I know it will never happen unless I become a billionaire, but here goes:
5 acre yard, 2 kitchens (one for both sides of the house), 2 butlers (for both sides of the house), my own personal 24/7 McDonalds ran by my butlers (Free of course), a home theatere with the movie snack bar, plasma screen Tv’s in every room, 8 bedrooms, 5 car garage ( for my mustang, corvet, convertable, lamborgini, camaro), indoor/outdoor pool, indoor hot tub, huge master bedroom with a sana, personal chef, leather couches, rooms for my dog, gold toliet, big fishtank with a sting ray, ocean front property in california, a built in grill (So I can cook my fish), a pond with salmon and crawfish and shrip (So if I don’t feel like opening my back gate to the ocean, I can fish in my backyard), a mini verizon with a lot of pones in it (So I can switch phones whenever) It’s all paid off too.
Once a young puppy arrives in the household, it is an exciting time for everybody. In order for the homecoming to go forward as smoothly as possible, it is a good idea to spend a little bit of time in planning.
One of the major challenges of dog ownership (in particular for first-time owners) is the issue of household training. If you outfit yourself with some fundamental knowledge and a positive mental attitude, though, it is a good deal easier than most people make it out to be.
The New arrival
As soon as you take the pup home, bring her outdoors. The excitement of the automobile journey joined with the unfamiliar faces, sights, and sounds will have her requiring to go anyway – and if you can mastermind her 1st toilet break so that it happens outdoors, rather than indoors, then so much the better. And not just from the position of short-term hygienics, either – the more your puppy relieves herself indoors, the more probable she is to do it over again.
The homecoming is a big chance for you to set a case in point for toilet conduct!
- Direct her to your assigned toilet area, and place her down on the grass.
- Hold back while she sniffs about – abstain from petting her or playing with her just yet, since you do not need her to form a connection between this area and games. She has to determine that this part of the yard is for toilet breaks exclusively.
- Once she starts to relieve herself, sound out the phrase you desire her to connect with toilet breaks: “Go pee” or “potty time” or whatever does work for you. It is better whenever the set phrase is short and easily recognizable – and use the same voice inflection each time, too (so that your dog can easily learn the meaning of the set phrase.)
- Once she is done, cause a big fuss over her: shower her in praise and warm heartedness, and give her a small goody.
When you bring her indoors the house, the house training regime you have settled on should begin at once.
As far as house training goes, crate training is more often than not accepted to be the most effective and efficient way of house training a pup in a short space of time.
What is crate training?
Crate-training is fundamentally the use of a small-scale inside dog house (the crate) to enclose your new puppy when you are not actively monitoring her.
How does it work?
Crate training is founded on all dogs’ built-in disapproval of soiling the surface area where they sleep. As you are cutting back young dogs social movement to her sleeping space, she will instinctively “hold it in” until she is let out of the crate (provided you do not leave her in there too long, naturally!)
This is why it is crucial that the crate is sized the right way: if it is too large, she will be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the entirely purpose!
How do I pick out a crate?
As a universal rule of thumb, it is more cost-efficient for you to pick out a crate that is large enough for her to develop into. It ought to be large enough for the fully grown dog to stand up comfortably without crouching, turn around in, and stretch out – but no bigger (so that she does not choose one part as her bed, and one part as her toilet!)
Since the fully grown dog is expected to be substantially larger than the puppy, it will most likely be essential for you to use a barrier to cut down the internal size of the crate. A wire grille or board will do just fine.
As an alternative, you will be able to use an inexpensive crate (or even construct one yourself) and replace it with a larger model as your pup matures.
Using the crate for house training
Crate training works like this: your pup is in that crate at all times unless she is sleeping, feeding, outdoors with you attending to the toilet, or being played with (active supervision.)
You will want to be consistent, or else it will not work: you can not allow your pup ramble off through the household unless you are centering your complete care upon her.
Whenever you permit her entree to the house before she is thoroughly house trained, you are essentially encouraging her to relieve herself indoors – and remember, for each one time she performs this, it will be easier for her to execute it again (and again … and again …)
Sample schedule of a morning’s crate training
7am: Awaken. Puppy comes outdoors with you for a toilet break.
7.25: Breakfast time.
7.45: Back out of doors for additional toilet break (attended by you, naturally.)
7.50 – 8.45: Play-time! Puppy is out of the crate being actively played with, snuggled, etc.
8.45: Outdoors for another toilet break.
8.50 – 11: Puppy gets back in the crate for a nap
11 am: Puppy comes out of doors with you for a toilet break.
11.05 – 12.30: Playtime! Puppy is out of the crate being played with and petted.
12:30: Lunch period.
12.45: Puppy comes outdoors with you for a toilet break.
1 – 3.30: Puppy goes back in the crate for a short sleep.
… And so forth throughout the day.
Crate training usually takes one to two months (depending upon the breed of your dog and however much time you spend on the developing process.) As the pup gets older, you will be able to begin to cut back the amount of time spent in the crate – but beware of doing this too soon!
Other crate training rules
- Your puppy in all likelihood will not be too pleased to go in the crate the first couple of times she practices it. She would like to* be outside, being lavished with affection and attention, and hanging out with you (of course!) But it genuinely is for her own good – in a amazingly short time, she will come to accept the crate as her own personal haven where she can go to unwind and get a couple hours’ uninterrupted rest. It is crucial to persist: don’t react to any whining or crying.
- The most effective place for the crate to be is the hub of the household: generally the den or the kitchen, anyplace where people are incline to congregate. Just because she is in the crate does not mean she can’t still feel like part of the household; it’s significant for her not to feel detached or left out.
- The crate should be a welcoming, inviting place for her to go. Put down a couple of thick blankets or towels on the floor, and place a couple of toys and a chew or two inside it as well. The door should be invitingly open at all times (unless she is in there, of course, in which case it should be firmly closed.)
Some toilet truths about puppies that will come in handy
- Puppies’ bladders and bowels are so small and weak that they’ve only a very small window of opportunity between knowing that they need to go, and having that need become an immediate reality. Because of this, it is imperative that you take her outdoors as soon as she awakens (she will let you know she needs to go out by pawing the doorway and whining), and inside of ten minutes of feeding or playing.
- Behaviors that suggest she needs to go out of doors include sniffing the ground and circling. Once again, because she’s only little, she will not exhibit these warning signs for very long – so as soon as she starts, take her out at once. Better an unneeded trip to the yard than an unnecessary wet patch (or pile) on the rug!
- The maximum amount of time that a puppy can be crated at a time is worked out using the following equation: her age in months, plus one. Therefore, a three-month old puppy can be crated for a maximum of four hours. However, this is likely to be physically pretty uncomfortable for her (let alone hard on her emotionally and psychologically: it is tough being cramped up with nothing to do), so you should actually take her out at the least once every two hours during the day. If she is sleeping, of course, just let her sleep until she awakens naturally.
The New Arrival
As soon as you bring the puppy home, take her outside. The excitement of the car journey coupled with the unfamiliar faces, sights, and sounds will have her needing to go anyway – and if you can orchestrate her first toilet break so that it occurs outside, instead of inside, then so much the better. And not just from the perspective of short-term hygiene, either – the more your puppy relieves herself inside, the more likely she is to do it again.
The homecoming is a great opportunity for you to set a precedent for toilet behavior!
- Take her to your designated toilet area, and put her down on the grass.
- Wait while she sniffs around – refrain from petting her or playing with her just yet, because you don’t want her to forge an association between this area and games. She has to learn that this part of the yard is for toilet breaks only.
- When she begins to relieve herself, say the phrase you want her to associate with toilet breaks: “Go pee” or “potty time” or whatever works for you. It’s best if that phrase is short and easily recognizable – and use the same voice inflection each time, too (so that your dog can easily memorize the meaning of the phrase.)
- When she’s done, make a big fuss over her: shower her in praise and affection, and give her a little treat.
When you take her inside the house, the house training regime you’ve decided upon should start immediately.
As far as house training goes, crate training is generally accepted to be the most effective and efficient means of house training a puppy in a short space of time.
What is crate training?
Crate-training is essentially the use of a small indoor kennel (the crate) to confine your young puppy when you’re not actively supervising her.
How does it work?
Crate training is based on all dogs’ inherent dislike of soiling the area where they sleep. Because you’re restricting your puppy’s movement to her sleeping space, she’ll instinctively “hold it in” until she’s let out of the crate (provided you don’t leave her in there too long, of course!)
This is why it’s important that the crate is sized properly: if it’s too big, she’ll be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the whole purpose!
How do I choose a crate?
As a general guideline, it’s more cost-effective for you to choose a crate that’s big enough for her to grow into. It should be big enough for the adult dog to stand up comfortably without crouching, turn around in, and stretch out – but no bigger (so that she doesn’t choose one part as her bed, and one part as her toilet!)
Because the adult dog is likely to be considerably larger than the puppy, it’ll most likely be necessary for you to use a barrier to reduce the internal size of the crate. A wire grille or board will do just fine.
Alternatively, you can use a cheap crate (or even make one yourself) and replace it with a larger model as your puppy grows.
Using the crate for house training
Crate training works like this: your puppy is in that crate at all times unless she’s sleeping, eating, outside with you going to the toilet, or being played with (active supervision.)
You’ll need to be consistent, or else it won’t work: you can’t let your puppy wander off through the house unless you’re focusing your complete attention on her.
If you allow her access to the house before she’s thoroughly house trained, you’re basically encouraging her to relieve herself inside – and remember, each time she does this, it’ll be easier for her to do it again (and again … and again …)
Sample schedule of a morning’s crate training
7am: Wake up. Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
7.25: Breakfast time.
7.45: Back outside for another toilet break (accompanied by you, of course.)
7.50 – 8.45: Play-time! Puppy is out of the crate being actively played with, cuddled, etc.
8.45: Outside for another toilet break.
8.50 – 11: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap
11 am: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
11.05 – 12.30: Playtime! Puppy is out of the crate being played with and petted.
12:30: Lunch time.
12.45: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
1 – 3.30: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap.
… and so on throughout the day.
Crate training generally takes one to two months (depending on the breed of your dog and how much time you spend on the training process.) As the puppy grows older, you can begin to reduce the amount of time spent in the crate – but beware of doing this too soon!
Other crate training rules
- Your puppy probably won’t be too happy to go in the crate the first couple of times she uses it. She wants to be outside, being showered with affection and attention, and hanging out with you (of course!) But it really is for her own good – in a surprisingly short time, she’ll come to accept the crate as her own personal haven where she can go to relax and get a couple hours’ uninterrupted sleep. It’s important to persevere: do not respond to any whining or crying.
- The best place for the crate to be is the hub of the household: usually the den or the kitchen, anywhere where people tend to congregate. Just because she’s in the crate doesn’t mean she can’t still feel like part of the household; it’s important for her not to feel isolated or excluded.
- The crate should be a welcoming, inviting place for her to go. Lay a couple of thick blankets or towels on the floor, and place a few toys and a chew or two inside it as well. The door should be invitingly open at all times (unless she’s in there, of course, in which case it should be securely shut.)
Some toilet facts about puppies that will come in handy
- Puppies’ bladders and bowels are so small and weak that they have only a very small window of opportunity between knowing that they need to go, and having that need become an immediate reality. Because of this, it’s imperative that you take her outside as soon as she wakes up (she’ll let you know she needs to go out by pawing the door and whining), and within ten minutes of eating or playing.
- Behaviors that indicate she needs to go outside include sniffing the ground and circling. Again, because she’s only little, she won’t exhibit these warning signs for very long – so as soon as she starts, take her out straight away. Better an unnecessary trip to the yard than an unnecessary wet patch (or pile) on the carpet!
- The maximum amount of time that a puppy can be crated at one time is figured out using the following equation: her age in months, plus one. So, a three-month old puppy can be crated for a maximum of four hours. However, this is likely to be physically pretty uncomfortable for her (not to mention hard on her emotionally and psychologically: it’s tough being cramped up with nothing to do), so you should really take her out at least once every two hours during the day. If she’s sleeping, of course, just let her sleep until she wakes up naturally.
For a more indepth look at house training, as well as a great deal of useful information on canine behavioral problems and the most effective training techniques, check out The Ultimate House Training Puppies Guide. It’s the complete house training puppies guide..
If your air conditioning systems seems like it does not cool your home, this article may help you access the problem. If your air conditioner is broken and won’t turn on, this article is not going to help and you’ll have to read on of my other articles on the subject of air conditioning repairs.
First things first.
ARE THE COILS CLEAN?
We will assume that your air conditioner was sized properly for your home, that it was properly selected based on the area you live in, the average mean temperature of your area, the average humidity in your area and the rest of the calculations used to determine the proper heat load of your home. If your system was undersized, there may not be much you can do about it, but if it was correctly sized and now seems as though it won’t cool we can proceed.
The first thing you have to be absolutely sure of is that the indoor and out door coils are clean. Make sure that the condenser coil is clean, turn off the power and physically look at the coils, if theres any dirt at all on the coil, you can either wash them off your self or you can have them cleaned by a professional. I’m not going to tell you how to wash the coils in this article, only that its important that they are clean. If the out door coils are dirty, then the air conditioner can’t get rid of the heat it picks up from inside the house.
The evaporator coil must be clean also, this coil is much trickier to clean than the out door coil, and it really should be done by a professional. A good indication if the evaporator coil is dirty, is to look at the blower wheel, and blower motor inside the furnace, if you see dust caked all over the motor, chances are that the evaporator coil is dirty. You must be sure both the indoor and the out door coils are clean.
IS THE FILTER DIRTY?
Don’t even guess about the air filter, take it out and change it. I don’t want it even a little dirty.
Does the air conditioner stay running, or does it shut down.
If your room temperature is 80 degrees and you set your thermostat to 74 degrees, the air conditioner should come on and stay running until it meets temperature. If the outside unit, or the indoor fan shut down at all before the system meets temperature, then you have a problem that needs immediate attention. So make sure the unit continues to run the entire time its in a call for cool.
DOES THE OUT DOOR FAN STOP RUNNING?
If you put the t-stat in a call for cool, and the out door unit starts running, its important to make sure that the out door fan continues to run the whole time, while the compressor is running. If the fan stops running and the compressor runs by it self, your going to have major issues. If someone did a repair to your air conditioner due to a failed fan motor, with out testing to ensure the compressor valves are still good, the compressor may have been damaged by over heating and over pressure, you would need a professional to diagnose this.
If some one did do a fan motor replacement on the out door unit, it’s vital that they installed the correct size fan motor. Its horse power and RPM must be the same as the one called for on the name plate. Because the pitch or angle on the fan blade was specifically designed to move a set amount of air given the rated motor specifications. Turn off the power and look through the grill at the motor, if you can see the sticker on the motor, compare the ratings to the sticker on the side of the unit.
IF the motor has been replaced, you might be able to look down in between the grill and see the wiring. If its a replacement motor you may see wire nuts connecting the motor to the wiring harness on the unit. If you see zip ties or tape on the wiring on the fan motor, these would be good indicators that the motor has been replaced. If its been replaced you have to remember that the compressor may have been damaged when it ran with out the fan motor. You would need a professional to come out and test the compressor valves. If you do see the wire nuts and tape, and you do suspect that the compressor if bad its time to make a major decision as to the most effective way to use your money at this point. More about that at the end of the article.
DOES THE UNIT HAVE ENOUGH FREON?
While you as a consumer probably don’t have the tools to check the freon level in your unit, you can get a good feel for the units charge, by using a thermometer. If you have a digital thermometer, you can turn the thermostat to cool, turn the temperature all the way down and let it run for about 15 minutes, after at least 15 minutes, take your thermometer and measure the air temperature going into the return air grill inside the house and then measure the temperature coming out of the supply air diffuser, basically this is measuring the air in vs the air out. I would look for at least 18-22 degrees difference. It should be 18-22 degrees cooler coming out than going in.
Next go to the out door unit while its running, measure the out side temperature within five feet of the unit. Then measure the temperature of the air that the fan is blowing out of the top of unit out side, look for a difference of between 20-30 degrees between whats going into the unit and whats coming out of the unit. If your two temperatures differences are not between these ranges, you have a problem that needs addressing, call a professional and have them assess the units charge. It may be over charged or under charged.
Next take your thermometer and measure the temperature of the copper pipe that has the black foam insulation on it. On a real hot day, the line should be pretty cold, and it may even sweat with small water droplets on it. Make sure you measure the temperature under the foam so that the thermometer is not affected by the out door temperature. Depending on the out door and indoor temperatures and humidity levels I would expect the temperatures to be somewhere in the low 40’s to low 50’s Fahrenheit
DOES THE FURNACE OPERATE WHILE THE AIR CONDITIONER IS ON.
It is possible that the main burners on the furnace are operating while the unit is calling for cooling. If your house was painted and they installed the thermostat wiring incorrectly, or if theres a short in the electrical wiring, the burners could be coming on in a call for cool. Make sure that there is no burner flame when the unit is calling for cooling. If there is, you need a professional to diagnose the problem! Try turning the gas shut off to the off position, while you’re waiting for a technician.
DOES THE AIR CONDITIONER MAKE WATER WHEN IT RUNS
The air conditioner should be making at least a dribble of water when it runs, if theres no water coming out of the condensation drain line (the white plastic pipe that comes off the indoor coil) then you probably have a problem that needs addressing. The white drain line should go outside the home some where and drain, to the outside. Find the end of the pipe and check it for water dripping. If no water—its time to call a professional and have them check the charge.
IS THE RETURN AIR DUCT CONNECTED
Make sure that the duct work in the attic, or sub floor is connected properly and that your system is not drawing in SUPER HOT attic air in the summer—THIS WOULD MAKE YOUR AIR CONDITIONER UNDERPREFORM. We just did a repair on a system where the ductwork was broken in the attic and the unit was taking in air that was 2.5 times higher than the room temperature. It could not keep up with the heat load.
If any of the problems or conditions that I described above happen to your unit, you’re going to need a service technician to come out and check out your system. Basically the only real thing you as a home owner can do, is change the filter and wash the outside coil. You can take measurements but what to do with eh results will be the issue. If you need extensive repairs to your old air conditioner that uses R-22, its time to realize that the time has come when it makes more sense to replace and upgrade to 410A and its just that simple. Any significant repairs to an older R-22 system are at best A WASTE OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY at this point.
Good Luck
John
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Would you light a BBQ in the House? On the face of it, this is a ridiculous question. If only because the flaming spitting and smoking monster that we call ‘our BBQ’ would probably burn the house down, or at the very least turn everything a very sooty black. No, this is a very bad idea and not just a little stupid. I can offer an alternative though.
The Cobb grill is not a flaming spitting smokey monster. In fact it is extremely refined and very polite. The Cobb uses only 6-9 charcoal briquettes which take about 15 minutes to turn grey, the point where cooking can begin. If you can’t wait 15 minutes the coconut husk heat ring inserts are very cheap and you can start cooking in only 3 or 4 minutes. Whichever fuel you choose you’ll still get up to 3 hours cooking time.
The design of the Cobb is such that the stainless steel body stays cool, even when running at maximum temperature, about 500 degrees Fahrenheit or 260 centigrade. The Cobb can be lit outside if you’re using briquettes and safely carried inside when the briquettes are ready. If you’re using the heat ring inserts the Cobb can be lit under the kitchen cooker extractor hood. So, if it’s cold or raining outside you can bring the BBQ indoors.
The Cobb grill does not restrict you to BBQ either. It will oven cook a complete roast dinner, fry a full breakfast, you can bake bread in it, cook or reheat pizza, make pies, stew and dumplings, Wok, steam, slow cook and you can even use it to smoke fish and meat. All of this is possible in this compact little miracle.
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There’s nothing in the world better than a juicy, perfectly grilled steak from a high-end steak house.
But is there anyway I can duplicate that unbeatable taste in my backyard?
Yes, you can! Any weekend griller can easily duplicate that perfectly grilled steak — if you follow a few simple guidelines:
First off everything starts in the market with your choice of the steak. The cut of steak is all important. Lean cuts do not grill well. You want to pick a cut that has good fat marbling throughout. Excellent cuts to choose are the Rib Eye, T-Bone and Sirloin.
Many people like the Fillet Mignon. But I think it has no real steak flavor. There is a reason restaurants always wrap a piece of bacon around it. My recommendation is to stick to the cuts above.
Next, preheat the gas grill or light your charcoal and build a two zone fire. To make a two zone fire with a charcoal grill, arrange the brickets so that the majority are at one side of the grill producing a hot zone of about 400 degrees F and a cooler zone of about 225-300 degrees F. For a gas grill, adjust the flame on one end to high and the other to low.
To check the temperatures of your grill use the hand test. For the hot zone you should be able to hold your hand about 3 inches over the grate for about 1 to 2 seconds before being forced to pull it back. For the warm zone the time should be 7 to 8 seconds.
Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and bring them to room temperature before working with them.
Season both sides of the steak with oil and coat generously with salt and pepper (some will fall off during cooking. You can apply other spices at this time — but why would you want to?
Place your steaks first on the hot side of the grill to quickly sear the outside and lock in the juices. Cook each side for about three minutes to get the crust color you love. Halfway through each side, rotate the meat 45 degrees to get those perfect grill marks that you see in the restaurant.
Then move your steaks to the warm zone for completing the cooking to your doneness perference.
When the cooking is done, remove the steaks from the grill and, here is the restaurant trick, cover it with butter. Absolutely cover it on both sides. Then, even though it will be hard, let it “rest” for at least 5 minutes. Grilling dries the outside of meats and forces the juices to the center. Resting allows the juices to return to the outside giving you a nice juicy piece of meat.
Serve and enjoy.
Follow these simple guidelines (which work equally as well indoors on the griddle) and you can have that expensive restaurant experience of a perfectly grilled steak at home — anytime — for a fraction of the price.
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