It's all in the game.

Haha, I do this thing with my hoomans.  It's fun!  When I get a special treat, like a bone or a dental stick, I run to the bedroom with it.  But I don't eat it right away.  I yell a little.  That way someone comes in to check on me!  I did this enough times that I have Mom and Dad trained now.  So then what happens is they take the treat away from me.  Yeah!  But it's ok because it's just a game. My happy meter starts going and I have to find out where my treat went!  Sometimes Mom throws it so I have to chase after it.  I'm so glad I was able to train them to play with me!

Harry has a bunch of toys that he doesn't play with.  It seems that he was never taught how to play as a puppy.  We've tried.  If I throw a ball or a frisbee for him, he just looks at me like I landed from Mars. 

But Harry has also developed a sense of play and humor.  It started when he didn't really want to go outside for his walks, so I had to coax and cajole him. But he can no longer deny that he knows the words "out" and "up." So, while he still tries to pretend that he is incapable of walking, he gets up and out much more quickly now.

He has invented a new game for us to play.  It's called, "Take My Treat, Please!"  Twice a day, he gets a special treat.  At noontime it is a dental stick and after his suppertime, it can be a variety of things, from a chewy "bone" to doggie ice cream.  He never jokes about his ice cream.  But all the others now require that we go through the usual ritual of having him sit and raise his paw before getting his treat.  Then he runs off with his prize, into the bedroom.  In a very short while, he starts barking.  That is our cue to go in and pretend to take his treat away.  I usually hide it in a pocket or the back waistband of my pants.  So, when I show him my hands, there is no treat to be seen!  His tail starts going and he enters "play" mode -- butt up in the air, head jostling from side to side. Where is it? Where did it go?  After we search around for a bit, I throw it across the room for him to fetch. At this point, he happily chows down.

I wonder what he will think of next?