I Believe in Evolution

Playtime is in a state of evolution, as Prada and I begin to build a stronger emotional bond. Last night playtime meant a short puppy-wrestle. This morning? As I sat at my desk working on some projects on my laptop I suddenly discovered a slimy red kong toy had been deposited very unsubtlely into my lap. At first I couldn't figure out what she wanted me to do with it. She'd never shown any interest in 'fetch' before. I picked it up and immediately a pair of strong German shepherd jaws locked onto the other side. My hypothesis that Prada likes tug-of-war was correct! I need to get that girl a rope toy so she has something more to hang on to. When I finally won I tossed it for her to see if she would fetch it. Fetch isn't a Prada game, but apparently cat-and-mouse is. She chased it across the floor, pouncing on its irregular path and finally wrestled it to the ground.  After much pawing at it and chasing it across the floor she got the ornery rolypoly little thing solidly in her mouth, whereupon she returned it to me to begin the process all over again.  Tug, toss, trample, repeat. SHE IS SOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!

(Today tug-of-war is still her favorite game.  Rope, tennis ball, oven mitt, anything she can get her jaws around.  She prefers “catch me if you can” with toys over fetch but I’ve heard from other shepherd parents that this is apparently quite normal for them.  She still maintains the strategy of shoving toys and cold wet noses in my lap to get attention, too.)