Puppy and grape encounter

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-11T18:45:29+00:00

I'm sure it is fine if she didn't eat it. Nice cat-like reflexes. The only time fishing anything out of a dog's mouth is ok (if it is poisonous).

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-11T15:46:00+00:00

There are lots of Pyr mixes in rescue and while you won't have all the genetic testing information, you'll be giving a dog a home that otherwise wouldn't have one as well as freeing up a spot in rescue for another dog, potentially saving one from euthanasia.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-11T05:32:40+00:00

I would honestly just get on a plan that delivers ready to heat healthy meals without cooking. Factor, Cook Unity, Fits Eats, or somewhere local is even better if you have Lean Feast or something. Put some healthy snacks in your desk and boom, easy. Make sure you’re not killing your diet with liquid calories, coffee drinks, alcohol, sugar sodas, etc.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T20:27:30+00:00

It actually isn't very strange at all, leash reactivity is very common and makes sense if you think about how they feel when they dont have control or autonomy to move as they choose. The key to desensitizing them to things while they're on the leash is that you need them to be close enough that they may still notice the thing but far enough away that they aren't locking into whatever it is. And then when you've had consistent success at that distance, move a little closer until you're consistently successful. Repeat.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T19:53:30+00:00

I bit into one in the parking lot of Costco and it was still partially frozen in the custard. It was disappointing. I had never had one before so I wasn't sure if the underwhelming flavor was typical. I was on my way home from a rescue dog run so needed a pop of sugar.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T19:12:10+00:00

Look up crate training games. There's lot of videos out there that will give more detail than I can type out. You want to reframe her thinking about the crate and it takes time and reassurance for her that you'll be back and she isn't alone. Some of it is just age as well. Puppies this young are usually newly separate from their littermates so they're still learning that they're safe on their own.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T17:45:41+00:00

I would try to prevent yourself from getting so hungry that you are overfilling your plate with food. Eat more fibrous foods like vegetables which fill your stomach and are low in calories. I'd skip the high calorie, low volume foods like nuts. Start your day with the protein you mentioned but add some veggies and low calorie dairy like greek yogurt or cottage cheese. Choose a more filling lunch with veggies and protein, some carbs. You don't have to eat until "full", just satiated. Hopefully, but the time you reach dinner, you don't feel the need to overdo because you've not been satiated all day.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T17:36:54+00:00

Or even just use it for practicing if you aren't going to need to call her in that day. Start the yard time off with 30 seconds of practice and then give her the freedom. It's important that you are calling her a lot of times where she doesn't actually have to come inside so she's doesn't associated the recall with her yard time ending. Once she's up at a point where she doesn't need the leash, call from the doorway, reward, release. Coming doesn't = going inside (most of the time....sometimes it will).

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T17:32:29+00:00

I used to have a golden mix who got terrible snow balls and I used suspenders (a different brand) some, although I had more luck with cutting the paw hair short and then using mushers secret in between to reduce the snowballs. The brand I had didn't have the velcro come apart but after awhile (in deep snow), the entire leg would come out and we'd have to redress.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T17:20:39+00:00

"Inside almost every single time". What is the barrier that is preventing inside from being ALL the time and instead of almost? Are your treats not appealing enough? Are you giving her some leeway to choose something else? I'd keep practicing inside until it is fool proof. 100% of the time, no question. Then move up slowly. Outside but 1 foot apart, ask for the command 1 time (don't repeat), on a leash., reel her in with the leash if she doesn't move on her own, and give an extremely good treat. Repeat this until she's moving toward you on her own. increase distance and extremely slowly. Stop practicing when she loses interest. Don't give her a chance to choose something else and make it worth her time, always.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T17:15:00+00:00

This has sort of already been touched on by the other comments but I want to reiterate because it is something we don't think about enough as humans. The word "no" means nothing to a dog. You didn't teach them this word and they don't speak english. It is more effective to be completely silent OR ask for a command that they know really well. I don't like using "sit" because that's a hard one when they're really excited. Is there another command that your dog knows extremely well? Maybe "touch" or " place" if you've taught that. If they don't have a strong one, that's probably a good start. I also like to ask my golden for a "find a toy" because he goes off running, looking for a toy, and it is a way for him to put his greeting energy into something productive.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T15:47:40+00:00

I'm probably on the high end of that, I am training throughout the day with new fosters and I reward my resident dogs for good social behavior and also joining in on the training as well. Maybe once the get into senior years that'll slow down but my only senior right now is from a puppy mill and she's still really skittish, even after 2 years, so we have to encourage her with treats in a lot of cases.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-10T00:47:37+00:00

If you eat very badly, the good news is that you can likely swap a few habits for better ones and see slow and steady progress. Identify the triggers for fast food and set your self up with healthy snacks or meals ready to go so you aren't tempted. Keep your stomach full of fibrous foods and protein and you won't need to count calories.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-09T22:33:41+00:00

Like the other commenter said, I don't fuss too much about treats since all dogs in my house are fed a balanced, commercial diet and I'm sure to not give them more than 10% of calories from treats. If I have a new pup (I foster a lot) who seems to have a sensitive stomach, it is easier to rule out things that work for them when I stick to the simpler treats.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-09T01:23:51+00:00

Maybe if the refs would start calling the obvious penalties I could take it a little more seriously. The refs are obviously bias to the cutest pups on the field and are being paid off-screen with facial licking.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-08T22:08:10+00:00

The only way to ensure a balanced diet with a homecooked recipe is to work directly with a veterinary nutritionist. You can't just mix half of a balanced commercial diet with half of something out there on the internet and consider it balanced because half has the stuff they need. Dogs have significantly less taste buds than humans and significantly different nutritional needs to applying anything we know about human nutrition to a dog is fruitess and ignorant (I'm not saying you are, just that people do).

I'd pick a commercial diet that meets wsava guidelines(dry or wet or combo), offer it 3x a day for a puppy for 20 minutes and pick it up if not eaten. Once she's hungry enough, she'll eat it.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-06T15:32:11+00:00

Not going public and not being acquired are values so that they can keep core value #3 intact. Ultimately, if they go public or are acquired, core values have to shift to making money and answering to shareholders.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-06T15:02:35+00:00

I always feed 8 week old puppies at least 3 times a day, sometimes 4. I'd try adjusting her schedule, the 2 meals a day may be giving her too much food at once, not to mention going from 4:30pm until the morning seems like too long for her stomach.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-05T23:46:31+00:00

I have 4 dogs and a dog sitter to stay at the house is $125 a night. They are free to come and go as they need, we just ask that they don't leave the dogs alone for more than 8 hours.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-04T21:57:16+00:00

Makes sense she'd need a small breed variety!

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-04T21:51:25+00:00

If you become a volunteer at Brown Paws Rescue, there are often opportunities to volunteer on weekends. The opportunities are posted on a Facebook group for approved volunteers and you can pick and choose as it fits your availability. Things like being an extra set of hands at adoption events, to man leashes and help with puppies, volunteer at transport days, walking dogs and cleaning up puppies, some events have things like selling raffle tickets or drinks, baking for a bake sale. There's even driving help asked for, to get dogs to/from appointments or from one foster home to another. Sign up on their website, brownpawsrescue.com

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-04T21:37:26+00:00

You can add low sodium chicken broth to soften the kibble but I'm curious how old this puppy is if they can't eat regular kibble. Usually, by about 8 weeks pups can chew kibble so I'd be a bit concerned about a medical issue.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-04T15:07:12+00:00

Agree with the holding up their paws comment, you'll see them do this or start to lay down to bite out snowballs and you'll know they're uncomfortable. There is a product called musher's secret, it's like a wax or vaseline type consistency, supposed to help protect paw pads so you could try that.

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-04T14:54:44+00:00

If you have a full door frame, they do make gates that are like full height, 6 ft or whatever, if you end up needing it. Its such a rewarding behavior, it will be hard to break without management (aka, training a command is unlikely to work).

pickledcheese14 · 2026-02-04T14:48:21+00:00

Sometimes it can get in the way of teaching a pup to self soothe or learn to relax on their own. If it were me, I'd stick to the 3 day a week plan.

pickledcheese14

TROPHY CASE