Dog Frustration

Duke is a ball dog. That means that there is just about nothing else in this world that he loves more than a ball. (I'm even wondering if he loves his owners as much. ;) And he has a special gift that he can find balls in just about any bush in just about any yard or park in the city. I can't remember if I told you before about the time that he went in to a bush up at the school, and my neighbor said, "He's in ball mode, he must have found a ball." Here came Duke out of the bushes with a HUGE deflated basketball. :) Well, today, he lost 3 balls. THREE! That's unusual for him. I don't know if the scent was washed away in the water, or his nose was full of water or what, but he couldn't find the balls no matter how much he tried. We could see the visible frustration in him. He was really getting upset that he couldn't find the balls, so started picking up sticks and carrying them around instead. Then he went over to some bushes and started digging around, and out he came with THIS stick! Not exactly the one you want to carry home. :)




















And here he is retrieving a ball that was thrown quite far out in the water. He's amazing!




















This little brindle colored dog from the dog park came with us today. But she doesn't know how to swim. She accidentally followed Duke as he leaped in to the water after the ball. But she sank to the bottom and came up gasping for air. She wasn't too willing to go back out in the water after that. Here she is trying to jump across the creek so that she doesn't have to swim. :)