u/Existing-Will-1466

Trying to get into a routine and kind of getting stuck and wondering what others are doing. Do you practice nosework at home with your dog? What does that look like? I'm sure most of you guys are doing high-level stuff, I'm mostly interested in what you did when your dog was at a lower level.

For a dog fairly early in the process, how many searches? How long does a practice session take? Are you setting out a row of boxes and having your dog find the hide and then rearranging the boxes and doing it again? How many times do you repeat this? How long does a practice session take from setup to putting everything away?

The handle ripped off my old Igloo wheelie cooler, and the hinges have been broken for years, so it's time for a new cooler after 25 years of service. There are a ton of options out there, but I really want one in pink or purple to match the rest of my event gear. Here's what I'm looking for:

1. 30-50 quart capacity

2. Tough/durable over lightweight

3. Wheels or no wheels, don't care too much

4. Comes in pink or purple

5. Ideally under about $250

6. Works at least as good as a 25 year old cheap Igloo

I bought a 45 quart Laka cooler from Amazon that I just sent back because it needed twice as much ice as the old cheap Igloo over the weekend and most of the ice melted when stuffed full of cold drinks and ice overnight.

Does this cooler exist?

It took two weeks to find it laying way out in the field because it fell off when the battery is dead and the battery is dead a lot of the time. When I finally found it, the hardware had fallen off. Just detached completely.

I contacted the company, thinking this must be some horrible product defect. They assured me this was a completely normal part of using their product, the hardware is designed to come off easily so the strap can be changed to a different color. They sent me a new set of hardware and told me to check it daily to make sure it was still on there tight. If the collar falls apart somewhere it can't be found, I should just buy a new one.

What the fuck? The product literally falling apart is normal and expected? Where is the part of the video where they remind you to tighten it every day so it doesn't fall off?

I superglued the hardware on, and I put a fucking airtag on my $600 GPS collar in case it falls apart again. I also canceled my subscription. I'm going to get a SpotOn collar when the subscription runs out at the end of the year. I've talked to several people that are holding their Halo collars together with zip ties and duct tape. I haven't found anyone who had a SpotOn collar fall apart yet.

A friend gave me a bunch of little glass jars that are the perfect storage size I needed. I ran them through the dishwasher and they came out odorless, so I put my craft stuff in them a few weeks ago. I just opened a few and everything stinks. A lot. Is there a way to clean these jars and plastic lids so they will be usable? Or are they a lost cause?

I've been trying to start scentwork with my dogs and I feel like there is something really big that I'm missing. I can't find an in-person class that works with my schedule and is actually allowing people to join. I tried a couple of online classes but they were basically "do this and your dog will do that" and then my dog doesn't do that and I'm kind of stumped in the first few videos.

I have friends that do competitive scentwork and gave me odor cans and boxes and told me how it works. So I have the boxes set up and the one with the odor and the treats...and my dogs are just kind of meh about the whole thing. Like they don't really care if they find the right box or not. I've also tried having them find the can in the room and if it is less and a foot away from anything instead of out in the open they give up immediately.

The people I know online and offline that do scentwork LOVE it. They go on and on about how it's the ultimate brain workout for a dog. How tired their dogs are after the do it. How much the dogs love it. Meanwhile my dogs may or may not find the right box before they run out of fucks to give. I don't think they're even actually sniffing anything.

I've tried better treats. Steak and cheese and grilled chicken. My dogs get excited to offer me tricks. They don't want to sniff the boxes until they find the one with the pepperoni in it. It isn't particularly fun for me either, to be honest. So I'm having trouble drumming up enthusiam for my dogs maybe sort of looking at a specific box or glancing around the room and then fucking off to the couch when the thing isn't right in front of them. I keep watching videos of dogs doing scentwork and half the dogs don't look particularly committed or entertained either. They just sort of doodle around for a bit and then the owner says they found it and gives them a treat and everyone just goes on with their day like nothing happened.

What am I missing? Why do people love this so much? Why is it considered to be so amazing/cool/interesting/fascinating/engaging/rewarding? How do you make it fun for the dog? How do you make it fun for the person?

I have been making chicken stock in my Instant Pot for a while. It's so simple, chicken bones, salt, dash of apple cider vinegar. I usually add some carrots and celery and onions. I freeze it in cubes and never use canned or bullion anymore.

I make beef stock for my dogs sometimes. Roast marrow bones in the oven for a while and then do the same as with the chicken stock. Dash of vinegar and a little salt. It always stinks so bad. The dogs love it. It does not smell like delicious cooked beef.

How do I make beef stock that at least smells like something I would want to put in my mouth?