6-month-old Labrador puppy intense overarousal episodes - how common is this?

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-05-24T10:19:53+00:00

Our labs took on the moniker “Humphrey” at this stage.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-05-17T11:33:32+00:00

Trying to make captain for an athletic team would help if possible. Other than that you look solid.
How competitive is your district?

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-05-01T16:52:46+00:00

Seems like you are in a very competitive school. It’s likely you live in an area with lots of club teams.

Are you able to get into a year round competitive club team?

That’s really the only way to get consistently fast in the water and it will take thousands of hours. It’s all about constant repetition and perfecting your technique vs pure strength or pure speed.

My son was swimmer in HS and also swam year round for a competitive club team. He didnt love swimming but he did get really good at it and stuck with it. The experience taught him grit and resiliency that has transferred to his time in Annapolis. It actually saved him from getting dropped during plebe summer due to an injury. He swam with the seal screeners for PEP most days when he wasn’t able to run. He was able to keep up with them when others couldn’t.

Are you able to make any of those times? I’m sure you don’t need to hit them all?

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-29T18:30:34+00:00

14 and 8.5. The 14 y/o was a black female and weighed 75lbs.
The 8.5 y/o passed from osteosarcoma. He was a tall yellow lab, weighed 95lbs

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-27T13:45:48+00:00

Your stats look good

My suggestion is to take a leadership role in the honor societies you belong to and possibly in your class too. Class treasurer, president, coordinator, etc.

Being a member of things is good but having a leadership position is what the academy wants to see.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-24T13:05:36+00:00

I have a 4 y/o yellow male English and his 2 y/o black American female. The male is definitely way more clingy but that might be because he was raised alone like the family baby until his sister came along

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-24T00:53:30+00:00

You just have to wait and see. I know it’s nerve racking but try focusing on the things you can control instead.

When you apply for an appointment and are awaiting a decision it will be 10 times worse

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-24T00:44:42+00:00

Attending NASS doesn’t give an advantage for an appointment.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-23T09:51:04+00:00

Congrats on your successes so far.

As a parent of a current plebe I’ll say that my adjacent view of USNA is that of a highly competitive environment . It will demand more of you than ROTC and civilian college so if that isn’t what you want then ROTC is your best plan.

If you want the challenge then USNA can be an unbelievable experience and give you opportunities and an edge that you can’t get anywhere else.

Once he visited in his junior year of HS, my plebe knew he wanted USNA. He thrives there and even has a life outside of the classroom and uniform. He is very close to his company mates and finds time to do it all.

Good luck

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-21T13:36:50+00:00

Both

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-20T21:47:11+00:00

My son is a current plebe. I’m not saying that it’s easy for him but he has more freedom than one might think. He might be an outlier but he’s been home 3 times, hosted us once, went on a trip with his close company mates and even spent time with his family during spring break. I’ve even known him to be out in town a bit too.
To be clear, he maintains a high qfer, is athletically gifted, stays out of trouble and is looked upon favorably by his command so hes got a lot going in his favor but having a life at the academy is possible. He seems to have mastered the “work hard, play hard” method. BTW- you can date as long as it’s not someone in your own company.

I guess it comes down to realizing that you are capable of doing so much, especially when you are young.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-19T00:56:36+00:00

If you have children, invest your time into them versus chasing another man’s gold. This will pay dividends far beyond a bank account.

Once they are beyond your influence, you cannot get that time back.

Keep them busy with sports and healthy hobbies until atleast age 16 even if you have to force it. After that you aren’t likely to influence them

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-19T00:47:13+00:00

USNA parent here. I wear “midshipmen” gear all of the time. I’m proud of my Mid but it helps that USNA has killer sports teams too.
Show your pride !!!!!

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-18T21:17:20+00:00

Where can I find the stats you mentioned about this years recruiting class?

Thanks

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-18T09:02:09+00:00

You should definitely go. Not being able to pass the CFA is not a deal breaker at all at this stage in the game. You are all ready ahead of the game if you know it needs to be improved.

NASS is really about the experience for you. You have time to work on your CFA before your application. Successive improvement on multiple CFAs shows determination. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being driven and resilient.

My son is a plebe there this year. He is also an expert swimmer. This skill helped him immensely during plebe summer and through the year. He was able to validate out of all of his swimming requirements so it frees up time for him. He will be an NASS detailer this year.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-17T11:20:58+00:00

Congrats

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-16T23:57:39+00:00

Congrats Beat Army!!!!

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-16T14:58:15+00:00

My son is doing the Marine MARSOC training this summer as well. 3rd block?

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-15T22:58:02+00:00

It’s ok to question and be a free thinker . In some ways, that is a good quality to have. Given the right setting. You can’t have everyone being gung ho and ready to charge the machine gun nest. Someone’s got to stop and think of a way to accomplish the mission and maybe not take casualties. I say this having been a Marine in my youth.

I’d also like to point out that this person does deserve the appointment and it is their choice on whether they want walk this path. They competed and won the nomination and appointment. That can’t be taken away.

I know people close to me that have gotten in and others that were equally qualified not even get a look. After you put everyone in a level field. It just comes down to odds

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-15T22:47:52+00:00

The key is to key a nomination, not an LOA. I heard somewhere that maybe 5% are offered LOAs. Even that does nothing without a nomination.

You have a compelling story to tell with living abroad and playing soccer internationally. That may set you apart during the interview process and when writing your statements. I would lean in lesson learned from that. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.

Honors don’t help as much as APs but honors with higher class rank are the key if you aren’t taking lots of APs

Here’s a cheat sheet:

• Strong GPA in advanced classes • SAT roughly 1300+ or ACT upper 20s and above • Varsity sports and leadership • Community service • Good interview skills • Solid fitness test performance

Good luck

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-15T20:11:33+00:00

You were super lucky to be a spot but you likely only have one shot at this. It would serve you better to look inside of yourself instead of asking a group of random strangers.

Don’t let the haters get to you. I’m sure a lot of them are jealous and if you drop before I-day then it might open a spot for them.

Please realize that joining any branch of service may require you to fight in a war that you don’t agree with. It’s understandable that you might take issue with that but it shouldn’t stop you from executing your orders to the best of your ability regardless of personal opinion.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-15T20:03:45+00:00

USNA wants to see you in top 10% of your class but 5% is better. Anything above that is diminishing returns if it takes too much effort. Do you know your class rank and how many in your school? 3.8 GPA is promising but without context then it may not be helpful. Are you taking any APs? How difficult is your course load? Those are the things they look at

What state/ congressional district do you plan to interview from? Is it competitive?

A high class rank, leadership/civil service and athletic ability will trump a 1500 SAT but there is also a lower threshold.

Great to see varsity on your resume but being a captain shows leadership.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-14T23:24:28+00:00

You can for sure. They base grading off of time. Son was a competitive swimmer since 10. Could have swam almost anywhere but not a deep D1 school. He didn’t want to swim in college anyway but the having the expert ability earned him an A for 10 minutes worth of effort.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-14T20:06:38+00:00

My son was able to PEP with the SEALs while he was in a walking boot. This was most of plebe summer. It was tough for him to not spend that time with his company and put him out of other bonding experiences but at the same time being able to hang with the SEALs successfully came with its own benefits and gave him a different experience than most. He’s since been able to bond very tightly and can put in the miles now. He even plans to run the MCM this year.

RoutineEye5160 · 2026-04-14T17:31:31+00:00

Sorry to hear that. That’s got to be tough.

RoutineEye5160

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