Monday, October 24, 2011

Ball crazy

I have two ball crazy dogs right now.  Actually, "ball obsessed" would be more descriptive, particularly because they are shepherds. 

Luke brought home his Jolly Ball from his temporary home while we were away in England.  His toy is a ball within a ball, it has big holes on the sides that make it easy to grab.  He will bring it and put it down in front of me and look up at me, clearly expecting me to throw or kick the ball.  He looks rather perturbed with me if I don't respond.  We have faster dogs, but no one beats Luke to the ball when I kick it.  No one else cares nearly as much about it and they seem to understand Luke's obsession.  The best thing about the ball is that he has pretty much given up digging, chewing, and carrying rocks now that he has the ball.  If he ever tires of playing with it, I haven't seen it yet. 

Trace has the heavier, solid version of the Jolly Ball.  I think this one is actually made as a toy for horses to play with.  Our Jack had one, it's indestructible so it's still around here, but Trace came with his own.  We called Jack's game "rottweiler ball," which involved him playing with it by himself, but he only did it for an audience.  Trace entertains himself with the ball for hours, no audience required.  The only time he needs me is when the ball rolls under the platform in the middle of the yard.  I have to get a rake and pull it out for him. 

Both of these boys play with their balls so much that they are actually losing a little too much weight. 

2 comments:

BudsBuddy said...

Maybe if I got a jolly ball, I could lose some weight too ;)

Carolyn said...

I have one of the heavier balls that my late lab and the current one have both adored. They play soccer with it, using paws and nose. I can only let them have it for 10 minutes every few weeks, though, as they quickly wear all the skin off their noses and end up bleeding.