” It’s much easier to teach “quiet” (or “enough” or “hush”) if your dog will bark when prompted. It’s often necessary, too. Once your dog learns that barking on command leads to treats, it may be hard to get her to stop barking. The “speak” command should generate no more than 1-4 barks. After that, you’ll need to be able to ask your dog to stop. Wait for her to start barking. When your dog stops barking, give her the treat. Repeat this sequence, practicing ten minutes a day. Start by saying “quiet” without showing the treat, but still rewarding after your dog stops barking. When they have mastered this, you can start increasing the number of correct responses before giving treats. However, still give a treat every once in a while to keep your dog interested. When your dog has mastered “quiet” in a calm room, try the command in more distracting circumstance, like outside at the park or when a visitor comes to the door.

Summary: Teach “quiet” after you teach “speak. Ask your dog to speak. Say “quiet” and offer a treat. Phase out the treat as you did when teaching “speak”. Practice in more difficult circumstances.


If your cat is normally allowed to wander outdoors, you have to put a stop to it as soon as you realize she's in heat. While she's indoors, you can control whether or not male cats have access to her. While she's outdoors, every male in the neighborhood is going to be drawn by her yowling and scent marking. She is very likely to get pregnant. If you own an un-neutered male cat, he will likely be drawn to her like a magnet when she's in heat. You must keep all males away from her until her heat has passed.  Keep either the male(s) or female isolated in a separate room. Spruce the room up so the isolated cat doesn't grow anxious. Put a litter box in there, along with a comfortable bed, food, and plenty of toys to keep them occupied. Even if you keep her inside, the neighborhood males will still be able to hear her yowling and smell her scent marking. You may notice a suspicious increase in tomcats lurking around your home.  Leaving doors or windows open, even with mosquito mesh acting as a barrier, can be dangerous. A determined male will claw through the mesh to reach your female, and she can get pregnant without even leaving the house. Block off any cat flaps in your doors. Rescue centers are over-flowing with unwanted kittens and cats. It's morally questionable to let your cat get pregnant for no good reason. Spaying female cats can be done at any stage in their hormonal cycle. If cost is an issue, many cat rescue or welfare societies offer vouchers towards the cost of surgery. Your local veterinary clinic will be able to point you in the right direction to make inquiries.

Summary: Keep her indoors. Isolate her from your male cats. Lock your doors and windows. Consider spaying her.


Fill a 2.5 qt (2.5 L) paint kettle or bucket halfway with emulsion. Work with the paint in this kettle during the entire cutting in procedure.  Use a 2-inch (5-cm) wide paintbrush for best results. When dipping the brush into the emulsion, only submerge approximately one-third of the bristle length. Hold the brush at a 90-degree angle away from the adjacent surface, then apply the emulsion using straight strokes that run parallel to that same adjacent surface.  Apply the first straight stroke within 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the seam. After completely the first stroke, turn the brush so that the long edge is perpendicular to the seam. Work back over the original stroke, carefully pushing the paint into the seam in the process. When finished, roughly 2 inches (5 cm) of wall space should be covered by the emulsion. Corners that meet in three dimensions, like the space between two wall corners and a ceiling, may require a slightly wider cutting in area. After you finish cutting in the edges, you should immediately begin to emulsion the rest of the wall. Do not wait for the cutting in emulsion to dry. If the emulsion does dry completely, the areas you cut in may remain visibly separate from the rest of the painted surface.

Summary: Pour the paint. Paint in straight lines. Do not wait for the paint to dry.


Your instinct might be to select the lowest bid. However, you should be careful. Someone with a very low bid might try to cut corners or do shoddy work.  A contractor with a low bid might also not have much work. As of 2016, the home building business is strong, so there should be plenty of work to go around for a competent contractor. Avoid choosing someone you can’t afford. Instead, look at contractors who submit reasonable bids that you are comfortable with. You should avoid paying for the entire project before it is completed. Furthermore, your state law might limit how much you can pay upfront. Discuss a payment schedule with the contractor.  Research your state law by contacting a local consumer protection agency, which you can find in the phone book or online. Regardless of your state law, try to limit the amount of any down payment to no more than a third. Ideally, you should not pay with cash. If the project is small, then think about paying with a credit card or personal check.  Tie payment to certain benchmarks. For example, if you are having a home built, you can pay a certain amount once the foundation is laid, and another sum after the roof has been put on, etc. Using benchmarks is helpful, because the contractor doesn’t get paid if work is delayed. This provides incentive to work diligently. Call up the contractor you feel most comfortable with and hire them. Then make sure you have a detailed contract in place before any work begins. The contractor might draft the contract. If not, then you can hire a lawyer to draft the contract for you. If costs are a concern, then you might need to draft your own. Make sure the contract contains the following:  a detailed description of the work, including a complete set of drawings with written specifications the brand of materials that will be used or installed the start and finish dates the payment schedule any guarantees your signature and the contractor’s signature
Summary: Analyze the bids. Discuss a payment schedule. Sign a contract.