Throwback – Red Ball

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Fiyero with ball 1

Some people think anything more than a few months old is ripe enough for a Throwback Thursday post.  Those of you who have seen my posts know I usually go back decades.  Oh well, the price of age ;)  Today is different, I’m going to go back almost exactly 2 years.  The picture at the top of the page was taken on the 8th of August, 2014.

Notice the red ball?  Little Fiyero, somewhere around 4 months old in that picture, loved that ball.  It was his favorite toy and he constantly wanted to play.  He’d push it against my leg and growl, letting me know he wanted me to try to steal it, and once taken, throw it.  This could happen any time of day or night.  He loved it.

Idina never totally “got” red ball.  Why play with a thing when she could play with Fiyero?  Lately she has discovered that if he is 100% obsessed with the red ball, all she has to do is steal it and he’ll chase her.  She doesn’t want the ball, she just wants Fiyero to chase her.  He gets upset and pouts when she proves that she doesn’t really understand the game.

I often take just Fiyero to Cape Cod.  Sometimes my wife and Idina join us later, but occasionally not.  One thing about this male mammal bonding time is red ball.  Fiyero gets to play red ball the way he wants without Idina biting an ear to get his attention.  And he plays and plays and plays before crashing with the red ball between his paws.

Although the picture at the top is a throwback, the red ball obviously isn’t.

But wasn’t he cute back then? :)

— — — — — —

Note – in Idina’s defense, she is a rescue and was a “street dog”.  The first two months of her life was lived out on the streets.  Only one of her litter mates survived and her mother lost an eye in those months.  She didn’t have luxury items such as red balls when she was growing up…

Idina

26 thoughts on “Throwback – Red Ball”

  1. Pingback: If We Were Having Coffee on the 6th of August, 2016 | Trent's World (the Blog)

  2. lifeconfusions

    Oh this is so sweet Trent !! Looks like Idina knows a thing or two about how to let a man chase her….she knows all the tactics..like stealing away his prized possession of a “red ball” :D
    They both seem to be so intelligent ! :)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks Zee! They are both very smart dogs, sometimes too smart for their own good! And yes, Idina knows all of the tricks to get her man to chase her, including biting his leg, pulling on an ear and other such tactics (I was going to say a lot of licking, which she does, but that sounded a little too X-Rated…)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      You are the first to guess where the name came from :) We saw Wicked at about the time we started our puppy search. So yep, that’s where it came from. And Idina is named after the singer (real person) who starred in Frozen (well, stole the show if not starred). They are precious pups. Thanks about the picture – as I said in another comment, I was looking through pictures for an idea and this jumped out at me.

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      1. brittabottle

        Idina Menzel actually starred as Elpheba in the first Broadway showing of Wicked back in 2003 so I thought both names were Wicked related. Ive never seen the show but Ive read the book and have the musical’s soundtrack. Where else could the name Fiyero have come from. :)

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          Maybe I did hear that about Idina Menzel, but I wasn’t the one that named either :) I guess you really, really like Wicked! It was a very cute musical and a very fun time.

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  4. creatingmyspaceblog

    Very Cool. My dog Taser will play fetch all day long. My old dog Free wanted to play ‘Catch’ as in I have the ball catch me. I wonder if it is a male/female thing? They are both very cute.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks. Our last dog, Elliot, who was actually related to Fiyero, was very into catch/chase. It was fine if it was a ball, but sometimes he took other things and made a huge game out of us trying to get it back.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      One of the good things about the red ball is that it doesn’t get very slimy. It is spiky and I think that protects the human hand from dog saliva. Or something like that… Yes, yes, those eager eyes waiting for the ball to be tossed over and over again – I know them well ;)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      They do have great personalities and squabble like human kids. If the red ball isn’t involved, their outside playtime is so fun to watch as they chase each other around at high speed, making trails through the woods of our NH home.

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  9. Prior-2001

    Hey T – idina’s lack of loving the red ball might be personality preference – I know with our dogs – same litter – different approaches to play-
    But I know you know dogs and especially your babes!
    And our black lab loves play and all things balls – shadows esp. – but just yesterday I gave him this paper towel roll – you know the inside cardboard tube?
    He grabbed it and dropped it!
    Now our other dog – Cody (RIP) would have pranced about with the tube and made it into a toy – he loved those – but Cody could care less about shadows on the fence and only liked a ball sometimes – and I saw it more as personality – that innate wiring – ya know?

    Lastly – that portrait of Fiyero looks professional – and oh my is it cute to keep soaking up – the ear – the gaze – the ball! The rich color of the dog’s hair and just seems like a professional doggie portrait ! Nice job T!

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I’ll let you in on a little secret – I had no idea what to post today so was scrolling through pictures I had posted in the past. When I saw this one I knew I had to do a post. So thanks, that’s what this post is reall about :)
      It is a personality trait. I know all dogs are a little different. Sometimes we like to anthropomorphize our dogs and give them people traits and explain their behavior in terms of human behavior, but I know Idina is just being Idina when she shows zero interest in balls. A nice stick, though…. ;)

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