Last year, we stayed at a campground while working on a project away from home. We try to seize opportunities like this to take advantage of hiking trails and activities that we don’t have available at or near our home. On this particular trip, the campground had an excellent dog park with lots of toys, games, and equipment to use. Rocket very quickly found his favorite game-a tetherball!
Our home away from home allowed for a new routine, one that Rocket enjoyed enthusiastically! After work, we usually got to go hiking where Rocket was able to explore new trails. Even on the non-hiking days, Rocket was able to go for walks and this campground had a great trail around a pond. Our campground walks always ended with a stop at the campground’s dog park where Rocket found his favorite game.
Rocket would spend the entire time at the dog park playing with the tether ball. At first, we would throw the ball for him to chase around in circles, but it didn’t take long before he learned to play the game alone. Around and around he would go, jumping at the ball, grabbing it, and chasing it until we would make him stop. He would literally play to exhaustion with this tetherball!
Every once in a while, he would get a good hold on the ball and rip it loose from the tether. We would let him have his victory for a minute or two then tie the ball back to its tether so the game could continue.
In an effort to turn his attention to other equipment in the dog park, we would sometimes throw the ball through the tunnel or use it to coax him onto one of the many agility pieces in the park.
As soon as he got his jaws on the ball, he would run right back to the tether pole for us to tie it back on.
It did occur to me during this play time that Rocket may be learning new skills to exercise during reactive episodes, so I became very careful to never “fight” Rocket for the ball, and we also made him stop if he began getting too aggressive with the game. I must say, though, it sure was fun to watch him play with so much joy and enthusiasm!