Category Archives for "Life Skills"

0 How to stop biting nails

poproxy360 asks: I can’t stop biting my nails, so they never grow. What should I do?

Hi poproxy360 –

We mutts get away with this a lot more than you peeps.  We bite at fleas, chew our nails and whole paws, and lick ourselves everywhere, with no concern at all.  Whereas you guys have to take a lot more care to avoid this very natural act, especially in public – as well as a lot of other ones like picking your noses, scratching your behinds, digging wax out of your ears, and extracting popcorn kernels from your teeth.

But it sounds like you’re more concerned about what the nailbiting does to your nails than any public displays.

This is good.  Bitten and chewed nails keep you from looking as cool as you hope, they keep your nails from growing long and pretty, and putting your hands in your mouth a lot is pretty much the best way in the world to catch every cold, flu, and other illness that’s running around!  So you’re right to want to stop doing it.

Well, I do know a few things you can do.  The first I suggest is that you simply Continue reading

0 How to get your parents to support a big change in your life

prettyndsweet12 asks: I don’t really like the new school I’m going to, so I have two options for next year: go back to my old school (which I didn’t like because I was uncomfortable there but now that I think about it, it was pretty stupid to leave), or I have the option of moving to Virginia, which I think would be a good decision because there are more activities to do. I would get to spend quality time there with my cousins, and I would be able to keep my grandma company (my grandfather passed away about two years ago and it’s just her in the house), but it would be a different experience that I’m not sure I’m ready for. Also I know my dad may want me to live with him and my stepmom, but I’m not sure if I want to. Can you help me rationalize my options so that I can come up with a confident decision?

Hi prettyndsweet12 –

One thing about being a dog – everyone thinks we’re running around being silly all the time, but the truth is we spend most of our time watching, waiting, and paying attention.  We know when our friends are coming home because we’ve been listening to the world all day and recognize the sounds of their cars.  We grab dropped food with lightning speed, because while you humans are thinking about each other and the table settings and good manners and all that, all we’re focused on is where morsels can potentially fall.

Similarly, one reason I love doing this job is that I pay really close attention to my Pack members, to try to get a sense of what they want, so I can make them happy.

And frankly, prettyndsweet12, I don’t have to work as hard at this as I do at catching Handsome’s clumsy dining moments.  It seems pretty clear to me that you’d like to Continue reading

0 What to do if you’re scared about growing up

poproxy360 asks: I am scared of growing up and losing my childhood forever. I am not in puberty yet and I don’t have breasts yet either, but I am ten and scared of growing up. What should I do?

Hi poproxy360 –

What you’re asking is as normal as my wanting to chase squirrels! Almost all pre-teens have this fear, though few admit it. So good for you, for your honesty and openness!

You say that you’re scared of growing up. Yet I’ll bet that when you were three years old, you wanted nothing more than to do just that. And probably when you were six. And maybe even when you were nine.

What’s happened is that you’ve suddenly realized that the next stage of growing up isn’t just being a little bigger and stronger and faster, and being able to do a few more things at school. You’re looking straight at the biggest Continue reading

0 What to do when a relationship gets stuck

Twilight Wolves asks: Hello. I hope you can help me or give me a little insight. In December I made a decision I felt was best and my boyfriend did not approve, though he supported me until I realized he was right and I’d made a terrible decision. Since then, I’ve done everything I can to rectify the situation, but he has decided he needs time to think and won’t tell me why. He simply asks that we remain exclusive and that I be patient while he sorts things out. We text everyday several times, but we haven’t seen each other for three months, and he no longer says or responds to “I love you”. I don’t understand what’s happening!!! Any ideas?

Hi Twilight Wolves –

Of course I don’t know exactly what happened between you two, or what you did, but it sounds like your boyfriend has had some trouble knowing and enforcing his own boundaries. When you did whatever it was, he supported you in it. But then, when you changed your mind, said he was right, and became all there for him, he pulled away and said he needs to sort things out.

The one thing I’m sure of is that he’s right – he does need to sort things out. I don’t know if he’s doing it in the best way possible, but he is, now, really taking charge of himself and opening up about where he’s at emotionally.

I’d have to know what really happened to give any more specific advice, but my main thought is Continue reading

0 How to keep someone who’s been hurt from enacting vengeance

Graciano_Durai asks: I have a friend from school. He’s from three Middle Eastern Countries and one Central African Country. He’s from Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and his farther grandmother comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He wishes he could go back to the Middle East. Even with all the terror, He still prefers The Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He hates one thing the most out of all things: America. He’s hated America ever since he was five, after an American bomber plane killed a friend of his and his whole family, along with his dog. Ever since then, I’m afraid he’s just going to just blow up; because he’s a ticking time bomb, he is waiting for the perfect moment to release his anger and hatred. What exactly can I do to keep him from both bottling his anger and not to release his anger all at once?

Hi Graciano_Durai –

I would love to start my answer by saying that we dogs never act out of vengeance, that we’re above that sort of thing. But the truth is, we’re not. One day Handsome and I were visiting his brother’s home, and I saw his parents’ dog Buster, through a window, eating my food out of my bowl. Over twelve hours later, I was able to meet up with Buster, and dove onto her to beat her up and let her know that was unacceptable behavior! I didn’t want to injure her at all, or certainly to kill her. I just wanted to show her who was boss. But it means I can relate to your friend, if only a little.

I can’t blame your friend one bit for his anger or his hurt. War simply stinks, even if it’s got some moral justification (such as if someone’s fighting to protect themselves or their home), and too often it doesn’t even have that. I live in the United States, and I like a lot of the values our country has, but Continue reading

1 Does dating hurt or help school performance?

pizzasquare asks: Does dating affect test scores differently for boys and girls? What I mean is that, if a girl went into a relationship with a boy, would her academics be likely to drop or raise? And what would be the case if a boy entered a relationship with a girl?

Hi pizzasquare –

This is a great question, and I’m going to give you a really weird answer to it: Does buying a puppy raise or lower academic scores?

It’s not hard to come up with an answer. Let’s say a good student who spends three hours a night on homework buys a puppy and falls head over heels in love with it. From the moment she gets home, she wants nothing more than to play with the little ankle-biter, to cuddle him, to dress him up, to take him on walks, to show him to her friends, to post pictures of him online, all that. Then when she studies, she wants to have him there with her, but she’s constantly distracted by how amazingly cute he is when he sleeps (because he’s very bored by her history book unless he can chew on it). Then she wants to have him by her on her bed when she sleeps as well, and he wakes up every couple of hours needing to play or pee. What happens to her marks in school? They plummet! She goes from an A-student to a C-student in a matter of weeks!

Okay, but let’s look at another Continue reading

0 Is there something wrong with only wanting to write or draw certain things?

Graciano_Durai asks: I tell myself from time to time that I’m into something. I have a knack for drawing (NO HUMANS), Knack for Writing (War/Romance/Dystopia Fiction, NO HUMANS), but I keep replacing people with anthropomorphic animals, and my friends call me a “furry” Even though I ponder the question from time to time, what is it exactly, and could I be one?

Hi Graciano_Durai –

Well I have to admit, I’ve never heard a human called a “furry” before, but I can sure say one thing – if anyone’s a furry, I am!  I’m furry all over, even on my tummy (where some dogs are bare-skinned).  I love my fur, and I find that almost everyone loves the fact that I have it (though Handsome does sometimes yell out that he wishes I didn’t shed quite so much – especially when he’s wearing that nice black suit and I jump on him and cover it in white hairs!).

What hits me about your question is that you are discovering that you have a true Continue reading

0 How to sleep better

poproxy360 asks: I have a really hard time falling asleep and I am tired each day. Any advice on how to quickly fall asleep? I searched the Internet, but nothing works.

Hi poproxy360 –

Sleep is one of the strangest things about life. We don’t pay it nearly as much attention as we should. Think about it – we spend maybe an hour every day eating, and maybe ten minutes total drinking fluids, and the history of the world tells huge amounts about the searches for food and water, and how important that’s been. But sleep is just as important as they are. And while it’s no problem at all to go a while without as much sleep as one would like (everyone does that at times – certainly everyone who’s ever taken care of a baby!), true lack of sleep can be injurious, or even fatal.

What’s so fascinating about it is the process. What exactly is it? Sure, we’re tired after a long day. But what exactly happens when we “conk out?” What happens in the brain? How do we switch from awareness of what’s around us to a dreaming state? How much of sleep is about dealing with what’s happened that day?

When Handsome was training me, I would often get very confused with the lessons. “Something’s going on where when he says the word Sit, and I don’t do anything, or walk over to him, he gets bothered, but if I put my butt on the ground he gives me a treat. Why is that? What should I do?” I would feel kind of dizzy afterward, exhausted. And then I’d take a nap. And while I was asleep, my brain would put the information I’d gotten together. And then I’d wake up, and suddenly “get it!” I knew to put my butt down when he said Sit, and that if I did so I’d get a treat and all sorts of affection from him. Great!

The difference between me on those days, and you today, poproxy360, is very important. I was falling asleep instantly, the second I had the chance to, while you’re having trouble doing it at all. This is bad for your body, and bad for your brain!

I do have some simple suggestions. But if none of them work, I urge you to Continue reading

0 What’s the best way to deal with having told a lie?

annakellyjelly asks: I created an iMessage account without my parents knowing. My friends know, so I was sick and in the hospital and I texted my friend this morning. I told my friend I was sick and I was in the hospital, she called and my mom answered. My friend asked for me and my mom said I wasn’t feeling well, my friend said that she knew because I was in the hospital. So my mom asked her how she knew… My mom does not think I told anyone anything, she thought it was just her and her parents and my dad and sis who knew because I had just come out of the hospital. My mom asked my friend how she knew. When my friend realized she had just screwed up, so she said that this girl in our class had told her. My mom wants me to ask the girl how she knows when I go to school tomorrow, and tomorrow is a half-day, so what do I do? Should I tell my mom about iMessage or just make something up? If I make something up what should I say? If I tell the truth how do I say it? I mean I am only 10. Help!!!

Hi annakellyjelly –

I have to be honest with you about this.

When I say that, I don’t mean that I think I should be honest with you, I’m saying that I literally have to be honest with you. And that’s because dogs don’t lie. We simply don’t know how to.

Some people think dogs lie to them. They’ll feed their dog, and an hour later that pooch is whining and looking longingly at them, asking for food, and they’ll say “Stop lying! I already fed you!” But the dog isn’t lying. The dog is saying he would really like something to eat. And that’s the truth!

The reason I bring this up is that I’m no good at helping people come up with good lies. I just don’t have the brains for it.

But you know what I find? I find most people aren’t all that great at it either. For example, we always hear that politicians are great liars. But the reason we hear about politicians lying is that they get caught at it so often! They’ll lie about who they’re making secret deals with, they’ll lie about what they’re going to do if elected, they’ll lie about who they’re romantically involved with, they’ll lie about why they want to go to war, they’ll lie about specifics of a program they’re putting through… and they get caught on every one of them! (If you haven’t figured this out, the list of lies I just gave includes every US president of the last 34 years!)

And this is what’s bad about lying. Lies aren’t always morally wrong; sometimes lying is the Continue reading

0 When and where to give advice?

poproxy360 asks: I love giving advice but I don’t know where to do it. Where can I give advice to people?

Hi poproxy360 –

I find that one can give advice anywhere, and I mean anywhere, but only as long as the other person WANTS the advice.  I see people give advice all the time, and get resented for it, because the person giving it isn’t paying any attention to what the other person wants to hear.

For example, if you wore something to school tomorrow, and I thought it looked lousy, and told you so, you’d probably be very hurt.  But if, instead, Continue reading