u/Focus62

It’s a new immunotherapy method; apply a cream to the ear instead of sublingual drops or shots. The only peer reviewed research I can find on it is paid for by Allibre since it’s so new, so I guess I’m looking for anecdotal experiences.

I think transdermal immunotherapy in humans is not typically as effective as shots, so I’m curious if the same result will bear out in dogs. I’m considering immunotherapy for my dog, but neither shots nor drops are ideal application methods for her, so I would love to be able to give this a try one day.

I adopted a roughly 5 year old dog earlier this year. I would not describe her environmental allergies as severe; right now they’re mostly manageable with rinses/baths, chlorhexidine wipes for small raw spots angry from chewing, and antihistamines (I’ve done enough reading to understand that this probably doesn’t really help the itch so much, it’s probably more that it just makes her ever so slightly sleepy and not care as much about the itch). Her allergies appear to be seasonal so far - spring and fall. Her reaction this fall is much worse than spring, I’m assuming it’s ragweed or goldenrod doing it to her, but not sure. Either way, her paws are in miserable shape and I’m considering going up a level in treatment and trying cytopoint. My concern is that often a dog’s allergies get worse over time, and from my understanding, immunotherapy tends to work better if started when they’re younger. I fear that we’ll end up going through the regimen so many of you have suffered over the years, where you use cytopoint til it stops working, then apoquel until it stops working, then zenrelia and so on and so forth. By the time you get around to trying immunotherapy as a last ditch effort to help your dog, they could be 8 or 9 years old, and then it’s less likely to work well.

So how do you decide the right time to start immunotherapy treatment? Should it be saved as last resort, especially because results can be extremely slow to see (and may not happen at all), along with expense and the extra stress involved with giving weekly or daily treatments? Or is it better to just cut to the chase and skip the quick fixes, start them on it young, and cross your fingers it will be effective?

Would love to hear opinions and experiences on this. I realize proper allergy testing and immunotherapy treatments are difficult for many people to afford so even if it’s not an option for you right now, would you do it if you could?

I'm looking for recommendations on a landscaping company to help me clear out a 2 ft wide strip behind a large section of my fence line and possibly prune some limbs hanging over my fence. Normally I spend a weekend cutting-and-treating every fall and untangling all the vines from my fence, but I had a rough year last year and didn't do it; now it's grown way too much for me to knock out in a weekend or two by myself. I have a seemingly endless amount of invasive species invading back there; mimosa trees, privet, periwinkle, japanese knotweed, kudzu, bush honeysuckle, etc. Also plenty of the pesky native ones I need knocked back like Virginia creeper and blackberry. I need someone who knows how to properly cut and treat the larger stuff (e.g. cut it, then apply the herbicide to the stump immediately after the cut; no waiting).

I think using a bush hog after removing the larger stuff wouldn't be possible due to the narrow area, but we can talk about it. I just don't know how you'd apply herbicide to something like that afterwards because cutting privet stems without treating will make the situation 80x worse than it already is. I need somebody who knows what they're doing! I can handle untangling all the vines from the fence line if someone could just get everything knocked back and treated behind it. This is a residential property in city limits.

Before anyone says it - goats are not an option, unfortunately.

Years ago, I stumbled upon a fidget that I really couldn’t justify buying at the time, but now I can’t find the website for it. I’m hoping someone might know the name of what I’m describing. I’ve never seen anything else like it.

The fidget was cylindrical in shape and was kinda like two interlocking puzzle pieces. You could get it in titanium for an upcharge if I recall right, otherwise I think it was brass (or something brass colored). You could get one that was completely brass, or brass + titanium (I think? I remember a style that had a brass piece and dark metal or silver colored piece), or all titanium. I believe there were two different sizes. You could optionally buy a case for it that may have been called a pill or a capsule. I think the price was something like $55, possibly. I think it was $95 if you added a case…maybe. I want to say the website name started with an “f” (how helpful when dealing with fidgets, I know 🙄).

I originally found the fidget because I was looking on reddit for fidgets that you could take apart and put back together. Someone suggested that one. Wish I could find it again 😭

Edit: it was something similar to this, but I don’t think it came apart so easily as this one looks: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1754512693/stainless-steel-cylinder-puzzle

Edit 2: It has been identified! And I only kinda remembered some stuff correctly about it, lol. https://fidgetdigits.com/products/fidget-slider

Does anyone know a dedicated groomer that can assist in rehabbing a dog's too-long nails? I've adopted a pup whose nails are this way and while I can clip a few here and there, I'm still working on earning her trust and getting her to allow me to do most or all of them. Clipping some here or there isn't fast enough for how long they already are, so I'm really in need of a groomer who will allow us to visit frequently to try and get the nail quicks to recede via clipping/grinding. Bonus points if they only have a few dogs in their salon at any one time as my dog is quite timid.

My vet could probably help, but I'd really rather build a relationship with a groomer.

I don't need training advice; really just need groomer recs who can likely help me out with this. Thanks.

I have my claim agent’s extension, but when calling the main number, the menu offers no option to dial an extension. If I try to auto-dial it, nothing happens either, I get the same menu. How do you get your claim agent on the line without having to schedule a call days beforehand?

Update: If anyone is reading this in the future, when the menu asks what you want to do say something like “dial an extension” and then it’ll ask you for the name of your agent or their extension and you can dial it.

I'm looking for new opportunities having worked at wildlife NGOs and on fed-level environmental research projects my whole career. Occasionally I see positions pop up related to FEMA flooding mapping and they always intrigue me, but they typically require knowledge of NFIP, DFIRM, FEMA Risk MAP standards & guidance, FIS, etc.. I have perused those the map standard and guidance documents some and, well, they're pretty intimidating. If anyone here does this work, how'd you get into it? Do you like it?

I'm guessing most people got hired on as entry level and learned on the job, which isn't really a thing anymore. I could also see people being able to make a lateral move in a consulting firm to a position like this though if they know somebody on the team. I'd love to hear some experiences.

Company #1

• GAF Feltbuster
• GAF Ice & Water
• GAF Pro-start starter shingle
• "Ultimate Pipe Boot" (silicone)
• Aluminum drip edge
• GAF Timberline HDZ shingles
• GAF Cobra 3 low profile ridge vents
• GAF Seal-A-Ridge cap shingles
• Ice & water applied to valleys, chimneys, roof penetrations, intersections.
• Step flashing and cover flashing around chimneys, sidewalls, headwalls, if needed
• Golden Pledge warranty (25 year leak warranty)

$9,652

Company #2

• Tech-Wrap synthetic underlayment (their wording; I'm assuming Tech-Wrap 150)
• Henry Ice & Water (their wording; I'm assuming Blueskin RF200)
• OC Starter Strip Shingles
• New pipe boots (their wording; I'm assuming rubber)
• Aluminum drip edge
• OC Duration Shingles
• Lamanco continuous ridge vent (their wording; I'm assuming this means OmniRoll or Lo-OmniRoll)
• OC Hip & Ridge shingles
• Ice & water applied in valleys, around chimneys, roof/wall intersections, around roof penetrations
• Step flashing and apron flashing applied to sidewalls/headwalls, if needed
• Build cricket behind chimney (note: this is not required by code for my 28" chimney)
• Company 5-yr workmanship warranty + OC Standard Limited Lifetime Warranty

$10,201

I don't know how many squares my roof is, but it's a 1200 sq ft standard split-level house, so not big. Located in SE, tons of sun, high humidity, occasionally high straight-line winds. This is not my forever house; both warranties offered are satisfactory for me. Both companies are "master eliter/platinum preferred" installers with their respective shingles. Both companies have 5 star ratings on google with hundreds to thousands of reviews. I have a personal friend's endorsement on company #2 as well.

Here's my thing; I'm 99% sure my current roof has GAF old HD or Natural Shadow shingles. It currently has a leak (tar patch failed around chimney and I don't think there's flashing, just tar and more tar), and the shingles are done at 14 years which makes me want to try Owen's Corning instead. Assuming the henry, tech-wrap, and lomanco products are "economy" products, are they terribly inferior to the GAF components? I feel like I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill there, probably. The chimney flashing/cricket is important though and I feel like Company #2 leave it slightly open to interpretation. If you have a cricket, do you need flashing around the chimney too or is ice/water sufficient? The chimney is vinyl-sided, not brick, if that matters.

* Species: Dog
* Age: 4
* Sex/Neuter status: Neutered
* Breed: Mixed
* Body weight: 30#
* History: Fractured canine fixed with root canal and tooth restoration procedure
* Clinical signs: -
* Duration: -
* Your general location: East US

My dog has gotten a root canal to fix a fractured canine. Can putting a crown on it be decided months from now or do I need to do it within a month or two? I understand there is risk of breaking the composite or re-fracturing the tooth while waiting, but let's pretend that doesn't happen and the tooth remains in good, "crownable" condition; is there any reason I cannot wait 6 months to a year to have a crown put on?