Even though she has lived with me for a couple of years now, in many ways Scout is still a mystery to me. She came to live with me at 4 months old, so I missed out on those formative early weeks. She lived in a house full of other cardis, both older dogs and other puppies. On the other hand, I got Spencer when he was exactly 8 weeks old. After a few days, I wished that he had stayed with his momma and siblings a little while longer, so they could have had the job of teaching him bite inhibition, and would have saved my toes and fingers from his sharp little teeth. But we got through it, and by 10 weeks old, he was going everywhere with me, meeting lots of new people, and playing with other dogs at puppy class.
Spencer has always been a playdog - either with other dogs, kids, people, or just by himself, playing with toys. He would toss them around, stalk them and "catch" them and give them a good shake. When I picked him up at his breeder, I took a little sock monkey for him. We rubbed the sock monkey all over his mom, and for several weeks, he carried his sock monkey around the house, and would play with it often. One day he discovered how to dissect (and de-stuff) the sock monkey, but even after I threw the stuffing away, he still played with the monkey "skin."
Since then, he always promptly de-stuffs his toys, but continues to play with the skins. He loves to play tug with them. He will jump around in front of me with one in his mouth until I grab it and tug with him. He tries this with Scout, but she just doesn't get it.
So this brings me back to the mystery of Scout. She does not do toys. She does not understand when Spencer tries to lure her into a game of tug. I've tried to find a toy that would get her excited so that I would have something to reward her with in training - nothing gets her excited. I think she could be a great flyball height dog, except that I can't get her excited about getting the ball.
3 comments:
Her sister Grace doesn't really do toys either, although lately she has taken to stealing them from whomever is playing with them and then just laying on them. Maybe it's just the way they are, but I too would like to get her to actually play with me.
Her pups though, are already learning to tug a bit, so I have hope for the next generation.
Interesting observation. Scout's "litter mate" Jenna does not really do toys either, UNLESS somebody else (another dog) has it. Then she will go to all extremes to get it. However, put a red dot from a laser pointer in front of her and she will chase it for hours or until she drops from exhaustion.
Oh yes - Scout is a nut for the laser pointer - and I do use that as a reward but so far only at dog shows - to keep it special. Interesting, Spencer does not get the excitement of the laser pointer. He looks at me with a look of total disdain - like "it's just a red light - who cares?"
Post a Comment