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In order to walk my dog, I have to take him past this one house that sometimes has 4 dogs out in the yard. These 4 dogs bark and growl and go nuts when anyone passes by, and then my dog goes nuts trying to run over to their fence. He doesn't care if he strangles himself and doesn't care if I have treats. He'll sit if I tell him to (never taking his eyes off the other dogs), but the second we take another step, he's back to leaping at the end of his leash. It's unmanageable. He doesn't do this when we pass other dogs. It's very frustrating. How can I train him out of this?

A very sweet dog with no collar followed me home this morning. His microchip just leads back to the shelter, and the shelter is closed today. One of the neighbors told me which house he belonged to, but no one was home, so I left a note.

I expect the owners will call eventually, but my big question is - in the meantime, how safe is it to let him around my own dog? I went over him with a flea comb, and he seems fine on that front, but he keeps itching at his crotch and paws, and it looks like he's got a reddish rash along his belly. I tried to shut him in the spare room, but he whined and pawed at the door. They're both going nuts trying to play with each other.

If they don't call me, I've got half a mind to keep him, but I don't want to pay vet bills for a dog that'll be gone in a day. What do I do with him??

I graduated with a Bachelor's degree a year ago, and since then I've been working at my stepfather's office. I'm applying for grad school right now (going for a teaching degree), and I need two letters of rec, so as my boss, he said he would write me one.

My question is, do I have to disclose that he's also my stepfather? I'm worried that leaving it out seems sneaky, but I also don't want our personal relationship to cast suspicion on whatever good things he writes. I'd like the letter to be an assessment of the work I do, not how he likes me as a person. Would the school find out? Is it against any rules to have a relative write a professional recommendation? I don't have any other employers I can ask, and the only professor who would really remember me is already writing letter #2.

My boyfriend went on a trip and got me this pale yellow dress in a satiny material. It's scandalously short, and the top is made of a crisscross netting pattern that exposes shoulders and back, and plunges between the cleavage. It shows the straps of all my "strapless" bras, and my chest is too big to go without one. Plus, headlights. :\ It wasn't cheap, and he'll be really disappointed if I never wear it, so I'm trying very hard to make it work, but I just can't find anything that looks good. I don't mind showing *some* skin, but barely-covered butt, open back, exposed shoulders, AND chest is way out of my comfort level. To top it all off, it's slightly baggy around the middle. Looks boxy. I need a belt.

What do I do?? Black is my go-to cover up color, but a yellow dress with black tights, belt, and cover-up will look like a bumblebee. What the heck does one wear with yellow? I'm a neutrals kinda girl. Halp!

My boyfriend went on a trip and got me this pale yellow dress in a satiny material. It's scandalously short, and the top is made of a crisscross netting pattern that exposes shoulders and back, and plunges between the cleavage. It shows the straps of all my "strapless" bras, and my chest is too big to go without one. Plus, headlights. :\ It wasn't cheap, and he'll be really disappointed if I never wear it, so I'm trying very hard to make it work, but I just can't find anything that looks good. I don't mind showing *some* skin, but barely-covered butt, open back, exposed shoulders, AND chest is way out of my comfort level. To top it all off, it's slightly baggy around the middle. Looks boxy. I need a belt.

What do I do?? Black is my go-to cover up color, but a yellow dress with black tights, belt, and cover-up will look like a bumblebee. Halp!

"She watched a certain type of man whenever ____ walked by."

Does "he" or "they" work best here? Or should it be "one"? (As in, "one of that type"?)

Help! Please and thank you.

My dog broke his nail above the quick, but the tip didn't come off. It looks like it bled, and then the tip folded under and dried that way as he walked on it. He doesn't seem to have a limp, but he jerks his paw away when I try to touch it. Is this something a groomer could help with, or should I get him into the vet? Doesn't seem like something that's going to fix itself.

A couple weeks ago I adopted a very sweet, incredibly calm cat who I hoped would be able to tolerate my dog, who's 60 lbs of pure playfulness. The first day or two of our trial weekend was rough - they could sit still in the same room alright, but the second the cat moved, the dog would sprint over and try to sniff/lick him (which of course, scared the cat, and led to a chase.) The cat spent a lot of time under the couch, or behind the washing machine.

They've gotten SO much better in the last week. The dog still chases every once in a while, but he's learning to approach the cat slowly, and the cat will even sit there and let him lick his face. Sometimes he rolls over on his back and sort of bats at the dog with his paws. Does this mean he's playing, or feeling threatened? I know rolling over is submissive behavior in a dog, but I've never had a cat. If he's stressed out by the dog's overenthusiastic sniffing, how would I tell? The two of them often lie around napping near each other. Does this mean the cat's stopped considering the dog a threat?

Not sure if it's a stray or belongs to anyone, but I was petting it and it was purring, and then without warning turned around and nipped me. It just barely broke the skin, and it's only a couple millimeters long. I cleaned it with soap and alcohol, and I know if I tell my family it'll turn into a giant incident. I just had a tetanus shot a couple months ago. How worried should I be?

I've got half a loaf left and it's feeling like it's about to go stale. Around the crust it's turned faintly whitish, almost like someone took a little flour and dusted the bread with it. Is the beginnings of mold, or is that just something that happens when wheat bread dries out? I hate to throw it all away.

Just something I've always wondered: Why do people bother adding the "d" to the abbreviation? I've never asked someone what breed their dog is and had them reply, "He's a German Shepherd Dog." You don't call your Chihuahua a "Chihuahua dog" or your Dalmatian a "Dalmatian dog." I've never seen Australian Shepherds called ASDs. So why GSD?

I posted an ad on Craigslist, sold the item, and deleted the email attachment by accident before I could delete the post itself. Now I'm getting about five emails a day from spambots replying to it. How do I make it stop?? D:

I'm a college grad, and I'm trying to include some freelance editing I did on my resume. My friend says "private contractor" sounds more professional, but I'm worried it's a little over the top when all I did was edit papers/stories for some friends-of-friends. Yay or nay?

My dog's already got a kong and a nylabone, and they've held up great, but he loses interest quickly. I need to find something to keep him entertained when I'm out of the house!

He goes crazy over ropes and anything rubbery, but every time I find a new toy I think will last, he's either chewed right through it or he's tearing chunks out of it within 10 minutes of me giving it to him, and I have to take it away. Any suggestions??

The ones you see for plastic bags at Walmart, or Publix. I mean, are they for JUST those thin grocery bags, or can you recycle the heavy-duty plastic bags you get from clothing stores as well? What about the plastic wrappings to paper towels or toilet paper? Or Ziploc bags? I know those things can't go in the bin with plastic bottles, but I feel bad throwing it all away!

1:

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/garden-jig-dr...

#2:

http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/wildflower-ab...

I'm not crazy about the belt that comes with #2. What do you think? Any suggestions on how to make a cute outfit out of these two? :)

I've taken my dog Skipper to the dog park almost every day since he was a puppy. He's very friendly, usually submissive (but totally fearless), and just all around happy-go-lucky. There's another dog that's always there (I'll call him Fido), and they've never had a problem up until yesterday. There was some scuffle over a toy where Skip growled, Fido snapped at him, and Skip snapped back. After that he kept snapping every time Fido came near, so we left.

Today Fido was there again, and he wouldn't stop following Skip around, kind of getting in his face. Mostly Skip ignored Fido, but every time he came too close, Skip's ears would go back and he'd look wary. He'd calm down when he was next to me, but Fido wouldn't stay away, even when his owner tried to call him. He wasn't being friendly, but wasn't really being aggressive either, from what I could tell. Finally, Fido got in his face, and Skip snarled, lunged at him and grabbed the scruff of his neck. I pulled him off, and Fido was fine, but it was totally out of character. I apologized and we left.

Is there any way to make these two leave each other alone? I don't know why Fido has suddenly decided to start shadowing Skip, and I've never met a dog that mine didn't want to play with before. Me and Fido's owner are there at the same times a lot, and we've been going a year without any issue. Skip's really high-energy, and jogging just doesn't wear him out. He loves the park, and whines on days when I can't take him. It'd really suck if we couldn't go anymore because he doesn't like this one dog, but I don't want things to escalate. Anyone got any helpful suggestions, or do I have to stop going? :\

I'm supposed to take an epsom salt bath to soak a wound the doctor packed for open healing. My tub is, well, less than spotless. :\ I'm terrified of infection. What steps should I take to make sure it's sufficiently clean before it's safe to actually take a bath?

I'm a college senior about to graduate with an English degree, and I'm trying to write a resume for a position as "proofreader." I don't have any professional experience in the field, but for years, I've proofread and edited stories, essays, and articles for friends and strangers, in person and online, for free and for small fees, and I'd like to mention this in my resume. How should I go about describing this? It's an online application, so I don't have any cover letter. Just a box to paste in my job history. Thanks for any help!

I'm applying online to this company that asks for all the basic information, and gives you the option of attaching/pasting a resume. That's the only place where I could give any sort of personal information about myself (the kind of stuff that would normally go in a cover letter). There's a box and a prompt where I can "tell them something unique about myself!" which gives me the impression they appreciate a little personality/creativity, but it's too small to say anything really substantive. Should I go ahead and include a cover letter in the "resume" spot? What sort of unique thing are they looking for??

And another question - I'm a college student and don't have any professional job experience. Should I acknowledge that this is to my disadvantage, and then explain what relevant volunteer experience/skills I have? Or should I just not mention it, and hope whoever's reviewing my application/interviewing me doesn't think it's a big deal? My instinct would be to say something along the lines of "I'm aware my employment history is lacking, but I hope you'll give me the opportunity to prove myself." Or something like that. I don't know if that's a bad idea... Any advice appreciated!