ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S MYSTERY

Congratulations to Robin, who indeed guessed correctly that Ryan was the thief.  Here’s what happened:

When Daisy told Ryan about the missing dress, he guessed the exact price.  This means he had to have seen the price tag up close–as in when he was stealing the dress.

When asked about it, Ryan admitted he was jealous of Rita’s success and needed her to have a reputation-damaging experience or two.  Also, he considered Mrs. Winger his prospect and didn’t want her to work with Rita May Designs.

And why did Mallory walk away?  She was in a new relationship and the cell phone call was from her new boyfriend.  Daisy could surely understand this, but Rita made a note to work with Mal on her honesty issues.

Now, on to other items …

PROPHET LEADS AGAIN

Prophet & Kuma playing chase at Chatfield State Park.

Yesterday, while we were at Chatfield State Park,  Prophet showed me I’m an old dog that needs a few new tricks. I had forgotten his dog food, which I usually use as a reward for fetching a ball we use for exercise.  The wind was up a bit and the temperature down a bit, so I didn’t feel much like throwing anyway.  So we wandered the dry, gold land, just enjoying the sun.

Recently, my husband read a book where he learned that army dog trainers use tone of voice for clearer communications with their dogs.  Low tones connote alpha behavior, while high-pitched “baby talk” is used to reward and excite dogs.  Hmm…Interesting.  Would this work with Prophet?

As we wandered I would call him in my usual happy tone.  Occasionally, he looked up, but generally kept sniffing at or chewing on wild grass and dog poo.  Then I used a deep voice, and Proph came running.  How cool is that?

Later, I called again, and again my dog ran up to me.  This time, when he arrived, I got down on one knee and hugged, laughed, kissed, and squealed my delight with my doggie. Proph responded by coming so close you’d think he wanted to jump inside my skin.

Suddenly we were rolling on the ground, with me laughing and him panting.  Great stuff!

It was then that Prophet decided to take the lead in our play–literally! He rooted around the doggie pack I keep with me whenever we go for walks.  The pack usually contains treats, but is also good for carrying extra poo-bags, park dog pass, and Prophet’s leash (you must have all these things in order to be a patron of good standing with the state parks).  I keep the leash clipped to the outside of the doggie pack for easy access.  You never know when Prophet’s enthusiastic play will be interpreted as aggression from other dogs or dog owners.

Prophet grabbed the leash in his mouth and started tugging.  Soon he was at the handler’s end of the leash with me at the clip end.  He took off at a trot, strong enough to make me run after him, but he didn’t run full-out.  He was dragging me into doing some nice cardio work!  I could almost sense my guy coaching me along.  When I’d had enough (after about 20 feet of all out running on my part), I stopped.  Proph understood I was out of breath, but he looked at me as if to say,”Okay for today, but you’re way out of shape.  We need to do this again, soon.”

When I got home, I was curious about whether running is a dog’s favorite game, so I looked it up on-line.  Didn’t determine for sure, but I found a great site I bookmarked for future game ideas. Shiba Shake is a website I plan to return to often.

How’s your pet today?  Are you two having fun?  I hope so.