Fetch
When you tell Tsuga "go find a stick!"--this dog thinks big. And if he can get it, he'll fetch one nicely cut at both ends, in the preferred four to six foot length, directly from the stack of wood that resides just out the back door, between the house and the shed most of the colder months, waiting to be cut into stove wood.
"Throwing the stick", then, is not dissimilar to the ancient Scottish game called the caber toss.
The return of the fence-post-sized stick, is fraught with risk as the dog shoots past, aiming for the tosser's kneecaps and oh-so-boney shins with the long, hard arms of the caber.
If only this native instinct to fetch arm-or-leg-sized wood could be turned for the good: "Family dog gathers six cords of firewood from nearby forest as grateful owners watch from their warm farmhouse." I can see the photo of the massive mound of limbs and branches--man, woman and dog posed American Gothic fashion, grinning sheepishly. It's sure to make the local paper. Don't you think?
Comments
That's too funny! I enjoyed your blog!
NJ
Posted by: Kaymusings | September 15, 2004 12:48 PM
LOL!!!
The face of pure doggy pleasure.
Posted by: feste | September 15, 2004 2:43 PM
Hilarious!
Posted by: Doc Rock | September 15, 2004 2:52 PM
How is Tsuga at placing landscape timbers in the appropriate places? Great picture!
Posted by: Cop Car | September 16, 2004 10:00 AM
This brought back memories of our German Shepherd who always fetched sticks, not balls. We were caming on a remote NSW south coast beach. We could hear her growling and barking so investigated in case she'd holed up a snake. She was desperately trying to pick up a branch of wood at least ten feet long for her next stick. What we could see, but she didn't know, was that it was still attached to a tree trunk that was buried in the sand. There was just enough spring in it to encourge her to keep trying.
Shalom,
Jan
Posted by: Jan | September 16, 2004 11:53 AM
I can see that said dog's ego is flourishing again. If his hubris gets out of hand, please just remind him of that one time in a hundred that I actually got the stick away from him, and then paraded it shamelessly around the back yard. That ought to put him in his place.
Posted by: Nate | September 16, 2004 4:20 PM
I heard that you are supposed to get alot of Ivan...be careful.
Posted by: Marie | September 16, 2004 7:57 PM
Tsuga has become such a beautiful pup..........
Hope all goes well in Floyd County with Ivan bearing down on you...........Be safe.........
Posted by: Dottie | September 16, 2004 9:15 PM