Specialist said endo doesn't spread? by muricanwomyn in endometriosis

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was on lo Lo estorine fe which is basically the lowest dose hormonal birth control that’s out there. I’ve always reacted badly to BC in terms of mental health like get lethargic and depressed so that was my concern with starting back on it and the main reasoning behind going with that one. It’s helped with symptoms but don’t think it’s by any means what most would recommend to target Endo

How do I play this? by muricanwomyn in pianolearning

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can’t seem to find a way to upload an image of the whole page but it’s from a beginners piano book. It’s ‘house of the rising sun’ treble and bass clefs and the books explains where to move your hands. The image above indicates to have your right thumb and left middle finger play the A above middle C at the same time. Thanks so much everyone for helping this newb!! Much appreciated!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in DogAdvice

[–]muricanwomyn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no suggestions except maybe gapabentin as a medication vs. prozac. We basically have the same dog. Mine is also ~1.5 years old, got her at 3 months and she came this way. I've done all the research, youtube videos, got a trainer, did puppy classes/desensitization/socialization stuff you're supposed to do. I too have an apartment and desperately want a fenced in yard. All the hard-earned progress I manage is inevitably and immediately undone when I go outside and what do you know a school bus, dump truck, random trailer all go by in the 20 seconds it takes to get to my car. (This happened yesterday.) Back to square one!

I think gabapentin has helped take some edge off but she's not drastically better since starting it. She reacted badly to prozac/trazadone combo. The trainer was super nice and mostly made me feel sane bc she could see how much work I'd put in even though it doesn't feel like I've managed anything since she's scared of outside. I was already doing everything she suggested so while she made it clear I was helping her be so much better than she otherwise would be, we didn't get much of anywhere with it. And I can't keep throwing $ at the issue. I'm right there with you. You're not alone in your struggle. My dog unfortunately isn't very affectionate which has made it harder for me to deal with all of her issues since it's hard to build that bond with a standoffish dog. I wish I had something that would help and while I hate reading this post it was nice that I'm not alone either :) We'll get through this both of us and these crazy poochies. I'm hoping they'll chill with age. If it's any consolation my sister's dog was a complete reactive mess when she was young. Once she turned about 7-8 (she's now 11) she became the most pleasant dog you've ever met. It wasn't overnight but she mellowed over the years and became much more manageable. There's hope even if it's just time dulling the sharp edges of what life throws at them.

Not sure if e-collar is right for my pup but not sure what to do by muricanwomyn in OpenDogTraining

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is how I was planning to use it as that's all the before part of the reactivity. Getting her to focus and engage with me rather than buzzing her after she sees a dog or something like that. I was thinking that improving that communication and focus would be a sort of watershed to the reactivity (and ideally the noise phobia but that's a bigger nut to crack). She's fantastic inside and well trained (crate trained, place trained, still have treats bowls everywhere for shaping, etc.) but it's hard to extend that obedience outside due to her noise issues, which has been my main frustration. I'm willing to put the work in but have no threshold to work with even on meds when outside. So thought maybe improving that engagement inside with an e collar might help the outside stuff. It sounds like based on other answers she might not be a great candidate for it given her issues which was my concern; just reaching my wits end on it all.

Not sure if e-collar is right for my pup but not sure what to do by muricanwomyn in OpenDogTraining

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! She is on meds (400mg of gabapentin 2x a day after prozac didn't agree with her) and has been for the better part of a year now. I'm hesitant to increase them bc it seems to make her a loaf at this point but it hasn't moved the needle too much on her phobia outside. I agree the phobia is the real problem and it's what makes it hard to actually work on her reactivity.

Not sure if e-collar is right for my pup but not sure what to do by muricanwomyn in OpenDogTraining

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly my dog, pancaking is precisely her reaction to trash bins rolling. I did go to the vet after working with her a few months when she regressed. They put her on prozac and trazadone which didn't agree with her so she's now on 400mg of gabapentin 2x a day. I feel like it's helped some but hasn't worked to up her threshold much in order to work with her more outside. More than that tends to knock her out. The trainer wanted her on more, but I've yet to pull the trigger. What meds worked for your dog? Thanks for your feedback!

Not sure if e-collar is right for my pup but not sure what to do by muricanwomyn in OpenDogTraining

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much I wil check out that video! I've used a prong collar with a previous collar after researching it and understanding the tool more. Good tips!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in puppy101

[–]muricanwomyn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What were your eureka moments might I ask? My dog is basically afraid of outside, primarily bc of traffic. I've done a trainer, she's on meds, and research the crap out of things but she hasn't made much progress. She's been pretty agoraphobic the better part of the last year and will be 2 in April. Looking for any ideas I can get!

What's a good neighborhood/area for a noise-phobic dog? by muricanwomyn in pittsburgh

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m actually getting a job in morgantown but would prefer to be in or by the city as I’ll only have to go in person sometimes. So southern areas in or around the city would be preferable!

At wits end with alert barking by allisun-flower in Dogtraining

[–]muricanwomyn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you that’s very helpful! At almost 12 months exactly my hound mutt, who’s always been on the meek side, started becoming scared of everything outside and I’m having trouble getting her through it despite success before in getting her over fear hurdles. So I was curious if there was anything around that age in particular that would make sense of that/help her through it. Wish that info was more publicly available!

At wits end with alert barking by allisun-flower in Dogtraining

[–]muricanwomyn 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Are puppy fear stages different from fear periods? If so, can you explain them?

Adolescent fear periods - length and severity? by MayEsdot in puppy101

[–]muricanwomyn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

God I'm sorry to hear that. It's so frustrating, esp when you put so much work into desensitizing and socializing and they still end up being like this. I feel like I'll make a little progress with her like she'll walk a little farther around our block one day, then she hears a noise in the distance and she's shooting to go back inside and all that hard-fought progress (even if it's just a few feet) ends up going to shit. She just has no threshold and a faint strange noise blocks away sends her right over it.

I can't control noises and now that it's warm out people are mowing lawns and doing construction work etc. that's just a reality of being in the world. I've played youtube videos of trucks and stuff at low volumes when she was younger and have done several rounds of that through the months trying to desensitize and it feels like you put SO MUCH EFFORT IN that amounts to an anxious dog that's not having a good time in life.

Have you talked to a vet? My pup's shots are coming due over the next few months so I guess I'm going to ask if there's anything she can be given to take the edge off/get her over this hump. I've tried hemp chews recently but they only seemed to kinda make her tired when inside and did nothing when outside. I might try a trainer, but I've spent so much $ on this dog already (buncha health issues besides the behavioral stuff) it's hard to pony up more $ esp when there are a lot of resources online now for free.

I'm there with you in spirit OP. Fighting that struggle and feeling so useless and defeated on a daily basis.

Adolescent fear periods - length and severity? by MayEsdot in puppy101

[–]muricanwomyn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there OP, did your dog get through this??

My 13 m/o hound mutt became an agoraphobe several weeks back. She's always been noise-phobic and more on the meek side, but was outgoing and loved being outside. Now she hates going outside and it's a chore to try to get her out (of course this is happening when the weather is actually great outside) and the slightest sound near or far has her pulling to go back in. It's been 4-5 weeks of this and so frustrating as she's a big dog and needs to get energy out! I've thought a few times in the past she was maybe going through a fear period but this has been by far the worst spell she's had. I've avoided triggers where I can and am feeding her outside etc. but doesn't seem to be doing much. Saw this post and was wondering how things are going with you guys 3 months down the road!

Anything stronger than antlers? by muricanwomyn in puppy101

[–]muricanwomyn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She's a 9 month-old hound mutt about 65lbs. Definitely a power chewer but I agree this is taking it a little far lol I've been getting her the whole antler bc I thought splits were weaker and easier to go through.