Friday, April 28, 2006
One Tired Pup
Last night, while the family went to a potluck supper at Sarah's school, Oreo had a three-hour playdate with Mickey. I wondered if the two of them could play at their usual pace for that long. Well, it turns out that they can't. When Cheryl picked up Oreo at Mickey's house, Mickey's owner said that they would play, then rest for awhile and then play again. So even one-year old dogs apparently have their limits.
When Oreo arrived home, he was one tired pup. Dishevelled and lacking in energy, he spent most of the evening just lying around. Every night when I'm sitting on the sofa watching TV, Oreo will come around with his chew toy and insist that we play tug-of-war and fetch for awhile. Last night was no exception but the poor pup didn't have his heart in it. When I threw the toy to the other end of the room, instead of bouncing over to get it like he usually does, he slowly walked over to pick it up. And instead of the usual two dozen rounds of "fetch the chew toy", last night's game ended after three tosses.
Oreo's playdate with Mickey definitely took its toll. Long before his usual bedtime, I spotted the pooped pup curled up asleep on his dog bed next to the piano. The lights were still on but for Oreo it was definitely lights out.
Last night underscored my dad's favorite maxim: "Raising kids is much like raising dogs." There's a lot of truth to that observation. If you want your kid/dog to go to bed early then run him ragged and he'll be asleep before you know it. The problem is that if you have to be the playmate, you'll be in bed by 9 o'clock, too.
When Oreo arrived home, he was one tired pup. Dishevelled and lacking in energy, he spent most of the evening just lying around. Every night when I'm sitting on the sofa watching TV, Oreo will come around with his chew toy and insist that we play tug-of-war and fetch for awhile. Last night was no exception but the poor pup didn't have his heart in it. When I threw the toy to the other end of the room, instead of bouncing over to get it like he usually does, he slowly walked over to pick it up. And instead of the usual two dozen rounds of "fetch the chew toy", last night's game ended after three tosses.
Oreo's playdate with Mickey definitely took its toll. Long before his usual bedtime, I spotted the pooped pup curled up asleep on his dog bed next to the piano. The lights were still on but for Oreo it was definitely lights out.
Last night underscored my dad's favorite maxim: "Raising kids is much like raising dogs." There's a lot of truth to that observation. If you want your kid/dog to go to bed early then run him ragged and he'll be asleep before you know it. The problem is that if you have to be the playmate, you'll be in bed by 9 o'clock, too.
