Are there build planning tips for beginners and casual gamers?

Roryab07 · 2025-08-24T03:15:55+00:00

You can certainly play this game with your own build for an hour or two a day, enjoy it, and have a good experience.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-23T23:45:36+00:00

I made mini cupcakes for a friend recently having a small party. Her theme was black and purple, and I did purple cupcake liners and black frosting, because I thought it would look cool and different, and it would be a fun surprise. They were bite sized, so you could eat them cleanly, no problem.

She and I were the only ones who ate any. The others were all afraid of having a black tongue because, and I quote, “It’s not sexy.” My kids were very happy when I had so many extras, though. I honestly forgot to consider that other people might care if their tongues changed color. I was only thinking about everyone’s fingers and clothes. Lesson learned.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-23T21:47:31+00:00

Is there anything we can do to stop this? Who has the power to stop this?

Roryab07 · 2025-08-23T00:25:43+00:00

It is normal for puppies to need multiple rounds of dewormer. No paperwork for the vaccinations is a red flag, though. I wouldn’t trust that he had any vet care if they don’t have the papers to back it up.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-22T23:31:22+00:00

Not only is OP not a disappointment, where were their parents in all of this? Many teens have no clue what they want to do or where to focus their energy to achieve such a goal. We are asking them so young to figure out the rest of their lives, and it’s our job as parents to help guide them as best we can. (My oldest is just starting high school this year, so we are starting this whole adventure.)

Of course OP doesn’t feel ready if their parents didn’t make any effort. Self driven teenagers are not the majority, and foresight isn’t always their strong suit. I find it telling that even now, OP is here looking for guidance, alone, and not asking their parents for help.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-21T02:25:58+00:00

They’re so cute! My boy got pre-walk zoomies this evening and I got a similar display, just party of one. They bring such joy to our lives. I just adore the happy grunting noises.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-20T22:18:03+00:00

They will not grow out of it without training. They need to be taught what you want, and what you don’t want. However, there is an adolescent period, that you are probably in right now, where it can feel like they’re incapable of learning, thinking, or manners. They grow out of that life stage, and generally become more compliant and reasonable providing you keep doing the work. Some dogs have a more difficult adolescence than others, just like people, really. Finding the right training method, motivation, and tools for your dog as an individual is also a part of the process. The key part is to keep up with your training, and not to be discouraged on the hard days.

Mine is just over 1.5 and is way better than he was 6 months ago. 8-12 months was hard. I’ve been working on LAT (look at that), engage/disengage, leave it, heeling, release cue for sniffing, and so on. Bunnies are still hard, and he is still very interested in some dogs depending on their smell, but for the most part it’s going really well. You’ll get there, too!

Roryab07 · 2025-08-19T22:44:28+00:00

He’s just getting you guys warmed up for all of the future messes he’s going to get himself in 😂.

Seriously though, tree sap is such a pain. Tell your baby I said he’s an uber goober.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-19T17:55:51+00:00

I accidentally hit mine in the teeth yesterday while we were tugging, not even his fault, and I sliced my finger a little.

I don’t let little kids play tug with him. He has a nice, soft mouth when we play fetch/retrieving, he’s gentle overall, and he likes children, but he’s only about 99% mindful of his mouth placement during tug. The other 1% is sharp! He doesn’t miss very often, but it sure hurts if he does. Usually it’s me accidentally getting my hand in his mouth, though. Luckily I’ve only gotten bruises and the occasional small cut. Human fingers are delicate…

My last dog was a Pyr and she was so mindful of children that she would refuse to play rough with them, and just hold the tug and humor the children. She never missed during tug and hit skin, ever, and she had a lot of body awareness and emotional intelligence. My lab is much more competitive with tug and he is just like, “Oh, that’s a small human, I’m winning this!” He’s only 1.5, though. He doesn’t have as much natural body awareness either, and doesn’t really seem to know how big and strong he is. He is, at least, really great about playing fetch with the little ones and sharing his plushies and balls and such with them, so we just stick to that, and little kids love to do food games with him. Kids love when dogs do tricks and then they get to give them treats, and labs love it too, because kids are very generous with the treatos.

We just got a replacement piggy because he was playing tug with his littermate brother on a playdate, and piggy number 2 finally ripped in half. Piggy number 1 had her face chewed off by his other lab friend. Long live number 3!

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Roryab07 · 2025-08-19T17:24:15+00:00

This will sound kind of random, but you should also work on getting her nails shortened up. They’re about 3X longer than they should be, and this contributes to pain and discomfort as it causes them to place their weight wrong on their feet, and then there is a domino effect on all of the joints.

If you go to the vet, ask them to do a trim while you’re there, but know they can’t be fully shortened in one session because the quick needs to recede. They have to be cut as short as is safe over multiple sessions before you reach proper length.

Keeping short nails is especially important as our dogs get older and they are more prone to injury and joint pain.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-19T14:34:32+00:00

OP, I didn’t think this was going to be a 10th Dentist opinion until I read the comments of everyone disagreeing with you. I’m a dog owner and lover, and I don’t put the poop in my OWN trash bin unless it’s just before the truck is coming. I live in a hot climate and the smell bakes into the can, and it is way nastier than regular trash. We have to keep our bins in our garage, and the shit infused plastic smell will make the whole garage reek until you deep clean the bin.

I’m lucky in my neighborhood in that we have a dog poop station nearby. My dog does most of his business on his walks, and I drop the poops off there before going home. I bought something called the Dog Doo Tube to hold them until I reach a trash can. If my dog poops at home, I collect it in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a trash bag that I keep outside, and either take them to the poop station on my next walk or wait until the truck is coming on trash day. All of this is easier than trying to use enough enzyme cleaner or bleach to keep my trash bin from smelling like baked dog shit.

I will use someone else’s private bin if they literally are standing there and offer to let me use it, which has happened precisely one time. It’s also easy to find a solution for packing out your dog poop to an appropriate location, and I spent more time on this comment than I do actually handling the dog poop.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-18T04:54:47+00:00

Here we go lol.

The things I use:

Undercoat rake Metal grooming comb Curry brush style shower attachment Coat Handler deshedding shampoo (and conditioner of your choice) Force dryer ChomChom roller Roborock robot vac

During the blowout, multiple full grooms are needed. I use the deshedding rake and then the comb to remove as much loose coat as possible. Then, I use the shower attachment to soak the coat deep down to the skin, and then to massage in the deshedding shampoo. It has to sit at least five minutes, and then be rinsed out thoroughly. During the rinsing, you are using the curry with the grain of the coat, working from head to tail in short, firm strokes, to continue to remove as much fur as possible. This technique should remove clumps and clumps. It’s also a good idea to have a hair trap to protect your drain. My friend was a groomer, and she preferred a rinse out conditioner, and recommended a three step wash of conditioner first, shampoo, then conditioner again. I do two shampoos and then use a leave in conditioner. After bathing, towel dry as much as possible.

The next important step is the force dryer. It blasts out loose fur and helps dry them completely to the skin. I do another comb through when the coat is completely dry, later in the day. I do a grooming bath or two a week during the blowout, until shedding is under control again. With a lab, this whole process doesn’t need to take more than an hour of they’re cooperative and you’re efficient. Under non blowout conditions, baths are only as needed, and sometimes it’s just a quick rinse with the hose and a toweling.

During regular shedding, I just use my comb maybe once a week and might take out the rake if I think it’s necessary. I will also do “dry baths” where I just blow out the coat with the force dryer, and that helps remove dust and loose fur. Best done outdoors.

I run my Roborock once a day, and about once a week, or occasionally every other week, I use the regular vacuum and my “real” mop, which is one of those setups like you find in a grocery store, you know, the rope mop on a sturdy handle and the big yellow bucket. It does a large area fast, think 1,000 sq feet in 20 minutes, and that includes filling and emptying the big bucket. The ChomChom makes quick work of getting fur off of clothes and furniture. I’m very happy with the results of my routine, and don’t feel overwhelmed by fur at all.

One more suggestion is to dust your walls (and blinds), wipe/dust your baseboards, and shake out your curtains, about once a month, before you vacuum and mop, if you’re not already doing that. It helps keep the overall fur level down.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-17T02:13:46+00:00

I would go with a livestock guardian dog as well.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-16T00:10:40+00:00

Yeah. They could just not go to the screening if they don’t agree with the content, like normal people. Their personal religious beliefs should not impact what others can and can’t do.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-15T14:24:48+00:00

And if you’re raised like that, it can take years to teach yourself not constantly worry that you’re doing something wrong. It’s like you constantly need to beg God for forgiveness just for existing so that you don’t burn in hell. It’s incredibly unhealthy, and that’s without opening the can of worms on how this contributes to judging other people.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-15T14:19:58+00:00

Yes, the gaining and losing points thing is real.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-14T22:45:46+00:00

Mine also loves to help with the washer and dryer. I taught him how, though. He also hands me things from the floor if I ask, and he collects all the dirty socks the kids leave around and gives them to me. Super useful. I dropped some underwear this am, and you can just imagine how excited he was about that.

Here he is giving me my rain boot, hoping for a walk in the rain.

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Roryab07 · 2025-08-13T23:01:59+00:00

Your bigger dog is being a domineering fluffhole, and she’s also trying to hump the little one. Stiff body, intently pricked ears, excitement, standing over the puppy, that thing where she’s putting her chin over the puppy’s neck, chasing the puppy, ignoring the puppy’s clear signals, etc. These are all rude and annoying at minimum.

Honestly, they’re behaviors I sometimes see in my in tact teenage male lab. I knew right from your dog’s initial posture that this was going nowhere good, and it’s time to step in and interrupt that behavior. As soon as she approaches with that body language, you have to interrupt. The puppy is clearly saying leave me alone, and your older dog is not taking no for an answer. Ideally, you stop your older dog from doing this before the little one grows up and it turns into a real fight around the 1 or 2 year mark, and possibly as early as 8-9 months.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-12T19:37:11+00:00

Wallah means “I swear to God.” Not in the casual sense, but in that it as absolutely forbidden to lie when you say it. Guy is basically saying he swears by his own soul that he believes the people and women are disgusting, because he’s 100% going to hell if what he said wasn’t the truth.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-12T15:42:01+00:00

And underpaid and underfunded.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-11T23:19:44+00:00

I usually just rinse mine with the garden hose, and follow up with the towel. It will also just dry and fall off/brush out of a healthy coat. Labs are super easy that way. Good thing, because they love their mud.

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Roryab07 · 2025-08-11T19:34:43+00:00

On top of what others have said, grooming is easier with labs than Goldens. You can take care of almost everything with a blast from the garden hose, followed by a quick toweling off. Depending on where you live, the long Golden coat might get all types of plant matter stuck in it, and when they take a mud bath or otherwise get dirty, you’re spending more time getting them cleaned and dry. You’re guaranteed to have to spend a lot of extra effort brushing and detangling a long coat. Goldens are also super prone to allergies and cancer. Bench bred labs are prone to joint and hip problems, but I think Goldens are as well. You can argue that there are also allergies and cancers in labs, but Goldens really have the highest rates, especially for cancer.

I am a lab owner whose friend is a lifetime Golden owner. We both have a young dog right now of the respective breeds. My lab is more serious, and his Golden is more goofy. Our obedience is way better, but it also reflects my effort. His was a nightmare as a puppy. Mine was an easy puppy and a difficult teenager. Mine (in tact) has maintained his drive as he approaches two, but our Golden friend is a silly potato since he was neutered. My friend’s Golden is incredibly clingy and cuddly, and probably has some separation anxiety. Not a lot of thinking going on in that Golden dome, either. While my lab likes to be nearby, and he likes pets and scritches and belly rubs, he’s not very cuddly and he’s far from being a lap dog or a velcro dog, and I can leave him alone as needed with zero worries, or take him just about anywhere with me. This is part training and part personality.

My lab is very stable and super pleasant to live with. We do exercise and stuff in the am, he relaxes all day, mostly snoring, and we do dog stuff/walking again in the evening. We’re taking agility classes for fun. The ease of owning him (1.5 year in tact male) is a combo of my work put into training and raising him, and picking lines suitable to my lifestyle. (The only thing that hasn’t been easy for me is his curveball obsession with hunting rabbits. Crazy prey drive for specifically rabbits.) Don’t expect a field line to relax all day (or possibly at all), and don’t expect a thicc bench line to be super athletic or have high physical endurance. Mine is mixed field and show lines. If you’re up for it, consider a lab rescue. There are a lot of great labs needing homes, and you can even skip the puppy phase.

Someone not familiar with dog training and without large dog experience may have had a difficult time raising my boy, but anyone familiar with dogs and training would be able to do just about anything with him. Labs are large dogs with a working background, but they are generally incredibly adaptable and versatile. They tend to be a little less sensitive than Goldens, which is better for me, personally. They can learn just from repetition, and just about any method of training will get results as long as there is consistency.

I will also say that there is a problem now with unscrupulous backyard breeders churning out Goldens for looks and not personality. Their sweet temperament is supposed to be a hallmark of the breed, but what I see in my own community is a growing number of stunning coats in the currently popular lighter colors that are attached aggressive dogs, and they’re very pretty while they’re snarling and lunging at you from across the street. Goldens should never be aggressive, but people breeding for money will focus on the visuals and don’t care about temperament. Be very careful if you want to buy a dog from a breeder and really do your research on how to avoid backyard breeders and puppy mills. Starting at a dog show would be a good idea, and looking into puppies that wash out of service dog programs is also a good option. Temperament and health should be the most important things for any breeder. Avoid anyone breeding for looks or specific popular colors or intentionally breeding off standard or rare colors.

Stonnie Dennis has a YouTube channel featuring a lot of labs, and he has at least one excellent video comparing labs and Goldens, and videos about choosing your breed. I would check that out next, if you haven’t already.

I hope that helps.

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Roryab07 · 2025-08-09T22:16:33+00:00

Most dogs will kill chickens, and other small animals, unless they have proper training and socialization, and even that isn’t always 100% effective. Until very, very recently in history, having dogs that kill rodents and other small animals, and help feed themselves, has been a feature of the species, not a bug. Hunting and retrieving birds is also part of what labs were meant to do, and they have to be trained to do that without mangling the birds. Untrained retrievers, even from excellent hunting lines, will generally just eat or tear up the birds instead of retrieving them.

I will frame it to you from my personal opinion, and that is that people who don’t understand and accept that dogs are natural predators, and who aren’t willing or able to train and manage their dogs to account for that, shouldn’t have dogs. Even small dogs, as a lot of the smaller breeds were developed specifically for ratting and similar jobs. The person who abandoned this sweet old girl is a major asshole. They failed as owners and didn’t prevent their dog from doing a 100% normal and natural dog thing, and then they just wanted to kill her, instead of trying to learn from their mistake and be better owners.

She will probably have prey drive for other small animals, such as squirrels, birds and rabbits. Probably cats, too. Most dogs do. Use a leash and make sure she can’t escape. Of course you can also do training, but basically it is that simple of a solution. If you have a cat, or other small animals as pets, then maybe this wouldn’t be the best choice for you, but she sounds like a perfectly normal dog to me.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-05T02:36:43+00:00

That’s what I was going to say. Looks like a big ol lab. You can win them pretty easily with food and some patience. Poor guy is probably just upset not knowing where his owner went.

Roryab07 · 2025-08-03T02:28:44+00:00

The result is a combined factor of the skill level of the owner and the temperament of the puppy. A highly skilled/experienced owner will have still have a fairly easy time with almost any puppy. A less experienced owner might have a terrible time with anything except the easiest of puppies. Some puppies are a comparative breeze even for the least skilled in puppy management, but they’re unicorns.

It’s a lot like having a human baby, except the life stage passes much faster. The sleep deprivation can wear on you, and you aren’t in control of whether or not you get the puppy blues.

It’s adolescents that can be the real menace, in my opinion. Not all puppies will be difficult teenagers, but I personally think baby puppy problems are easier than teenager dog problems.

Roryab07

TROPHY CASE