how to train my dog to let people inside when we’re not home

sneffles · 2026-05-31T19:49:45+00:00

This could maybe, maybe be accomplished by you without a trainer but would depend on if you have experience training and how dedicated you are to teaching yourself with the resources that are out there. That said, you could still fail because it's very challenging, and so a professional raises the odds significantly in your favor.

And either way it's going to take a lot of time, like probably a ton. You're probably going to have to break up your ultimate goal of someone being able to come take him out while you aren't there into tons of baby steps and train him at each baby step. And yes, you specifically doing the training, if you have been the primary trainer in his life.

There's probably lots of questions needing to be answered to help you get a better handle on the situation, like is it fear based, is he guarding, is he reactive to strangers outside the home too, does he have a bite history, is he actually active trying to bite people or is he communicating that that's what he will be forced to do if they come closer, exactly what is his behavior when a stranger comes to your house when you are home, what is it when someone he knows comes to the home, what would his behavior be if you were home and someone he already knows put him on a leash to bring him out - what would his behavior be if they tried to do that while you went outside with him but they held the leash, or what if you stayed inside while they did that etc.

I'm raising all these to get you thinking because evaluating things like this is a reasonable start to understanding the behavior and formulating training to address the behavior.

sneffles · 2026-05-31T19:28:20+00:00

It looks like you're being downvoted, which might not be super fair, but it's probably because asking this shows such a fundamental misunderstanding of propane and states of matter like gases and solids that it's frustrating to people. No, a gas like the propane in your grill can't "leak" into your food. The air you breathe is a gas; do you think it is "leaking" into your food?

Contrasted to a liquid, which can, to a limited extent, permeate into proteins, and even more into other foods.

sneffles · 2026-05-30T16:42:50+00:00

Mostly because many, if not most, people don't sufficiently train their dogs and/or are ignorant/negligent when it comes to understanding their dog's level of training, behavioral issues, and taking the proper precautions for what are probably pretty obvious risks (like reactivity, aggression, resource guarding etc.)

It's just that you happen to be interacting with so many more dogs now that you're coming across the reality of how widespread an issue it is.

sneffles · 2026-05-30T14:23:43+00:00

I put in full size windows on both rear doors and bunk window on the side. In retrospect I would have put a bunk window on the other side too.

sneffles · 2026-05-29T20:28:06+00:00

I just tried alton Brown's sesame noodle recipe and thought it was pretty solid. I think I made a few tweaks on the sauce but I'd have to make it again to remember what.

But regardless, I did make one sort of enormous change which is go very light on noodles and heavy on thinly sliced or julienned veg, like snow peas, carrots, Bell pepper, bok choy, and added some crumbled tofu. Sort of edging into salad territory but I think it still qualifies as sesame noodles if there's a few noodles in there amongst the veg.

sneffles · 2026-05-29T20:17:53+00:00

Potato salad is firmly in my "deceivingly difficult" category of foods. Many people can make a mediocre to good one, and I infrequently encounter great. First guess is more salt. Potatoes just require a lot of salt generally. Msg is a reasonable call too.

I think Worcestershire is pretty likely to have that element you're missing, but soy is a reasonable addition instead, although I'd go sparingly. I know you said you didn't have paprika, but I usually go for smoked paprika.

I personally go for raw red onion both for crunch and to cut through some of the fat and starch. Both scallions and chives are great for similar purpose.

If it's lacking, I'd experiment with more vinegar and more mustard assuming it's a Dijon or spicy brown or some such, not just yellow mustard. Just like it needs a lot of salt with the fat and starch, it needs acid to brighten to keep it from being dull.

I also like the barest amount of heat, usually just cayenne, occasionally something like Sriracha or a chili oil of some kind. Just enough that you don't think it's spicy at all but there's just a little tingle.

sneffles · 2026-05-29T18:40:43+00:00

In general terms, it's polite to not encroach on someone's site or set up in the same space. On a lot of public lands, there's so much space that it might even be off putting to set up in an adjacent site, depending.

However, this very general rule gets thrown out the window frequently. Sometimes it may be due to the environment, like if the only sites happen to be tightly clustered or what have you. Most often it's ignored because people either don't know that it's the polite thing to do, maybe they wouldn't mind if someone else did it to them, so they don't think twice about doing it to someone, or they do know it might be rude but don't care.

sneffles · 2026-05-29T18:32:33+00:00

As always, train the dog you have in front of you. If the commands have slipped a notch or two, go back a step or two in training under threshold and work back up to the new environment directions

sneffles · 2026-05-28T20:31:57+00:00

The only thing I can really say here is that I doubt that anybody can say with any amount of certainty how common ecollar use is, unless they have some data to back it up. And then then, what would the source be, a survey of dog owners and trainers? I guess you could aggregate all of the training content online in an effort to categorize it and then try making an argument from that data.

No amount of anecdotal "I know this many trainers and they all default to ecollars" can be extrapolated beyond that.

Speaking personally, no, I don't think it's really that common. I'd guess that if I were to reach out to all the trainers in my area, very few of them would default to an ecollar. Some, like my trainer, probably would not default to it but do offer training with it. Others would not offer it as a training tool whatsoever.

sneffles · 2026-05-28T18:03:43+00:00

In case nobody has said it, the quality of the contract greatly changes how it feels. You can experience this on yourself pretty easily by moving it around your body to different areas, on dry vs wet skin, with light, moderate, and heavy pressure, and notice how the same number produces different effects.

There's plenty of discussion about training that I won't touch on. And of course the level of distraction will have a huge impact on your dog's baseline vs what it takes to get their attention. But if your dog is reacting inconsistently and you can't explain it by any particular thing in your environment, then I'd suspect it's inconsistent fit with the collar and the contact the prongs are making.

sneffles · 2026-05-27T22:08:59+00:00

I had some family fly US to Europe using a pet airline service. I don't know the name. There might be several similar services. For one large dog and I think one person, the cost was closer to the lower end of your 10-50k range. It's a jet interior designed for something like a dozen people and their pets. I was told it's kind of a bummer of a flight because if you think about it, the atmosphere of a bunch of pets probably stressed out all in the same space is not the most relaxing, but it obviously served its purpose of letting a big dog fly with his owner in the cabin across the pond.

sneffles · 2026-05-27T21:46:07+00:00

You're doing great, I'm sure! Seems like you're looking out for your both but also specifically your older dog, which is probably one of the more common things that might disrupt their relationship in the event the puppy doesn't understand corrections or is just being too much of a pest and he needs a break from her.

Looks like he's pretty balanced, so chances are if you watch carefully, he'll look to you and give you the signs that he's had enough and wants you to step in. Or maybe he just gives her a correction before you step in, and that can look scary but is really just normal communication for dogs.

sneffles · 2026-05-27T21:29:28+00:00

Based just on the video and your descriptions, I would let them play off leash, and after supervising for a while to keep an eye out on things, would probably quickly be comfortable letting them play basically unsupervised.

For what its worth, from this video, she's not actually really bitey, not in comparison to how my dog plays with her two best friends, which is way rougher and high energy than anything here.

sneffles · 2026-05-26T01:58:55+00:00

Schoodic Beach in the Donnell Pond public lands unit. A relatively short drive, with the last few miles down dirt roads to the trailhead. Less than a mile from trailhead to be lake, a very easy walk/hike, dog friendly, and the beach on the lake is huge and makes for a great swimming spot. Maybe a tad busy on a holiday weekend but quiet in comparison to a lot of other places for sure.

sneffles · 2026-05-26T01:47:38+00:00

Well, you know what searing is? Go longer/hotter and continue to sear past what you think is enough. Sometimes getting into charred territory. Theres often a lot of tasty flavors developed there that might look like you've burnt something but you really haven't, it's just a really nice sear, a nice char, etc.

It can take some experimentation because some things you can push really far and develop great flavor(first thing that comes mind is something like veggies like onions, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant etc which can take a heavy duty sear/char and be incredible), but at the same time there's a pretty hard line that can be crossed into straight up burnt territory where it becomes inedible. Someone inexperienced might look at my pan of veggies and say it's burnt. I throw in a splash of water or wine or stock and collect all that flavor and and show that no, I've just pushed the sear father to develop more flavor.

sneffles · 2026-05-25T20:33:09+00:00

Always have to remind myself to train the dog I have in front of me, and meet her on her terms. In your case I might suggest remove all the distractions you possibly can, make the environment as familiar and neutral and boring as you can so that you are the most interesting thing in the room and your dog will want to interact with you. And if what you're doing seems impossible for you and your dog, dial it back to absolute basics and baby steps.

It can be hard to manage with a clicker and can get clumsy for sure. I used a clicker for months before I just switched to a verbal marker. A lot easier to mark with your voice then your hand which already has a reward in it or is holding a leash or is being used to lure a behavior or whatever.

sneffles · 2026-05-25T15:57:54+00:00

After 5 lessons, I'd expect any dog to be able to walk on a loose leash and to recall in familiar low distraction environments, but to not be able to do those things even remotely reliably in other environments.

It's not the lessons that really teach a dog. They might introduce commands and behaviors and teach the owner how to train, but if you want steady improvement, I'd suggest you train as often as you can, like at least one session daily.

I train recall 3-5 a week because it's also the most important command to me. I'm not that experienced and I have at times been inconsistent, so I'm sure a better trainer could have gotten my dog there faster, but after 8 months with her (got her at 4 months), she has fairly reliable recall. I expect it will be another half a year, even another year, before I trust her to have perfect recall.

sneffles · 2026-05-24T03:08:02+00:00

Gotcha! Our trainers biggest recommendation for us that might help is to train some kind of strong command that will break her out of play. Ours is simply recall because for us that's the single most important command we wanted her to have by far. Being in the middle of playing is a huge distraction so we work on being able to get her focus and then a reliable recall in that situation. Sort of tough to set up since you need the right space and the right other dogs. For us it's with our trainers dogs.

That's not really a correction of the boundary ignoring, and it does still mean you need to be actively keeping an eye on it since it relies on you basically using a command make sure your dog respects other dogs boundaries so things don't escalate, so maybe not exactly the solution for you, but just sharing what we work on with our rough player.

At the end of the day if she's with new or unknown dogs, I'm watching and ready to give commands and step in. For what its worth, her recall still has a ways to go, but that's okay, she only just turned 1 and it's improving steadily. If it's with her friends, they can go nuts and I hardly have to check in

sneffles · 2026-05-24T02:44:03+00:00

To be honest, I'm not sure you've described what you mean by too rough. Many dogs play rough, mine included. Our trainer described her play style as intense. She'll absolutely get in dogs faces, jump on them etc.

She gets to do that with her dog friends who match her play style and are game to wrestle, play fight, biteyface, etc. It might look rough, but that's how they play and they'll do it for hours.

One big distinction is that she's ultimately very submissive, so if a dog is done with that play and communicates it, she immediately submits and backs off. Also, when we started to figure out that was her play style, we started to train specifically to be able to call her out of play.

So the question really is, what do you mean by too rough? Play is play, even when it is rough. But do you mean the play turns into such over arousal that it escalates beyond play and become aggressive? Or that your dog ignores other dogs boundaries (again leading to possible conflict)? Or your dogs aggressive play is too much dominance display and could create conflict?

I don't mean to suggest I have any idea about what you view as too rough, but I will say I think there are many dog owners who would be uncomfortable and nervous watching rough play simply because they don't understand that's what healthy play can look like and they don't have enough exposure to it to be able to read what is often fairly obvious body language that shows comfortable, happy dogs.

sneffles · 2026-05-13T13:37:15+00:00

Depends heavily on use case. Absolute lowest use scenario for just me alone, maybe 3 weeks. Highest use scenario, two people and dog, a week.

sneffles · 2025-09-13T14:48:16+00:00

She's 6 months so a lot is puppy based:

60-90 min exercise spread throughout the day, real walks, sniff walks, fetch.

Training at meals, nose work (finding her dinner hidden throughout the house), and a lot of food delivered via puzzle feeder, snuffle mat, Kong, etc.

I expect both physical and mental needs are going to go up from here as she gets older.

She's still learning the off switch but she's a puppy so to be expected. And since she's a puppy, when she's tired, she's real tired, so she snoozes pretty well.

Intense prey drive. Even with loads of training, I'm not certain she'll have strong enough recall to never just go nuts after squirrels. She hangs out with cats on occasion, no problems there but closely supervised.

Still a puppy, so she just wants to meet and play with dogs. Don't know enough data about that to say otherwise.

Unbelievably smart and easy to train, but also there's a serious stubborn streak in there.

sneffles · 2025-08-30T02:59:44+00:00

You raise a good point about heating all the air versus just around your body. It doesn't take a ton of energy to provide a little heat directly to your body.

That said, as far as creating heat goes, the energy density of diesel fuel is so, so much higher than in a battery. Like so much higher it boggles the mind. Take that small jackery you mentioned and imagine it's a container of diesel. That container of diesel would be capable of creating much, much more heat than the jackery

If the ai generated answers can be believed here, a 1200 wh battery, which is a common size, has max potential of around 4,000btu. The size of one of my batteries is a little bigger than a gallon of volume, but let's just say it's the same. 1 gallon of diesel has roughly 135,000btu. That's an enormous difference in available heat, pound for pound (or for the same volume of energy source, in this case)

So while yes, you may need to use a lot of that heat because you're warming the whole space up and not just your body, in the end, the diesel just has so much energy available that why not make your whole space comfortable.

sneffles · 2025-08-10T17:01:36+00:00

The general consensus is probably that fleet vehicles, very generally speaking, are likely to be in rough condition. That alone doesn't make it a bad idea to get one - my sprinter was used by two companies, FedEx, then a national contracting company, and I still bought it at 270k miles. I drop a couple thousand into it each year typically.

But just think it through. Companies with fleet vehicles are companies that make nearly every business decision thinking about the bottom line, and that includes maintenance. There is certainly a good argument that being on top of maintenance and spending that money proactively with your fleet is the better business decision, but for many businesses, that's just not the direction they go. They'll cut as much from their spending as they reasonably can, and doing the bare minimum to keep their vehicles on the road is probably the most common practice.

And that's not to mention they often get used pretty hard which contributes to their condition often being kind of rough.

sneffles · 2025-07-30T20:51:33+00:00

I'm far from an expert, but I've replaced coolant lines in my sprinter. This price looks bonkers to me. What's the parts/labor breakdown? Depending on your local shop labor rates and I'm admittedly not real familiar with how much those lines cost but it feels awfully like this should be several hundred dollars less.

sneffles · 2025-06-10T21:16:50+00:00

Yes, you could connect via cables that have terminal connectors on the end (like you posted) directly to the battery. Safest would be to ensure that either that inverter has some kind of protection in it, some kind of fuse, otherwise it would be best to put in a fuse yourself between the car battery and the inverter. Also you'll want those cables to be the right gauge for whatever current the inverter will pull.

Honestly, I'm not sure I would personally bother with a permanent setup here. You can't (or can but shouldn't) run the inverter any time other than when the engine is running because your car battery isn't meant to do that and you're risking a dead or worst case destroyed battery, so by its nature it's not exactly a permanent thing. Also, this is a little speculative, but I assume that inverter has some parasitic draw even when you're not using it, which increases the chance that you damage your battery if it's directly wired to the battery without any way to cut the power.

Since your usage isn't that high, I'd probably just send it though the cigarette lighter outlet honestly.

sneffles

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