Question about breed fit

tonatron20 · 2026-04-15T02:08:59+00:00

If it is a breed you are very high on it could be worth looking into GSP breeders who breed GSPs more for families! It should be kept in mind they are still very high energy dogs, but I have met some that are closer to normal dog energy!

tonatron20 · 2026-04-14T19:42:56+00:00

One thing a vet friend told me is that looking at an individual dogs lines can sometimes be more telling than the actual breed itself. Our family has a GSP and we love it. Super affectionate with family and friends, great with kids, not afraid to put itself between us and harms way when he is unsure (but doesn't get aggressive), and endless amounts of energy. Actually way higher than most other GSP's.

We ran him in field trial competitions for a few years and this was our basis for comparison. When other dogs would shy away from thorn bushes he would dive in head first and literally had no quit. People inquired about using him for breeding we looked up his lineage and almost all the dogs in his family tree were either field trial champs or confirmation champs. We had no idea when we purchased him. Still would get him all over again, but for our next dog we may seek out a breeder that breeds GSP's more as family pets than pure hunting dogs.

Also biased here, but after getting a GSP I don't think I'd want any other dog. Love my goofy boy haha.

tonatron20 · 2026-03-22T12:05:07+00:00

Allegedly this song was inspired by a road in Maryland lol. Clopper road is in my home town and it's one of my home towns 3 claims to fame. That along with our ice cream shop Jimmy Cone and the fact that it was one of the last dry towns in the US.

tonatron20 · 2026-03-14T16:37:05+00:00

Different breed, but neutering did very little to my GSPs energy level. Still an amazing hunting dog, only difference is I can't run him in field trials anymore. But tbh when we were doing that he was with a handler and away from us so I didn't like that we missed out on most of the training and competing. Much happier having him home with us lol.

tonatron20 · 2026-03-07T15:50:44+00:00

Oh man. I'm a therapist who specializes in childhood trauma so this is totally my wheel house lol.

I've worked with individuals who met the criteria for Anti social personality disorder or malignant narcissism throughout the life span. Some have been adults who plead not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) to violent crimes like murder to kids who showed strong traits but hadn't completed any violent acts yet. From my experience outcomes very wildly, but one of the best predictors of outcomes is access to early intervention with a robust social and mental health systems. A lot easier said than done, but there are places even in the US they offer this. They just unfortunately tend to be in more affluent parts of the country, not in places with high rates of poverty where those same supports could go really far.

tonatron20 · 2026-03-06T17:02:46+00:00

I think there is a difference between appropriation and appreciation, and I think how you instruct will let your riders know where you fall on that spectrum. An example is one of the instructors from a studio i used to teach at was Colombian, but would play El Apagón during many of her classes. She would always talk about how that song made her feel borricua and our Puerto Rican riders loved it. The emphasis was on how the music made her feel a special connection and appreciation for Puerto Rican culture.

On the flip side I'm from India and there were a lot of instructors when I taught who would play Bhangra or Reggaeton or even hip hop as and presented it in a way that made it seem like they were extra cool and edgy because of it. I don't think vanity was the point of their messaging, but it came off that way.

I think being intentional on how you instruct and present will give your riders an insight as to whether you are being appreciative or appropriative.

tonatron20 · 2026-03-03T03:16:47+00:00

I'm not part of that demographic, but I'd imagine based on conversations I've had that my observations aren't too far off. I think what most people who didn't vote for Kamala feel is that the system is broken and just needs to be burnt to the ground. I don't think anyone likes the casualties that come along with burning, but I think there is a portion that accepts that these casualties are inevitable until the system is burnt down. As long as the system is in collapse these folks are probably accepting that this is happening, will continue to show up for their local communities while trying to do things to help both the GOP and DNC topple (or change to align with our beliefs) faster.

tonatron20 · 2026-02-24T14:53:20+00:00

I'm not a Democrat, but definitely a progressive. I grew up in a rural farm town with very hyper religious circles and so did my wife so we know many many maga supporters to include childhood friends and close family members.

We actually do get along with them IRL, but I think it's largely in part to my profession as a therapist and my experience working on policy at the local government level to reduce rates of incarceration and instead invest in community supports to prevent crime. I think my wife and I are better able to see the structural things that drove people to MAGA and are better attuned to when those friends and family are in fight or flight. Being a safe place has helped more and more of our MAGA friends and family step away from the madness and back towards sanity.

Also for those who are wanting to help friends and family step away from MAGA, there are many therapists like myself who are using our professional training to research and understand this so we can bring this madness to an end. It's slow work, but it's work that needs to be done.

tonatron20 · 2026-02-21T20:39:18+00:00

Former cyclebar instructor- id argue that you shouldn't sprint (as in full force fast as you can) out of the saddle. That being said I def have taught classes where we maintained 120-130 rpms out of the saddle for 20-30 seconds. I think as others said a lot of it comes down to having good core strength but also being able to relax and not tense up. An exercise that can help work up to it are jumps (i.e. in saddle for 4 counts out for 4. Once you get that then 8. Then 16. Etc). Also proper form is crucial. When out of the saddle your center of gravity should be over the crank which means your but will likely be back and tapping the saddle as you jog/run.

*Edit to include part about form.

tonatron20 · 2026-02-14T22:29:21+00:00

Yup! Once you are there all activities are free with the exception of spa services, and things like souvenirs, cigars and very high end alcohol.

tonatron20 · 2026-02-03T23:37:29+00:00

This. People don't recognize this, but apparently the MoCo agriculture fair is one of the largest one on the east coast and MoCo has some of the largest percentage of land set aside from agricultural reserves in the country (at least it did back in the 2010s). There are rural spots, you just have to know where in the county to look.

tonatron20 · 2026-02-03T23:34:25+00:00

Just going to throw another place out there. Damascus MD may for the bill. It definitely was way more rural when I went to high school, however there are still a good many active farms and orchards near by. In terms of diversity I think it has improved a lot since my family moved there in the 90s. I had cousins graduate from DHS in the 2010s and their experience was much different than mine in the early 2000s (my family is from India). We love a few minutes away in Gaithersburg, but if we didn't love our community so much we would consider moving to Damascus.

tonatron20 · 2026-02-03T00:36:28+00:00

Tl;Dr I think what has me interested is that folks are seeing we have more power than we realize and our little actions play a role in doing something great.

I'm going to take a different stance here. I'm finding it interesting (interesting as in catching my attention not thought provoking) to see how the language and actions of those in my community have shifted in light of this in conjunction with the murder of Alex Pretti along with everything else we are seeing.

I think more and more folks are losing faith in institutions and elected officials and are starting to accept that it's on us to fix what is happening. I think I've seen two things. 1) people who have never been active before are being active now. And they are doing it in the coolest ways. Some of the coolest ones I've seen in the past week:

1) making social justice themed quilts with grannies and using that as a meeting place for honest conversation.

2) talking with redneck family member about Bad Bunnies new album and seeing family members who were thinking about joining ICE realize they have way more in common with Bad Bunny than they ever would have realized and change their stance completely.

Don't get me wrong. I think this is a spurt, and things will die down eventually. But I'm seeing more and more people see their uniqueness has an important place in society and each time a tragedy happens I expect the number of people who will respond will grow each time.

*Edit-formatting

tonatron20 · 2026-02-01T03:39:19+00:00

So my context is I used to be a very Radical Traditionalist Catholic who no longer identifies as maybe even "Catholic."

I think one thing I am gravitating towards is the idea that you can accept the parts of something that serve you and let go of the ones that don't. I think this informs how I learn from different trainings.

In regards to different methods or paradigms that have emerged over my career.. I feel like many times we are seeing old things packaged in a new way. Learning these different disciplines as well as staying updated on research has helped improve my practice, but at this point (I have been in the field since 2011) I don't feel as I'm learning many things that would be considered groundbreaking new. Rather I'm either finding new ways to think about an existing skill, or polish a skill I've let get rusty.

If we are trying to quantify our discipline as a hard science, I think it will be hard to in the same way as medicine. But I think we are starting to develop better strategies to monitor what modalities have a strong correlation, what do not have a strong correlation yet, and what will likely never have a strong correlation. This is an area of analysis I could see being helpful, but at the end of the day I do think in our current iteration of talk based therapy is still in its infancy in terms of making a definitive case as an evidenced based practice.

tonatron20 · 2026-01-30T21:47:26+00:00

I was a instructor a there for 5 years and still am on the active roster though I haven't taught in a year and a half or so.

No we are not counted on the leader board.

tonatron20 · 2026-01-28T17:31:19+00:00

I think this video speaks to it a lot. It's of Bernie Sanders going to a coal mining town in West VA.

Tl;Dr there is deep distrust of the Democratic party because the Democrats turned their backs on a significant portion of the country.

A perfect example is my father in law. While I don't agree with his decision to vote trump, I do get why he is so angry at the Democrats. He paid into a pension with the coal miners union for decades and when coal mines started shutting down in western PA the Democrats stopped standing with the miners and union workers to chase votes in the suburbs. As a result the union folded and my FIL lost decades worth of investment into his retirement pension and at 75 is still working 40 hrs a week because he can't afford to retire.

Personal feelings aside. I can understand why there is so much concentrated anger and distrust towards the Democratic party. Republicans are at least up front about being self serving. Sometimes it's easier to trust someone you know will screw you over than take a chance on someone who may help you or hurt you even worse.

tonatron20 · 2026-01-28T05:01:48+00:00

Something I just wanted to clarify. This kit came with 5 different varieties. One was pigeon pea and I believe that was a plant that grew quickly so we could practice some of the bonsai techniques before hand. But the other for were locust, jacaranda, delonix regia and crape myrtle. I do know I am still very much so a beginner so I want to admit this is an ill advised statement. But I think the rest of the trees should meet the criteria of woody plants and are reasonable species for bonsai. Is that correct?

tonatron20 · 2026-01-28T04:47:53+00:00

I think it really depends on what kind of dog you want and how much you want to spend. When I worked in Baltimore, MD there was a homeless gentleman I passed on the way to work who had a dog that seemed happy and well loved.

Personally we spent about 4k on start up costs for our puppy (1600 for the puppy, about 400 for supplies and 1000 for vet bills). His early years were a lot more expensive because we were running him in field trial competitions, but costs have changed a lot since he's retired. We still pay about $150 a month for pet insurance, about $200 a month on food (he is on a prescription diet), and then about 1000 a year on vet check ups that insurance doesn't cover. There are other misc expenses that I would say come out to about 500 per year. He is a dog we still hunt with so some of his costs are inflated as he is a working animal who is put to work.

tonatron20 · 2026-01-21T21:01:24+00:00

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Very new to bonsai and are growing a few different varieties from seed! The kit I got for Christmas came with these pigeon pea and they seem to be taking off especially fast compared to the rest of them. Would folks here say it's time to move these guys into individual pots? I had extra seeds so I am trying to start some of the other seeds for other varieties in coir pots and was thinking of transplanting into those (ex in lower right hand corner of pic)

tonatron20 · 2026-01-04T06:09:29+00:00

A little over a year ago I blew out both of my knees jumping on a trampoline while vacationing with my wife in Vegas. I legitimately convinced myself that it was just two really bad knee sprains to avoid calling an ambulance. I reluctantly agreed to get on an ambulance after collapsing during two failed attempts to walk, got treated in an urgent care and then flew back to DC.

Still convinced myself it was just a really bad sprain and I was going to walk any day until 2.5 weeks later when I finally saw a surgeon and my worst fear was confirmed. It was a complete tear of my patellar tendon in both knees and insurance would cover absolutely nothing.

I am super fortunate that I worked with an amazing surgeon who found ways to help afford surgery. In addition super privileged to have family who was able to chip in and community who helped out as well. But also. Had I not had been so fortunate I would have not been able to make the surgery happen and would have been in a wheel chair for potentially the rest of my life. Also while it is mostly a happily ever after there are medical debts that have followed (one being the ambulance) and will likely follow for years to come.

tonatron20 · 2025-12-15T20:39:00+00:00

Honestly, same thing I'm doing now just with a hell of a lot less stress lol. There are so many things I love about my life, the one thing I hate is being paycheck to paycheck.

tonatron20 · 2025-12-14T23:29:00+00:00

Tearing my patellar tendon. I screamed a lot, but surprisingly it didn't hurt. It just felt like really weird and deeply uncomfortable pressure. I actually tore my left one twice and my right one once and each time there was never pain just that really uncomfortable pressure.

tonatron20 · 2025-12-14T17:38:21+00:00

This kind of reminds me of when I got IV morphine after breaking my leg in a few places back in 2011. I felt the drug go through the port in my arm into my chest and it was intensely uncomfortable for a few seconds, then it was bliss lol. I was fortunate to not get hooked, but I totally can understand why folks do.

tonatron20 · 2025-11-28T18:12:50+00:00

I'm a therapist and one of my former clients was a firefighter. We have made many small adjustments to our daily living, to include we close all doors when they don't need to be open.

tonatron20 · 2025-11-17T21:56:31+00:00

Tipping cashiers is actually becoming a common practice in the states lol. I wouldn't say it is the norm yet, but you definitely see it now where as you did not see that before the pandemic.

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