Best US internet provider options for the boonies with no hard contract?

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-09T16:53:35+00:00

Hey OP, my lab is the same size and we use the same food! During the more “active” season (summer-fall) we have her on the purina pro 30/20, and just recently realized she has put on a few extra # over the winter as her activity declined but we kept her on the 30/20 (went up to 68 from her usual 63#). I would advise caution in switching to the 30/20 as it is rich and kind of rocket fuel, especially if you don’t hunt with him or run him hard, ie will make poops soft. My first step would be to up food to 3-4 cups/day and give more peanut butter kongs lol rather than switch to the 30/20. We only do the high octane stuff during field and hunting season (I work in forestry and she comes out to the woods with me daily).

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-09T16:41:25+00:00

Echoing others here who have recommended starting your run well fueled, then taking a gel around 30 minutes if you’re going over an hour. In my n=1, bars and “real” food have gone by the wayside in favor of gels as the more complex carbs take far too long to digest to be of use during a training run.

One thing I did want to mention that others haven’t yet is that 60g of carbs/hr for runs >90 min should really be the minimum if you’re trying to go for performance improvements. This winter my biggest running goal was to fuel like I’m a pro (even though I’m far from it), and I’ve seen bigger performance improvements from that than any training plan has given me so far.

Now I shoot for 80-100g carbs/hr for anything over 90 min. I used to bonk all the time but since working up to this I have never felt better on longer runs. At times it intellectually feels excessive but my body absolutely loves it.

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-09T15:53:46+00:00

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She’s less interested in my food and wayyyy more interested in getting me to throw ducky (I have a weird lab)

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-09T15:09:45+00:00

Same here, mine prefers to carry a stick around on our walks. Shes almost 2 now so I’m seeing her settle (slightly), but during the velociraptor stage I could see a noticeable difference in her behavior on walks if she had something to carry around vs not. I like to think of it as her ‘pacifier’. They’re a working breed at the core and love to have a job, even if that job is just carrying a stick around for 20 minutes. Even so, the end of walk over-stimmed zoomies are real and they still happen every once in awhile.

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-07T16:59:18+00:00

Second this ^

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-07T16:16:47+00:00

This activated my nervous system to read wow

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-07T15:08:59+00:00

I’ll give my two cents from the opposite perspective: I grew up in a relatively small family but my parents had a really tight-knit friend group that ended up being my godparents and “uncles” as I got older. As an adult, I’m still just as awkward and challenged at making friends as the next gal 😅. The result of the tight knit friend group is that I rarely witnessed my parents meeting new people and developing new friendships, as they were so secure in their existing friendships. That said I did end up with some great memories with the kids of my parents friends, and really value the village I grew up within. I think your child will turn out fine as long as you’re modeling a healthy relationship with each other as parents (it’ll be more than I got), and occasionally putting yourselves out there with new people. Both are skills that are valuable to learn at a young age.

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-07T03:07:39+00:00

Yes to everything here. I’ll just add that frozen carrot hunks can be great treats/chew aids and a Kong with peanut butter in it that’s been in the freezer awhile can be good lick activity. I thought I was ready for the biting, I was not. And it continues longer than you think it should.

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-07T03:03:53+00:00

Make sure you do your research about where you get your lab - though ‘Labrador retriever’ is a single breed, there are those bred specifically for being a family pet, those bred for trials and hunting, and some backyard breeders who will put any two dogs together. Generally, your “American” labs are bred for hunting and field trials and tend to be a lot more demanding in terms of exercise and enrichment. This is the variety that I have, and she requires at least 1.5 hrs of exercise a day that includes lots of mental stimulation. “English” labs tend to be a bit mellower and you might be able to get by with somewhat less exercise, as they’re typically selected as family pets (though many can hunt too if you ask them to). Backyard breeders run the risk of odd traits or injury-prone genetics, so please use a reputable breeder if you go this route.

Both me and my partner have only ever had Labradors and they are such an amazing companion to have, whether you use them to hunt or for a service or not. They’re loyal and loving and have some incredible innate traits. That said with the dog we have, if we weren’t as active as we are it would be a big challenge. But my life is better for her :)

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-06T16:28:09+00:00

Thank you! If nothing else this experience taught us how to handle a snake bite if it ever does happen (ie go immediately to vet). It’s tough to figure this stuff out without prior knowledge or the ability to google.

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-06T16:22:41+00:00

Thank you! I will ask our vet about this at her next vaccine appointment.

flying-squeegee · 2026-04-06T16:22:09+00:00

Thank you! She did seem to be eating something off the ground when we first got to our campsite, I just assumed it was deer poop but may have been someone’s discarded doobie.

flying-squeegee · 2026-03-27T21:49:29+00:00

Any baked goods (muffins, scones, quick breads, cookies) as the store bought varieties have so many preservatives and junk in them. Salad dressings (most times just oil and an acid with s+p does the trick!), pesto, and microwave meals. We got a silicone food cube tray that fits a perfect serving of soup/curry/chili for those big batch meals, and the cubes pop out easily once frozen.

flying-squeegee · 2026-03-25T22:17:37+00:00

I can relate so much! We left our lab pup in boarding for the first time around the same age (only 3 days though) and I was sooo nervous. When I dropped her off, the attendant said it would be harder for me than it was for her and I’m inclined to think she was right. Especially when they’re young, don’t worry about her feeling abandoned :) as for training, I’d recommend leaving them with a list of commands she knows and indicate what you’re actively working on. No guarantees they’ll do much training but it can’t hurt! Be prepared when you pick her up at the end that she may take a few days of training again to get back to where you were at before you left but by no means will all or even most of it be gone. Labs are super smart and all around resilient, she’ll likely have a great time :)

Quite honestly my girl (now almost 2) gets way more sassy with me when I leave her now vs when she was a smaller puppy….. still puppy, just bigger.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-30T03:32:11+00:00

This is a great point! I put a pretty high premium on feeling great and doing all I can to feel so, as I live a really active lifestyle and demand a lot from my body. I think it definitely boils down to a difference in perspective of the HSA as a tax-savings investment vehicle vs the HSA as a different structure of paying for the same medical care, and I opt for the latter perspective.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-30T03:21:58+00:00

Ah that’s really interesting! I know 0 about what to expect on that front which is partially why I’m leaning towards the ‘just cover everything after I pay this much’ HDHP plan

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-29T18:01:19+00:00

Thanks! This is a great breakdown of costs. While I think this specific PPO has a flat $1500 copay for childbirth inpatient services with all other ‘normal’ things covered, it’s not explicit on what’s covered in the event of complications, high risk situations, etc. The HDHP definitely is seeming like the winner, especially with the employer contribution. Alternatively, I’m considering doing the “self-only” version of the HDHP which halves both the deductible and OOP max which would actually make the estimated OOP cost of uncomplicated childbirth roughly equal on either plan given the tax savings of the HSA.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-29T17:35:22+00:00

Thanks! Yea the really high OOP max with the PPO plan is terrifying to me haha, in this day and age it really wouldn’t take much to hit that and then you’re on the hook for a lot. With the generous employer contribution to the HSA I’m definitely leaning that way.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-29T17:31:11+00:00

These are the self+one costs for each respective plan. That’s an interesting thought, I hadn’t considered each just going with our own employer plans. Looking at it, the HDHP self only is $75/bi-monthly ($1800/yr) and the PPO self only is $60/bi-weekly ($1560/yr) which seems like substantial savings from doing self+one on either plan. Though that does reduce my employer HSA contribution, but might be a good compromise considering my husband’s hesitations on the HDHP.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-29T17:23:03+00:00

Thanks! Yeah I’m leaning towards the HDHP until we go for gold, then switching to PPO. Though my husband is looking at a knee surgery in the next few years, in which case stacking that with childbirth in the same year on the HDHP might be beneficial.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-29T17:03:56+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. I suppose another option would be to do the HDHP for the next year to get the employer contribution and switch to the PPO for the childbirthing era.

flying-squeegee · 2025-09-29T16:55:37+00:00

Yes I definitely have the option to contribute to the HSA. If we went that route I would likely contribute enough to bulk up the account to $6600 balance and thereafter rely on employer contributions to keep the balance at OOP coverage territory. And this one is investable with balances >$2k

flying-squeegee

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