- Sorry, Mom. You still love me, right?
The Pupster was crazed this morning. Pulling on the bedspread. Chewing on my sock. Biting my yoga mat. Jumping on the table. Barking at squirrels. Barking at trucks. Barking at me! And through it all, I breathe and tried to re-center while I answered email, prepped for my 10 o’clock call, cooked oatmeal. But Gracie wasn’t calmed. Neither was I.
I tried to distract her by tossing the orange ball. The short red ropey toy. The long pink and black ropey toy. The squeaky toy. The deer antler that we just spent $15 on. Nothing worked for more than a couple of minutes. Then I barked at David… LOUDLY: “I’ve got a 10 o’clock. She needs to get her ya-yas out. Take her for a run. Now!”
Ahhhhh… they’re gone now. My call went well. The living is quiet. All I hear is the bubbling of the fish tank filter. Life is good. I feel so much kinder and more respectful. I will show them when they come back. Hopefully not too soon.
Check out Day 9 of The Kindness and Respect Challenge
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HAHAH!
It’s easy to forget how much energy new puppies take…especially athletic working dogs!
One thing I have learned after training three high energy labs from puppyhood and several high energy horses from birth or young ages. 15 minutes of training that uses their body AND mind – something that makes them think too…with reward, will tire them faster. Several short, fun, controlled sessions work really, really well if they use mental energy with physical and will avoid the overstimulated dog with no impulse control. Learning to chill (settle) when asked is as important. Just like kids!
She may love agility!
Have fun!
Love,
Randee
Comment by Randee — October 8, 2013 @ 11:16 am
[…] out Day 8 of The Kindness and Respect […]
Pingback by Day 7 Kindness and Respect Challenge (We’re here to help) | Annie Fox's Blog — October 8, 2013 @ 11:26 am
Thanks, Randee. Great suggestion. The rest of the day has been going much better.
Comment by Annie Fox — October 8, 2013 @ 3:13 pm