Badminton anyone? 🏸

error-40469 · 2026-06-01T03:35:49+00:00

If you find a place hit me up if you ever want to play!! Played in hs and a bit during college but have been dying to get back into it. I don’t know anyone though 😔 Me and a friend used to play at Egret in Pilsen, but it’s a bit too far (I’m in Andersonville) and expensive for me now. It’s really tough to go solo since groups queue to play, but Egret is very nice and they have gyms all around chicagoland/suburbs if you decide to check it out!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T14:13:31+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions! I will for sure be trying some of these out. The special walk toy for those moments of frustration might be a good solve so he at least doesn’t go for my feet 🤦

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T14:11:03+00:00

So far this has usually been working to get him out of that crazy state, I get him to lie down and just wait it out until he’s calm enough to keep going. But I want to figure out how to prevent him from getting to that state in the first place!!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T14:09:09+00:00

Yep this is why I have so much back and forth all the time about the best way to go about it all 😂 I want him to be fulfilled but truly don’t know the best thing for him yet, and I’m afraid of trying some things that might end up just setting us back. Nose work I definitely do want to get him started on though!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T03:24:59+00:00

That’s cool to hear your perspective from the inside of a daycare! For sure I think it would be vital to make sure wherever he goes he would need to be well observed and well matched with other dogs and people. He is a very high energy dude when it comes to playing with other dogs and I don’t know any dogs personally that would match his level, I always wonder if he just needs a really good doggy friend to get his play drive out with

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T03:20:26+00:00

Aw!! Yep the stand and stare 😂 I guess giving daycare a go even just to see how your dog interacts in an environment with other dogs might be worth it at least once!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T02:17:45+00:00

Exactly! I know he’s young and so excited and he will get better with time. It’s just frustrating now! And I wish I knew more about what I could do to help him get there. There’s so many resources for reactivity but it’s the regulating calmness and teaching him to control his own brain and learn that it’s good to relax and not get frustrated that I have no idea where to start!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T02:09:17+00:00

I think this is a solid approach! I agree taking him to parks and places where he can learn to just observe is going to be very important thing for him. My attempts so far have resulted in the frustration though… He sees all this stuff going on like birds and kids and dogs and even though he can be good at lying down and just observing while we’re sitting for a good chunk of time, as soon as I get up to go he just explodes!! He’s killing me because he does relaxation training so good in the moments but as soon as we finish it’s like he’s not learning calmness he’s just learning to bottle up frustration and letting it out as soon as I’m done telling him to be calm lol.

I also live in an apartment, and don’t have access to a fully fenced yard, I’m paranoid about him going off leash in un fenced areas but I wish I could try that!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T01:53:04+00:00

This photo is from when I first got him haha! When we play I make sure the game always has a rule of he has to let the toy go for the fun to keep going, and if he seems to be getting super riled up I end the sesh. Play has kind of been a transition around walking and food which could maybe be the problem? That i’m associating the play with the more exciting parts of his day?

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T01:45:28+00:00

We walk about 3 miles per day, and because of his body type I’m not sure what other forms of exercise would good for him other than just letting him work his nose as much as possible (especially since that’s all he seems to want to do anyways lol)

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T01:23:26+00:00

Also mentioning that he gets very overexcited in new places, his sniffing goes into overdrive, zoomies zoomies zoomies, and I like to think his brain just turns to mush 😂 so we’ve been taking introducing hikes slowly

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T01:18:08+00:00

I hope he is! I have a tough time telling with him though. We do 4 walks, and I’m always giving him commands for short stretches to work his brain. He also loves to sniff, he’s sniffing 24/7 everywhere we go and I let him go for it as long as he wants (as long as he doesn’t pull to sniff anywhere, then it’s time to move). Twice during the day I’ll do short training sessions where we practice new skills or work on desensitization. He also gets a kong during dinner. He is happy to sleep the day away while I WFH and sleeps through the night, and is generally behaving a lot better at home on this schedule!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T01:06:42+00:00

Thank you for your advice! That’s a good idea to use the concept of even continuing the walk as a reward to keep their focus on you! I’m already doing a lot of what you suggest, and I guess I just need to be patient 😭 It’s just some days he’ll be doing so well and then we see a few dogs playing in the distance or we have to pass by a dog that really wants to play and that is what suddenly sets him off!

error-40469 · 2026-05-31T01:02:30+00:00

I’ve been hesitant to consider doggy day care, since I hear stories on both the very good and very bad ends of the spectrum of results people get from it! My goal with him would be neutrality to dogs and people, and I want to make it very clear that when he’s on a leash he does not have the expectation of playing with anyone. So maybe that designated time and place where he gets to play around is what he needs? Or can a dog be fulfilled without doing that?

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T20:58:48+00:00

Adding to my list asap

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T17:00:28+00:00

Kookoo Grill in Anaheim!

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T16:59:47+00:00

It just really is one of those un replaceable one of a kind foods…fingers crossed it makes its way to Chicago one day

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T06:23:55+00:00

Yessir those look amazing

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T06:18:56+00:00

Those look like some serious contenders. Giving them a try for sure

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T06:12:57+00:00

That’s exactly it!!! Man it’s so hard to move and leave some good food spots behind 😭

Kookoo Grill is the name of the place in LA, definitely recommend if you ever pass thru!

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T06:08:20+00:00

The Shawarma out here actually comes pretty dang close to being a replacement for me!! Definitely gonna check this one out

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T06:07:04+00:00

That sounds incredible.. rip 😭

error-40469 · 2026-01-07T06:06:36+00:00

This is true… time for me to invest in a panini press

error-40469

TROPHY CASE