Frolic!

If you've looked at this page over the three plus years since we got the big dog, Tralfaz, you'd have heard plenty of whining as I detailed how much trouble he was. Well, I don't care how much you whine, we're going to discuss it again!

No, really, I complained a lot about his puppytude, running at people on the street, refusing to come when called, chewing on the wall, fighting skunks, scaring people, ripping every toy to garbage immediately. At one point I complained so much here that my wife made me write something nice about him, which I did, and it was all true. And he's a hero. Somewhere along the line I came to love that dog, and think he's just great. 

Meanwhile, Nipper, the new baby, is struggling through a lot of the same annoying and frustrating behaviors (for him and us). But one thing he knows how to do is: frolic. 

Tralfaz has forgotten the art of the frolic. We used to go in the yard and play Tug, or Keep Away (him keeping things away from me -- his version of Fetch), or I'd just throw toys around and he'd go after them. It was a great way to get him some exercise. When he got tired he's just sit down with a toy and chew the hell out of it. But now he barely chews any toys, never chases any, and when we go in the yard he just sniffs around and flops down. He loves a good walk, but frolic? Meh.

I guess my little boy is all grown up. 

The kid still frolics, though. He even rampages. 

Sometimes it kind of feels like a waste to get Tralfaz out in the yard, or to the dog park. Charlie Brown knew that feeling. 

But now that he's an adult, he may want to stop playing and go to work. He's from working dog stock. Maybe I should get him a wagon to pull, charge the local kids for rides. I thought about hitching the plow to him a couple of years ago and discarded the idea; maybe I should reconsider.