The bitterly cold days we have been experiencing here in Chicago the last few days have meant shorter walks for our almost three year old border collie, Izzy. The kids have bundled up and taken her on a few short walks the last few days but with the shorter walks, we have had to be creative in finding additional ways to use up her energy. Indoor games work well on really cold days and one of my favorite games to play with her is "hide & seek".
To play "hide & seek", one of the kids or myself goes into the bathroom with Izzy. The other one hides somewhere in the house and hollers "ready" when a spot has been comfortably located. The door to the bathroom is opened and instructions to "go find Sophia" are given. Izzy heads down the stairs and begins the search. She knows our smell and also listens carefully while in the bathroom. We have tried to find new creative places to hide but she always finds us because she won't give up until she does. When she finds us her tail wags like crazy, she is rewarded with a treat, and she then heads to the bathroom to begin the next round of the game.
I like this game because she is getting lots of physical exercise running up and down the stairs. She is getting mental exercise by searching for us which border collies have a high need for. Mostly though I like watching her as she goes from room to room not letting anything distract her until she has completed her job.
What a wonderful dog! It's clear that she enjoys this game as much as you and your kids do. I can almost feel the joy you all get from it. Thanks for telling us about Izzy.
ReplyDeleteI also want to say that I enjoyed the previous post, too, about the Advent calendars. They were one of my daughter's favorite things about Christmas when we lived in Germany. And I loved them as much as she did. Your kids are sweet and creative -- and so is their Mom!
-Wren