Well, so much for the “doggie trust” I wrote about a few days ago.
Yesterday, Callie found a slightly chewed up (rubber) baseball which she fell in love with. We ran to Callie’s favorite bridge, where she voluntarily “touched the bridge.” But she wouldn’t let go of the ball so she could eat a puppy treat. What, no puppy treat? This is unheard of.
The other day, with the tennis ball, she trusted us to hold the ball while she gobbled a puppy treat.
Then, on to Callie’s “jumping rock,” where she always stops for a puppy treat. She hopped right up on the “jumping rock,” but she wouldn’t let go of the ball to accept a puppy treat. No amount of prying was going to get that ball out of her mouth. So much for puppy trust.
We jogged a slightly different route so that, if Callie dropped the ball, it wouldn’t find its way into a storm sewer and the Pacific Ocean. Callie held on for dear life. Actually this ball is pretty perfect for holding on tight. Callie can really wrap her mouth around it.
Finally, we got home, and we stopped to get the mail out of the mailbox. Callie put her baseball down just for a second — the first time in three miles — and, sure enough, it headed downhill toward one of the storm drains. So we did a quick one-hundred-yard dash and rescued the ball before it disappeared into a drain.
Inside the house, Callie still wouldn’t give up her ball. The ultimate answer? Puppy bribery! Four puppy treats in a bowl.
Golden Retrievers are bred to retrieve, so we’re glad to support Callie in her retrieving. It’s fun for us, and we know she appreciates our encouragement. It’s good for our doggie – people relationship.
