Play Ball!

Over the last several days, Rob has decided that Lucy is going to be a ball dog, again! Thursday night, he got up off the couch and went outside. Ceasar was in the house with me. When I looked out into the yard, he was crouched down, tennis ball in hand, having a very serious conversation with our little boxer. She was looking at him and the tennis ball very intently. She had already figured out that not only did her Daddy mean business about the ball, but that the German Shepherd was not in the yard. They spent about 15 minutes out there together, Rob throwing the ball, Lucy chasing the ball, and then repeating the whole process over and over again.

Finally, it got too dark for them to be outside and Rob and the little boxer marched proudly across the deck. Rob looked and me and said " She's gonna be crazy about that ball! She just won't chase it with Ceasar in the yard." (Lucy's Human already knew that, but okay!) Yesterday afternoon, I asked Rob if he was going to have a game of fetch with Lucy when he got home? I told him that I thought that was the perfect bonding activity for the two of them, and great exercise for little Lucy. After all, Lucy spends all day with her mother, and doesn't get much of a chance to spend time with her Daddy.

So, last night after dinner, Rob and Lucy returned to the yard, with 2 brand new tennis balls in hand. I remained on the deck, camera fully charged and ready for the action. Rob would show Lucy the ball, throw it, crouch down and wait for Lucy to return with it. Most of the time, Lucy would retrieve the ball- usually flipping over it once or twice, barking at it, and rolling it around before actually gaining contact with the ball. And then she would run full speed across the yard, and miss Rob by about 4 feet before circling back to him. And then she would tease him with the ball, giving it to him only when he would pull it out of her mouth. (Should have given Daddy treats before he went out in the yard for fetch... silly human knows better!)

Every once and a while, Rob would spike the ball up in the air, and Lucy would watch in amazement before running to fetch the ball. My little boxer has to think about and analyze everything before completing the action... (After 2 months with Lucy, her human knows when she's pondering doing something; usually thinking, planning and getting ready before taking action! Like the other morning when she sat down in front of my newly potted tropical plant and cocked her sweet little head left, then right, backed up, sat down again and then lunged for the pot... or just a couple of minutes ago while we were out for our walk, and there were leaves blowing everywhere. Lucy would sit down watch the leaf, and then give each and every leaf a big boxer pounce. Such a smart, but very mischievious, little boxer!)

It wasn't too hot outside last night, but Lucy still tired quickly. She had spent about 20 minutes right after we got home, running like she was on fire around the yard- nothing but a blur of fawn fur and white tipped paws. And after several minutes of fetching the ball, Lucy got tired and would just plop down in the yard with the ball- looking over at her Daddy as if to say " Is this what you want me to do?" Rob just laughed, walked over, grabbed the ball and threw it again. As the evening wore on, Lucy's retrieval of the ball got less and less enthusiastic, and Rob finally gave up! By the time he plopped her on the hot tub cover and jumped in, Lucy was ready for a nap- and Ceasar was ready for his chance at the ball.

Lucy has lost at least one of her puppy teeth, and has another one hanging on by a thread. I would love to just reach in there and pull it out, but Lucy is less than thrilled about having her human's hand in her mouth for anything other than chewing purposes. So, I wait, anxiously, for those shark like puppy teeth to drop from my little boxers mouth. In the meantime, to speed up the process, Lucy shall have soup bones, rawhide bones, ice cubes, and whatever else might loosen those little teeth- as long as it's not attached to my body!

I am learning very quickly that boxer play can get very rambunctious and is always very energetic. Lucy has definitely crossed the line of knowing what is appropriate play, and what is not, and her human is fully aware that she doesn't mean to cause bodily harm at this point. But, she's still a boxer, and when she leaped last night and socked me in the nose, I should have been prepared- instead I was stunned... And today, I've got a very sore nose, thankfully, it only hurts when I touch it or try to blow my nose!