Showing posts with label Sheltie Play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sheltie Play. Show all posts

Friday, March 25, 2011

They Left it On the Field


There is a sports expression about leaving it all on the field. Well the dogs adopt that attitude when going to playgroup. They never fail to come home exhausted after a day of playing with friends outdoors.

Even the next day activities are a bit lighter than normal as they rest up from the previous day's outings. A few good squirrel chases and perimeter checks are necessary, but indoor play is drastically reduced.

By the following day all batteries are fully charged and system ready to play. This down day is a great day to get my writing done.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Sheltie Toy Boxes



Even before Katy came to us, we had two toy boxes. One used to store indoor dog toys and one for outdoor toys. The outdoor toy box is just a box that we put the dried outdoor toys in to keep them from being dragged out to play with in the house. The indoor toy box serves a similar function to children's toy boxes. It stores the toys the dogs are not playing with and makes cleaning a simpler task. We use a recycled plant box that is low to the ground and open so the dogs can identify what items are in the box.

Prior to Katy's arrival Bailey had pretty much ignored the indoor toy box except on vacuuming days. The days I vacuum, I take all his toys and pile them in the box so I can clean the floor. After I am done, he takes his favorite toys and removes them back to the floor to reclaim the space.

Family, friends, and my husband and I have bought many toys over time. After Christmas, I cleaned out the broken toys and those that were not good for play. The box is still full. Cute dogs attract dog gifts.

One of the warnings we got from the rescue about Katy is that she was bone protective. She would engage over bones. She showed little interest in toys when we got her, but they were right, she wanted bones. We made sure that she and Bailey had bones. When she became confident enough that there were plenty, she and Bailey became more engaged in using the bones as a way of enticing each other to play. As she got more confident with bones, Bailey got her interested in toys.

As she started to enjoy the toys on the floor, she was curious about the indoor toy box but hesitant to approach it. As her confidence has emerged, she has reintroduced toys to Bailey that he had long forgotten about and abandoned. Only a few nights ago she started a game of tug with a toy that I know was at the bottom of the pile. She had been on a quest to find something interesting. As she has shown an interest, Bailey has discovered new treasures in his toy box.