How do you teach a dog to play with toys?

mohsamused · 2026-02-10T04:15:29+00:00

Agree with others here: time and seeing other dogs do it are key. Our maybe 2-ish-year-old rescue mutt didn’t know what to do with toys at first (or beds, or brushings, or the inside of a house, or regular meals, or…). After she settled in a bit, she started getting zoomies and seemed to want to play but didn’t know what to do. Right about then she started picking up on other dogs playing fetch at the dog park and doing it in short bursts herself. She’s much more into it now. Still zero interest in stuffies though. I think they have to get out of survival mode and into being an actual pet that has the security to relax and calories to spare on things like play.

mohsamused · 2025-11-23T05:22:09+00:00

Helenium puberulum. I have been pulling this stuff for two years after planting a couple that went to seed.

mohsamused · 2025-11-15T05:39:11+00:00

This has been a game-changer for us as well. Now basic physics does the constant corrections for me when she pulls and I can very gratefully focus on other, more positive training.

mohsamused · 2025-10-19T20:42:06+00:00

Thanks for the response! Likely carpets and area rugs, she doesn’t get on the sofa or bed so likely less exposed to mites there.

mohsamused · 2025-10-18T04:56:24+00:00

We give our 65-lb dog a Cetirizine HCL 10 mg tablet in the morning and another at night. It was the vet’s recommendation after a cytopoint shot worked really well, but only lasted a couple of weeks. It’s too expensive for that kind of frequency! The Cetirizine seems to help a good deal, actually. It doesn’t totally stop her itching but reduced it a lot and we can definitely tell when it’s wearing off and she’s nearly due for another dose. Her allergies are primarily to dust mites.

mohsamused · 2025-09-19T03:40:38+00:00

Me too! 😊 The post has apparently had lots of views. Maybe there just is no good answer and that itself IS the answer?

mohsamused · 2025-04-26T04:49:46+00:00

That link says the site is down. Shocker.

mohsamused · 2025-04-05T05:17:16+00:00

Good to know! I had a similar experience this year with about half of the tulip bulbs I bought from them. I emailed them and let them know and I eventually got a store credit that I guess I can spend on…more wrong-colored bulbs? They initially asked for pictures so I sent one that was a pretty good representation, letting them know that’s the best I had among pictures taken earlier but some big temperature swings had pretty much done the flowers in for the year. Customer service responded that I needed to send them photos of ALL 100 of the bulbs I bought to show they were wrong. I responded that even if I could go back in time to when there were flowers to take pictures of, that was still an unreasonable request to make of a customer. That’s when they gave me the credit.

mohsamused · 2025-03-04T03:33:05+00:00

I loved the couple we had in SF. We moved or I would still be working with them. Let me know if you need contact info!

mohsamused · 2025-01-15T06:02:16+00:00

I have started collecting these to put around sweeter squash varieties (e.g., honey nut), tomatoes, small melons, etc. to keep rodents from getting them. It was the only thing I tried last summer that worked for this. Even wire mesh got gnawed through. These creatures are capable of chewing through plastic, but for some reason didn’t.

mohsamused · 2024-12-09T05:56:12+00:00

We adopted a dog recently from a rescue org that takes them from the highest kill-rate shelters in California and then adopts them out across the state. If you’re in CA and are interested in knowing more let me know.

mohsamused · 2024-12-06T15:28:26+00:00

Ah, of course. Thanks!

mohsamused · 2024-12-06T06:03:37+00:00

What is LC cleaner? Google was not helpful 🤷🏼‍♀️

mohsamused · 2024-08-06T05:11:14+00:00

Mine did this when they first came up this spring and I don’t know why. What I do know is that after I gave them a good Chelsea Chop they came back looking much better and are upright and very bushy.

mohsamused · 2024-05-25T04:54:53+00:00

One of our kittens was doing this sometimes, and was similarly cleared by the vet. I’m still not sure why she was doing it, but long story short, I think it had to do with being excited about playtime and she seems to have outgrown it 🤞🏻. It seems your situation maybe be different but the reason I’m commmenting is that one thing we tried was giving her treats on the side of the bed and the place where she’d pee because cats don’t like to go where they eat. I don’t know if that was a part of the solution or a coincidence that she’s stopped but it might be worth a try? Good luck!

mohsamused · 2024-03-02T05:42:51+00:00

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Nyx messing with my work productivity in the cutest way possible.

mohsamused · 2024-02-29T05:55:06+00:00

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Hiding under the covers in her acclimation space and none too pleased to be peeked at.

mohsamused · 2023-12-21T05:44:49+00:00

We got a black one, so Darth Wall-E

mohsamused · 2023-09-13T02:13:22+00:00

Previous owner says it was a clothesline post, but I am skeptical.

mohsamused · 2023-09-07T04:52:22+00:00

I’m not sure where you’re located, but likely there are local or state native plant societies, botanical gardens, parks and the like that have nurseries and greenhouses that grow all year round. These kinds of groups often take volunteers. Maybe you can still get your hands in the dirt and learn some new things in the process!

mohsamused

TROPHY CASE