I have a vomitter. He is almost 15 and has had a sensitive tummy his entire life. We spent the early years trying everything we could think of and all kinds of food. He can not eat any kind of dry food period! He does best with the higher end wet food brands that do not contain fillers. His vomiting was reduced when we quit dry food and switched to the cheap canned food but he was still getting sick way too often. The cheapest of the “higher end food” we have found that works for him is Blue Buffalo. He still vomits about once every 7-10 days but he is maintaining his weight and seems healthy. Good luck with your fur baby!

I drink 4-5 cups of hot tea per day year round. I microwave my water. I have a large kettle but do not use it as I inevitably boiled the water which then made me irritated because I had to wait for it to cool to the proper temperature. If I wanted a cup mid-day, the kettle was cold and had to be reheated, and I would get distracted and boil it again. 😔 Tea should not be complicated so I have been using the microwave for a long time, but I would like to find another method. How do you get the perfect temperature water for tea? Do you have an electric kettle? Something else? Will it keep the water warm for a while for the second or third cup?

My ds 17 had been experiencing some serious depression at about age 15. I thought perhaps it was normal adolescent emotions. We had some extensive bloodwork and allergy testing done because he seemed excessively tired all the time and had out of control eczema. Turns out he had some food allergies (and mold exposure) that were causing irritation to his intestines which in turn caused a host of nutritional deficiencies. Once we eliminated his allergens, started healing his gut and got him on vitamin supplements, the depression disappeared. He is a whole new kid. That experience made me wonder how often depression has some underlying health issue that is a simple fix once you determine what has their body so off kilter.

My Aussie sounds like Ottakee’s. Super laid back (not as high energy as our lab, German shepherd or border collie were) and not a barker. Ours is a full size Aussie. He weighs about 60 pounds but I have heard males often weigh up to 65 so he isn’t overweight. The mini Aussie I think is more in the 40 pound range. I have heard the minis and full size have different temperaments but have never really investigated this. Perhaps the smaller version of the Aussie is more energetic and vocal??? Aussie owners please chime in. Is yours high or low energy, and the smaller or larger variety?

Our Aussie was 2 years old when we adopted him so we missed the puppy days. He is now 3 1/2 and not super high energy at all. Sure he likes to play, jump hurdles and do obstacle course games but he is also really good at just lying at my feet all day. He is super smart and has been fun to train because he learns so quickly and is so eager to please. He is also very loyal, and by that I mean clingy. He hates to be left alone and really wants to be with his family all the time. I would totally get another Aussie after this one as long as our lifestyle would still allow me to be with it most of the day. They are an awesome breed if you don’t mind brushing them (they shed!) and aren’t going to leave them home alone all day.

Thank-you for all the responses. It makes me feel a little better hearing from people who have been through this and knowing that their pup survived the boredom of activity restriction and went on to live a healthy life. Thanks Katie for mentioning scent training. I have never heard of that but will definitely be looking into it. The next few months just seem like they are going to stretch out forever and having some “fun” ways to pass the time will hopefully help my pup stay relaxed and content.

My vet offered this as an option. She said it doesn’t get rid of the heart worms completely. The disease is still present and fatal, it just slows the progression and buys them more time. She thought it might give him a a couple more years than no treatment, but since he isn’t even quite three years old yet (and I am super attached to him!) we want to try to completely get rid of the heart worms. I see how for a working dog who would absolutely hate being confined during the many weeks of treatment, it may be a better option. My Australian Shepherd is super chill and loves just being with me so I think he will handle it better, but we do play and go to run at the dog park regularly and he is going to wonder why we won’t play anymore😕

It is all my fault. I have his preventative in the cabinet but sometimes the first of the month comes and goes and it is well into the month before I remember to give my pup his heart worm preventative. We went for annual vaccinations today and he tested positive for heart worm. We are going to treat it because he is an otherwise healthy almost 3 year old and my constant companion. I cannot imagine not treating him, but I am a little overwhelmed at what the vet laid out as our treatment plan: 4 pills a day for 30 days, wait 30 days, sedate and do x-ray and a series of 3 shots requiring sedation and limiting all physical activity and excitement during the duration of treatment ending hopefully with better test results in June. Has anyone been through this before? Please tell me about your experience and your pups health after treatment. I am also open to ideas on how to keep a young dog from getting bored without any kind of active play. If your pet required extended rest for any reason, what did you do to keep it calm and happy? Feeling guilty for allowing my pup to become infected and nervous about what comes next.

I hadn’t thought about picking up germs from the airport, but that is certainly possible. We do drink the water in the parks/resort, but try to keep our eating as normal as possible because we have definitely had tummy trouble in the past due to overindulgence and just eating unfamiliar foods. I will definitely get some elderberry before we travel again and look into the humidifier.

We go to Walt Disney World every January. (Usually ~10 days). While we are there I keep hand sanitizer hanging on the outside of my backpack so it is super handy and we all use it multiple times a day. I also carry a package of antibacterial wipes and we will typically use those before eating...sometimes in addition to the regular hand sanitizer. When we return to our room everyone washes their hands and of course there is bathroom hand washing throughout the day. Despite our efforts every single year we come home sick. We have never knowingly gone to WDW sick but seem to either be ill by the last day or within about a day after returning home. This year it seems only dh and I are sick but I imagine we will eventually share our vacation souvenir with our son 😏 Does this happen to anyone else???

Thanks for all the great ideas! I am off to research and start planning 😁

I need some vacation ideas. We moved to the Houston area last fall and would like to plan a few trips with ds (just turned 17 last week) before he leaves home. We are looking for both things that could be done in Texas in short 3-5 day trips as well as longer vacations where we are still able to drive within two days (16-20 hours tops). We have family in northern Oklahoma so trips that take us up that way to stop in before continuing on would be nice (Missouri, Arkansas, or at the furthest Colorado) We enjoy outdoor activities. We have a ton of camping equipment are open to camping and non-camping trip options. If we camp, I would still like to have tours or sightseeing activities planned otherwise ds will just want to sit at the camp and read which is nice but not the type of memory making togetherness I am trying to achieve. We love museums, historical tours, nature centers, caves, hiking, amusement parks etc. Really we are open to just about anything 😁 If you live in or have vacationed in Texas, please tell me what is not to be missed! We won’t live here forever and would like to see the state while we can. If you are familiar with great vacation spots in Arkansas or Missouri let me know what your family enjoyed. Colorado is a little far but doable too. Thanks for the ideas!

I am the only one seriously craving cookies after reading this thread? We have no cookies in the house right now. I must remedy this problem IMMEDIATELY. This is worse than when I had to rush out and buy a stream mop and InstantPot after reading WTM. I MUST HAVE COOKIES! 🍪🍪🍪

I am with Spryte on this one. I too have never met a cookie I didn’t like. Shortbread is probably my favorite and since no one else in my family will eat it, we never have it. I also have absolutely no self control where shortbread is concerned and since no one will help me eat it, I set myself up to over indulge if it enters our house. Sigh

In case anyone was wondering, Shenzhen is in China. I just remembered a gift I ordered for dh hasn’t arrived and went to look through my email to find shipping info. Yep, I ordered something from China and somehow failed to notice that it wasn’t shipping from the U.S. The shipping info didn’t actually say “China”. It just listed the package location as Shenzhen and being the highly insightful individual that I am, I figured Shenzhen wasn’t in Texas anywhere and set off to Google it. Luckily this was not my main gift for dh and I will just show him a picture of his gift so he will at least know that this fabulous gift is making its way halfway around the world just for him. What is this wonderful gift? Well just in case you too want to order something from Shenzhen: (Dh hates it when clean lean laundry comes out of the dryer with pet hair on it and since we have 4 furry family members and I wash their blankets often, fur catchers for the washing machine seemed like a totally appropriate gift lol)

So I had long naturally wavy (but not nice wavy more frizzy) hair and in Sept when I moved to a super humid climate decided to perm it. (I usually used a curling iron to tame it and the humidity just made it look stringy). Since it is also colored (not ready to embrace my gray), the perm really dried it. After dealing with dry, super tangled hair for the past few months and fearing I was going to go bald just trying to pick through the tangles, I decided to cut it...and perm it again. This new perm is poodle-like and my hair is now chin length. I am not sure what look I was going for but the, “I just put my finger in the light socket” look is not it. So I need help. I want easy, low maintenance hair that looks good in humidity. I am considering wigs I am so desperate for something to hide my poodle hair. I don’t know if I should try a product to relax it a little or if such a product exists or have it professionally chemically straightened or what😬???

My husband’s grandparents bought a Christmas bear for ds on his first Christmas and the next few years until they passed away. After their death, we continued the tradition and bought a bear “from the great-grandparents”. There are now 16 around the tree. (They aren’t in order)

I have not had this problem since becoming a vegetarian several years ago, but if you are getting plenty of fiber foods and daily exercise I would wonder if there is a different kind of underlying cause for your constipation. Pain meds are know to cause this issue in many people. Is it possible a medication is causing the problem? Perhaps a food intolerance? My son had terrible bouts of constipation followed by diarrhea before we did food allergy testing. Turns out he was eating foods every day that he was allergic or sensitive to that kept his digestive track in turmoil. Once he removed those from his diet, the constipation went away. Also, have you removed common constipation causing foods like cheese? Maybe increase your exercise? If fiber foods and exercise don’t get things moving along, it might be time to mention it to your doctor. Sorry you are struggling with this. After watching my son for so many months, I know how painful and frustrating it can be. Best of luck in finding a remedy soon.

Fascinating. I am by no means a super smeller but I have spent a lot of time in the nursing home and noticed that certain residents have very different smells even though they are all bathed regularly (and it is not an unwashed smell), eat the same diet, have their body, hair, clothes and beds laundered in the same soaps/detergent etc. If they had vastly different diets like lots of garlic or spices, I would expect their body odor to be a little different, but with so many factors being the same, it is interesting that some of the residents did have very different smells to them🤷‍♀️ I had never really given it much thought though as to having any significance. Fascinating article; thanks for sharing!

Laura, You are totally my hero. I would have been shrieking loudly and standing on the counter tops if I had seen a mouse in the house and yet you captured the mouse and story beautifully. He looks adorable by the way and will be so happy in his new home. Good for you. Making the world a kinder, gentler place one mousey at a time😁

Wait a second! Anxiety???!!!! I never knew this was a perimenopause symptom. I have never been one to experience particular feelings of anxiety. In fact I am usually super laid back. I have been definitely not feeling myself in this area for about a year. I have had some other symptoms that I recognized at just being stage of life (hot flashes, insomnia, changes in my cycle) but was clueless that my anxiety could just be change of life related. I thought I was going slightly crazy 😜. Of course if you ask my ds 16, he will confirm mom is wacky, but this is different than my norm for sure. I feel so relieved lol!

Sounds good, but you might check the label on your ranch. Even the kind that is not buttermilk usually contains dairy and vegan ranch does taste different. If your niece doesn’t come it won’t matter, but if she does and can’t do dairy at all, she won’t be able to enjoy your chicken. Have a fun day with your family. Wish I could crash your party just to eat all your yummy food 😁

We spent months fighting my son’s eczema with multiple prescriptions from the dermatologist that all contained warnings not to use more than 10 days because it would thin the delicate skin of the eyelid too much. Nothing the dermatologist tried helped. Finally, we did allergy testing. We had no idea he was regularly eating several things he was allergic to. Voila! The skin cleared with no medication as soon as we eliminated these foods. His tummy troubles also went away and he has more energy and is generally less irritable. My advice, get allergy tested ASAP!

We are are moving from a home with no carpet to a home with both wood and carpet. I haven’t owned a vacuum cleaner in years as I have been able to sweep and mop my hardwood floors. We have long haired cats and an Australian Shepherd who sheds hair like crazy. I am worried that our floors will be disgusting. Are their vacuums that can really pull the pet hair up off the surface of the carpet? My last experience with a vacuum was over ten years ago and it did not get up pet hair at all. Yuck! I am so sad that we were unable to find a home with no carpet and wondering if we will need to rip out several rooms of new carpet just because we can’t keep it clean. I need a seriously good vacuum cleaner!!!

What an awesome thread! Totally made my morning. Keep us posted with your chick training! Hope they get to be in the show😁