All Dogs have interesting and individual personalities. Every dog I have owned was truly unique, and I want to believe that I get better with each pet learning how to "read" them. I find the way they relate to other dogs and to people interestingly different as people are different in the way they respond to others. I am often reminded of this in the way both of my dogs choose and use toys. Max has a soft mouth and loves to have soft things in his mouth. He chooses toys that feel good in his mouth. I have blogged about Max taking my mother's knitting ball and finding the rodent's nest, just so he can have something in his mouth. Although Max doesn't initiate play with Beeker often, when he does, he chooses the rope with a knot in it. When Max chooses a toy from the toy basket it is the soft squeaky ball or stuffed animal, he loves to have something soft and chewy in his mouth. These are definitely softer than the toys that Beeks chooses. Max doesn't go out of his way to get toys or to keep a toy with him. Usually if Max has a toy in his mouth it is either a soft squeeky ball or stuffed animal. However if he has a toy it is probably to keep it away from Beeker. Or to take care of it. He is a caregiver.
Beeker likes to have toys that are chewable. Anything will do, if it is given to him. He likes hard toys, he wants to devour them. He will chew through his dinosaur Nylabones, his ropes, his Squirrel Buddy. He also uses his toys to engage with Max or other dogs and people. Beeks always has everyone of his toys out. At any given time, he will chew on one for a while then remember another one and go get that, until soon all of the toys we have for the dogs are out! I have to make a swoop of picking up the toys every so often just so I don't trip on them at night. He's a consumer.
My sister says that her dog, Jesse James, uses his toys to invent games for himself. He will take a toy to the top of the stairs and drop them down then run to pick it up and then go at it again from the top of the stairs. She also tells me that Jesse has some toys that he will play rough with and others that he regards with sanctity. I bet it makes him crazy when Beeks comes over. Just like little kids that have to share their toys with cousins that trash all the toys. Poor Jesse (sorry Jesse). He's an inventer.
Juli tells me that Eric and Chelsey's new dog, Squiggles doesn't like to play with toys, could it be that as a puppy mill dog, he didn't learn to "love objects" as toys? I guess that Juli sent her "grandog" a small stuffed animal which now he is loving and is slowly learning to regard as his "own". He's a lover.
I think that dogs can probably learn to play by modeling, in the way they can observe other dogs playing and pick up a few pointers to use when they are alone or playing with other dogs. Dogs are cool like that.
From the Yard...
Okay, I did my first dumpster diving today. While at work, I walked by the trash in the commons area and someone had thrown away some corkscrew willow branches used in a bouquet with other flowers. They would have looked great in my tall glass vase. The thing is when, I pulled them out to take them I noticed they had roots on them. The leaves were such a great shade of lime green and with roots too. So... I brought them home and planted them tonight. I am so excited to see if they grow. What I read about them is that they are fast growing(3-5 feet a year). I will love having the branches for flower arrangements and in vases. How lucky is that? The pictures are of the willow. I hope you can see it. Right now the branches are about 2 feet tall. We also read that the branches are really brittle and break off easily. We will have to keep it fairly well trimmed.
Tomorrow is a short day, I'm only working until about 12:00. I am looking forward to working in the yard and cardmaking. Beeks will be getting a long overdue walk as well. How exciting!
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