When Boo and I are in the yard after he goes potty he likes to sniff around. I put my hands behind my back and march toward him slowly and which point he goes down on his front paws and wags his stubby tail, then I take a couple running steps very suddenly and say "mama's gonna getcha" and he fakes left and goes off into a dead run to the right to get past me and runs a lap around the garden...then we repeat about 20 times...We both get our exercise, then we come in and I sit down to relax and he curls up in my lap for his nap.
We also bond at bedtime. After he sleeps on my foot for a couple hours watching tv I wiggle my foot out from underneath him and carry my passed out dog around the house turning off lights and take him to bed (he doesn't wake up for any of this), I set him down on the bed and climb in. Once I"m settled he wakes up and curls up next to me as close as he can get. I give him a little kiss on the nose and say "you are safe, you are warm, and you are loved, so have sweet puppy dreams and mama will see you in the morning", he opens his eyes, licks my nose and goes back to sleep for the night. We are both creatures of habit, but it's a nice little ritual and it works for us. |