Perhaps because I played with Gus the day before, today he seems a tiny bit jaded, so I add a little novelty from a plastic tote of bits and bobs that Sandy keeps in the corner of the arena. How well can he generalize from traffic cones and dog balls to new items? The answer is: perfectly well.
First I rustle the tresses of a paper pompom, which piques his interest. He touches it. I touch his neck and chest and withers and belly with it. It's all good. Next I set it on the ground, with its smooth, plastic handle sticking straight up. It might be too slippery for donkey teeth? No problem. His inner cheerleader emerges with verve to spare. He immediately seizes the pompom and — as he does with every nonfood item that he puts in his mouth — shakes it and rubs it on the ground and waves it in the air by way of scientific experimentation (or aggravated assault with intent to kill?). Then he brings it to me dutifully.
We move on to a flexible plastic tube that, when waved in a fast arc, produces an eerie, shrill hooting, like a UFO coming in for a landing. That noise also piques Gus's interest. And again he immediately welcomes this foreign object into his wide family of Fun Things to Mess With. Ya gotta love his spirit.
First I rustle the tresses of a paper pompom, which piques his interest. He touches it. I touch his neck and chest and withers and belly with it. It's all good. Next I set it on the ground, with its smooth, plastic handle sticking straight up. It might be too slippery for donkey teeth? No problem. His inner cheerleader emerges with verve to spare. He immediately seizes the pompom and — as he does with every nonfood item that he puts in his mouth — shakes it and rubs it on the ground and waves it in the air by way of scientific experimentation (or aggravated assault with intent to kill?). Then he brings it to me dutifully.
We move on to a flexible plastic tube that, when waved in a fast arc, produces an eerie, shrill hooting, like a UFO coming in for a landing. That noise also piques Gus's interest. And again he immediately welcomes this foreign object into his wide family of Fun Things to Mess With. Ya gotta love his spirit.
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