We should have called him Fetch

 This is a story about a dog....

Who loves to play fetch with pretty much anything you will throw, but he particularly enjoys squeaky tennis balls.

Somehow he managed to get over 30 of them in the backyard at a time.  I think that could be because he is spoiled.  He will search around for the favorite one at the time and bring it back to you to throw again.  He is really good about bringing whatever object you throw back so you can throw it again.

One Friday night a few months ago before it starting getting hot out we were sitting on the back patio, talking and throwing the ball for this dog to catch.  I started counting how many times I threw it and how many times he brought it back.

I stopped counting at 136.  By then my arm was tired and it was time to go inside.

He likes to shove the balls under the pool fence and then when he can't reach them he'll bark until you go and get them for him. 

This is a squeaky little toy.  It comes in a pack of three (red, yellow, green) from Wal-Mart for less than 3 dollars.  He loves to squeak them and has been known to get the squeakers out of them.  He also likes to fetch these.

But he also likes to shove them under things.  We had to put up a box lid by the printer stand because he would shove them under it and then bark until someone came to get them out (yes he has trained us - mainly me well).  We also had to put up a leftover pleat from our drapes by the sliding glass door by this area so he wouldn't drop the squeaky toy between the railing and the printer table which also would make him bark.  We also had to put something under the stove....you can guess why.  

Front view of box by the printer stand.

When he brings the small squeaky toy back to us when we are in the kitchen, he really tries to bring it right back to us but when he releases it from his mouth it goes rolling all over the place.  It got so bad trying to bend and stoop to pick it up over and over again that hubby got out an old cane walking stick which is good to grab it and drag it to where we are sitting.

Winslow definitely is a fetcher.  He will play fetch for hours if he has a willing partner to throw it to him.  Its good exercise for him though and something to help with this excessive amount of energy he has!

And besides, he's so cute, who could resist throwing a ball for him to fetch?

(If he brings you a toy and drops it to run into position to fetch it and there is another toy right by it and you grab the wrong toy to throw, he'll let you know.  He will only go after the toy he intends for you to throw).

(We watch him really closely and any squeakers he has managed to get out of toys we take away immediately.  That is high on the list of the reasons dogs need surgery to remove obstructions in their stomachs).