Snow Dogs

Every morning I head out to feed the horses. Lately I not only feed the horses in the morning but muck the stalls, because my teenaged daughter is so busy with her school work and various team activities that she doesn’t have time to join me for afternoon mucking.

Anyway, this morning the snow had been on the ground long enough to be wet rather than dry, and the shelter dog we’re pretty sure is a husky/german shepherd mix was eager to play. She loves the snow and cold weather. She’s one of the brightest dogs I’ve ever owned, and understands dozens of human words. Yet she’s never really caught on to fetch. For her, fetch is more like seek and destroy, which makes snowball catch one of her very favorite games. She was actually waiting on the back stoop for me to come out, and then led me off towards the snow, in case I was too stupid to clue in (she does the same thing when she needs food or water).

I dutifully packed up the snow into a snowball while she gamboled about, then tossed it into the air. Not too far, because then it would fragment and wouldn’t be nearly as much fun (because it wouldn’t be assembled in a ball to DESTROY). Ideally she prefers me to lob it in the air within ten feet so she can catch  and devour it. Then she tears back for me to do it again.

I did this for a few minutes, then all the way down to the barn (we have an invisible fence so she doesn’t get near the chickens, whom she will also seek and destroy). Then she was waiting for me upon my return so I could hurl additional snowballs all the way back up. Oddly enough, our other dog, a Grand Pyranees/Golden Retriever mix (another shelter dog) doesn’t understand fetch OR seek and destroy. She just sort of looks confused when you toss either a ball or a snowball. But then she’s probably the most intellectually challenged dog I’ve ever owned…

Hmm. Well, I was going to talk some about outlining today, but I think I’ll just end this canine reflection and get to work.