#really incredible

[townofcan]

I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAUGHT THEM MID EDIT

[spadefish]

Had a dream that @pangur-and-grim opened this liability-free establishment that was essentially a large concrete building full of hallways and rooms in which you grabbed a random set of wheels (wheelie chairs, shopping carts, skates, etc) and just went ham in whatever fashion you wanted. It was extremely dangerous and people were constantly getting injured but it was liability-free so you couldn't do anything about it. Furthermore, Greer was there the entire time and no one ever got mad at them even if they got injured. It was so dangerous that there was a WALL of security guards outside to keep people from spilling out onto the adjacent highway

[myspace-3ra]

BITCH!

[3liza]

we really dont give animals enough credit for rational thought and self-control. grim has yet another gnarly scrape on his leg (his skin seems fragile to me, i think he has a collagen disorder), and ive been cleaning and bandaging it daily, and i can tell from just knowing what wounds look like that it is REALLY painful. it's a blister type injury that has fully degranulated on the surface, which is similar to a thing that happens to german shepherds sometimes with a weird sort of sinus that can open spontaneously around their back lower legs, i forget what it's called, it's a type of fistula and it appears to be immune mediated. grom has also gotten the fistula thing on his feet and hocks, this is on the back of his 'heel' in the same place you get a blister, and seems to have been set off by me bandaging a different, lower wound.

anyway the fistula sinus tract might be what's going on, or a complication related to that, and if it doesnt look A LOT better tomorrow we're going to the vet. yesterday it looked inflamed, like maybe it was infected, today my combination rinsing and bandaging seems to have gotten rid of the bad stuff and i only see healthy tissue. he's also not limping, the limb isnt hot, and hes flinching when the area is touched but not a lot. and no whimpering or anything. so i dont think it's too serious

but anyway i KNOW it hurts, and i can see him flinching and enduring it, and i never restrain him at all. i dont have to, all i've had to do for the whole history of his lump surgery recoveries and various normal dog bumps and scrapes is just gently ask him to endure it, and he does. the majority of adult humans wouldnt tolerate this kind of bandaging without fighting and complaining, and i know because i've done it on humans too. somehow he's just managed to get it into his head that it is correct to cooperate, and i think its because ive literally never gotten frustrated with him about it or tried to force anything (beyond maybe gently and briefly holding his nose still to wpe a booger or something). and i use a certain tone of voice that's low and quiet and gentle, and i say things like "im so sorry it hurts you, this is very hard, youre being very good, im almost done" and he seems to understand either that the procedure is finite and he will be able to tolerate it for X minutes, or he's just been successfully conditioned enough through repetition to be obedient in the moment. but it seems to be the former, because he doesnt display nearly as much patience with other, less serious matters.

animal cognition is a mystery, the best we can do is observe closely and take notes, and make guesses about what an animal may actually perceive, and what they are "thinking". however ive never had an animal cooperate in this way with objectively painful interactions, not just uncomfortable or annoying but actually physically painful. i always reward him lavishly afterwards, which helps a lot, and if he gets restless because something is taking longer than normal, he gets distraction treats along with the praise. i hope that he is able to connect the activity with feeling better afterwards, but i dont know. being able to mentally connect events that happen far apart from each other is mostly a human thing.

i think also if you strike the correct tone of voice, physical tempo and pressure, maybe what youre doing is accessing the puppy instinct part of the brain which makes them cooperate with actions that an adult dog would take with a puppy who needed a wound cleaned. i suppose this aspect is sort of hypnosis, and may activate a kind of tonic relaxation. there's no way to do this kind of episodic wound care without the dog knowing it will hurt, and he exhibits some fear/appeasement behavior as well which breaks my heart, but theres nothing i can do except be very, very gentle and get it over with as quickly as possible, and then help him get back out of the pan and fear state with a big snack and telling him how good he is.

when my little brother was about 4 he played with scissors and the thing everyone says will happen when you play with scissors ended up happening, and he cut himself so badly he partially severed one of his tendons. and the poor little boy had to endure weeks of at-home wound care and it really terrified him each time. it hurts me to remember it. he also cooperated and did his best. but it provides a direct comparison between a human and a dog who is a little less sapient than a human preschooler, making grim's tolerance all the more moving to me

[michelsens]

i am so happy for her!!!

[poolboydivision]

in other merch news just got this email in my inbox

[misterbluejeans]

I was driving and listening to this week’s mbmbam and the live question about the pug. Made me laugh so hard I gagged. And I was crying and I had to pull over and pause it to calm down. I might have pissed myself if I was there in person

[enigmagp]

Blam!

With the help of some online hunters (I usually prefer solo but I kept timing out) Shara finally went down! Maybe I can make some more layered armor soon!

I only have the one demon samurai fit right now, but I have ideas for more already! Fashion hunter lives on~!