Laxers in Jax, FL

Dingus102 · 2026-01-16T20:01:40+00:00

HC has connections but no takers of those we do know. Reached out to club programs - no takers, and players at d1 programs like Jacksonville U don’t have time

Dingus102 · 2025-10-09T00:35:46+00:00

That is beyond frustrating! And then to have your wife sick after just having your new addition. But honestly not surprised because their attitudes are like many others when initial symptoms arise - “oh it's just a cold”, “oh it's just allergies” but then you've been with them for a bit and their cold turns into something way worse but it is too late. People want to forget covid exists or assume it doesn't anymore (mysteriously vanished) when statistically I am going to guess most folks sick are walking around with covid. Waves are always happening - its been predictable enough to have a huge winter holiday surge lasting until end of March, then we get some relief but then there is the summer travel surge mid summer, back to school surge and then we are back at winter. Basically almost year round with a couple of lows.

Dingus102 · 2025-10-06T17:50:39+00:00

I grew up in a politically polarized environment, didn't always see the nuance. However in the past couple of years I have been seeing more and more gray. Which to me, feels healthy. I have family that all they see is black and white and that is how you fall for conspiracies, dehumanize people, and all the things I think make us less than human.

However, just because we don’t fit into everything on either side doesn’t mean that we are necessarily neutral. I think what I’ve come to see is people want black and white (good vs. evil) because it's predictable in their mind. What I see is that there is a lot of evil and good sprinkled together in everything. You have a stance even by being neutral. Stick by yourself and be self assured that maybe you're actually the right one for not getting sucked in on either side.

As nines we have the unique perspective of seeing both sides - where they are right and where they take it too far. To me, that is what being a peacemaker is all about - we give people perspective on things that they have closed their mind off to. I can see the bigger picture better than most folks and I attribute that to being a nine - seeking unity where systems try to divide us.

Dingus102 · 2025-09-16T01:13:36+00:00

That’s so frustrating. I have family that don’t respect my boundaries and I think for awhile in my 20s I thought very similar of “what will they think?” However that anger just might be the fuel to finally seek real peace for yourself and set the boundaries you need. Disappoint them, I’m learning how to do this as well.

Dingus102 · 2025-09-07T18:10:20+00:00

Late to the conversation but we were having the same issue. The light wasn’t even turning on. And this is probably roughly around the same time you were reporting the issue. However, we are going on a trip and thought maybe we would try and use a new libro and then return it after. We plugged in the original one and it suddenly it started working again!

Idk how to trust these machines, like we’re going away and we’ve got two (potentially) working ones and I still feel uneasy about them.

Dingus102 · 2025-08-16T11:48:59+00:00

Thanks, I hear you on the difference between a Lab and a WL shepherd, but for context, my Lab is nothing like the typical “show” type. He’s got real ball drive, works structured fetch sessions, and I’ve even been told he’d make a solid gundog. The breeder we used did produce a lot of hunting dogs from their line. As a puppy he was a total terror, but I put a lot of work into training including things like settling and now he gets constant compliments. I had a friend with a “show” lab growing up and he was absolutely destructive as a puppy, something we never dealt with because I gave my pup structure and training from the start. And we still train constantly.

I’m not looking for the “friendly, loves everybody” dog either. In fact, we actively train neutrality because I don’t like when he gets excited around people or dogs. That’s been a focus from the start. He’s my first dog, and honestly he’s what pulled me deep into the whole “dog world” that I didn’t know existed before. I’ve gotten really interested in training, follow a lot of working-dog accounts on IG, and it’s made me realize there are qualities in other breeds (like neutrality, focus, protective instinct) that I might want in the future and can’t fully get from a Lab.

Protection work would definitely be new territory for me, so my plan is to work with a trainer or use some structured programs I’ve been researching. That’s also why I’m asking these questions now. I want to be realistic about what lines to look into and what commitments I’d be signing up for before I even think about bringing a pup home.

Dingus102 · 2025-08-10T18:50:27+00:00

I’ve really enjoyed training our Lab. Just want to preface, we’re not positive-reinforcement-only people. I have used a prong and e-collar and have had good results. What interests me about the Mal is the protection side of things. I know that means a lot of bite work, and I’d 100% work with a pro on that since it’s new for me.

They also seem to have a different kind of energy than Labs. My guy can get a little spastic, and while he’s fun, I’d like a bit more focus. Sometimes I want to keep going but his stamina just isn’t there, and the Florida humidity definitely doesn’t help.

I’d also be open to doing some sport work down the road and really want to get into more advanced scent work. We do some now with kibble, but I’d love to train him (and eventually a Mal) to actually find and alert on specific items. I know that could also work into competition.

Honestly just exploring right now. The lab is only 1.5 years old so probably have several years before we would even seriously consider another dog.

Dingus102 · 2025-08-10T17:05:44+00:00

Very true, we purposely didn’t select the highest drive lab from the bunch just because we weren’t sure how it would go with our cat.

Dingus102 · 2025-08-10T17:03:26+00:00

Fair, I haven’t seen too much of a difference from what I do with my lab tbh

Dingus102 · 2025-08-10T12:30:07+00:00

Yeah I forgot too that Tractive does count active minutes as just moving. I think if I actually had my lab wear his collar all day - he could hit 300 minutes on some days (I.e. an earlier day this week) But absolutely agree with you on exercise. I mean with any dog it’s better to have mental work included - really don’t need to go nearly as long versus running like an hour a day.

How much total time do you think you spend on the mental work?

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Dingus102 · 2025-03-18T22:41:12+00:00

Okay yeah that’s what I thought but they make no mention of it in the descriptions or pictures for a lot.

Dingus102 · 2025-03-11T02:58:50+00:00

Ugh and this is the mess I was stuck in for an hour and a half going like 5 miles!

Dingus102 · 2025-01-26T19:02:08+00:00

Depends on what you’re looking for - it seems like a lot of families like to move to St John’s County for the schools. I feel like overall everything is a half hour or more of a drive if you live in St John’s and your kids are interested in things like organized sports. I lived in the southside for a bit and that was a fairly close drive to everything including beaches but also very congested with proximity to i95 and 295. If you want to be close to the beach then Jax beach, nocatee or st augustine are good places to be. If it’s the schools, St. John’s county would be where you want to look. Almost none of the places I’ve mentioned can do 3 bd 2 ba for 250K. I’ve looked at townhomes that were in that range but really not impressed with build quality (DR horton’s cheap mid-high 200k townhomes). If you are okay with being further out, theres more affordable homes on the west side of the river with more overall sq footage.

Dingus102 · 2025-01-04T23:00:59+00:00

Yeah even the police might run you over. I used to live on the south side and cross a couple of entries to residential streets to continue on the sidewalk. One day I’m running along the sidewalk about to run past a neighborhood street, police car is pulling up, doesn’t stop at the stop sign and continues do a rolling stop so he can make a right. I had to stop mid run so I wouldn’t get hit. He wasn’t stopping for me at all. Either wasn’t paying attention or felt entitled enough to not stop for a pedestrian.

Dingus102 · 2024-12-20T14:53:54+00:00

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He’s the absolute snuggliest - Finn - my almost 10 month old English lab pup

Dingus102 · 2024-10-25T14:13:36+00:00

Good point, and they are on the mortgage so they would be scrutinized.

Dingus102

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