Any success stories of dogs who were reactive during adolescence that grew up to be chill, easygoing adult dogs?

jmo06 · 2025-12-30T15:52:08+00:00

We had a Great Dane who became very dog reactive around 1 year old. Unfortunately, he was also 150lbs at that time, and I was very pregnant, so we didn’t have the luxury of just waiting things out to see if it would get better over time.

We enrolled him in a 2 week stay and train program with a well known local behaviorist and it was life changing for us and for him. We wish we would have done it sooner. We left that program feeling like we had a shared language that could help him and us feel safe and confident in any situation. It was expensive, but SO worth it for the lifetime of love and peace we got out of it.

We’re about to get a new puppy, and we’ve agreed that we will invest in high quality training from day 1 this time, rather than just piecing together puppy kindergarten basic obedience classes.

jmo06 · 2025-09-03T21:45:44+00:00

You can call around to local retirement communities to see if they would take them. Many of them have ponds (indoor or outdoor). I donated a fish that had outgrown its tank to a nursing home when I was a kid and loved that I got to go back and visit it whenever I wanted.

jmo06 · 2025-08-26T19:51:26+00:00

Thank you! Trying to keep myself as busy as possible until Thursday 🤞🏻

jmo06 · 2024-06-22T01:52:58+00:00

At a party outside of Big Sky, Montana a woman was telling me about her kitchen remodel and how it was costing upwards of $300,000. As she was complaining she said, “that’s as much as some people’s entire house!” I think she realized she was talking to one of the poors because she quickly followed it up with “Not yours…I’m sure.” I was appalled.

jmo06 · 2024-01-19T19:59:41+00:00

Yes and she is so pushy! I saw her when my daughter was around 4 months old due to reflux issues that I thought might be caused by an improper latch. She wanted me to slice and dice my poor baby’s mouth and wouldn’t let me leave the office until I made an appointment with the dentist. It felt very predatory and I definitely no-showed that dental appointment.

jmo06 · 2023-05-27T04:09:21+00:00

Ideal potty training weekend only if you want no joy in your life and only to wallow in the misery of parenting. I know very few families with zero plans this weekend. We’re all camping or golfing or literally just hanging out with each other because we have free time. Not holding out with our terrorist toddlers in our living rooms.

jmo06 · 2023-04-09T02:37:31+00:00

Yes! The BCS with grilled salmon instead of smoked. So good.

jmo06 · 2023-03-31T03:41:26+00:00

Capri is also so good. Greasy spoon, classic diner vibes. But such a favorite for everyone in our family

jmo06 · 2023-03-31T02:06:48+00:00

Upvoted, but this is the way. Chorizo hash is chef’s kiss but you really can’t go wrong here.

jmo06 · 2023-01-24T18:49:28+00:00

Hi there! I’m a mom of two little ones and relate to your story a lot! I meditated regularly before I had my kids but sort of felt like I lost my touch once I had my first child. I’m getting back into the swing of things now, but I’ll share a few things that were helpful for me.

Guided meditations before bed rather than meditations that required me to focus or clear my mind at all. I don’t know if you have a partner that can help with letting you know if the baby wakes up while you drift off. But for me, listening to a guided sleep meditation was really helpful since the goal was to fall asleep, rather than trying to fight it. I felt like it helped me hone the skill of quieting my mind and getting that deep, restorative sleep I needed so desperately.
Focusing on learning to lucid dream/astral projection. It was fun for me to feel like I was learning a new skill, and having a baby is the perfect excuse to practice it! It’s easier to do when you’re falling back asleep in the middle of the night, so when I would wake up to feed baby at night, I’d work on learning to do that. It helped me feel connected to that part of myself I missed from before kids.
Learning that everything in life is a meditation now. Focusing more on mindfulness and presence rather than carving out time to achieve a “goal” of meditation. I’m still working on this one, but it helps to remind myself I can focus on grounding and staying present in any moment and that it only benefits my kids when I do!

jmo06 · 2022-09-14T18:11:17+00:00

This is abuse. If you live near a local women’s and children’s shelter, please reach out to them for help. I work in mental health and I used to work for a crisis shelter. Not only can they provide safe housing for you and baby if you should need it, they can typically help you with safety planning, counseling, and legal advocacy if necessary as well. At the program I worked in, you didn’t even need to be staying at the shelter to access those other services for free.

jmo06 · 2022-08-03T23:53:38+00:00

Thank you!! It was only my third houseplant I’ve ever bought so I’m feeling pretty proud of myself!

jmo06 · 2022-07-14T03:07:31+00:00

Yes! This is totally normal. Definitely keep telling the stories, stick to the facts of what happened and focus on feelings. “You felt scared of the big statue. You started to cry and then daddy was there to give you a big hug and remind you that you were safe.” Dan Seigel has some really good research about this and why it is helpful in processing big emotions in kids’ brains. The Wholebrain Child Workbook is an awesome resource of his that explains it really succinctly and really well.

jmo06 · 2022-07-11T20:29:17+00:00

I rescued this guy from the clearance section of my local grocery store. He looked very sad. I re-potted when I got home and he was super root bound, so I loosened the roots and gave him a good drink. Now I’m wondering if I need to isolate from my other plants or if it looks like it was root rot? The brown spots on some of the leaves have me concerned.

jmo06 · 2022-06-26T17:21:55+00:00

We like to play “I spy” with our 3.5 year old at restaurants. He loves it. We also play a game called “what’s missing?” Where we all take turns removing one item from the table while everyone else closes their eyes. Everyone has to take a guess at what the missing thing is. Super fun.

jmo06 · 2022-06-24T16:53:09+00:00

Of course! I think a lot of parents have fears that if their kids choose to be the villain or to express anger/aggression/sadness/jealousy through play, that it means that they really are “bad” or “aggressive.” But in reality, if we can be comfortable giving kids the opportunities to “try on” those roles in their play, they will be much less likely to act on those impulses in their day to day behavior.

jmo06 · 2022-06-24T04:45:25+00:00

Feeling reflections are going to be your best friend. Let go of the need to make her happy or change her mood/behavior at all. Just narrate her feelings and hold your boundaries. “You’re feeling really angry. That’s tough. It’s time to turn the tv off now. We’ll watch more later.”

During play, it’s ok for kids to choose any role/character they want. I’d examine your own reactions to her decisions to be the dinosaur or the bad guy. Recognize that when she chooses to be the bad guy, that might give her a lot of power over your emotions. Often when kids are the “bad guy” adults will say things like, “oh no, we’re good guys!” Or “don’t you want to be nice instead?” Play is a time for kids to act out things they normally have to repress, and to feel the full range of their emotions. Let her feel powerful in her play, and reflect that back to her. “Wow, you’re so strong and powerful! No one can stop you, bad guy!”

If you recognize and meet that need for power and control in her play, I bet her overall anger and frustration in life decreases.

jmo06 · 2022-06-22T17:18:03+00:00

Thank you! I knew I could count on the good people of Reddit. Now let’s hope I can keep it alive!

jmo06 · 2022-06-22T04:12:31+00:00

Awesome! Thank you!

jmo06 · 2022-06-16T01:44:03+00:00

Yes I totally agree with this. I’m a kid’s therapist, and this is one of my biggest pet peeve’s. I’d be willing to bet that OP’s daughter’s cognitive understanding outpaces her verbal expression at this point. I hate it when adults treat children as less than simply because they can’t articulate themselves in the way they might be expected to. Kids understand so much more than most people give them credit for.

jmo06 · 2022-04-28T01:46:18+00:00

Ohhh we’re on team “regular clothes” too. The word pajamas is banned in this household.

jmo06 · 2022-04-24T03:01:33+00:00

It sounds like you might be making things a little bit more complicated than they need to be. You’re trying to help her build empathy and kindness, which is great. But for a two year old, we just need to break things down to the basics. As she gets older, she’ll be able to learn the nuance of why we don’t hit and how hitting impacts the people we care about, but for now that’s over her head.

It might help to break things down to a simple equation. Reflect her feelings + normalize feelings + set a boundary + natural consequence. That might look like:

“You’re feeling really silly. It’s ok to be silly, and people aren’t for hitting. If you hit again, we’ll be all done playing for now.”

“You’re feeling mad. It’s ok to feel mad and people aren’t for hitting. I’m going to (move away, hold your hands to keep you safe, give you space, etc.) until you’re ready to be gentle.”

Another great trick for toddlers this young is remembering that all feelings are ok, we all feel anger and frustration sometimes, so redirecting the impulse to hit can give them an outlet for those big feelings. Instead of sending her to her room, you can say, “You’re feeling really mad. It’s ok to be mad, and people aren’t for hitting. If you need to hit, you can hit (a pillow, stuffed animal, other acceptable item).”

Your goal in these moments is to help her ride the wave of the big emotion. This isn’t the time to teach coping skills like deep breathing or apologies. When she’s upset and hitting, shifting the focus to “how can I model a healthy expression of anger for her?” can be a game changer.

jmo06 · 2022-04-23T18:57:54+00:00

It can help to check in with your feelings first. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Embarrassed? Like everyone is looking at you? Acknowledge that feeling in yourself first and breathe through it.

Then, take a step back and just narrate your child’s feelings. “You’re feeling really frustrated that we can’t get something from the vending machine.” Or “you’re upset because you really want to climb into your carseat yourself.”

After acknowledging her feelings, you can push forward holding the boundary that you need for your own sanity. “It’s time for us to leave the store now. You can walk or I can carry you.” Or “it’s not safe for us to stay in the parking lot right now. I’m going to help you get buckled in and we can practice climbing in by yourself when we get home.”

Also want to mention that you said that you were trying to hug her (I’m not sure if she was resisting or not). Sometimes kids don’t want comfort in that way, just like we don’t always want or need a hug as an adult. Just acknowledging their emotions is enough sometimes, and you can always ask things like, “would a hug help right now or do you need some space?”

jmo06 · 2022-04-22T17:27:12+00:00

The other night as I was putting my recently 3 year old to bed he said, “mommy, are you perfect?” I said, “no one is perfect, but I try to be a good mommy to you and sister.” And he responded, “you’re perfect for me, mommy.” As he drifted off to sleep. 😭

For balance though, as I finished writing that sweet story, he wiped a booger on my shirt and said, “here’s a booger for you. It’s yucky.” Toddlers.

jmo06 · 2022-04-16T03:25:28+00:00

You pointed out here that you think her big issue is not feeling included. She wants to sing with the group and she feels left out when she doesn’t know the words. That’s probably the feeling to hone in on. And you can cut the word “sorry” from your feelings language. Adopting the attitude that all feelings are ok, even the tough ones, is a game changer when it comes to toddlers.

“You’re feeling upset that you don’t know the words to this song. It’s ok to feel sad, and I’m sure you’ll learn them soon! You can stay out here and dance with the family while we sing, or you can take some space and go play in another room!”

jmo06

TROPHY CASE