This afternoon , he has been the devil incarnate !

My usual routine is that on our morning walk , Reuben gets to retrieve his ball/dummy , on the afternoon walk he doesnt . This morning the weather was horrendous , raining sideways , so sadly there was no play, just a very brief 20 minutes off lead so this afternoon I decided to let him have ball play/retrieving at Golitha Falls . Not surprisingly there wasnt another soul daft enough to be out in this awful weather , and so I decided to let him have his ball . I looked like Nanook of the North , clad in so many waterproofs that I could hardly walk but off we went , he having a wonderful time , me wondering how short I dare cut this walk . It is so bad that I kept well away from the river, it is very dangerous and in flood , so we stayed in the woods where he was an angel , for a while :happy: Now usually , after ball play of around 20 minutes , I take it from him saying Ball Gone ,and into my bag it goes but he was having such a lovely time that I let him play for longer, big mistake , talk about setting him up to fail :facepalm: By the time I decided that I had enough, he decided that he was well and truly frenzied and over excited and so started the " Here I am , but I`m off again " routine . I ignored him , it didnt work , I got the treats out, it didnt work , I hid behind a tree, it didnt work and so in the end , I sat on a granite plinth , looking like a drowned rat and waited for him to get fed up, he didnt . Half a flippin hour I sat there , until at last he saw a friend of mine with her dog and dropped the perishing ball as he approached them . I swooped on it, skidding in the mud in an effort to get to it before he realised his mistake , I won :clap:, stuffing the ball into my bag . At this, he reverted to his usual routine and came to me immediately for his lead on , I didnt say a word , covered in mud , perishing cold did not endear me to my boy at that moment . Oh well, tomorrow is another day, not robots are they ? xx
 

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
You are the best of keepers, Kate! What patience and love - and look, apart from the wonderful time he had with the ball, he was the absolute best of Reubens!
I won :clap:, stuffing the ball into my bag . At this, he reverted to his usual routine and came to me immediately for his lead on
As @Selina27 says, bet he sleeps well - and you’ve made a young dog very happy :happy::dug:
 

Candy

Biscuit Tin Guardian
Oh Kate! I feel your pain! Joy started doing exactly the same when she was about the age Reuben is now! The first time it happened it was also pouring with rain and we were combining the afternoon walk/play with a trip to the vet on the way back. It took me 45 minutes to get her back on lead! We arrived at the vet's late, out of breath (me) and looking like a pair of drowned rats! I now have to be careful about it the circumstances under which we have ball games and I have stopped putting the ball away when the game's over, I just put her on lead, reward, then she picks the ball up and carries it for as long as she wants. By about the end of July this year we had got to the stage where she trusted me enough to come back and have her lead on quite promptly, so that took 14 months! I am still careful about when I initiate ball games though, so not if we're in a hurry or have a train to catch. Hope this was just a one off with Reuben!
 

Candy

Biscuit Tin Guardian
@Candy , that is a good tip , to let him carry the ball back to the car, thank you . He usually gives the ball to me beautifully but just not this afternoon when I had left it too late and allowed him to become too excited . Five Labradors later and its still Live and Learn xxx
Five Labradors Later sounds like the name of a book, or maybe a band? Joy is also my fifth Lab. We could form an MLF band called Five Labradors Later! Well, we could if I was a bit more musical! I think it's always Live and Learn isn't it? xx
 
I have been in this position many times Kate! I started carrying two balls for awhile, so that recalling her she got her second ball (the only higher reward than the ball in her mouth) and then I could leash her. One thing I wish I could go back and change is to never ever let someone else throw her ball for her...because to this day, she will find a stranger to throw her ball because she knows her time is limited with me and the ball and her new friend won't take her ball and go home. Little nightmare....
 
Five Labradors Later sounds like the name of a book, or maybe a band? Joy is also my fifth Lab. We could form an MLF band called Five Labradors Later! Well, we could if I was a bit more musical! I think it's always Live and Learn isn't it? xx
Fab name for a band ! And yes, we never ever stop learning , despite all the years of ownership , because they are all so different , challenging at times, but we keep doing it as we love the breed so much xx
 
Tomorrow will be another day! Reuben will probably be perfect!

Tuppence is very possessive with balls too. Yesterday I wanted to give them a quick play in the garden, so I found the ball thrower and a tennis ball for Wispa and a small rocket toy for Tuppence. Bad choice. I hadn’t used the thrower for a long time, so Wispa was excited but Tuppy was over-excited, so I immediately gave her her rocket to carry down the garden. As soon as I threw the tennis ball they both ran to find it, but Tuppy found it first and proceeded to rush round in circles with the rocket AND the tennis ball, while Wispa looked bemused (and sad). Tuppy steadfastly refused to drop anything, not even for the tastiest treat, so eventually Wispa chased her for a bit, but still couldn’t get the ball.

Grrr!
 
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