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LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#2851: Nov 18th 2015 at 1:46:15 AM

I don't handle them without drugging them =P No, seriously, case by case basis of course. At least today's wasn't a cattle dog.

I think the trouble with small dogs can be that people sort of think disobedience and aggression in very small dogs is cute? Like, if a staffy or cattle dog were to disobey their owner to go bark aggressively at other dogs or people, you'd be worried, but when it's a chihuahua people sometimes think 'aw, little dog thinks it's a big dog waii'.

Be not afraid...
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apacalypse. from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
#2852: Nov 18th 2015 at 3:30:21 AM

Loni: Exactly the problem I was talking about. People forget it isn't being cute it is being a dog and if you wouldn't tolerate the behavior in a larger dog you shouldn't in a smaller one. I know his show is kinda corny but the Dog Whisperer frequently points out the problem with the little dogs is folks forget they are dogs first and foremost.

Who watches the watchmen?
LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#2853: Nov 18th 2015 at 3:46:58 AM

Cesar Milan? He's not very highly regarded among the vet behaviourists I've read tongue For reasons I'll go into if people want but will avoid boring you with if not.

Be not afraid...
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apacalypse. from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
#2854: Nov 18th 2015 at 7:13:47 AM

Oh I know but that is still one thing he is right on. You have to train the little ones just like you train the big ones other wise they get to be problematic. We looked up some other sources and pretty much all of them agree you have to spend time training the small dogs with regular persistence. I don't buy into "energy" thing or a lot of what he does and he is a bit too reckless and has gotten chomped for his trouble. But out of curiosity do plug away I am curious what the trained vet behavior side of things think.

Who watches the watchmen?
jedimaster91 Professional Nerd from In my world Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Professional Nerd
#2855: Nov 18th 2015 at 1:59:53 PM

That he's a crock and his training techniques are inhumane and dangerous.

A really good positive reinforcement "celebrity" trainer is Victoria Stilwell, who hosts "It's Me or the Dog." Sophia Yin is another good one, though she has since passed away.

Just once more to the breech, dear friend, once more.
Lightblade The Shrouded Knight from Philadelphia Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
The Shrouded Knight
#2856: Nov 18th 2015 at 4:40:07 PM

I think the trouble with small dogs can be that people sort of think disobedience and aggression in very small dogs is cute?

I've had personal experience with this attitude, when a small dog my mother and I were dog-sitting at our newly-carpeted house while its owner was in the hospital turned out to not be housebroken. Said owner's reaction was pretty much that. Though in her defense, this was just one part of a general deterioration of her mental and physical health that ultimately claimed her life.

As far as my own job is going, in the past few weeks, they've been teaching me how to compile the reports on the work done in the mailroom to send to the higher-ups. I'm finally getting to do something my college degree is somewhat relevant to instead of just opening and forwarding mail all day. My manager tells me the person who they are training me to fill in for when needed was impressed by how quickly I picked up on what to do. Things are starting to look up.

The Living Guildpact rules that coffee is an acceptable substitution for rest as specified in subsection … whatever.
LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#2857: Nov 18th 2015 at 4:45:26 PM

I think the dog training book I read was by Sophia Yin, and it went into why that style of training is bad.

Basically it's a misunderstanding of how dominance hierarchies work in wild wolves, and then applying that to dogs with the assumption that they are identical to wolves, which they aren't. I found the first chapter of the book very interesting because it went into how feral domestic dogs are quite different to wolves, socially. They're scavengers who roam in loosely organised mobs, rather than the family-based pack structure that wolves have to hunt large prey. I guess when you think about it it makes sense, since IIRC wolf packs rarely adopt non-related wolves into their packs, while to live with us dogs have to be able to mix and match their 'packmates' readily.

But yeah, things like forcing dogs to show 'submissive' behaviours like rolling on their backs doesn't work because in the wild those things would just be offered willingly, the 'alpha' doesn't physically roll the other wolves over.

There's also other stuff I was reading about how a lot of animal behaviour we code as 'submissive' is a lot less black and white. For example, smiling in people can be a submissive gesture. Doesn't mean everybody who smiles considers themselves 'subordinate'.

Be not afraid...
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apacalypse. from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
#2858: Nov 18th 2015 at 5:40:39 PM

Loni: More or less what I thought before then.

Who watches the watchmen?
InverurieJones '80s TV Action Hero from North of the Wall. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
'80s TV Action Hero
#2859: Nov 23rd 2015 at 6:52:07 PM

Last night I spent 9 hours trying to save our local chip shop. Alas, nothing remains. The night before that I spent 5 hours trying to put out a fire on a fishing boat.

I'm quite tired.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#2860: Nov 24th 2015 at 8:19:50 AM

[up]Whoops. Let me guess: flue build-up?

MarkVonLewis Since: Jun, 2010
#2861: Nov 24th 2015 at 3:24:05 PM

So at the grocery chain I work at, they must either be hard up for personnel or I've made a good impression, because my 2 weeks notice prompted an offer to transfer from receiving to dairy.

Thank fucking Odin, lol.

TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#2862: Nov 24th 2015 at 9:52:27 PM

You put in the work, people will beg you to stay. When I moved up to high school, the band program required marching to participate. I tried to keep up with it for a summer, but it was just too much crap for me, and the first week of the school year I sent an email to my conductor and parents that I was giving up school band. The next day my conductor called me into his office and told me he'd been able to see what a good trombonist I was and offered me a chance to stay without participating in the marching part of it.

I kind of regret not being able to join the band in contests and football games, but I'd rather do none of them than all of it.

Fresh-eyed movie blog
Nohbody "In distress", my ass. from Somewhere in Dixie Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Mu
"In distress", my ass.
#2863: Nov 25th 2015 at 6:05:27 AM

Mark, supermarkets tend to have a high turnover rate, particularly in the front end and stocking personnel.

edited 25th Nov '15 6:06:01 AM by Nohbody

All your safe space are belong to Trump
TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#2864: Nov 30th 2015 at 7:22:43 PM

Oh, by the way, I was driving past the sex shop I got laid off from back in March and I saw a sign saying some pet-related store was coming soon. Kind of mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, it quiets the nagging worry that maybe things weren't really so bad they needed to lose somebody and they just didn't have any other legitimate reason to drop me for being a good worker but a bad fit with low sales numbers.

On the other hand, I'm disappointed this probably squelches any prospects of further expansion in Texas. Seems like a cursed place for such a high-end store with no brand recognition. They might have done better further downtown or further away from downtown. Also I can't use them as references anymore.

I had great product knowledge as far as the toys were concerned, but I really never got the chance to use it because most people were coming in for lingerie and lubes/other substances. And also I treated people as close to the way I want to be treated in any store as policies allowed: left alone in the knowledge that the sales staff is ready and eager to help if asked.

Fresh-eyed movie blog
MarkVonLewis Since: Jun, 2010
#2865: Nov 30th 2015 at 7:25:40 PM

Was that sex shop off the freeway on the way into Austin?

TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#2866: Nov 30th 2015 at 7:34:27 PM

No, it was in a freestanding building in a shopping complex on Burnet near 183. Deep in North Austin.

We had tons of people come in saying they'd passed by for weeks without having any idea what was inside, but we also had people coming in from Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, etc and asking if there was one of our chain in their town.

I think if they could've gotten into the Domain, Arbor Walk, or maybe the Galleria (where I've never actually been), they would have done better. And also do more advertising than some vague "find your passion" signage out front. Higher class than most sex shops around here (especially on the outside), but I think too high class for their location. Nothing worth buying for less than $80. And no porn, their key to the classy, safe atmosphere.

edited 30th Nov '15 7:36:06 PM by TParadox

Fresh-eyed movie blog
MarkVonLewis Since: Jun, 2010
#2867: Nov 30th 2015 at 7:42:32 PM

Ah. Nevermind, there was a sex shop we always saw on the way into Austin.

God. Damn. I miss that city. Only part of Texas worth going to.

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
Formerly G.G.
#2868: Dec 2nd 2015 at 1:09:12 PM

I work for ten hours at my job because of consumer demand and the black out that I had at my warehouse yesterday makes things worse as now the customers may or may not get their products. >_<

"The acting imperial viceroy of Doma, Yotsuyu's grace and beauty belie a heart of stone."
TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apacalypse. from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
#2869: Dec 2nd 2015 at 3:59:43 PM

I don't know what wild hair has been crawling up the employee's asses and choosing to pick fights with me and the security team at work but they need to drop the whiny "I am inconvenienced special snow flake" routine and just follow the basic and simple rules they have followed day and day out for years without batting an eyelash.

Who watches the watchmen?
LoniJay from Australia Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
#2870: Dec 4th 2015 at 3:56:12 AM

Week 1 of new job is over!

A few hiccups and a few things I don't like. But overall it went pretty well, I think?

The boss is an odd one, though. I was hesitant to take this job because the last two new grads to work there quit unexpectedly after 6 months - that is a baaad sign for a vet hospital.

But now I wonder to what extent those were, A) job is genuinely not good, B) graduates were not good, or C) graduates just plain could not deal with the boss and his management style. The staff there say the last one. I guess we'll see.

Be not afraid...
HasturHasturHastur from Wheah the fahkin baby wheel is, Jay Since: Nov, 2010
#2871: Dec 7th 2015 at 7:39:46 PM

Two new guys at this point who are (mostly, one of them habitually shows up like right during our pre-shift meeting) reliable, catching on quick, and generally seem like they'll be assets to my shift. It's a good thing, too, because the past two new faces were completely useless and decent but incredibly unreliable, respectively, and both quit via no-call no-shows (FUCK you if you pull that shit, especially on brutally heavy nights), and we're currently in the middle of peak. We also had a new girl for like three days (she switched to the other shift) who was terrible at the job we hired her for but a natural at everything else that we asked her to do, and I guess she's quite the workhorse on her current shift. That being said, I knew she'd be okay when she single-handedly lifted and moved an axle that weighed at least seventy pounds with no real difficulty despite being somewhere in the neighborhood of 5'0" and 110 pounds (if even, the kid is probably the tiniest person I've ever worked with), and I guess she's already got a rep for being ridiculously strong for her size.

TuefelHundenIV Night Clerk of the Apacalypse. from Doomsday Facility Corner Store. Since: Aug, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Night Clerk of the Apacalypse.
#2872: Dec 7th 2015 at 10:59:49 PM

Finally one of my biggest set of head aches with the cleaning crew is officially off of our site. I had to file a reasonably detailed complaint to get it done because the Cleaning Companies HR company apparently suffers from severe cranial rectal inversion. She refuses to act on the word of the supervisors letting some of the cleaning staff walk all over them and the client. She won't act until the client complains because those complaints that get generated like that go outside her bubble of bullshit to the big boss lady who gets furious.

I do like their over boss it is not everyday you see someone so willing to make a job happen that she shows up to the site in a tube dress and heels to help cover a gap in training. She however needs to seriously rethink how much she trusts her HR lady as she is the cause of most of their head aches. It all boils down to their HR lady having this odd favoritism for certain members of the community at the cost of client and supervisors.

Who watches the watchmen?
TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#2873: Dec 12th 2015 at 10:15:44 PM

Ergh, this interview is audio valium. The subject talks so fast I have to play it at under 50% speed, so it sounds like he's murmuring from a nap himself. And on top of that, the voices are not very loud so the background noise is turned up and at under 50% speed it sounds like a static-y version of the Hypnotoad drone.

Fresh-eyed movie blog
MarkVonLewis Since: Jun, 2010
#2874: Dec 21st 2015 at 10:34:16 PM

Good news! I'd asked my manager when I'd find out if the store planned on keeping me past the stated seasonal cutoff date, that way I could get a heads up to start applying elsewhere if it ended on Feb 2nd (the date it was supposed to, being seasonal). He talked to the assistant store director and turns out, they plan on keeping me.

Woot! I like working in dairy - there is not a single department coworker I dislike. And having continued employment means I can save up for a year at Macomb Community College before transferring to Michigan State and using my GI Bill for that.

Sixthhokage1 Since: Feb, 2013
#2875: Dec 21st 2015 at 11:59:46 PM

Warehouse is getting bad about scratching a bunch of product off our orders. At a million dollar store. During the week of Christmas.

Also we had a table reset in our produce department 3 months ago. Most people got used to the new layout by 1 and a half months in. Today I got asked where things were about every five minutes.

Department looks like shit but I did what I could without pushing myself so hard I'd have an outright panic attack.


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