Dally & dogs

Spoonie life & dog training

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Hehe

[jasper-rolls]

there’s a difference between “just do a little yoga it will cure your depression forever :)” and “going for a run won’t solve your problems but it will make you feel a little better and that’s the first step” but this site seems to treat them as the same thing

[thequantumqueer]

the problem is that yoga/coconut oil/green tea/exercise/whatever is suggested by very nearly literally every perfect stranger who happens to find out that we’re disabled in any way. it’s not “someone told me to do yoga and how could they think that’ll solve everything? im upset now” it’s “this week alone 12 people have told me to try yoga as soon as they found out i can’t stand for more than a few minutes at a time without being in pain and gee darn why didn’t i think of that?” it’s “i opened up about my mental illness because you seemed like an understanding but it turns out you’re the third person today who’s going to tell me that what i really need is some fresh air.” it’s “you just need to eat this super food” “i can’t eat that for medical reasons” “well try just a little bit anyway you never know it might help” it’s “you’ll never know what you can do if you don’t push yourself.” “i am pushing myself through intense pain just to be here with you having this conversation” “well that’s a depressing and defeatist attitude…” it’s “going for a run won’t solve your problems but it will make you feel a little better and that’s the first step.” “you see my cane, right? i am physically unable to run.” “that’s ridiculous. i saw this story on the news about a kid who…” “yoga” is shorthand for all of that in disability-speak, and we also have to deal with a truly absurd number of able-bodied neurotypical people who truly believe that if we “just do a little yoga it will cure your depression forever :)”

EDIT: holy shit i just looked at the notes and jesus fucking christ. you should do the same if you don’t believe me

[azu203]

When they say “the people on this site is so anti-recovery”, what they really mean is “how dare you invalids refuse to sacrifice your health, dignity, comfort, privacy, autonomy and general humanity for the rigorous public performance of a humbled repentant cripple”. Fuck that noise. If I have the financial means and competent, respectful healthcare providers that’s willing to help me with every concern I have, why wouldn’t I be open to the idea? Actually, fuck healthcare, if I could just have unlimited money, I could make the world my playground regardless of my disability. But we all know damn well either scenario will ever be a reality for most of us - poor, non white, gender non conforming, having no access to even basic healthcare let alone the very expensive specialised healthcare that we really need. Neither will the possibility that fucking strangers - both abled and even disabled, online and in real life - will offer us the tiny morsel of respect that we understand ourselves better than anyone to know or ways around our personal disabled life and keep their generic advices to themselves. It’s like they can’t sleep at night if they can’t pass on that worthless piece of knowledge to feel secure in the ignorance and illusion that the possibility of an abled life is just right there around the corner and we’re just too lazy/busy wallow in self pity/“anti recovery” to just reach out and get it.

[chronicillnessproblems]

Yeah, usually when people say things like “yoga/kale/exercise/positivity” it’s upsetting and ableist because:

Often it’s things we CAN’T DO. I am medically not allowed to run. (Too high impact for my joints.) Or do yoga. (Can’t stretch my joints, it makes them 1000% worse, that’s my whole problem.) So being suggested these “cures” weekly is extremely frustrating.

Often we’ve already tried them. You really think when I became too sick to function I didn’t immediately try everything I could, including eating healthier, popular OTC vitamins and supplements, etc.?

They come from a place of healthy people assuming they know more about our own health than we do, when very likely whoever is recommending cures to us has never even googled our illness, or if they have they only read one page about it. We’ve been dealing with this for much longer. Trust me- unless the study came out yesterday, we’ve heard about it already.

Not to mention that “cures” aren’t accessible for everyone. Even if we have doctors and insurance, they aren’t willing to prescribe everything the internet says will help our illness, whether it would or not. Plus insurance doesn’t always cover 100%, it almost never does. And insurance doesn’t cover non-prescription things at all. Diets are expensive. Yoga classes are expensive. Supplements are REALLY expensive. Hell even running shoes and the time to run, on top of having illness plus school/work/life whatever is expensive.

It’s blaming people for not being able to get better when we don’t take your suggestions. Because chronic or degenerative, incurable, and even untreatable things exist, but to ableds it’s, “they must just not want to or they’d get better.” I mean do I seriously have to explain how ableist that is?!

It gets patronizing- “well *I* can do this and be healthy, why can’t you?” “I don’t know, maybe because you don’t have the shitty genetics I do, Brenda!”

[spooniestrong]

My rheumy just pulled this on me.

I’m looking for a new one.

Over this ableist bullshit.

[illness-to-wellness]

Free New App Will Make Netflix Binge-Watching Safer for People With PTSD

"Feerless" is seriously incredible and important.

A Google Chrome extension that you can press when you think something may be triggering to another person out there. It’s a crowd-sourced thing, so the more people use it, the more it will be able to warn us 30 seconds in advance so we can decide if we want to keep watching. Brilliant.

[neurodivergentwoc]

waitwhatdidtheysay:

This isn’t captioning related, but it definitely falls under the banner of ‘Access for All’

I just downloaded it and this is what the list of trigger categories looks like: 

it looks like it will be very useful for anyone who is concerned about being triggered. i dont have netflix so i cant see how it actually works with netflix but if anyone has tried it hmu pls! 

[informative-feminist]

For future reference

[witch-apologist]

SUPPORT THIS OMFG

[fancynewaddress]

Reblogging because I know I have some PTSD survivors amongst my mutuals. Can’t personally vouch for this, but it sounds like it’s worth checking out!

[gingersnapwolves]

omfg so helpful

scenes with animal cruelty will literally give me nightmares for fucking weeks, thank you so much for this

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Bacon cat doing bacon things. I had a seizure today and almost dropped paint on him and fell on him. It was spectacular, and he apparently slept through it all XD

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Whilst I do more research into raw feeding, the pups are enjoying raw ‘treats’ 1-2x a week (did you know it’s a myth that you can’t feed kibble and raw at the same time, because they digest at different rates? Now you do!). This is Toller, my 3kg tripawd pup, eating a raw baby rabbit :) 

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Today is a damn good day!! :)

I got my first chickens as an independent adult (I fuffing LOVE chickens, they are amazing pets, and I’ve wanted them since I left home) AND I told my parents that I am legally changing my name, and why!

I am now proud mum to two feather-babies! A Thuringian and a Belgian Bantam. Both these breeds are bantams, so they’re very tiny. They’re both incredibly friendly, which I’m super stoked about.

Next, my ‘rents now know shit! I told them I’m non-binary, and so an overly feminine name just doesn’t feel nice to me. It doesn’t feel like a part of me. I told them this in a message on Saturday, which they read but didn’t reply to. I don’t live with them, their opinions mean shit, so I didn’t care.

Tonight I rang to talk poultry, and they randomly brought up my name change. They were totally chill about it all, an exterior of forced calm but no sadness or anger leaked through at all :D

[thefibrodiaries]

How can you support a government that punishes sick people for being sick?

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Yup...

[gobsthegoblin]

self care for when you hit rock bottom

i fucking hate self care posts made by neurotypicals so here’s one from someone who Actually Gets It

-can’t shower or take a bath? me either. dry shampoo can make your hair look and feel cleaner, and baby wipes or makeup wipes work great to get the top layer of grime off your skin.

-can’t wash your sheets and make your bed? i feel you. push your blankets out of the way and shake the crumbs off your sheet. it will at least be a bit more comfortable.

-can’t even change out of your dirty pajamas? been there. hit yourself with some febreeze and a lint roller. if you can, brush your hair. if you can’t, hair ties and bobby pins are fantastic.

-can’t make anything to eat? same. if you can, there’s no shame in ordering food. in fact, it’s probably better you eat something rather than go hungry. if you can’t, try and find something that comes pre-made or takes minimal effort to make. at the very least, drink some water.

can’t respond to messages or reach out for help? yeah, i get that. set an alarm for a few hours from now and respond to any messages you need to once you’ve given yourself time to prepare. if they’re Important Messages that need Professional Responses, you can find fill-in-the-blank format rough drafts on google. as far as personal messages go, don’t feel bad for sending a mass “I’m sorry, I’m in a personal emergency right now. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” response to everyone.

-can’t even sleep because it’s so bad? asmr videos always knock me out, personally, but i also watch a lot of bob ross. just try to find something quiet and soothing to use as background noise and take your mind off it, or at least give you a more peaceful environment to think about it.

-can’t go for a walk/drive? try opening the blinds or curtains. you’re still exposing yourself to the outside world. baby steps. (i also play animal crossing or sims; it may be virtual but fuck it. i went on a walk.)

-can’t go into work/school? let people know. let your coworkers or classmates know it’s an emergency and you can’t make it. give yourself up to two days, but then you have to go back. ask to have your work emailed to you so you know what you missed.

-can’t brush your teeth and wash your face? makeup or baby wipes and gum or mouthwash. don’t let yourself physically rot bc you’re rotting emotionally.

-remember that you’ve been here before. if you survived then you can survive now. that’s what this is about- survival. you don’t have to be living your Best Life. right now, it’s more than enough that you’re alive.

[spoonie-living]

This is really, really fabulous advice, especially that last bit. Keep this in your back pocket for next time things get bad.

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Need to keep this where I can find it!

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Sasha voting! ;)

[dallyanddogs-blog]

13 week old: focusing on focus and socialisation!

Mojo is 13.5 weeks old, here’s an adventure we had a few days ago :)

Mojo is an AWESOME dog to work with. He’s spunky, confident, intelligent, and very food motivated. Currently we are concentrating on socialisation, focus around distractions, and basic obedience (sit, recall, heel etc).

The one iffy thing we’ve encountered is other dogs; he was very reactive when he came to us, and although this has improved he occasionally lets out a little huff, and on the ground doesn’t want to say hello to other dogs. He’s only met one unknown dog so far, and silently sat on my lap and observed - I was hugely impressed, as he didn’t bark, came to me for safety, and was happy to watch. Our Border Terrier reacted the same way at about 3 months, and he grew to be an extremely social adult..I’m not sure the same will happen for Mojo, but who knows?

Socialisation

He takes in his stride:

- people, observing and greeting (elderly people, children, teenagers, toddlers, people using crutches, wheelchairs and mobility scooters)

- heavy traffic (being carried and walking by busy roads, including loud lorries going past)

- shops, both going in and sitting outside watching people with trolleys etc

- a variety of surfaces (sand, grass, concrete, metal grates, bark chips etc)

- farm animals (cows, sheep)

Training

Mojo has been SO FUN to train :)

He’s so quick to learn, and the fact he is extremely food motivated definitely helps haha. So far he knows sit, down, touch, wait, two (front paws on an object) and his name. 

Outdoors his loose lead walking is coming on a treat. His off lead heel is incredible!

His recall is wonderful, because he’s so young! There’s no better time to concentrate on creating reliable off leash behaviour or recall than when your puppy is young. Get them off lead, and get them running to you :)

Finally, his focus rocks!

I’m expecting this to vanish in the next month or two haha, but for now I’m working with it and rewarding it as much as possible. The other day he did an off lead sit stay whilst a man passed us on a path!! And he also walked loose lead through a park teaming with two dozen kids, offered sits, and focused when asked :)

He’d just walked through that path you can see behind us!

Although I don’t think he’s going to be an ‘easy’ or even particularly well behaved dog in the future (he’s at least two vocal breeds, Chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier, he’s a rescue with a poor past, AND he was reactive and resource guarded at 10 weeks old!!) I do think he’s going to be an incredible dog ;)

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Today we got to try out our new paddling pool for the first time! Kasper is our only water dog, but the little ones enjoyed sitting on my lap in the pool :D

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Tripawd Toller’s amputation!

This is Toller, my little Tripawd!

She was injured over 3 months ago, at just 5 months old, when an off lead Labrador charged across a field and bowled into her. She broke 4 bones in her front left leg, every connective bone to her paw.

Unfortunately the surgery we were using at the time were useless. The vets refused to consider amputation and only offered two solutions, both which were awful -

1. A very invasive surgery to rewire her bones. They couldn’t say what the prognosis would be, and there was an extremely high likelihood there would be complications and a need for further surgeries.

2. Splinting and crate rest. The second vet we spoke with actively told us not to put her through the surgery (she said it was too invasive especially on a dog Tolly’s size). She said that with splints and 6-8 weeks crate rest Toller would almost definitely make a full recovery, and you wouldn’t even be able to tell the injury had happened.

We went with the second option. The vets couldn’t put the splints on right (one fell off after 4 hours, one after a few days), so they said leave the leg bare and carry out strict crate rest.

8 weeks passed, and the vet pronounced Toller “fully recovered”.

Her foot was at a right angle, and the vets were now saying she would be lame for life and would never be able to go on walks. When we asked what treatment could help, they weren’t giving us any options, they were happy for this to be her life...SHE WAS 8 MONTHS OLD!!

She was also desperately, desperately sad. Nothing held her interest (Kongs, knuckle bones, being carried on ‘walks’), she was just utterly miserable.

We then began looking into a wheelchair for Tolly. We bought a non-custom front wheeled cart for £70, but it was useless, so we began saving and raising money for a custom cart which would have to be shipped from America (£580). Whilst we saved we let Tolly walk in the house for 2 minutes at a time, as the vet said she could, and we were horrified to see her foot getting even worse!!

It was at this point we knew we had to amputate, but we would have to find a vet who would agree to it...this proved difficult!

Several vets said we should use the shitty surgery we were at, and one said they would have to ask permission to treat Tolly from the first surgery. Finally we found a vet that would see her, and they immediately agreed Toller needed an amputation.

Toller had the surgery 1.5 weeks ago. 2 days after amputation she was walking about, more mobile than she had been in 12 weeks!! Yesterday, as you can see from the previous post, she had her first off lead walk!

Her stitches are out, she came off pain meds just 7 days after surgery, and she’s happier than she has been in months :)

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Toller’s first off lead walk in 3 months, and her first off lead walks as a tripawd!

[woolywoofs]

Hi, I'm new to Tumblr and I'm wondering if you have some dogblrs to share? I really want to follow more nice dogblrs like yours. 😊 Thank you! Love your blog and Lotta!

omg there are so many!! and welcome to dogblr!i can recommend So Many, but I’m just gonna throw some good ones out there. ppl are welcome to reply/reblog/like/whatever if they are a dogblr.@perfectdogs @spartathesheltie @loki-lo @bobahund @buckskin-babies @the-pasta-pack @mexicanine @thepoodlepack @westie-impostor @lifewithduma @simplyventuring (also a nature blog but such a good person w a pretty pup) @mysterymuttbutts @boetheyellowlab @chunk-a-dunkgoodluck!!

[canismaera-hasmoved]

❤❤❤

@jointhevortex @winedogs @herebelife @h42el @hypestripe @bandizoi @ofcarnivora @thedognamedepic @ciaraskellington @twobigears @twobarklessdogs @bigpointyears

[slashtdog-deactivated20170531]

Thank you all very much for all the amazing suggestions. <3

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Reblogging (hopefully!) so I don't lose this and can check these out!!

[dallyanddogs-blog]

Mojo turned 13 weeks old yesterday!

Today he had another big adventure into town. It was really busy today (school holiday?!) which made for perfect training conditions. Mojo is an extremely confident puppy and highly food motivated, meaning he can comfortable cope with very busy places.

Today he walked a little then was carried the rest of the way into town. We went into several charity shops, he greeted three people that worked there (2 women, 1 man who gave him treats from behind the counter!) and did a perfect sit on the counter by the till. He also said hi to a mum with two young children. And walking along he got to greet two teenagers too!

Alongside the people he saw other dogs walking about, dozens and dozens of people, wheelchairs, pushchairs, people on crutches, and the main road was heaving.

Finally we practiced sit, focus and heel in the square. Little man rocked it!

He’s a star this dog :)