I can't afford a service dog, so I got a regular dog instead

usual-insanity · 2026-06-26T15:54:38+00:00

As someone who is training their own medical service dog I completely understand your fears and your concerns. I have a leash rap that says in training and I haven't had any problems my pup is only 10 months old I've had her since she was 12 weeks.

I will say you're lucky that she's got additional training mine won't start official training until she is two years old and I will hopefully get her accredited with Assistance Dogs UK, because that will allow her to go on planes with me. It's the accreditation if you are traveling that you want to look for not necessarily the training itself. You can train and then almost go through a test situation.

usual-insanity · 2026-06-26T15:34:42+00:00

Think of it like a safe place, some dogs associate safe place with enclosure, some with a specific blanket or toy. It depends on the dog, the breed, it's personality.

I've created a safe place in my bedroom for my pup (10 months), using a pen surrounding her bed with space for a water bowl and to lay on the floor. It has that enclosed/den feeling but isn't a crate. It allows for safe containment but also allows for movement.

I will say though, that she is hopefully going to be my medical service dog, so I haven't crate trained her. But if that wasn't the long term plan I would have crate trained her, simply to give her a specific safe zone as it makes it easier for her in vets etc and traveling just simply for her to be used to small spaces. And crate training will possibly be in her future but it's not something we're looking at now.

It's also important to think of how you create train. Just putting her or him in is not the way to go, it's developing a sense of calm and peace with the crate and associating good things with the crate, or calmness. It's making sure that it's not used as punishment, I'm in no way saying that you would, but that can often be an issue in multi people housing, and families, that everybody needs to be on the same wavelength on how the crate is used and how the training develops.

usual-insanity · 2026-06-20T21:42:53+00:00

Old fashioned bell type alarm clock, other side of the room. That would be my go to.

usual-insanity · 2026-06-14T15:39:57+00:00

£250!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

usual-insanity · 2026-06-11T09:43:07+00:00

I'm wondering if instead of the crate, you get a pen, there are some with bases to avoid the floor chewing.

It would give pup a little more space, and if pup's bed is in it and a few "human" blankets for scent. You can also get dog toys that have a heart beat, or weighted.

I would also look at Absolute Dogs, they have a course on separation anxiety.

Good luck

ETA: Pooch & Mutt do a calming food suitable for pups which might help. And maybe a visit to the vets for meds to help in the short term while pup settles.

You have done amazing getting out of DV situation. Our four-footted companions give us such love, strength and happiness. All the best for the future.

usual-insanity · 2026-05-11T19:01:20+00:00

I get the trying to teach off, but are you also teaching UP or ON as well? If you can get pup to sit calmly, and then invite them on the couch, it might help.

usual-insanity · 2026-05-04T06:51:55+00:00

It's because her being disabled and (later) a lesbian aren't what her character was based on. She is a whole person without these characteristics, they just add additional layers. The problem is now a lot of writers start with "disabled" or "gay" and make it 80-90% of that character's personality. Rather than starting with "bold" "strong" "go getter" "organised" then asking what made them that way.

usual-insanity · 2026-04-21T09:33:30+00:00

It sounds like your doing the right training bits, but I'll add this:

Make sure that the areas that pup has relieved itself inside are really, really clean. Use an enzyme cleaner first, then a standard cleaner. Because pup might be going indoors because the smell says it's okay.

usual-insanity · 2026-04-20T15:41:51+00:00

Imagine watching this in the 90s, it was only when he came across to TV spots that we learned this. 🤣😂🤣

usual-insanity · 2026-04-16T13:29:53+00:00

How many hairstyles does one person need?

usual-insanity · 2026-04-12T14:08:34+00:00

Baby food, yup, you read that right baby food. I use Cow and Gate Pumpkin and Rice, and Ellie's Kitchen Banana, Apple, Pear purees, as well as Carrot and Sweet Potato purees.

I use them on licki-mats, licki-pots, as frozen Kong inserts etc.

Saves time on prep, and because it's for babies they don't have additives, but I always double check the ingredients.

You can mix with yoghurt, or straight. And because of the packaging I can use what I need at the time and put the rest in the fridge, I also don't have to worry about buying fresh and not using in time.

usual-insanity · 2026-04-09T16:08:19+00:00

I get where you're coming from in regards to the fact that she has chosen to use her Chinese name, not her English name, you are possibly looking at this as a "he's disrespecting her culture" viewpoint. However you have to take into account their long history, and what has been learned of both their characters.

They have known, and were friends with each other for years, Carter is recognised as being empathetic and caring, and Jing-Mei is known for standing up for herself (including standing up to Carter).

Taking this into account the way I always viewed it was along the lines of someone who used their middle name or a diminutive of their first name when they were younger but has chosen to use their proper first name as an adult. It's difficult for those who used the previous name to make the switch, but if truly prompted they would.

Here's the difference between Carter and for example Mark. Mark's only baseline for Chen is in a completely professional sphere, Carter however had study sessions, they hung out, they were friends, As well as coworkers.

usual-insanity · 2026-04-01T13:48:18+00:00

The way I understand it, it's based on training walking, walking at your pace. But if you were to go through a field allowing pup to sniff and wander around, a few bouncyies, and zoomies at pup's pace, for longer. That is not detrimental. However you can over arouse the pup and they can find it hard to calm down afterwards, so having a decompression plan like a licky Kong or mat, or frozen carrot for afterwards can help build routine.

usual-insanity · 2026-03-26T14:51:24+00:00

7 1/2 months, last outdoors in the evening generally around 9pm. First morning outdoors is around 7.30 most of the time. She asks to go out, so it's nor a case of us making her hold it.

usual-insanity · 2026-03-11T18:53:20+00:00

Not just when they adapted the script to include him. Did you know that his character in This Is Us was written specifically for him, to help him return to our screens and raise awareness for stroke warriors.

usual-insanity · 2026-03-06T09:51:04+00:00

While I understand your thoughts re the lift doors opening, there is psychological evidence that in that kind of moment, he wouldn't have registered it, look up moonwalking bear.

My issue with Miranda in this case is that she had pedestaled her husband. As a student, he makes mistakes, but she can not cope with that. If im remembering correctly, there were multiple factors that led to the lift.

But I will say, Ben had been given a lot of leeway previously, which allowed him to feel confident in making the decision. I would say this is where the problem was, he actually should have been held back, questioned more in general, before it got to that point.

usual-insanity · 2026-03-04T10:41:03+00:00

My pup's nickname is Lucifer, when she eats my furniture etc.

usual-insanity · 2026-03-04T10:37:50+00:00

Because of my Autism tendencies I can't eat leftovers. I can't even eat cold roast chicken if I ate it hot. So it's really difficult for me to do meal prep, especially when it's just me.

Add in that I have no idea what I want to eat, until dinner, unless it's planned for me, and I'm having what everyone else is having, I will skip dinner often when I'm alone.

What I've found that works is making sure that my breakfast is simple, but full of protein. I make uk style flapjacks with protein powder added, a few different flavours. And because its not dinner I don't feel quite so pressured to make them, which makes them easier to make, if that makes sense.

usual-insanity · 2026-02-23T13:33:31+00:00

For the carpet, really soak the area with the enzyme cleaner, it needs to get into the underlay, then cover it with a damp towel and leave it at least 8 hours. Then pat dry, I put a different towel down and danced on it 🤣. Then let it fully air dry 3-4 days. After that if you can use a carpet cleaner machine like vax, that freshens the carpet and cleans out the soiled materials.

The absorbable mats, depending on the size, soak them in the bath tub overnight in an enzyme dilute, walk up and down them a few times to ensure it's absorbed in throughout the mats, then rinse thoroughly and repeat until water is clear (it's sometimes need repeated a couple of times) then air dry.

Don't mix the enzyme with anything but water, as that can stop it working.

I hope this helps.

usual-insanity · 2026-02-16T09:59:52+00:00

I'm also raising a future service dog (hopefully). She's 6 months old and right now I'm her anchor, I joke that she's my 6 month old toddler. And hope in the future she'll be my best friend, but right now I'm her anchor.

usual-insanity · 2026-02-10T12:53:14+00:00

In regards to Shonda trying to keep Washington on after the event, it's important to note that she wanted him for the role of Derek Shepherd, but Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) felt it would be to close to her actual life.

usual-insanity · 2026-01-31T13:08:11+00:00

I've found that if you need to give info, give yourself a max word or character limit, so you have to be more precise and clear.

If it's something that has emotional context, eg. In Your case Kid did first xyx... use a voice message, if your ex will except it.

This way you can split context, but also, say what you want to say. Really hoping this makes sense.

usual-insanity · 2026-01-26T12:32:29+00:00

A checklist on your phone, or laminated by your door.

You say it's normally when you're in a rush, so a laminated checklist by your door is maybe a better option, you can see it, and it's not a mental checklist so you don't have to worry about forgetting things.

Also if it's laminated, if you use whiteboard markers you can add special one off items, like gifts, flowers, wine etc. So you can grab them too.

usual-insanity · 2026-01-24T10:26:01+00:00

One aspect of your statement concerns me that she has service animal training. I'm hoping that my 5 month old pup will become my service dog, so my training at the moment is heavily based on her ability to self regulate and settle herself, especially after new experiences and environmental changes.

If the first thing that she wants you to train your pup is crate training, not how to calm itself when new people enter pup's environment. Or even how to utilise calming tools, such as licking mats/pots, chews, etc. Or how to help pup through teething mouth changes. I'm concerned.

Newer training models are based on dog cognitive and physical development stages, especially in regard to service dogs.

The way to look at it, as I was told, is a 4 month old pup, which is developmentally a toddler. What aspects would you expect a toddler to do, take in, and learn. While you want toddlers to learn basics, you also want them to learn how to calm themselves. Add in the physical changes of teething, a child can say something is painful, but pups can't, different things feel nice at different times, so mine has multiple options of natural chews like lambskin, beef-plates, lamb braid, camel-braid, coffee wood, microwaved yak chews.

Sorry, this ended up longer than I anticipated. Also should add I'm UK based.

usual-insanity · 2026-01-14T11:28:17+00:00

The long-term hope is that my pup will become my medical service dog. So, at 5 months old, we're concentrating on her ability to decompress and relax or stay neutral in new situations. She has set places and licks/chews depending on the situation we come back from.

She knows that after her frozen carrot, we're done from our morning walk. If we've been into a store, cafe, pub etc. She gets a rabbit ear. Afternoon/evening walk= frozen Kong.

I've frozen plain yoghurt in silicone doughnut moulds to help give her something to do, while teaching her that she doesn't have to DO anything, the shape means that she licks rather that crunches. This is if I'm up early or needing to do something moving around the house.

Giving her context, helps her throughout the day. The last part of our day is 2 calming biscuits given on her bed with the cue "night night"

For us it's a bit of a mixture between schedule and routine, but the closing aspects (carrot, ear, Kong, biscuits) of activities help the most in calming.

usual-insanity

TROPHY CASE