shrublover, thanks for reviving this topic! I didn't knew there was such topic, so after almost a year it's time to introduce myself too. :) My name is Alexander, I'm currently 19 years old and I'm from Belgium, somewhere near Antwerp. My nickname (a giant sea reptile which is extincted for 155 million yrs or so) may seem weird for use on a gardening forum, but it's a relict of me watching "Walking with Dinosaurs" more than ten years ago; and now I got quite used to it. And best of all: that nickname seems to be always available! ;) I started liking conifers as a small boy when walking through spruce forests in Wallonia and Germany. Since a few years, that "liking" developed itself into a fascination; beginning with mostly spruces and firs, and now for all conifers, especially the Pinaceae. Living in one of the most densely populated regions in one of the most densely populated countries in one of the most densely populated parts of the world, I sadly lack space to plant all trees I would like to plant. Driven by the eagerness to still have as many as possible I'm currently exploring the world of the dwarf conifers. I'm also occupying myself (in a very amateuristic manner I must confess) with growing conifers from seeds extracted from cones I found in the wild. Disadvantage is that all those species are regular forest species, and thus will get too big too soon, so I'll have to find a way to get rid of most (give them away, plant them somewhere where I'm allowed to), but that's one of the things you don't think about when having fun! :)

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...I wanna go play, too, an', an', an' eat hamburgers and hotdogs, and talk, and meet new friends, and catch up with old ones, an', an', an' see the Official GardenWeb Spoons & Squeezebox Ensemble!!! An', an'...oh, yeah...and ZYDECO!! (Ummm...what exactly IS zydeco, besides something that gets played in Louisiana a lot? I've seen it written about, but I'm not sure I've ever heard it.) Anyway...I wanna BE there!!! But man, I'm glad I didn't try to go this morning. I'm better, but I still can't open my mouth very wide, or eat anything very solid, and I'm still hurtin' more than I want to. However...I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I know this will SOON BE OVER! And then, WATCH OUT!!!! I will NOT be missing another one of these, wherever it might occur!!! *goes off sniffing sadly* Marcia

Joanie38, the bridge you refer to is the other Chesapeake Bay Bridge - it crosses the bay down at the bottom in VA. I've been on that one once years ago but I don't remember much about it. Annie, I used to drive the Deegan all the time. I went to Fordham in the Bronx, lived for a time up in Westchester as well as in Manhattan. I've driven pretty much every highway around NYC. None of them are much of a pleasure, especially in the South Bronx! Allison, I've only had the one panic attack. The first few times I had to use the bridge following the panic attack, I used a variety of mental/physical exercises on my approach to the bridge and was able to stave another attack off when I could feel my heart starting to beat faster. Now I just focus my mind on other things as I cross the bridge and have really just tried not to think about it at all. Interestingly, the way the bridge is designed, with separate spans, one eastbound and one westbound, I discovered that driving eastbound was fine. But westbound, the span has a different curve to it, so you can really see how high you are going and right as you near the top, the cement barriers change over to rails that allow you to see directly down below. Anyway, thanks for the advice about diet - I actually don't drink much alcohol and don't have caffeine at all, and very rarely smoked or processed meats. But I always have water with me when I'm driving, so I'll make sure to follow that advice! Unfortunately, there is no way though I could have taken my hands off the wheel during that panic attack to drink water! I didn't even realize what was happening until it happened. But now I know what the signs are so I can prepare myself in advance!

Yes Mazer, thank you for posting this. I would like to think I know more than a little bit about this subject, and for me, it's very well put. But for someone with a 4 month old pee and poop factory, not to mention chewing, running all over the house, cooking, kids, running around, etc. etc. it is probably going to be to much to take in. All the person with the peeing, pooping puppy wants is to fix things and have a pleasant experience with their dog. The very bottom line I see in this, is: Relationship with your dog = success. If you don't have a positive relationship AND assert your authority, you have problems in all potty areas. I can't tell you how many people I have encountered who: #1. Don't research the subject before they get started and just dont know what they are getting themselves in to. #2. Think they know how to deal with it, but just don't. #3. Proceed to quickly, expecting way to much from their dog to fast, thereby confusing the dog and making things worse. #4. Are not successful, get frustrated, don't know what to do, and the dog winds up back at a pound or worse. #5. Fail to realize from the very beginning, that the training and work that goes into it, is temporary. All of these are very important things to consider, unfortunately, lots of people don't. Making the potty correction properly also helps with other negative behaviors, instills confidence in the dog (and human) and should eventually lead to the dogs unsupervised freedom, assuming chewing and teething are under control. Potty issues can be difficult to correct. Enter a medical issue such as a UTI, and if it's not recognized, the experience can be absolute hell. Ask me, I should know and I had all of the experience, and a wonderful vet completely on top of the situation. *I spent 6 months getting the job done. (long story, dog was 4 months and traumatized before I came along). The key is to be able to target what is not going well, including medical issues, backing up and starting over, and proceed, making corrections along the way, in a way that is not to much for the dog or human doing the training. Then, building on success. SG