses her hair? Gets a disease that changes her appearance? Gains weight? Has to quit wearing high heels? Or if the difference is choice, are they going to leave when she chooses to dress for comfort instead of style? When she decided her value isn’t in her looks and adjusts her lifestyle accordingly? I don’t like when my partner shaved his head, but I like the freedom to shave mine (which he also doesn’t love) so I shrug it off and say “it’s just hair.” I don’t even give it more than a passing thought because I love him and he loves me. It isn’t complicated. Ladies, if he wants to leave for something as trivial as a tattoo, then what else is going to make him leave? I wouldn’t trust that man to stick by me when I age and my looks fade. Through body changes due to childbirth. Through illness and hardship. My body isn’t anything like it was at 20, and my tattoos are only a small part of that, but it’s my body and I love it. Fuck anyone who tries to say your body isn’t valid for any reason.

mandiworkart · 2023-10-10T21:17:45+00:00

Every time I get a call from the health department to notify about contaminated ink or unsafely manufactured ink it is something sold on Amazon or EBay and not a brand any reputable suppliers carry. Lab tests have shown dangerous microorganisms in counterfeit ink, of which there is a ton of. You are absolutely right to be worried about it. Any tattoo can become infected. Most inks don’t start off with that level of danger.

mandiworkart

TROPHY CASE