16bitclaudes's recent activity
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Comment on Owning a dog is a complete misery sometimes, but it's a joy too in ~life.pets
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Owning a dog is a complete misery sometimes, but it's a joy too
It's been a while since I last posted on Tildes but I wanted to make a follow up to a previous post I made here almost a year ago, mostly for the catharsis! At the time I was deep in a pit of...
It's been a while since I last posted on Tildes but I wanted to make a follow up to a previous post I made here almost a year ago, mostly for the catharsis! At the time I was deep in a pit of despair over my young Belgian shepherd's anxiety/ reactivity and a sitter cancelling on me last minute and causing me to miss a friend's wedding just pushed me over the edge. Some things we did to resolve the issues:
- Paid an arm and a leg to lock into an 8 week long reactivity course, at the recommendation of someone on here that I actually got to meet up with (thank you so much, you know exactly how incredibly helpful it's been!). This was worth every penny to us for finally getting guaranteed, regular contact with a trainer and behaviourist alone. She had a lot of valuable insights that other trainers hadn't suggested, for example actually doing LESS with him. At our peak we were doing 2 - 3 long walks per day, training and classes 3x per week. Paring our schedule right back gave us both some much needed space to relax.
- Now that we were working with a behaviourist, we were able to get her to speak to our vet and recommend a short course of Reconcile (fluoxetine), which she'd advised a lot of shepherd dogs with these issues responded well to. We gradually increased to 64mg per day, but even on lower doses we saw rapid improvement in his behaviour.
- Probably just let time pass, honestly. More experiences. We go off to different places at the weekends, book on one-time workshops every now and then, visit lots of family. Each subsequent visit has been better. He LOVES my in-laws and took a while to warm up to my grandparents but the last time we saw them he actually got on my grandad's nerves because he kept going up to him for a fuss! It was such a good problem to have. He's still young but starting to get a little bit of frosting on his lips; I've slowly been able to see some of the teen brain adjusting and a little bit of mellowing with age. It DOES get easier as they get older. I've heard it gets even better once they're 3.
People who know him say he's a totally different dog these days. He's now satisfied with one long walk per day and some short sessions of training, play, scentwork and agility dotted through the week. We've also reintroduced one 40 minute class at the weekend which seems to be working well for him, and we're always bumping into his friends or arranging to do something with them at least once a month.
He can cope with strangers being in close proximity - he's a bit choosier about other dogs now but it's all within the realms of normal. A huge milestone for us was being able to have him be a part of our wedding like we'd always hoped. He will occasionally still react to things, but this only tends to be when he's had a very long day and gets tired/ overstimulated. We're more aware of the signs and he's a lot quicker to settle.
He's going to be 2 next week and had a very positive medication review at the vet's this afternoon. We sat in the waiting room and encountered 4 or 5 different dogs, lots of people and a small, energetic child and he had nerves of steel the entire time. What would have felt like a total nightmare 6 - 9 months ago only gave me mild concerns when the kid got a bit too close. He even accepted a pat from someone!
The vet was really impressed by his progress and agreed that we can start decreasing the dosage and tapering him off of his medication. This all would have been about a million times easier if we'd been able to find a reliable trainer in the first place (still couldn't tell you if it was our bad luck or they're normally that flakey) but thank god we finally got there. I'm cuddling my handsome, happy, silly boy this evening and just feeling a huge sense of peace and relief.
If you've read through all of this and/ or were part of the original thread, thank you!
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Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets
16bitclaudes Link ParentHe's called Garland :) loved seeing your pics of Zoey, Lilah and their kittens, super cute! Reminded me a lot of my mum's cats and their litters.He's called Garland :) loved seeing your pics of Zoey, Lilah and their kittens, super cute! Reminded me a lot of my mum's cats and their litters.
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Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets
16bitclaudes Link ParentThank you so much :) it also helped a ton that someone's recommendation here finally put us in touch with a trainer/ behaviourist that actually stuck around. I have been haemmorhaging money on...Thank you so much :) it also helped a ton that someone's recommendation here finally put us in touch with a trainer/ behaviourist that actually stuck around. I have been haemmorhaging money on this little boy but it's been worth it to be on a much more linear upward trajectory and crawl out of my pit of puppy blues!
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Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets
16bitclaudes LinkIt's been a while since I said anything on one of these (or Tildes in general) but a lot has happened: I got married! My pup was at the wedding and he was brilliant, we got some lovely photos with...It's been a while since I said anything on one of these (or Tildes in general) but a lot has happened:
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I got married! My pup was at the wedding and he was brilliant, we got some lovely photos with him and he only barked once at a well meaning grandparent who came on too strong and strolled into his airspace intending to make a big fuss of him.
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We entered a fun dog show last weekend and he won 2nd place "Handsomest Hound". Obviously the judge didn't have her glasses on and just made a mistake ;) but he was a complete angel when she came around to inspect him and it's something that I never thought we'd be able to do.
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We started some new reactivity classes on Saturdays and he's actually been one of the best dogs there. So much so that the woman running them kept us behind after class today and is kicking us out... because she thinks he's not reactive and wants to try him in the normal Saturday classes instead. I felt pretty emotional and am cautiously optimistic about giving it a go next weekend.
He's been on a moderate dose of Reconcile (fluoxetine) for the last couple of months which he's responding really well to. He's 18 months now and we're aiming to keep him on it until he's about 2 years old and hopefully mellowed out a bit more. He is still not perfect: we've got some work to do before I can be at the stage where I can take him out with me to a restaurant or café and relax, and he's still fairly wary of children but I love this silly sod so much and I'm so proud of how far he's come.
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Comment on What's a life lesson you've applied that has changed your life? in ~life
16bitclaudes Link"If the day was not your friend, then it was your teacher". Day to day I'm either having a great time or learning a lot and sometimes, if I am very lucky, it's both!"If the day was not your friend, then it was your teacher".
Day to day I'm either having a great time or learning a lot and sometimes, if I am very lucky, it's both!
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Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets
16bitclaudes LinkMy beautiful boy passed another Good Citizen Dog assessment and got his silver award on Friday! I'm still absolutely buzzing this morning. We walked into the hall on Friday and there was both a...My beautiful boy passed another Good Citizen Dog assessment and got his silver award on Friday! I'm still absolutely buzzing this morning.
We walked into the hall on Friday and there was both a new dog he'd never met before and one of his best friends who he loves to bits doing it too, so the potential for distractions was off the charts but he came through when he needed to. He's also started a short course of meds to calm him down a bit but even without them he's shown so much improvement lately. Really proud of him.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~society
16bitclaudes Link ParentHe's a known charlatan and grifter that's plagued UK politics for many years. Formerly conservative, formerly UKIP (his latest endeavour, Reform UK, is just the latest flavour of this), admirer of...He's a known charlatan and grifter that's plagued UK politics for many years. Formerly conservative, formerly UKIP (his latest endeavour, Reform UK, is just the latest flavour of this), admirer of Trump, Putin and Enoch Powell (incredibly divisive and now dead conservative politician who famously stood against the race relations act with his "rivers of blood" speech). More recently made some dog whistle comments on how our brown prime minister "doesn't understand our culture". You know, a real stand up gentleman.
He routinely stirs up trouble for his own benefit and then disappears before the shit hits the fan. How he's convinced a chunk of working class people that he's one of them and has the UK's best interests at heart is beyond me. As it stands, Reform UK is unlikely to be a threat this year but they have taken a significant chunk of the conservative votes and will likely have to be given more of a platform off the back of that. I'm not thrilled that they'll be given some legitimacy.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes LinkEating: Nothing! I'm fasting until Friday and will probably do this regularly in the final weeks leading up to my wedding. It is so, so boring but the results are effective for my purposes....Eating: Nothing! I'm fasting until Friday and will probably do this regularly in the final weeks leading up to my wedding. It is so, so boring but the results are effective for my purposes.
Cooking: When I break the fast I am really looking forward to a nice grilled dinner - chicken and corn cobs over the charcoals! I'll probably season the chicken quite simply because I want to smother it in some UK made buffalo sauce which is phenomenal stuff! They also do tins of mackerel in hot sauce that are fantastic.
It'll also finally be time to make the bottom tier of my wedding cake for real (chocolate and salted caramel) and stow that away in the freezer.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes Link ParentI find this recipe from Vincenzo's Plate super easy and beginner friendly. It's one of my favourites and I still make it this way a lot today. When you get the feel of it, you can sub out the...I find this recipe from Vincenzo's Plate super easy and beginner friendly. It's one of my favourites and I still make it this way a lot today. When you get the feel of it, you can sub out the instant yeast and replace some of the flour and water with a starter instead (assuming it's 50/50 water and flour).
Brian Lagerstrom also has some great bread recipes, as does the King Arthur website.
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Comment on How to find purpose in life? in ~life
16bitclaudes Link ParentThis part so much! Things feel good when you put yourself in the role of the earth's caretaker.Leave things/people/the world better than I found them. Help people, clean things, progress the world in a way that it benefits everyone.
This part so much! Things feel good when you put yourself in the role of the earth's caretaker.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes LinkBooked a stay in Cornwall with some friends for the bank holiday weekend and making an occasion of it! I am bringing: Homemade streaky bacon, it's been curing for a week and I smoked over...Booked a stay in Cornwall with some friends for the bank holiday weekend and making an occasion of it! I am bringing:
- Homemade streaky bacon, it's been curing for a week and I smoked over cherrywood this morning
- Orange and cardamom granola using Stella Parks' lovely recipe
- A loaf of bread which is baking currently. Used a combination of white, wholemeal rye and Matthews eight grain flour
- Homemade baked beans to go with the streaky bacon into a magnificent fry up breakfast
- A lemon courgette cake, which is practice for a tier of my wedding cake
- A very dodgy looking 2 litre bottle full of pre-mixed mai tai, made according to Simon Difford's recipe. It just needs 360ml of fresh lime juice added to it and some ice and it's ready to go!
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Comment on Weekly thread for casual chat and photos of pets in ~life.pets
16bitclaudes LinkWe've finally started working together with yet another trainer/ behaviourist and are locked into an 8 week course. It's been hard to learn to do less with my dog; I now take him out 1-2 times per...We've finally started working together with yet another trainer/ behaviourist and are locked into an 8 week course. It's been hard to learn to do less with my dog; I now take him out 1-2 times per day rather than 2-3 and the guilt has been overwhelming at times! I hated it at first but the rational part of me knows it's all within the realms of normal resistance to change. He seems to have adjusted to it a lot better than I did.
He met up with one of his good friends Whiskey today (a rhodesian ridgeback mix). He loves Whiskey's owner too and his friend was visiting and tagged along. We followed the trainer's advice and went straight into a long walk with them all. At one point my boy went in for a little sniff of the new person and then immediately disengaged. He had great fun tearing around with Whiskey and was totally unbothered that the new guy was there, massive success for us all!
He's been super dozy ever since we got back :) this seems like a good strategy for us going forward.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes LinkMy big things over the last few days have been: A chicken, bacon and mushroom pie with wild garlic that I foraged on a walk. I actually made the pie filling a few weeks back and threw it in the...My big things over the last few days have been:
A chicken, bacon and mushroom pie with wild garlic that I foraged on a walk. I actually made the pie filling a few weeks back and threw it in the freezer for an easy midweek dinner (thank you, past me!). It's pretty great and there's enough left for dinner tomorrow.
The top tier of my wedding cake, which is a classic-ish rich fruit cake. Feels a bit surreal to have baked that, it's not too far away now! I've thrown in some non-traditional dried apricots, figs and fresh ginger and will be feeding it with rum for the next couple of months. Had a trial run of it for Christmas and it was great. Next month I'll get to work on the other tiers/ flavours ahead of time and freeze them.
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Comment on The emotional support animal racket in ~life.pets
16bitclaudes Link ParentIf we could just magically cure all allergies to animals overnight and it was far more of a cultural expectation that we should have well behaved dogs, I'd agree with you. I don't need most places...If we could just magically cure all allergies to animals overnight and it was far more of a cultural expectation that we should have well behaved dogs, I'd agree with you. I don't need most places to be dog friendly, but I do wish that more of them were - especially hotels. It's also a bummer that some hotels tend to restrict guests to only small or medium breeds. I don't think my dog is massive but he'll be somewhere between 25 - 30kg when he's fully grown which tends to put him on the lower end of large.
As it stands, we'll generally only be able to have certain types of holiday with the dog but luckily we like those sorts of holidays (we'll be spending our honeymoon with him in a self catering dome in the forest later this year). I'm looking casually at boarding kennels so that we can go off on a different sort of holiday in a few years but I know I'll miss him horribly.
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Comment on Recipes for chicken thighs in ~food
16bitclaudes LinkHere's my recipe for jerk chicken fricasseé: 6 - 8 servings (with rice n peas) 900g/ 2lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs Marinade Juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp salt 3 spring onions, sliced 1½ tbsp...Here's my recipe for jerk chicken fricasseé:
6 - 8 servings (with rice n peas)
- 900g/ 2lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Marinade
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 spring onions, sliced
- 1½ tbsp ground allspice
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ginger (preferably fresh and grated but dried will do)
- 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3-4 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
Other things
400ml good quality chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 - 3 scotch bonnet peppers, whole (depends how spicy you want it)
1 tbsp neutral oil (e.g. vegetable)Combine all the marinade ingredients, coat chicken thighs well and leave to marinate for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.
Add oil to a sauté pan over medium/ high heat. Wipe as much marinade off of the chicken as possible but don't discard it. Brown the chicken in batches and set aside (it shouldn't be fully cooked at this point).
Once all the chicken is browned, deglaze the pan with a little bit of chicken stock and scrape up all the nice crispy bits. Add all the chicken thighs back to the pan, along with the bay leaf and any scotch bonnets. Add your remaining stock to the marinade bowl, swirling to pick everything up and add that in too, topping up with water if needed. The chicken shouldn't be totally submerged, but the liquid should come up to about ¾ of the way.
Bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low, cover the pan and continue to cook for 20 - 30 minutes, or until chicken can easily be cut with the side of a spoon. Every 10 minutes or so, turn over the chicken pieces to make sure they cook evenly and check for tenderness. If you want it extra spicy, break up the scotch bonnet peppers, otherwise gently pull them out about halfway through cooking.
Once the chicken is tender, remove it from the pan and turn the heat up to high to reduce the liquid a bit into a sauce/ gravy. If it becomes too thick/ salty, just thin it out a little again with more water. Serve with rice n peas and a nice bit of salad.
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Comment on How do I fix my (stupid) use of excessive punctuation? in ~humanities.languages
16bitclaudes Link ParentYour comment gives me a lot of peace; reading this post was like looking in a mirror! I am now reassured and completely unrepentant, so I hope OP is too. :)Your comment gives me a lot of peace; reading this post was like looking in a mirror! I am now reassured and completely unrepentant, so I hope OP is too. :)
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes Link ParentThis place is about an hour away from family I've got over that way, hopefully I can convince them to take a trip out there for a treat :)This place is about an hour away from family I've got over that way, hopefully I can convince them to take a trip out there for a treat :)
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes Link ParentI actually bought two tins/ brands of the fabada asturiana (Litoral and El Gaitero) and I've just had the second one now for a late breakfast/ early lunch. El Gaitero was the better of the two in...I actually bought two tins/ brands of the fabada asturiana (Litoral and El Gaitero) and I've just had the second one now for a late breakfast/ early lunch.
El Gaitero was the better of the two in my opinion, but if you spot another kind and like it even more let me know! As much as I'm sure homemade will be better, it's tasty enough that I'll probably keep buying tins for the convenience.
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Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food
16bitclaudes Link ParentAside from the usual fried chicken and buttermilk pancakes, I believe there are several cheeses you can make from buttermilk. You could add some to coleslaw or potato salad for a nice tang. Stella...Aside from the usual fried chicken and buttermilk pancakes, I believe there are several cheeses you can make from buttermilk. You could add some to coleslaw or potato salad for a nice tang.
Stella Parks also has a wonderful granola recipe that I've made several times now that needs buttermilk. I make an orange and cardamom version sometimes.
And he loves you! It's mad how things turn out sometimes, we're so grateful we got to run into you and put things on a better trajectory.