Author Archives: depolorization

Earlingo – The Animal Assisted Therapy Headband

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About a year ago, I took an online class on how to certify your dog as an Animal Assisted Therapy pet.

I have a very gentle Chihuahua mix and thought she would be a good candidate to go into senior homes or hospitals to cheer folks up a bit.

So I signed up for the class. The class was very informative, but unfortunately my pup was too old. Your dog must be 7 years old or less to become certified.

This got me thinking about training my dog in a special way. A way that facilities would want her to come in, certified or not. She had to have a skill. Something other dogs could not do, and would be interactive for the person.

In college, I did a paper on “Signaling Behavior Among Wolves.” I’ve had an interest in animal communication (Cuttlefish Comm Board) for many years. In 2016, I had a very interesting experience at the San Diego Zoo (Dee Meets The Maned Wolf). These two experiences gave me a unique idea.

Develop a headband (I call it an Earlingo Headband) with controllable dog-shaped ears on it that the user can control and interact with the therapy dog. Even if the person was not able to control the ears, I could wear the headband, move the ears, and interact with the dog while they watch.

The concept is that the dog will perform different movements (sit, stay, lay down, etc.) based upon the headband ear movements – visual communication only. Of course, I’d train my dog using operant conditioning prior to any visits. With positive reinforcement, she would learn to associate an ear movement with a particular behavior.

I will use servo motors along with an Arduino Kit, as mentioned in my Cuttlefish Comm Board post, to make the ears move.

I really think that this might bring a smile to someone’s face!

Floating Shelf

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The master bedroom in my house is really on the “small” side of rooms. My first thought was to get rid of the cabinet that the TV sat on. That would certainly make the room look bigger. I’d hang the TV on the wall and build a floating shelf for the DVD player and the controllers.

I built a simple rectangle out of veneer plywood, and edged the front with 3/8″ clear pine. I drilled two 1-1/4″ holes, one on top and one on the bottom for power and data cords. I primed and then painted the shelf a glossy dark gray.

To hang the shelf, I used strap-toggle hangers. I’d never used these before, but they worked great and can hold a lot of weight. The only part that you see is the screw and washer.

It turned out really nice, and looked so much better with the TV and shelf “floating” on the wall.

A basket was added to the shelf to hold the TV and DVD controllers and hide the power strip.

I bought a plug cover to dress up the top hole. It really makes the job look professional too.

It is amazing how getting furniture up and off the floor can make a room seem so much bigger.

A very simple and inexpensive project. Hmmm, where else can I install a floating shelf?