I don't disagree with this, but . . . don't most dads already know those things? I was a SAHM from the day oldest was born, but DH wanted to know everything when he got home from work -- what time did DS nap, how long, how many feedings was he getting/how far apart, etc. I never had to tell him any of that for either of the boys when I was going out because he already knew. And in my circle of family and friends it seems the norm for dads to know those things. Absolutely. We probably wouldn't have managed to make it 29 years (next month) w/o LOTS of heart-to-heart talks that changed things. I'm not sure "preoccupied" is a term I would have used, but should moms care about equality in parenting? Absolutely. So should dads.

A permanent change??? I wish. My ears were pierced as a teenager, and I wore earrings almost every day for about three decades. And then I stopped and the holes closed up quickly. I used to be able to feel little bumps (scar tissue?) where the holes were, but now even that's gone. Now I kinda wish I had them back, but not quite enough to have it done again.

Well said. You're absolutely right that there is no one perfect way of eating, for humans or pets. Sure people push their individual beliefs, and cite studies to support that. As we all know, nowadays one can cite studies to support (or not) just about anything. Citing a handful of studies to support your particular belief does not mean it's a settled matter. I became convinced that dogs probably need at least a bit of grain--or that at the very least it certainly wasn't harmful for them--way back in the 1980's. It was a place and time when it wasn't uncommon for dogs to be allowed to run free, at least occasionally, in rural-ish areas. And my three very well fed dogs were absolutely horrible about raiding the cornfields around my house. They'd pull the stalks up, drag them back into the yard and feast on fresh, raw corn. They were taking so much that the farmer quite rightly got rather upset with me (in my defense, I did offer to reimburse him)! I've also seen dogs raid gardens for tomatoes and other fresh produce, eat fallen apples, etc., dozens and dozens of times. So my own experience of seeing numerous well fed, well nourished dogs eat grains, veggies and fruits as yummy treats has convinced me that they probably have at least some need for them. And I have yet to see any evidence that convinces me otherwise.

Our boys had their own checking accounts and debit cards when they were young teens. When each of them started driving we made them authorized users on one of our credit cards. We had no worries at all about them using the cards inappropriately. By that age we'd already drummed into them how to properly use credit. At that point our goals were (1) them having access to adequate funds during an emergency and (2) building their credit scores so they would have the benefit of starting their adult lives with that already established. I think how an authorized user's activity is reported for credit score building purposes depends on the company issuing the card. We had the boys use their cards as often as possible to hopefully help build their credit score even more (although I don't know for sure if that mattered). For example, if DH or I were with them and we needed gas we'd have whichever kid was with us use their card to pay. Ditto when we were eating out, picking up a few groceries, etc. DS23 had NO credit history other than being an authorized user on our card, and upon graduating from college and getting his own apartment and his own credit card his score was around 750. He had no trouble qualifying for a very good rewards credit card with a generous credit line (although no doubt having a well paying job with a big tech employer also helped with that!).

Purina bought out Merrick a few years ago. Around 2015-2016, I think. Prior to the buy out many people believed Merrick was a great food. I wouldn't have allowed a bag or can in my house. I kind of walked a wide berth around their foods in stores. They were really that bad. Foods manufactured by them under other names had absolutely horrible recall records. Dogs died, and not just a few. There were many lawsuits. And at least for awhile Merrick owned their own rendering plant. While they were marketing their "premium" food. Let that sink in. Garth Merrick (majority owner of Merrick before it sold to Purina) is an interesting and eye opening Google hole to go down if you want to understand some of the smoke-and-mirrors of the dog food world, and how what many consumers believe is a "good" food is really . . . not. (Or at least he used to be interesting to Google--I assume most of his letters to/from the FDA, USDA and various Congressional oversight committees are still out there, but I don't know for sure. It was a long time ago.) There is no way on earth I would have fed my pets Merrick food before the Purina purchase. Now . . maybe. These things are complicated, and it's why I tend to not jump on single issues. Best to look at the big picture. Although the big picture is really complicated, and much better hidden than it was a few years ago, I think, because so many of the smaller companies are bought and sold on a fairly regular basis, they're better at concealing who is actually manufacturing their foods (most smaller companies contract out to the bigger ones to make their foods), etc.

I think probably everybody (general everybody, not just this board) should take a deep breath and chill. That article is almost four months old. So not exactly breaking news. I personally don't think the DCM thing is a huge honking deal. There seem to be a relatively small number of dogs affected, and the odds of any one dog being affected are tiny. The vet nutritionists will eventually figure it out and the pet food companies will adjust. There's a LOT we don't know about human nutrition, let alone about nutrition for our pets. I think the big pet food companies have been unfairly (and sometimes ignorantly) criticized. They do get a lot of things right. A lot of what we do know about canine and feline nutrition -- we know because of those companies. I think there are some small, boutique companies out there trying to make good food. But their lack of veterinary nutritionists on staff is a very valid concern IMO. I've long believed that just like for humans, a diet as varied as possible is the healthiest for most pets.

I have nothing constructive to contribute, but -- this thread title would make a good HGTV show.

This is what DS23 does when he travels. In the past couple of years he's been to Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Latvia, England, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Mexico and his phone has worked in all those locations just as well as it does here in the U.S. The convenience and reliability are very well worth the cost.

In recent years I've naturally gravitated to a 14/10 eating pattern. I had no idea I was trendy until recently. No advice, though. For me it's easy and natural. FWIW, I eat a high carb, mostly vegetarian diet. Again that's a natural thing--what my body thrives on. I'm at a healthy weight, and fasting for 14 hours hasn't made any difference at all in that (counting calories is the only thing that has ever worked for me for weight loss--cutting carbs is disastrous and makes me feel very unwell). In my advancing years I simply noticed that eating after about 6:00 made me feel awful the next morning--like I had binged on junk food, even though I hadn't--so I stopped. For me it's hard socially sometimes, but not physically or mentally.

I'm almost always a wait-and-give-your-body-time-to-do-its-thing-with-basic-illnesses kind of person, but -- I'd take your DD in for a check. I wouldn't want to take chances with asthma. If you absolutely, positively feel the need to show up for student teaching then I'd get a flu test. Achy joints sounds much more like flu than cold to me. It's not nice to expose others to a nasty cold, but it's a whole 'nother level of not nice to expose people to the flu. I hate jobs that don't allow for sick time! I hope you all feel better quickly.

I hope the medication helps!

Yes, we expected our boys to follow all laws when they started driving.

I'd try a stuffed, frozen Kong. They can be stuffed with all sorts of things, from moistened kibble to canned dog food to a mixture of PB and yogurt, PB and mashed banana, chicken/turkey baby food (w/o onions), etc. Freezing them makes them last longer. There are also various types of food dispensing toys, and it usually takes some experimenting (which can be costly) to find one that is challenging but not too challenging for the dog.

We shut the door with him on the other side. Then the smarty pants started banging on it. And he was a big, strong boy. Bang Bang Bang. Hours and hours. He never got tired or gave up. After a couple of nights of that I made loops of packing tape and put them on the lower half of the door. Which wasn't exactly aesthetically pleasing, but I only had to leave the tape there for a few weeks until he acclimated to sleeping somewhere else. And I did make sure he had plenty of beds, a comfy throw on the couch, etc.

She's a cat. I wouldn't count on her outgrowing it soon. She might, but one of our cats would have done it well into his double digit years had we not banned him from the bedroom. And yes, he had a younger companion kitty. It didn't make any difference, he was a people cat.

We must have vastly different definitions of "rare."

I don't know if I'd feel outright afraid, but I feel fairly certain that I wouldn't ever feel very peaceful/relaxed in that situation. I think I'd always be at least a bit on guard, feel the need to be vigilant all the time. And I wouldn't want to live like that if I had a choice.

I would go to a PCP or an optometrist if it's still bothering you today. I had some weird thing going on with one of my eyes following a virus a couple of years ago. It wasn't pink eye, but something similar. My PA prescribed some drops that took care of it. Most optometrists are pretty darn good at what they do. DH is on a cancer medication that can cause serious eye complications. His oncologist recommends that he see his optometrist regularly. He says there's no need for an ophthalmologtist. In fact, around here I highly doubt you'd get an appointment with an ophthalmologist unless you had (1) a referral from an optometrist or a PCP and (2) were willing/able to wait weeks or months to get in. The only way you'd likely see one quickly would be for a detached retina or something similarly serious that was time critical to fix.

So many things can cause seizures. Unfortunately, in middle aged/older dogs it's usually not idiopathic epilepsy (although sometimes it is, just not usually). As already mentioned, I'd want kidneys and liver checked--I assume any vet would want to do a CBC and chem panel as a basic first step. Also maybe check for diabetes, although I'd think other symptoms of that would have been noticed. It's not impossible that the trigger is something in the dog's environment (like mouse bait or something used on the lawn), but probably not likely since the frequency is increasing. In the last dog I had who developed seizures in middle age, they were caused by a rare disease called granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME). It's a horrible, heart breaking diagnosis. I'm not posting that to scare you--it's extremely unlikely that it's your sister's dog's problem--but just to point out that there are causes of seizures that most of us have never heard of.

Many businesses subscribe to services that help update addresses. Don't ask me how they work. I only know because DH's employer (an internet retailer) used such a service.

I'm not a fan of open concept houses, but what bothers me more than the openness is the super high ceiling in the main living area that often come with them. Those high ceilings are terrible for acoustics, heating/cooling, cleaning and painting. Sure they give a nice roomy feel and can look dramatic (until you get used to them, and then they're just as ho hum as anything else), but they also lack a cozy feeling. IMO the cons vastly outweigh the pros. But to be fair--I'm much shorter than average, I might think at least a bit differently if I were taller than average.

It's Carrie's dog who is being neutered. A very tiny dog. And yes, I would worry about the size presenting extra complications (although in general the smaller the dog the less a s/n costs). Vet prices can vary HUGELY depending on geographic area/cost of living. That's one reason I rarely chime in on costs. What I pay for a certain service or procedure would only be relevant to people in my general area. No doubt those in HCOL areas would think I'm getting an absolute steal, and those in LCOL areas would think what I pay is outrageous. To compare low cost s/n clinics to what a private vet costs is really kind of irrelevant, since the clinics depend on vets donating their time and on lots and lots of fundraising. Plus those clinics are generally not doing blood work, nothing for pain management, etc. It's a very apples-to-oranges comparison.

My brother and SIL have four cats and that's pretty much how they live--they can stay inside as long as they like but they go outside to potty. It's like the cats are house trained. It seems to work for them. They do make sure the cats are in at night--at least on their screened porch--to keep them safe from coyotes and other predators.

A lot has changed in a dozen years! Inflation is a thing in vet expenses, just like everything else. Newer anesthesia drugs are more expensive, but also much safer. In recent years vet medicine has incorporated many things that were once reserved for human medicine, like mechanisms to help a pet maintain his body temperature during surgery. That can be a huge safety thing, but it's not w/o cost. Ditto better equipment for monitoring BP, heart rate, etc., during surgery. Many vets' thinking on pain relief for pets undergoing surgeries has changed in the last decade. IMO that's all for the good, but again -- more cost. Is this vet doing pre-anesthesia blood work? Many places consider that optional, but I always, always, always have it done. I wouldn't have surgery requiring general anesthesia w/o making sure everything was okay, so why would I risk it with my pets? See if that's included in the price quoted. There are probably other things I'm not thinking about, but personally I wouldn't shop around for the cheapest spay/neuter vet unless I absolutely couldn't afford to do it any other way. Especially with such a tiny dog. Or I'd at least want to make sure I was comparing apples to apples -- i.e., is the same anesthesia being used, is pain medicine being administered by each vet, does the price quoted included pre-anesthesia blood work or not, etc.

The older I get the more I embrace the weirdness that is my brain. (And the more I hope nobody ever, ever looks at my Google search history. )