Hey Punky Poodle,
How’s my squirrel girl?
Dudley, Sadie, Moses
I talked with Mama Kitty today and she told me you’re a happy pooh and not missing me at all! Well, except for the first night, Tuesday, when you waited for me to pick you up like I usually do when you have dinner with Moses and Dudley. And you know what? I’m thrilled that you feel so comfortable and at home with Kitty and your ‘brothers.’ Honestly, I would be a train wreck if I thought for one moment you weren’t contented.
Well it was another intense day at APDT and I’m as tired as Kitty told me you were yesterday after an afternoon of fun and games with your BFF, Romeo. So I’m going to make this short.
Every day I think what am I learning today that could help my funky monkey be happier and more at ease in the world?
So after listening to John Rogerson, a very kind and funny Englishman (You would love him! Crazy as you are for men with beards!), I’m wondering, how would you like it if we learned to play together more?
Isn’t this sad? John said that of the 17 dogs in a dog training class he taught in Los Angeles, only 2 played with toys and retrieved!
Lucky for us you are crazy about fetching your tennis ball and frisbee and I’m tickled to throw them for you. But, I’d love it if we played more. Especially tug. (Ian Dunbar, you’d flip over him too, highly recommends it.) I’m thinking maybe it would bolster your confidence not to mention be lots of fun. If you learned to really love it, tug might even become a great reward for you too.
You already tug at my heart. So, how ’bout we give the eviscerated baby gorilla a go? Or, one of Ira’s old socks, all nice and smelly and knotted up?
Are you game? Dream on it and let me know.
I can see you all curled up in your special chair under the window in Mama Kitty’s bedroom. Sweet dreams pooky dooky.
I miss you and love you,
Mom
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rod Burkert and Kim Clune, Slices of Boulder. Slices of Boulder said: Dear Sadie: Love Letter #4 to My Dog from APDT http://eqent.me/bCEwGC […]
It’s sweet that you found time to write home to Sadie from the APDT conference.
When you get time to breathe, you might want to check out Victoria Schade’s Bonding with Your Dog. She has lots of ideas for playing with your dog and we’ve had fun trying them out.
Thank you for the suggestion 🙂 Do you have a favorite?