Evolution: Redefined

Prada has discovered a new talent--catching kong toys as they are tossed into the air. Instead of pouncing on them it's now more fun to catch them. I think this might have to do with the praise I gave her the first time she did it. I was so impressed that I just let loose a torrent of "good girl!"S and so forth that she tried it again and discovered it was quite entertaining.

She just spent the past five minutes thoroughly investigating the bottom of my dresser for no discernible reason...funny girl. We've had a fairly relaxing day so far, very quiet after yesterday's work-out. Just a few more days before we go home! I can't wait to introduce her to everyone back home and at school in August! She is quite the character and could easily make herself the queen bee of any social gathering if I let her...

(I plead guilty to any charges of “obsessed puppy mommy” with this post.  One of the reasons I spent so much time describing playtime with Prada was that play is considered essential for a dog’s emotional wellbeing, particularly important for a working dog because of the job-related stresses.  The other reason is that play is considered a chief form of bonding, and I’ve already written about how self-conscious and uncertain I was about that process.  Oh, and she has about a 50% catch rate with tennis balls and cookies.  The kong toy rarely keeps her attention now that she has tennis balls.  They fit her mouth much better and I think she prefers the more predictable path of bounce.)