It is true, and not true. They should not do full agility courses, but there are beginner agility exercises dogs can do before they turn 18 months (which is generally the age at which they can start fully participating. Both of my Dc train their dogs in agility and have earned AKC titles. It's a great way to exercise your dog, and it really makes them think, so it exercises their minds not just their bodies. My Ds with his cocker had a lot of trouble getting his little dog to stay in the ring at competitions, but he persevered and it was the most valuable learning experience he has ever been through. People encouraged him to give up and get another dog. That made him sad, but then even more determined. He eventually succeeded in accumulating over 10 titles on his dog and worked up to the highest level of agility in the AKC at that time (they have since added at least 1 new level). He is in college now, so does not have much time for it right now, but I am sure he will get back to it when he can. Dd dabbles in agility mostly. She did win the state 4H agility competition this year with her English Setter, and she has a beginner's title on her. She is too busy showing her in conformation to allow much time for agility. Ktgrok, you can buy agility equipment for your backyard very inexpensive on eBay. I would take a class first so that when you work on anything at home you will go about it the correct way, so that if you ever do want to compete, you will have taught your dog properly. I did some of the training on our first agility dog once I knew what I was doing. It is definitely easier to do it right in the beginning than it is to have to retrain. For example, the correct way to do weave poles is with the dog entering the poles having its left shoulder closest to the pole and right shoulder on the outside. Where my kids train their dogs, you can be as serious or as laid back as you want. There are fun 'matches' you can take your dog to just to try out a competition course. They are pretty inexpensive. Then there are agility trials held most weekends of the year usually (for us) within a half hour to an hour away. One of the nicest things about having a class to go to is making friends who are also learning. Then you all route for each other at the trials and help one another out. While there are people who are extremely competitive in agility, there are also a lot of people who are there to learn and are very willing to help others. A camaraderie develops among agility competitors. That is one of the really nice things about the sport, and I miss that. As far as classes go, we have been to 3 different training facilities and prefer one to all the others, so sometimes you have to try more than one class. It would be wise to sit in on a class before trying it with your dog. I'd also recommend a few basic obedience classes first. Also, if you do decide to compete, it's a sport that allows a lot of different ways to succeed. In AKC agility, if your dog meets the minimum requirements for the course, you receive what is called a 'leg'. Every single competitor who meets the qualifying score will get that 'leg', not just the team that comes in first. Once you have achieved 3 'legs' your dog is considered to have mastered that level and can move on to the next level and he receives a title after his name. Usually at trials everyone is extremely congratulatory of a team that has achieved a new title, and special ribbons are given out. Titles are named after the levels, so the beginner's title for a jumpers course (one with only jumps, tunnels, and weave poles) is Novice Agility Jumpers, or NAJ. The abbreviation NAJ then becomes a part of your dog's official name. Westminster agility will be televised again this year. We have several friends competing there. Some of them were in our classes. Ds almost made it there with his dog, but by the time he got his dog into the Excellent class, the requirements had been raised. Every year Westminster Kennel Club has made the requirements more difficult, so the courses you see on TV are nothing like the beginner courses. These are my random thoughts about agility at a very late hour. Feel free to pm or post questions.

I watched the report. Ds found it too sad and left the room. I pointed out that while it is sad, in a way it is really amazing to see how committed and hard working people can be even in the face of overwhelming obstacles. It made me grateful, and also frustrated. We are struggling ourselves and not really in a position to help others. I wanted to help those people. We are certainly not facing what the people I watched were facing, but we could be there. It wouldn't take much. I don't know that we would handle it as well. As to the self checks, one of the major supermarkets in our area is in the process of taking them all out. I was surprised (and a little disappointed) not to find them there anymore. Sometimes I just don't want to deal with another person and I liked being able to do it myself. I asked the cashier about the self checks being gone and she said every one of their stores is taking them out. They were not efficient enough. Always some sort of problem that the cashiers had to fix, and the company wants people to see a face, a representative of the store. Their sales went down with the addition of self checks and they were expensive to maintain. They are thinking human interaction is the way to increase sales. So, we'll see if they are right.

I did the aluminum foil and cotton balls thing. Multiple times. It did not work well at all.

I would develop a plan for training. Maybe first a goal of learning to walk out of your neighborhood without showing fear (but without a lot of forced or direct interaction with people). I would not engage with people at all at first. Just tell them your dog is in training and cannot be interrupted at the moment. At the same time I'd be working at home on some basic obedience and maybe a very simple trick or two, using the clicker to train, so that your dog will begin to connect that behavior with a reward. When she is doing well with this I would start asking for the tricks and obedience commands on your walks in your neighborhood, then move on to out of your neighborhood. Get her to perform the tricks (while still using the clicker and treats) around people. Gradually work up to having her take treats from people outside the family who she is somewhat familiar with. Don't move on to friendly strangers until she is much more comfortable in public. Performing her tricks and obedience will give her something to think about and do instead of indulging in her fears. I would also make a schedule of times you can do walks and practice training the commands and tricks. Very short training sessions but often throughout the day. A good obedience or agility class and some agility training would be a good idea. We have a rescued cocker spaniel (my avatar) who was very timid. Agility training and competing with my son have worked wonders. He is so much more confident as a result. My Ds learned a ton from training this dog. Number one was perseverance. He was not a dog who was going to succeed in competition right away. A lot of money had to be spent and a lot of failures had to be faced. Eventually we all learned that the money, the failures were necessary b/c they taught us what needed to be addressed. Without standing there while his dog took off--running away form the equipment and the ring, I am not sure Ds would have realized the need to work more with his dog and I am not sure he would have felt motivated. You don't have to compete, but we have found that classes helped us with motivation, and they gave us a support system of other dog owners who were also working on training. There is a book called Click to Calm that goes into greater detail about using clicker training to calm a dog's anxiety. How much all of this is necessary will depend on how your dog continues to respond as she becomes more acclimated to your life. Timid dogs can improve, but often they do have their limits. Our cocker is just never going to be that dog who runs up to strangers and asks to be petted. He is a real ham with people he knows! He will now tolerate petting (and sometimes will enjoy it) from friendly strangers who are hanging around with people he knows. Fortunately he has always been food motivated so he could be taught to take treats from strangers.

My childhood homelife did not give me these attitudes, but somehow I acquired them, not about make up, but about having nails done. I do not ever remember a single woman in my childhood life (or even an acquaintance) EVER having nails done, or even talking about having their nails done. As an adult, after moving to another state and a much more cosmopolitan area, I found it shocking that any woman would actually be in the habit of having nails done. It's a hard attitude for me to shake. I often wonder if it is a regional thing, or if regular manicures are just something that has become more mainstream as time passed. I did enjoy having a pedicure once at a birthday party. That I would do again. It lasted a long time and was not difficult for me to take off myself eventually. The one time I ever had my nails done in a salon with gel polish was great until I wanted to take off the polish. Then I began to realize what a racket the nail industry is. You have to go back in and have it taken off (I did it myself and it only took me several hours over the course of 3 days) and then the manicurist offers to do them again--and thus begins a vicious cycle. I have no problem with dd doing her own nails at home, however I draw the line at regular appointments at salons. It is too expensive and she has other expenses that are more important. I have a friend who regularly spends more than I spend in the grocery store for a week of food for our family on ONE visit to the nail salon and she goes back every two weeks. It's fine for her. She has the money, no kids. I'm not in that position and if I had that much discretionary income I'd rather spend it on books. Lol

I had the same reaction. None of us know the future. IT is possible to pursue dreams even when you are older. I know a 92 year old man who got a puppy to train. He has that puppy competing now, two years later. He does have people in place who will take his dog should anything happen to him, so he was responsible about it. There are people who disapprove and think he is too old. They need to get over it. He is still living--and I think his dog helps him stay healthy. Sometimes windows do close, but age (meaning a number) has very little to do with it.

After reading this I realized how strange it is that most days I put on makeup, but there are days when I don't every get around to brushing my hair. I will throw it in a ponytail and then forget about it. I have also been known to drive my Ds to work in my PJs (and without makeup!) So I guess I fall down on the getting dressed part and combing hair.

This will happen to me one day. Definitely.

This needs more than a 'like'. :wub:

Bold print above tells you why I wear it most days. I don't like looking tired all the time and the gaping holes under my eyes are depressing. I have discovered that there is probably a medical reason my eyes look so bad. That is beside the point. If I am sick or feeling down and know I will be around the house I don't wear it. If I leave the house I do always. I have differing amounts and techniques depending on where I am going. Mascara, I have found, aids in the illusion of looking less tired. Basic makeup for me is concealer, a little blush, and most days mascara. I will play with eyeliner and shadow too for some outings. Almost never use lipstick. I bite it off and my lips are too prone to chap.

I am the same way. Last month I was at an event with an elderly friend and the migraine descended. I was an hour from home and I was the driver b/c he can't drive anymore. Of course I was in some of the heaviest traffic of the season. I drove with the migraine b/c I had to. All the way home I worried I would have a stroke while driving. I hope to never repeat that experience again!

It is possible to get a purebred from the pound, but purebred rescue groups try to work with shelters and will often foster any purebreds so that the shelter can offer the spot to another dog. Breeders really make an effort to help out with rescue within their own breed and will often help other purebreds as well.

I've had both and the dog with the worst health problem was one we adopted. He was my heart dog though and I miss him still. We currently have purebreds and we are seriously involved with breeding. Dd's English Setter is finishing her health clearances in January, and if all goes well, she will be bred this spring. Issues in breeding English Setters are hypothyroidism, deafness, and elbow and hip dysplasia She will have her thyroid, hips and elbows tested and the stud we use will also have passed these tests. She was tested for deafness as a puppy. Both of my Dc show dogs for many local breeders, so we are well connected with reputable breeders in our area. They put a lot of time and effort into breeding and do everything they can to ensure healthy puppies. None of them make money on their breedings and they are not having litters every single year. None of them are licensed by the state--that is for puppy mills. A few we know have kennels that provide boarding for pets and their kennels are licensed. I see the issue of rescue/purebed quite differently than most. I want to see preservation of the diverse offerings of the many many breeds which each have specific characteristics and purposes. There is a reason some dogs make better therapy dogs, service dogs, farm dogs, police dogs, working dogs. There is a reason that Seeing eye uses specific breeds. I would hate to see the loss of the distinct characteristics of breeds. There are mixed breeds who do well as therapy dogs or service dogs, but often that is b/c they have inherited specific traits from their breeds of origin. I think of it this way: there is a movement in gardening/farming towards the preservation of heirloom plants. Plants that have not been genetically modified. There are people who don't want to lose those plants forever. Responsible breeders are doing their best to preserve the unique qualities of purebred dogs so that we will not lose the uniqueness of the particular breed they are breeding. We are carefully considering which dog to use for our litter of English Setters and this will be our first time breeding. It is Dd's dog (actually she is a bitch, but not everyone is used to using that term, lol) who we are breeding. We are breeding her b/c she is an outstanding example of an English Setter. She is sweet and loving, but also an up and doing dog. She's got a little bit of attitude that just makes people look when she walks by, yet she is also willing to please. She has been successful in showing, in obedience, and in agility. We have not tried hunt tests or barn dog yet, but that is in her future. We are looking for a stud dog that will compensate for some of her deficiencies (she is a little light on bone, and her head is a little narrow). And later today Dd and I are heading to a friend/breeder's house to help socialize puppies. We will also play with their mom who we have known for years. Their dad lives in California and we know him too, though not as well. It is a beautiful thing to know the litter was carefully planned and lovingly cared for. I have helped this breeder with a very difficult litter of 11 when the mother could not care for her puppies. We fed every couple of hours by hand and recruited a small army of 10 people to rotate feeding so no one would get exhausted. After about 4 days, thankfully another breeder brought a surrogate mom to feed the puppies. He had begun to wean her puppies and she had plenty of milk to feed the struggling litter. At his own expense he made the trip and offered to help. My friend almost lost the mother and spent a small fortune saving her and her puppies. These are some dedicated breeders who love their dogs. There is nothing wrong with rescuing a dog. We have done it several times. But there is also nothing wrong with choosing to buy from a responsible breeder who is doing his/her best to maintain the characteristics of their chosen breed--but make sure you know what that means. It does not mean licensing by the state. There are many websites that will tell you what to look for in a responsible breeder. The breeding of dogs is becoming quite a political issue. Those who do not understand the meaning of 'responsible' breeder and do not understand the time and effort that goes into breeding think licensing would be a good idea, but in reality, licensing and government regulations would make it very difficult for truly responsible breeders to continue breeding. In many states there are bills on the table that would force most responsible breeders to stop breeding. They would not be able to afford it. If the regulations are passed puppy mills will be the only breeders left. It is quite a complicated issue if you do the research and there are no easy answers. My Ds has been involved in our state Federation of Dog Clubs and he has lobbied in our state capitol to revise these bills and make them more friendly for responsible breeders. It's a difficult battle and he has found that there are people and powerful lobbying interests who would like to see an end to all purebreds. If they had their way they would make regulations that would allow no purebred breeding at all. I do not want to see that happen. So those are my two cents about what many do not realize is becoming a hot button issue. I posted b/c I see some misunderstanding within several of the posts here, not b/c I want the OP to buy a purebred dog. As in all choices we make, it is best to be informed and make a well researched careful decision. One last thing--as far as the cost of purebreds goes--there are sometimes older dogs (4-5) who are no longer going to be shown or bred that a breeder will place in a home without requiring any payment at all, or for a very minimal fee. .

Sharing my experience in case it helps someone here. I have only recently started treatment for migraines. I have a lot going on with my health, but I suspect that I have had migraines sporadically for years and thought they were sinus headaches. Recently I began to have them daily (I suspect b/c of overuse of Motrin during some sort of autoimmune attack). Anyway I take a small dose of Amitriptyline every night as a preventative. It has the added benefit of making me drowsy. For the most part my migraines have stopped. I do have days where I have a strange feeling like the migraine is happening but is so repressed that it interferes very little with my life. I am hoping I will eventually be able to wean off this medication and till be migraine free. I am allowed to take 2 pills but I only take 1 b/c I am very cranky the next day if I take 2. I still notice a little bit of irritability even with 1, but I can deal with it. I'd rather have that than be incapacitated daily. I have insurance beginning January 1st so I will be able to have a bunch of testing done which will help my doctor figure out some idea of which auto-immune disorder is happening to me----or not. Last time I went through all the tests nothing specific could be pinpointed. whatever--I'm so thankful for my doctor and for not having to lie in bed for hours a day waiting for imetrex to kick in.

Well, I used to start in spring b/c it seemed many people use their tax refunds to buy for the following year.

All good suggestions. I had The Power of Habit on my list to read, but I got sidetracked (b/c I am Overwhelmed)! And, so, of course, Overwhelmed has great appeal to me! :laugh: Forgot about Switch too. Have not read it yet. Thanks for the ideas!

Agree, and this is why I do not want to see drug testing as an added hoop to jump through.

We had our big feast Christmas Eve and today was our last day with leftovers. We still have a little ham, but I am going to freeze it to add to soup in a couple of weeks. We still have cookies, but I am getting tired of the sugar. They might find a new home in the freezer too. Dd and I still have to make a few baked goods to give way to friends we haven't seen yet.

In the past books like The Happiness Project and Getting Things Done have sparked some great discussions here. Anyone have suggestions for similar books? I never end up following completely a 'system' designed by anyone else, but I do enjoy reading about how other people organize their time. Anyone doing any reading like this?

It's such a simple thing, and now that you describe it, I remember it! Thank you!

I am helping a friend who is in a very bad situation right now and can't afford to hire help with her son's transcript and application. She cannot afford books to help explain things either. I have given her all kinds of samples and directed her here and to other free sites with info. BUT there are things I cannot remember about the Common Application. So here is my question --- Where do the boxes for entering all these things show up? I cannot remember if the student log-in leads to all of these, or if I had to log-in as the counselor in order to upload them. Transcript School profile Course descriptions Booklist Activities/Awards Guidance Counselor letter of rec I can't believe I have forgotten so much of this! I must have blocked it out b/c it was such an ordeal! ​If you respond you will be helping me to bless a friend who would greatly appreciate being cut a break when so much has gone wrong for her family in recent years. TIA

Could not agree more. We have been told by Dd allergist and ER doctors that most people do not administer the epi pen when they should. I (or Dd) am to use the epi pen if there is a hint of an allergic reaction. I do not understand when I hear that people give benadryl. When we were first dealing with anaphylaxis I did try getting away with benadryl. It did not work b/c when you have a child throwing up, they throw up most of the benadryl too. I had to use epic pen on Dd last weekend and I did watch her like a hawk for rebound reaction. I am so sorry for what happened to your Dd. I have learned that people DO NOT understand and you cannot believe them when they tell you they do--not ever.

I am so glad to see I am not the only one doing planning now!

I found these mini dry erase boards in different colors at Office Max. They were on sale for $2 in the store. I got one for Dd in lavender and one for me that matches with my kitchen in a blue/green. http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/761459/FORAY-Magnetic-Dry-Erase-Board-5/

I am VERY late shopping and organizing for school this year. It's going to be a slow start for us b/c I am juggling too many things right now (sick 93 year old relative and his dog, etc.). However, I did fit in a trip to the dollar store for Dd (14) yesterday and we got a few things. I found a pen and calendar I really like and I don't even know what she found, but she was thrilled. So, in an effort to whip up some excitement for the beginning of the year, I have 2 questions: 1. What have you found CHEAP for back to school? (organizers, planners, other supplies, fun things, whatever excited you) 2. What have you found that isn't necessarily cheap? One year, for me it was a 3 hole punch that would do a lot of pages at a time.