u/Low-Mention4556

Hey there, my daughter was gifted a complete 150 gallon aquarium setup that was run as saltwater by the previous owner, but she just wants to use it for a very simple freshwater tank. It came with built in pumps/filters, hood, lights, a bunch of huge coral pieces, etc.

It got here with everything pretty dirty and crusty and we’ve spent most of today soaking it down and scraping the gunk off the glass.

I would love to hire a knowledgeable individual enthusiast (as opposed to a professional aquarium maintenance service) to come take a look at it, help us finish cleaning everything, possibly reseal the glass (if needed,) test the plumbing and filtration systems, tell us if there’s anything we need to buy/repair other than the obvious and just generally get it up and going. I’m sure she can take it from there.

Willing to pay a competitive rate for as many visits as it takes; I just don’t want to be pressured into a monthly service subscription program or anything like that if we hire a professional service company.

Anyone up for it? Located in Leeds.

(TL;DR: anyone else have a “bed access is ok except at bedtime” rule that their dog does well with?)

This may be an odd question and I may be setting myself up here, but do Spoos typically do well with “situational” rules?

Specifically, my almost 5 month old female has not been allowed on our bed under any circumstance so far and she’s overall cool with it, even though the other two dogs (much smaller) are. Occasionally while playing with one of them, she’ll jump up in the bed with them and I just ask her to get down and she does, but she often stands next to the bed and looks “wistfully” at it/them/me. She’s a Velcro dog, unsurprisingly, so I do think she wonders why she’s excluded.

I have no problem with her being on the bed in general (and she’s allowed on all other furniture) but I don’t want her sleeping in the bed at night because it would just be too much with me + my fiancé and my little terrier (the other dog sleeps in an open crate by choice.) But if I let her on the bed during the day to nap or play with the other dogs or to hang out with me while I’m working, reading, etc. in bed, is it going to cause her confusion at night when she can’t be in the bed or am I going to end up having to kick her out a dozen times during the night because she thinks she can jump up here anytime?

FWIW, at nighttime, she’s currently perfectly content to just lie on her mat or in her bed on the floor and crash out.

Is it worth giving it a try or will even a one day test run cause an issue that takes weeks to fix?

Obviously not a huge deal that’s going to make or break anything about my/her life. Mostly just curious what others’ experiences have been.

The price of routine dental cleanings/inspections has skyrocketed since the last time I had a dog done (~4 years ago.)

My daughter and I currently have two dogs needing routine cleanings and I suspect my senior dog could use a couple of extractions. We’ve recently been quoted $650-1200 each for the cleanings (two different vets,) which is way up from $400 last time I had it done.

Are there any dental specialists in the Birmingham area who might offer better pricing or even a multi-dog discount?

To be clear, I know prices for everything are up and quality work costs money, but I fear these recommended services are becoming increasingly cost prohibitive for a lot of dog owners.

At the end of the day, will we do what’s best for the dogs? Yes. Will I ever stop trying to find a better price? No. So kindly keep any sanctimony to yourself 😊