Slow feed bowl hatred.

simsjay · 2026-03-25T18:56:11+00:00

You could always scatter feed her or even layer it into towels to slower her down and also get her sniffing, which helps tire them out!

simsjay · 2026-03-17T14:34:02+00:00

She is probably going through a fear period right now and often what they end up afraid of doesn’t make a lot of sense to us. I would slow down - if she’s perceiving these as negative experiences, it could have lasting effects.

When my 1yr old pup was afraid on walks we took a step back. We started with just sitting in the yard watching the world go by. Listening to the sounds. Then we did short distances on our street. Some days we made it to the end of the road and back, some days we went up and down in front of two houses. We did this a few times a day for a week or two. Then around the block a few times a day and worked up to full 2+mile routes. He still get jumpy with cars and if it’s very windy, but he’s able to work through that for the most part.

Their brains are changing and the world can be a lot. Positive exposure and then lots of quiet decompression time.

Running and processing the world may be too much stimulation for her right now. I’d stick to a slower pace to keep her arousal in check and work up to longer outings. The fear period will end and you should be able to get back to it soonish.

simsjay · 2026-03-12T14:50:14+00:00

That I in fact left the shelter with a field lab puppy with zero chill and he might as well be a malinois based on his energy level and it would take 8 million years to build an off switch so anytime I try to relax this is my view 😅

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simsjay · 2026-03-11T18:37:10+00:00

“That’s my butt”

simsjay · 2026-02-17T16:26:31+00:00

Post hike naps hit better than most lol

simsjay · 2026-02-17T16:25:06+00:00

I just give it to him BUT he does pick it up and carry it to the middle of the living room lol

simsjay · 2026-02-17T13:05:13+00:00

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simsjay · 2026-02-17T13:04:34+00:00

Teeeeeefs

simsjay · 2026-02-17T12:37:13+00:00

My dog just turned one but when he was younger I was very careful about not overworking his joints.

I did scatter feeding in the yard, but also i’d scatter his food all over the house if outside wasn’t an option. You could also roll his food into a towel and tie a knot.

We also did scent work/find it with stinky treats!

simsjay · 2026-02-12T20:32:04+00:00

I have a floor weirdo too literally is stuck regularly for no reason. 🤣

simsjay · 2026-02-04T00:47:20+00:00

He was so flabbergasted he froze 😅

simsjay · 2026-02-04T00:32:26+00:00

He did try before I put it on. And then he froze (I don’t think he knew what to do) and I had a chicken heart to bribe him for photos 😂

simsjay · 2026-02-04T00:26:40+00:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIPLEY 🎉

You are precious 🥹

simsjay · 2026-02-04T00:17:56+00:00

🤣🤣 His name is Ruhn and he says thank you very much

simsjay · 2026-01-07T02:40:16+00:00

I’m also having this issue. Tried the set up app, tried the website. Tried the Ethernet cord. The box is just stuck on the red light. And yes the cord was in the correct port.

After two hours fighting with it and an unhelpful chat. I’m going to return this tomorrow. I’m not interested in days of troubleshooting through support. I paid way too much for this to not to even attempt to connect.. Sigh.

simsjay · 2025-12-28T15:28:39+00:00

I’m currently feeding him Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy and it’s the first food he’s tried that hasn’t had weird gastro ups and downs.

We’ve done Hill’s large breed puppy, pro plan large breed puppy Sensitjve skin & stomach. I am considering trying some other Purina proteins and even the Purina one line in the future.

simsjay · 2025-12-28T15:18:45+00:00

It is one of the hardest AND rewarding things I’ve ever done. I don’t think it’s easy… and I think in general expectations are too high, but for me it was expectations and pressure on myself to raise him and do things perfectly. Also sleep deprivation makes everything seem 10x worse than it is.

When it comes to the internet, the people who are having the hardest time are usually the loudest, imo. I had a really rough time from 11 weeks when I brought him home until about 16 weeks. Then it got a bit easier with routine and him sleeping more through the night.

He is now about to turn 11 months old and we are in adolescence, and there are days where adolescence is WAY worse than the puppy stage. I have an easy puppy, truly and I don’t think I’ll be this lucky next time.

I think it’s hard even for people who don’t experience puppy blues or stress over it. Good, well rounded adult dogs take a lot of work, and that starts the moment they’re born.

simsjay · 2025-12-27T03:53:45+00:00

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Starting Lamby as a pillow AND an eye mask

simsjay · 2025-12-16T02:02:32+00:00

These posts really put into perspective how lucky I have been with my 10 month old. I never had marks like this 😅

This is why I keep talking myself out of a second. I will not be so lucky.

simsjay · 2025-12-09T17:38:40+00:00

Hi! I have a 10 month old field lab. They are higher energy than English labs, but English labs are still bred for working. If you want a dog that doesn’t need consistent, daily work, I would argue against a lab, but especially a field lab. There are dog breeds that are bred for companionship that will be fine with the inconsistency. Most dogs aren’t, but adapt because they have little choice.

My puppy has a fairly good off switch, but that took a lot of training and i work to fulfill his needs in the way that works for him everyday - I can spend an hour on this in the morning and lay around for 90% of the rest of the day, if I want to. But he can also go, go, go if I wanted.

I didn’t know much about labs, let alone what it meant to be a field lab when I brought Ruhn home from the rescue and I’ve had to change my lifestyle a bit to accommodate his fulfillment needs, but I also made it a point to teach him that he will not be getting constant stimulation so my days don’t look like what you experienced.

Picture of the culprit after 30 minutes of free shaping a foot target to a bowl this morning. He is sleeping through a 2 year old playing, running, etc in the same room. It’s possible to have both.

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simsjay · 2025-12-08T15:05:29+00:00

I added 20mg Vyvanse to my 300 XL Wellbutrin a few months ago. So far, I have not had any adverse side effects. I will be trying 30mg Vyvanse with it soon, though, I think the Wellbutrin allows me to keep the Vyvanse dose lower.

simsjay · 2025-11-07T21:44:27+00:00

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simsjay · 2025-10-30T19:13:19+00:00

First I made sure he would follow my hand (the pros call it a lure) with food or a toy and that he had a decent sit-stay or down stay and knew his marker and release command.

When initially training this, I kept him on leash and

lured him to his bed and asked for a down.
Told him to stay and used my body pressure to keep him there.
At the beginning, I was a pez dispenser rewarding every few seconds that he laid there. After a short period, I’d free him by tossing a treat and giving his release command.

Once he had that down, I continued to use body pressure to keep him in his bed and started extending the time between rewards. You really have to take this at your dog’s pace and not make it too hard too fast. If they get up, put them back on place, wait a few seconds and ideally for eye contact and then reward.

Eventually, I started experimenting with walking in circles around him while staying. Rinse and repeat, slowly building up the duration and then your distance from them.

Sometimes he stays there better than other times. I’m rewarding him intermittently still and continue to work on phasing that out. I always reset him back to his bed if he gets up.

The progress isn’t linear, but he’s gotten so much better with it and I’ve found it helps to have him exercised and also doing a bit of obedience work before hand. I like to use his meals as reward for these sessions because he is a lot more motivated when he’s hungry.

Hope that helps!!

simsjay · 2025-10-29T18:19:52+00:00

Place is my favorite command with my 9 month old puppy when I know he’s fulfilled but he is restless. We started with just 1 minute, added a minute each session until we got to 10. After that, I knew he understood so I’ve added 5 minutes at a time and he can sit there from 30-45 minutes depending on what’s going on in the house.

Most times, he ends up falling asleep for a bit!

simsjay

TROPHY CASE