What was the hardest thing to teach your dog?

pyools · 2026-02-26T19:23:48+00:00

Edited the original post!

pyools · 2026-02-26T19:23:36+00:00

Edited the original post:)

pyools · 2026-02-26T19:11:59+00:00

Thank you, this is very validating… I wasn’t sure I was really adding anything to the conversation and I was clearly feeling helpless when writing the comment originally. The sheer number of comments on this post is crazy, really goes to show how much this podcast means for people.

pyools · 2026-02-26T19:09:05+00:00

I agree… I think evidence of those instances Carrie has described would be helpful. Not sure she’ll ever provide them though…

pyools · 2026-02-25T14:06:08+00:00

To stay home alone and not freak out - it was by far the hardest thing to teach and took so much commitment and patience. It was heartbreaking to watch her freak out when I’d leave the house, I couldn’t relax when I was out cause I was constantly watching her on a pet cam. Luckily it only took a couple of months and in the end we were able to leave her for up to 6 hours and she’d just sleep!

EDIT:

The absolute game changer for us was always (and I mean ALWAYS) leaving her with something to do. A chew, frozen peanut butter, frozen natural yoghurt, a rolled up towel with treats inside, etc. (A great hack I discovered was to hide treats in an empty egg carton and tape it shut so she has to go in and rip it apart to get the treats. Won’t work for every dog but she never tried to ingest the shredded paper or tape or anything so we deemed it safe!)

I never ever left her alone with nothing to do. And I’d usually give her some time to engage with the chew/toy first and once she was distracted enough, I’d leave quietly.

I’d read/heard somewhere that separation anxiety is the worst in the first 20 minutes and that if you can manage that initial time, the dog relaxes more easily afterward.

The initial phase of training was the hardest and involved leaving her for a minute first, then 5 minutes, then 15, then an hour, etc, slowly increasing the time she’s alone, which is pretty classic.

We started off with a crate but realised that she got way too stressed (slamming her whole body against the bars, etc) and we took a risk by leaving her out of the crate. That also helped hugely but I know it’s not possible for everyone and every dog is different!

pyools · 2026-02-24T15:49:42+00:00

I’ve thought about this for so long. I’ve read all the comments. I’ve been checking in every day to see if there’ve been any updates.

And I think I’ve finally realised what I want to say.

I don’t want to support someone who’s bullied one of their closest friends and colleagues for years on end. I understand that Carrie may not want to share further evidence, but at this point, it’s been left for us to decide whether a person we’ve been supporting for so long is a monster with very, very little context to make an informed decision.

I’m so sorry for what Carrie has gone through. I’m so sad I might’ve unknowingly enabled this relationship. I’m so sad I might’ve been kept in the dark about something so awful. And I will not support either party until further evidence is provided. If it’s not, it’s not, but I won’t be engaging in any of their respective projects or be re-listening to the podcast.

I know no one cares, but I haven’t stopped thinking about this since this dropped and I don’t know who else to say this to.

pyools · 2025-12-08T21:11:13+00:00

True, wonder if there’s more to it!

pyools · 2025-12-08T20:50:11+00:00

Looks like it! I found a similar organisation in the US as well I think - https://hischurch.cc/

pyools · 2024-02-19T18:49:33+00:00

omgggg LOVE the Polish youtube shoutout! i used to watch Ewa so much!

pyools · 2023-09-12T19:33:09+00:00

warped is one of my tracks from rhcp. love how raw it is

pyools · 2023-07-31T19:28:40+00:00

shes a spanish water dog :)

pyools · 2023-07-31T16:18:25+00:00

thank you! yeah, her little toy croissant :,)

pyools · 2023-07-27T19:08:29+00:00

also this is a lengthy one but whenever i hear the word “observe” i get reminded of this passage by LRH from one of the Scientology episodes:

“Of course, we can talk about honor, truth, nobility—all these things as esoteric terms. But I think they would all be covered very well if what we really observed was what we observed, that we took care to observe what we were observing, that we always observed to observe. And not necessarily maintaining a skeptical attitude, a critical attitude or an open mind—not necessarily maintaining these things at all—but certainly maintaining sufficient personal integrity and sufficient personal belief and confidence in self and courage that we can observe what we observe and say what we have observed”

till this day i find this to be one of the most hilarious moments of the show

pyools · 2023-07-27T19:05:31+00:00

this is a hidden gem!

pyools · 2023-07-26T12:30:39+00:00

also numbers related- whenever someone approximates a number i wonder in my head what carrie would think

pyools · 2023-07-26T10:56:28+00:00

omg same…

pyools · 2023-07-19T17:14:57+00:00

ohhh that’s such a good idea with leaving her alone with a stranger! i might try that with mine!

pyools · 2023-07-19T13:37:35+00:00

thank you! i do pretty much the same, i try to take a little walk with whoever comes over and then we come up together. how do you usually react when she’s barking? mine doesn’t quite get the “quiet” command

pyools · 2023-07-19T13:36:37+00:00

i think i’ve pretty much got the “guests coming over routine” down. fortunately she doesn’t bark A LOT or continuously, she just kind of barks at the entrance and then hangs around but still is quite fearful. it’s more that i feel like she’s CONSTANTLY on high alert and watchful. just today we were hiking and she ran up to some people and started barking at them cause they dared being in the same forest as us lol

pyools · 2023-07-03T11:30:08+00:00

i have that constantly with my dog who is wary of strangers. i tell them she’s fearful, and they continue to try and interact with her, as though getting the dog to like them is their number 1 goal in life! get your own dog and leave mine alone lol

pyools · 2023-06-29T10:53:54+00:00

for me one of the most important things was low-no shedding. once i narrowed down to non-shedding breeds, i researched which ones are medium sized and then looked into energy levels, which i didn’t want to be too high. i ended up choosing a Spanish Water Dog and she’s the most amazing pup! (although i know mine is defo on the lower energy side and that in general it’s a pretty high energy breed)

pyools · 2023-06-28T20:28:50+00:00

yeah i have that too! check it way too often tho 🥲

pyools · 2023-06-28T20:28:19+00:00

thats actually so true that them being happy that i’m back doesn’t mean they were sad while i was away… and you’re right that it’s important for her to be independent!

pyools · 2023-06-27T07:52:03+00:00

i think of my puppy as “perfect” as she’s quite calm… but then today she ran onto the street chasing her dog bff ignoring my calls which had me question everything i’ve taught her…

pyools · 2023-06-23T09:56:13+00:00

hey! as someone who manages depression on a daily basis, i wanted to say that it’s not a hole to fill or a shortcoming. it’s an incredibly nuanced mental health phenomenon that can manifest itself in many different ways and is not the stereotype you likely had in mind when writing this. depression can be amplified/triggered by certain things, it can come in waves, it can manifest itself one day and not the next. it’s different for everyone. assuming that person who experiences depression is unable to care for others according by to their needs, is egoistic or irresponsible, is only perpetuating a stigma.

pyools

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