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crysania4Dahlia's not a real dog. You guys know this. She looks like a dog but doesn't act like one. She doesn't show much interest in balls, doesn't bark (like ever -- even when someone knocks at the door), and when we first got her she didn't even play with toys, didn't understand a dog play bowing at her. It was like she was the confused wallflower who didn't quite know how to act around others of her own kind. She was dog friendly, but didn't GET IT for the most part.
She's getting it more and more, but she's still growing.
We took her on a walk together on Sunday. I love when we do this. We play a "run back and forth between Mommy and Daddy" game where we keep getting further and further apart and calling her to us. She runs from one to the other and back and forth. It tires her out and she seems to love it.
This time we found a stray tennis ball laying around and David threw it for her without trying to hype her up first.
SHE CHASED IT.
OMG really. She ran after it and grabbed it and brought it back near us. She tried chewing on it for a moment and then set it down in the snow and nosed it away from her. She still tried to grab it when we went for it (she likes this game; I'm happy to play it; she doesn't have to play fetch or tug or anything by anyone else's rules but her own and it's fun faking her out to get it away from her). We threw it multiple times. And each time she went after it.
We were interrupted at one point by the arrival of a German Shepherd named Max. Nice dog. He took off running and Dahlia was all too happy to give chase (chase is her favouritest game EVER). They played for a bit and then we parted ways. We found the tennis ball again and tossed it and once more she ran after it. She did several times but eventually stopped picking it up. She would try but then immediately drop it. I think it was too cold all covered in snow. She tried to pick it up by the fuzz but that didn't work, so eventually she'd run to it, pick it up, drop it, and then stand over it as we came to get it to throw it again.
But still. She played fetch. Real fetch. Not a half-hearted racing after a toy once or twice and then settling down to squeak it.
Maybe there's a real dog in there somewhere after all.
She's getting it more and more, but she's still growing.
We took her on a walk together on Sunday. I love when we do this. We play a "run back and forth between Mommy and Daddy" game where we keep getting further and further apart and calling her to us. She runs from one to the other and back and forth. It tires her out and she seems to love it.
This time we found a stray tennis ball laying around and David threw it for her without trying to hype her up first.
SHE CHASED IT.
OMG really. She ran after it and grabbed it and brought it back near us. She tried chewing on it for a moment and then set it down in the snow and nosed it away from her. She still tried to grab it when we went for it (she likes this game; I'm happy to play it; she doesn't have to play fetch or tug or anything by anyone else's rules but her own and it's fun faking her out to get it away from her). We threw it multiple times. And each time she went after it.
We were interrupted at one point by the arrival of a German Shepherd named Max. Nice dog. He took off running and Dahlia was all too happy to give chase (chase is her favouritest game EVER). They played for a bit and then we parted ways. We found the tennis ball again and tossed it and once more she ran after it. She did several times but eventually stopped picking it up. She would try but then immediately drop it. I think it was too cold all covered in snow. She tried to pick it up by the fuzz but that didn't work, so eventually she'd run to it, pick it up, drop it, and then stand over it as we came to get it to throw it again.
But still. She played fetch. Real fetch. Not a half-hearted racing after a toy once or twice and then settling down to squeak it.
Maybe there's a real dog in there somewhere after all.
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Date: 2009-12-21 08:01 pm (UTC)Assuming Dahlia is a Border Collie mix of some kind, remember that as good as BCs are at flyball etc, they're actually not bred to fetch, so it's a longer process to teach one to fetch than a retriever, which are bred to do it :)
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Date: 2009-12-21 08:04 pm (UTC)1. Toy is thrown.
2. Dahlia races after it and grabs it.
3. She runs back NEAR us and settles down with it between her paws.
4. Toy gets squeaked over and over and over again.
5. We grab it, play tug of war, and FINALLY get it away from her.
6. Toy is thrown again. Rinse and repeat.
So we never play the usual fetch game. Which I'm ok with. If she wants to play fetch/chase/tug, who am I to argue? lol
I like the collecting game! For Dahlia, it's the thrill of the squeaking I think. I've never met a dog before who loved to settle down and just make her toys squeak. And she'll methodically go over the whole toy with her mouth to see if there are any other squeakers there. It's hilariously adorable!