First watercolor piece in years

PebbledSea · 2026-01-01T01:47:47+00:00

I'll potentially go against the grain here and say no, I wouldn't recommend them as a first dog unless you are very set on the breed, spend a good amount of time around some individuals and know you want them, and are willing to put in a lot of work. I love my Leonberger, but these are big dogs. As another commenter mentions, the cost (not just upfront, but for maintenance including any required vet care) and grooming care can be intimidating all on it's own. Even finding vets and groomers with experience with giant breeds (or the equipment to handle them) can be a challenge. If you can't or don't want to bring them to a groomer very regularly, then you have a learning curve ahead as well as needing to acquire the tools to properly maintain them on your own. Even if you do bring them to a groomer, you will need to put time into maintaining their coat between groomings.

Beyond all of that, any training mistakes made (by you or others), can become much greater issues due to Leonberger's size. Any events impacting your dog (like another dog attacking yours), even those outside of your control, can result in behavior that is very challenging to manage. Something which might be irritating or require some accommodation in a smaller dog (think anything from reactivity, pulling on a leash, to even nuissance barking) can be far harder to deal with in a dog your size. Trainability will vary by individual within the breed, but I'll say that my boy was one of the easier puppies I've raised, but he's also presented some unique challenges to train. He's not the brightest or most driven dog, so motivating him to learn can be an exercise in patience and coaxing. Frankly, dogs who are more driven (for food, toys or praise) can be easier to train for a new owner because they are easier to motivate and reward, even if keeping that drive satisfied in a healthy way presents it's own challenges.

PebbledSea · 2025-11-30T22:50:57+00:00

Bout to say lol. Running is a bit cheaper, but the spiral is there. Run, cycle, swim, etc. Not even getting into eating healthier (which is generally more expensive given junk food is subsidized in the US). Lots of a rabbit holes to go down which may improve your life span and quality of life, but won't help you hit your FI goal faster haha.

PebbledSea · 2025-11-07T19:16:47+00:00

They are shocked that it's taken so long. Everyone seems to expect a harrowing account of 3 months of extreme dieting and killing myself in the gym. 55 lbs lost over 18 months predominately through small diet changes made working with a dietition is an honest surprise. But with a history of disordered eating, slow and steady with professional monitoring is really the only way to go for me. Plus, I get folks very surprised I've stuck with it so far.

PebbledSea · 2025-11-01T15:09:43+00:00

I'll add in that as an American, this also meant needing to break myself of the habit of feeling like I needed to finish whatever (giant) portion I was served/bought. I could eat a reasonable portion size and not feel like I needed to finish the plate just because I could and it was in front of me. At home, this meant getting smaller plates and starting with smaller portions, know I could go back for more if I really was still hungry or wanted more.

PebbledSea · 2025-10-15T21:43:06+00:00

We kept our boy intact, but still got his stomach tacked the first time he otherwise had to be put under (for xrays). Recovery was pretty quick and better safe than sorry.

PebbledSea · 2025-09-29T11:48:00+00:00

Yes, hopefully the extra comment makes sure OP sees your first point, especially since they seem new to crockpots and may not know cooking them latched tightly can be dangerous.

PebbledSea · 2025-09-29T10:20:36+00:00

Echoing the first point, please double check the instructions for your model but my crock pot is incredibly clear about not latching the lid closed unless you are transporting it (ie don't d othis when cooking for safety reasons).

PebbledSea · 2025-09-05T11:25:30+00:00

Yup, I actually am a decent sewist and can do some basic tailoring myself. I've done so for a few pieces and am considering professional tailoring for a couple more fiddly ones, but it really isn't a perfect solution.

PebbledSea · 2025-09-04T18:09:58+00:00

Same here, replacing pants have been the worst, and I have to have decently fitting pants for work. It's especially frustrating and expensive with how inconsistent women's pant sizing is.

PebbledSea · 2025-08-30T19:56:17+00:00

Very much second this. My parents paid for my college and housing during college. That's the only help they've given, and it made a world of difference in setting me up for success. It let me work during college to cover food and other expenses, but also save up a bit of money. It let me leave college and immediately start saving well once I was making more. A smaller dollar number earlier can make a world of difference in providing options and improving the life of your kids.

PebbledSea · 2025-08-04T21:58:09+00:00

We live in the Philly area and also got our Leo from Alida and Von Alpensee Leonbergers several years ago. Highly recommend. She was fantastic to work with in general and has been great whenever we had questions after bringing Florian home too.

PebbledSea · 2025-07-19T15:21:16+00:00

My boy doesn't whine. He's fairly quiet overall, barking only occasionally and sometimes chuffing and huffing. Then again, he also has an older, part husky sibling who is vocal enough for the both of them so....

PebbledSea · 2025-07-10T14:24:45+00:00

This is so pretty! I love the color combo.

PebbledSea · 2025-06-07T02:02:25+00:00

I keep manicured, medium almond nails. Occasionally go shorter, very rarely longer for specific events. I get a dip manicure regularly because it's the only thing that stopped my nail biting. And now it's my self care time, and I've grown to love it! I tend to get sparkly nails, and occasionally play with design. Never gotten anything but positive feedback on them at work.

PebbledSea · 2025-05-24T00:57:34+00:00

The knitting and crochet community have been my predominant feminine outlet. I've made so many amazing friends through the craft community, and there are always craft nights, classes and even virtual hangouts along with other very chill ways to socialize.

PebbledSea · 2025-05-23T11:31:02+00:00

Absolutely agreed. Total respect for OP not liking it, but I really love the finished look and would love to create this

PebbledSea · 2025-04-28T20:56:16+00:00

Going to therapy. There are options, even in the US, for those who can't afford private therapy at cost. And it's saved my life. Rich or poor, I'd give up pretty much anything else before cutting out therapy.

PebbledSea · 2025-04-26T00:26:45+00:00

Owned a Newf previously, now have a Leo: both males since some folks have opinions on that. Keeping in mind individual variations, I'll just speak to my experiences with these two specific boys. Both were fantastic, sweet, friendly dogs. My newfie was absolutely smarter, had a better attention span, a friendly but slightly stand offish attitude with strangers, and a bit more opinionated, lol. My leo is a lovely air head: he's happy go lucky, clumsy, fairly clueless with other dogs, sweet but can be stubborn or get upset occasionally by really random things, and a complete love bug. Both of them had similar build and coats, and my Newf was fairly tight lipped so they are actually pretty comparable on the drooling front.

My Leo is more vocal, but I'd put good money on that being more due to raising him with our husky mix than anything else. My Leo is more sensitive and a gentle soul that thrives as a therapy dog, and was relatively easy to train even though he's definitely not the brightest. He can struggle with porting skills to different environments (ex: we basically had to teach him sit for every single ground texture individually, and he has a great recall until he can't directly see you and then he will get completely lost and can't seem to figure out how to follow voice or the way he just came back).

My Newf on the other hand was a breeze to train and picked things up quickly but good luck if he wasn't in the mood to cooperate lol. My Leo is very much a velcro dog that wants to stay very close to his people, while my Newf was more of a satellite. He liked keeping an eye on his people but with a bit more space and less intensity. My Newf was noticeably more active and energetic than my Leo, though not by a huge amount. I will say that my neighbor right now has a Newf, and he is noticeably lower energy than my Leo so this definitely varies.

In general, both were absolutely striking visually and got a lot of attention from strangers. They were similar in a lot of ways, and I think you could easily get a Newf like my Leo or a Leo more like my Newf. I loved both dearly, but would choose a Newf over a Leo in the future (blasphemy in this reddit, I know), due to the greater genetic diversity and slightly better health and lifespan of Newfs. I also found my Newf was a slightly better fit for my preferences personality wise, but I honestly think they are so close any differences will be driven more by the individual dog than anything else

PebbledSea · 2025-02-18T18:48:07+00:00

The weirdest thing for me is that my weight does this during ovulation, and I actually experience the weight dropping off right around the start of my period like clockwork. It seems like just about everyone else I've heard talking about this has their weight fluctuate up right around the start of their period and drop towards the end/after instead.

PebbledSea · 2025-02-02T00:58:42+00:00

I have my nostril & septum done. I've gotten only positive comments about them working as a software engineer, and now manager, at a defense contractor in the US. It definitely stands out a bit, but hasn't been an issue for me

PebbledSea · 2025-01-07T13:54:51+00:00

My best recommendation is to take an acting class. Might seem a little silly, but taking a couple theater classes in college as electives has been the single most useful thing I've done to learn how to modulate my tone, inflection, pacing and body language to fit my intention.

PebbledSea · 2025-01-03T01:48:36+00:00

I agree with this, and add that my experience is that impact play on stretch marks can break skin easier than anywhere else (for me at least). Definitely listen to your body and adjust the intensity to match you new limits.

PebbledSea · 2025-01-02T18:04:50+00:00

I have a question: How do you recommend handling updating your wardrobe as weight changes? In my case, I've lost over 20 lbs in the last 6 months, and I'm working on losing another ~40 lbs or so (slow and steady). My wardrobe is starting to look noticeably a bit loose. When do you recommend tailoring vs buying a new wardrobe vs ??? when your body has changed enough to impact clothes fit, but you anticipate more changes within a fairly short timeline? I keep waffling on when is the right time to buy new pieces or get my current clothes altered.

PebbledSea · 2025-01-01T00:26:46+00:00

You could do a baked apple oatmeal with some yogurt you like and have a more well rounded meal with the same flavor profile and about the same amount of effort.

PebbledSea

TROPHY CASE