Month: April 2021

Digging up the ground is activity that is a must for new constructions, whether it be a garden shed or an industrial building. Most of this work is for foundations, but you may even need to dig trenches for installing or uncovering utilities. During summer or warmer days this is not a problem if you have the right equipment and operators, but in severe winters, the ground can get frozen, making it very difficult to dig, even with hydraulic equipment, and almost impossible to do it manually. The sane thing would be to do it wait till the weather is kinder, and the warmth in the air leads to the ground thawing naturally and returning to its old state. But this may at times not be possible because of tight schedules, emergencies like breakdowns in utilities, and other reasons like digging graves. How do you go about thawing the ground to allow you to continue with your construction or other activity?

The ground always has more heat at the bottom, and it is only when it is continuously cold that the frost line goes lower and leads to frozen ground that becomes difficult to dig. There are many technological innovations used for the thawing of ground, and as you would surmise all of them require heat. Even with the heat coming up from inside ground, the real thawing is quicker if its from top.

Equipment used for ground thawing can be sturdy blankets that are heated by the electrical elements embedded in them. Temperatures that will be generated in these blankets will be 60°F more than the outside ambient temperature. You can always add extra insulation over the blankets to get an increase of temperature by another 10°or 15°. Some blankets have a capability to increase the temperature above ambient by 150, and are used by landscapers and in cemeteries.

Another form of thawing ground is by using hydronic heating, a technology that uses heated liquids, or water to produce the heat needed for thawing. The equipment used to defrost ground consists of a boiler that heats the fluid, pumps to circulate the heated liquids and send them through flexible hoses laid out over the area that needs to be thawed. The pipes have a spacing of 20-30 centimetres between them. The circuit of pipes is a closed one, with the fluids going back to the boiler to get additional heat. To preserve the heat, these pipes are covered with insulation mats, so that the heat is transferred to the ground and is not lost in the surrounding environment. The heat is transferred to the moisture in the soil, whose freezing had led to the situation originally. This thawing works to a depth of 40- 80 centimetres every 24 hours, depending on the weather and severity of the ground freeze.

The equipment can be started and left unmanned till the thawing, which will take at least twenty four hours. Areas that can be thawed can be as big as 200 to 400 m2, depending on the capacity of the equipment. If you need to go deeper, the equipment will require to be reused, after the thawed ground has been excavated and removed. This equipment is in use by contractors who have tight schedules that do not permit any delays in the sequence of operations. It can be hired from plant suppliers at reasonable costs, as it is not the sort of equipment that is in the permanent armory of most contractors.

There is no need to clear the snow from the thawed ground prior to using this equipment, as snow will actually increase the thawing rate, as the snow will melt and get absorbed by the ground.

Is there an option to board and train richmond? Lucky you, if you want your dog to undergo extensive training, you can. Dog training is essential because that’s how you’ll be able to discipline your dog to behave appropriately. Once your dog is trained, life will be a breeze. If your dog hasn’t been trained you can attest to the chaos – chewing on your favorite pair of shoes, leaving bite marks on your expensive piece of furniture, jumping at your guests (and scaring them away), excessive barking, and begging for food, well you get the picture. As a pet parent, your dog is your responsibility. Pet owners can choose to train their dogs themselves but they can also hire professional dog trainer experts.

Dog trainers utilize various training methods. The strategy they use will depend on how your dog responds to it. There is no ‘perfect’ method and the methods aren’t generic, which is why if you decide to train your dog at home we recommend you do a trial-and-error so you can identify what methods work and the tactics that don’t. There are no cut-and-dry rules to dog training. In fact, the methods dog trainers use often overlap with each other. What matters is it achieves the goals you’ve set. Let’s check out the different approaches trainers use in dog training.

Positive Reinforcement

The concept of positive reinforcement is pretty simple. Your dog is motivated to behave properly if it is rewarded but if your dog misbehaves, it won’t be getting any reward. Simple, right? What happens if your dog misbehaves? In positive reinforcement, correcting bad behavior involves removing rewards like taking food, treats, or toys away. This theory does not support physical punishments and hostile reprimands.

When giving rewards make sure you do it right away and by right away we mean seconds right after your dog does something good because if you give it too late, your dog will not be able to associate the reward with the behavior. Most trainers use positive reinforcement with clicker training. By combining these two, it will enable your dog to identify the exact moment when a task was successfully completed. When you give commands we encourage you to use short cues. Long sentences don’t work and it will only leave you frustrated. Remember, you are talking to dogs and not humans, dogs do not appreciate long sentences. However, for this strategy to work you need to be consistent. If you plan to train your dog at home, make sure everybody in the house is aware of your rules because if one of them breaks it, your dog will get confused and your efforts of dog training will be useless.

Scientific Training

You can’t pin down scientific training because this method is constantly evolving based on updated information gathered from studies. The aim of this training is to study and grasp the nature of your dog, how it responds to conditioning and whether or not the use of rewards and punishments work. According to scientific training, you cannot train a dog unless you study its overall behavior. Only then will you be able to come up with methods that will work effectively on your dog. However, scientific training relies mostly on operant conditioning. This involves the use of positive reinforcement but it also incorporates punishment.

Takeaway

The only way to train your dog is to find out what strategies work for them. Basically, you’ll go through trial-and-error methods before you can discover what strategy your dog responds to. It’s going to be time-consuming and there are days when you can get frustrated. But trust us, you’ll enjoy the process and you’ll be able to spend quality time with your dog thereby enhancing your bond.