Stop Thief!

Zachary: "Stop, Thief!!!"
(That's Zachary's below Henry's chin, and Henry's tail on the far right)

(Slow-motion play begins)

Zachary prefers to play upside down!

Zachary has the ball again... 

.... for now.

Dog Blog Post #605: As these sorts of shots invariably seem to upset someone, I will break from Wordless with the comment I added to the original in flickr -

Keep in mind this is all for show and is performed in super-slow motion over the course of many seconds to minutes, showing lots of teeth but with the gentle mouths Goldens are famous for.

I can freely stick my hand in the middle of this - and often do - tickling whosever belly happens to be reachable at the time.

BTW: I get a kick out the Golden "rules" for playing - paws, legs, ruffs/necks, and muzzles are fair game. Ears are allowed, but are treated especially gently. Below the belt (those dangly bits) are completely off limits, as are tails.

It seems puppies don't come knowing the rules, and it's incumbent upon the elders to teach them.

Beau (my first golden) who was about 4 1/2 years old at the time, spent the first 3-4 months of Zachary's puppyhood with his thick, plumey tail firmly tucked between his legs while playing,in order to keep the dangly bits safe from puppy teeth. He was a very confident, outgoing dog, and that's the only time I ever saw his tail there.

Zachary did the same when Henry was a pup.

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