Her Favorite Game

She loves a good game of tug with the rope...

Nylabone Destroyer

Champ must have jaws (and a stomach) of steel...

The Look Before the Growl

And before all the teeth-baring begins...

Reclaimed

And on the lookout for any potential toy-snatchers...

Jake is a toy hog-- can you tell from the picture? He has one of the ropes, his new toy, and a favorite bone all under his watch. Jake tries to sneak toys in his pen any chance he gets, but I usually try to only leave one or two in there at a time-- no need for him to lay claim to everything, haha.

Laying Claim to What's (Not) Hers

Sitting pretty while maintaining control of Jake's toy... :)

Intimidation

We have a new favorite toy around the house...

I bought a new toy for Jake's birthday. Petsmart had sent me a coupon for a (almost free) toy, and I chose a Martha Stewart tug toy, basically comprised of a ball wrapped and tied in a fleece-like material. Turns out all my dogs went crazy over it, so we had to buy two more a few days later, just so we wouldn't constantly have the scene like we did above. More pictures of and with this toy soon...watching each of them playing with one of these toys in pure delight is impossible not to share with others.  :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!!!

The Game of Tug

One tugs this way, one tugs the other...

Champ holds steady...

Keeps holding steady...

Hey, aren't you going to play anymore?

Fine, I'll enjoy it myself...

I think I'll get in a quick nap before our next tugging session...

On a (Recent) Warmer Winter Day...

Tugging Buddies

Have Toy, Will Retrieve

Isabella has always been a pretty typical husky (unlike her brother Jake), but one thing that she enjoys doing unlike most huskies is retrieiving toys. If you throw a toy, she will usually be the first to run and get it, and loves to bring it back to you so you'll throw it again. Jake will run and pick up the toy, but usually runs elsewhere with it or drops it long before he gets back to you. Champ enjoys retrieving toys, too, but he's part retriever, so we kind of expected that of him. :)

The Rope, Part II

My favorite photo of these would either have to be the first one or the fourth one...the look of pure puppy...

The Rope, Part I

Isabella has always loved to tug and thrash and shake-to-death a good rope. Unfortunately, Jake has only one real interest in a rope-- to tear it apart. Occasionally he'll tug on the other end, but he's more interested in taking possession of the rope than actually playing tug with her.

Surprisingly, this is only the second rope that we've bought since getting Jake (unless you count Molly's rope that they destroyed while she visited last). My husband and I really liked this one for its handle-- it had a nice, comfortable grip when playing tug with Isabella. I say "had" (as in past tense) because the plastic part of the handle has since been chewed away (gee, I wonder who would have done that?), but there's still a handle in its rope state to grip with-- it's just not as good, or comfortable, as it was when we bought it.

 Then we got Champ, who happens to be a fellow tugger and thrasher of ropes and frisbees, so Isabella now has a tugging partner at long last. Funnily enough, we could never tug rope with Isabella long enough for her satisfaction, and now Champ has the same problem with her...reversing of the tables there...

More photos of Champ and the rope coming soon...

Flashback Friday: Isabella & Her Toys

As an "only" dog, Isabella loved to play with her toys-- ropes, stuffed squeaky toys, balls, empty soda bottles (especially ones with a little loose change in them to make them really noisy when they're shaken)...the list went on and on. Back in the days before Jake taught her how to tear apart toys...oh, how I sometimes miss those days...

On a Frisbee Mission

Mission: Free frisbee from clutches of tree.

I had already thrown the frisbee around a number of times that afternoon, and that particular time it landed in the tree. I didn't realize it at first, and couldn't figure out why Jake kept circling the tree and standing on his hind legs as if to reach something in the tree. Isabella glanced up a couple of times, but didn't seem overly perturbed by whatever Jake was paying attention to. As I got closer, it became apparent that the frisbee was caught in the tree's branches. It only took Jake a couple of minutes of nudging at the frisbee before he was able to free it from the branches' grasp.

Jake's always been really good at finding things when you hide them.  :)

"Toss Around" Frisbee

 Isabella's favorite game is keep-away from Jake.

 When Jake does get it, he likes to keep an eye out for sister.

 The game never gets old.

 Isabella will usually return it to me, tug with it some, then is ready to go fetch it again.

 Jake insists on carrying it back together sometimes, much to his sister's annoyance.

 Did I mention how they like to share?

 Occasionally Jake makes it there first (or Isabella tires of it).

But soon enough, Isabella's back in the game of playing keep-away from Jake.

This "Toss Around" frisbee is my huskies' new favorite outside toy. It gets thrown and flies like a frisbee, has three perfect spots for holding (or in Isabella's case, tugging holds), and has a squeaky ball in the middle which I'm sure Jake will eventually conquer when I'm not looking for long enough. 

I don't let either of them sit and play with it on their own for long, because they become intent on de-stuffing and de-squeaking it almost immediately. It already bears the scars of sharp teeth intent on getting into its center. It gets put up out of reach when I'm not outside with them. They really enjoy this toy, so I'm all for prolonging its life for as long as I can.  :)

Molly enjoyed it when she was last over, too. It's an all-around winner!

Recent Playdate

The morning started off with our two...

Then Molly arrived to get the party started...

And after a couple of hours of running around, Sasha joined the crowd...

All slept soundly that night (at their respective houses).  :)

For  more photos on Isabella and Jake's playdate with Molly and Sasha, visit my Dog Days II gallery.


*More about Isabella and Jake's fun new toys in a later post.*