Friday, December 25, 2009

Snow shepherd

Brody is the king of the snow shepherds, he just loves it. I've had trouble getting him to come inside ever since it fell. He wants to run it in, play in it, pretty much live in it as much as possible. The game of snow ball, played with a basketball, is his favorite.

He's young enough and strong enough that the depth of the snow didn't bother him at all. He has a thick and fairly long double coat, so the cold isn't an issue and he can dry off with a one good shake (which he generally does only after he's come inside).





He never showed a great deal of interest in the basketball until the snow. He's just so excited by it and he grabs the ball in an effort to wrest the most possible fun from the occasion. I found that it's best for a human to try to get in a few soccer kicks when he drops the ball, don't reach down and grab for it. He doesn't intend to bite, but he definitely intends to get that ball so it's best if fingers are not in the way.

He's at the age where he's got the strength, energy, and playfullness to really get out and enjoy the snow. I think he would really like to be enjoying it with another dog, at least when I won't go out and play with him for as long as he would like. But there is too much potential for conflict with the other big males that I have here. Besides, I think that Brody is really a people dog and would prefer having a human companion when he plays.

The rainy weather yesterday did little to dampen his enthusiasum. He would have stayed outside in it for much longer than I allowed. He is good about being crated indoors, but he is generally the first one to tell me that he's ready to go outside. I think he would be fine without the crate, it's just that he needs it here, or rather, I need it here to maintain some degree of peace and decorum in the household. Last night after going outside and coming back in and upstairs, he turned around and ran back downstairs, after I had brought Gypsy back in. She's an old girl, but she nailed him with her best effort and we had the start of a dog fight at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately, I was right there and Clay was just at the top of the stairs, so nothing serious came of it, but it served as a valuable reminder to all that Gypsy is still queen of the universe.

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