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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Try a Little Tenderness

I am not really sure how I am going to relate this post's title to what I am going to write about yet, but I am going to try my best!

Today was one of those days with 12+ hours on the job that nurses are subjected to.  Don't get me wrong, I love my job!  Being a nurse is even better than I thought it would be, and I get lots of satisfaction out of what I do (something I am learning not everyone can say).  However, the long hours lead to barking dogs...in both literal and figurative terms.  On weeks that my husband is home, he gets back from work before I do; this means that I don't really have to worry about Daisy being stuck in her kennel from 6am-8pm.  He is out of town this week though :(  
Luckily I have some great friends who come ambulate my dog on days like today.  So while her bladder may get relieved, her energy doesn't quite get used to its full potential.  This fact came into play about the time I sat down eat my dinner at 8:15.  I used to (okay, sometimes I still do) get extremely irritated at Daisy for being an energetic puppy. This is completely senseless in retrospect, but seems perfectly rational at the time.  I am learning, though slowly and surely, that the best way to react to Daisy's energy is not to discipline her for not working on my time-table, but rather to try a little tenderness (see, I told you I would get this in here somehow!).  
Now trying a little tenderness with a puppy has nothing to do with what Michael Buble sings about, but it still works magic ;)
By trying a little tenderness, I really mean getting down on her level and giving her the attention she needs (okay, so maybe it is a little like what Mr. Buble sings about).  Instead of griping at her for an hour for being a nuisance, a simple 5-10 minute game of fetch or her new favorite - keep away, followed by a good old tummy rub, works wonders.  All Daisy really wants is for me to acknowledge that she is there and show her that yes, even after being gone all day, I do still love her.
And after this I can get the hour that I wanted in the first place while she happily entertains herself with a chew toy!

2 comments:

  1. Happy to help! You just need to bring her to our house on the days that Adam is gone and she can play in the backyard with Jack. She'll learn to defend herself when he gets too personal. :)

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  2. We are fostering a dog right now and she is pretty young and energetic. This post is very helpful!

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