less than fresh

less than fresh, '97/'04
oil on canvas
24 x 26"

-3 degrees F. That's not Celsius, Scot and Sabine!

Still editing this weekend, daydreaming about what I might paint next week.



Since no walks are happening in this cold, have instituted indoor play sessions for Heathcliff, with a six foot doubled knotted rope.

We play dodgem where I throw the big end knot at him and he dodges, and chase where I try to run him down and thunk him with the knot, and catch where he leaps after the swinging knot until he catches it, and tug of war after he gets the knot in his in his teeth.

Tug of war is a risky puppy game, because puppies love it so, and when he was little he would try to start it up by tugging on inappropriate objects like my clothing or hand. At the mature and sober age of five, Heath gets it that the only thing he can tug on is the special rope toy. So tug of war is finally back in the repertoire.



During tug of war, he likes to brace all four legs and be drug across the floor.

Other games-- I hide one of his toys while he waits in the other room, and then he has to find it and fetch it. He wouldn't make a search and rescue dog. If he doesn't find it in about 90 seconds, he whines and begs for help. I will point to the hidden toy but that is all the hint I will give.

This game isn't much exercise and the whining and begging for hints gets to me after a while. The first few rounds, when the scent trail is still distinct enough for him to track me hiding his toy, are pure poetry. It is amazing how sure and quick he is.

But once the room is olefactory mud and there's no trail? Whine, whine, whine. I guess it is just too hard to work the whole room and sniff everything.

Roll over and play dead-- also not much exercise.

We used to play attack, where Heath on command would attack the well-swaddled forearm of whoever felt like being an attack dummy. Heathcliff would have to stop and drop when we said "out", that was part of the game.

This game ended well over a year ago after Heathcliff tore a hole in the forearm of the leather jacket of one of my brothers. My brother had dared to step foot through the front door unannounced.

My brother was really a sport about it; I'll always be grateful. He has a big guy dog too and knows the deal. They get confused sometimes, when their people aren't around to help them sort things out. (Also, the territory thing is really important.)

Also on the not-ok-to-play list is herd, which involved Heath nipping at my hindquarters to get me to move faster, and bark like a maniac at nothing much and get the pack out of bed, which is self-explanatorily obnoxious.

Does anybody else know any other good doggy games? If this cold spell continues...