Althouse: At the Where's the Ball Café....

March 7, 2013

At the Where's the Ball Café....

... where the hell is the ball?

48 comments:

rcocean said...: When you assume, you make an...; 3/7/13, 7:42 PM
Known Unknown said...: Yann Frisch isn't sure; 3/7/13, 7:44 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Shades of Chesterton's "Oracle of the Dog." Did he ever find it?; 3/7/13, 7:49 PM
edutcher said...: My question exactly.

It's easier in the wa-wa.

Or if he's retrieving a labrador instead of a ball.

Of course, Yorks would just look at you and say, "OK, now go get it".; 3/7/13, 7:53 PM
m stone said...: Zeus needs a GPS.; 3/7/13, 7:54 PM
XRay said...: Does it matter? Though indeed it does shorten the continuum of play.; 3/7/13, 7:59 PM
pm317 said...: Poor Zeus.. I felt bad for him as he went round and round in his confusion.. I could see that he felt a sense of failure which made me sad.; 3/7/13, 8:07 PM
EIA said...: The second ball was thrown about a foot past and to the left of the excavated snow of the previous throw, there is a hole in the snow there.... and the dog runs right past it and keeps looking mostly too far out and to the left. The funny part is the the dog comes back twice and you can see the hole just a little further to the right ... and then the dog turns around and keeps looking in the wrong direction.

Looks like the dog was trying to find it by smell more than sight, or lacks the logic of hole == place where the ball fell. Certainly, digging up undisturbed snow is pointless.; 3/7/13, 8:16 PM
Kensington said...: Oh! Poor Zeus!; 3/7/13, 8:20 PM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/7/13, 8:21 PM
traditionalguy said...: Labradors never give up!; 3/7/13, 8:21 PM
Brent said...: Since it's a cafe, did anybody else see Linda Greenhouse's attack the Supreme Court over the Voting Rights Act piece in the NYT? Everyone gets that she's on the left, but this . . . She's completelly blown a gasket and joined the Helen
Thomas Sisters Society. I actually started laughing at her losing her composure. Unbelievable!; 3/7/13, 8:26 PM
Bob Ellison said...: My fetch-loving dog has a good philosophy. In any weather, she uses her eyes and speed first, and if they don't yield the stick, she uses her nose. That works about 80% of the time, but after several circles, she'll smile and come gallumping back. She knows sticks are cheap and that I'll find another if she'll show she's willing to try hard again.; 3/7/13, 8:26 PM
pm317 said...: I think Zeus found it right after the video ended. Ann's way of torturing us. I saw a movie last week like that.; 3/7/13, 8:30 PM
bagoh20 said...: We just found a 1 year old beautiful Doberman Pinscher on the street recently and he has possessive issues which got him kicked out of the first home we found for him by getting into a fight with their lab over a tennis ball. I have a wonderful fun loving Pitt Bull that does wonders with such dogs. Right now after just a couple days, they are both standing here with their mouths wrapped around the same tennis ball and tails a wagging. Nothing cures temperament issues with a new dog like a stable relaxed dog pack. It's like a poorly socialized kid who finally makes some friends. Like day and night.

My dogs play Frisbee and like all toys, but they drop everything for the lowly tennis ball - the french fry of dog toys.; 3/7/13, 8:39 PM
rhhardin said...: A soft bite frisbee does better in snow. Even those get lost if your dog is a pounce and kill first guy.

The pounce and kill buries the thing and it's harder to find than you'd think.; 3/7/13, 8:40 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Dominican Republic leads Venezuela 5 to 3 in the TOP of the 5th.

I haven't spotted any overt mourning insignia on the Venezuelan uniforms.

I dont have HD.; 3/7/13, 8:42 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Meade did the video. I wasn't there. The video ended where this edit ends, but the truth is the dog never found the ball.; 3/7/13, 8:42 PM
rhhardin said...: Male Dobermans are said to be dog-aggressive with other males, though I can't say, only having had females.; 3/7/13, 8:44 PM
rhhardin said...: Shoes of the meter reader.; 3/7/13, 8:46 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Bagoh20, your stories comport with my more limited dog experiences. I have three dogs. One is stick-and-ball disinterested. One is a fetched who gives the stick back readily. The third is a stick fetcher and keeper, and also a stick stealer. She and the second dog enjoy a little tug-of-war routinely. Stealer always wins, and fetched comes to me for another throw. Their joy in the whole enterprise is glorious.; 3/7/13, 8:52 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I did get a new fancy phone today.

The television can wait until it dies.; 3/7/13, 8:53 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Uh, "fetcher". Stupid Android.; 3/7/13, 8:55 PM
Anonymous said...: "Where's the Ball?"

It is right next to Harvey Keitel's other Ball.; 3/7/13, 9:25 PM
Known Unknown said...: Wisconsin puts up 18 whopping points in first half vs. Sparty. They've added a big 4 in nine minutes in the second. Now down by 21, 43-22 with 11 minutes left.

Nice offense you have there, Mr. Ryan.; 3/7/13, 9:32 PM
Titus said...: Where are the fucking people?

Althouse, allow Meade his own dog, for chrissakes.

Your floors will survive and so will you Helen. Stand by your man and give him a little support.

Haven't you heard of the word "compromise"?

Get a fucking dog, now!

All the snow is so Wisconsin and so depressing.; 3/7/13, 9:43 PM
kentuckyliz said...: I am delighted someone (Betamax) is recycling my recent Harvey Keitel balls references. It makes me feel a little more significant in this crazy world.; 3/7/13, 9:43 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I feel like these comments are missing something...

Oh, I know.

I can't believe you let the dog out in that deep snow! What if the snow was hiding a deep hole or an axe blade or a lion?! What if the snow collapsed around the dog, entombing him, and you had a stroke right then and couldn't dig him out, and he froze to death?! Why do you play with him so much?! He looks tired. I hope he's okay.

Ahhhh, normalcy is restored.; 3/7/13, 9:51 PM
RunnerJeffM said...: He won't find any on Sens Graham or McCain; 3/7/13, 9:54 PM
Known Unknown said...: Huzzah! Those Blazing Badgers have scored 20 2nd half points for 38 total. They can even hit 40 with these free throws!; 3/7/13, 9:55 PM
Rabel said...: I see your theme now - missing balls.

Zeus has lost his ball, McCain and Graham have no balls, and you cut off ByondPolitics's balls.

East Timor may be off-theme.; 3/7/13, 10:12 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The announcers say there is something on the Venezuelan flag, on the Venezuelan uniforms mourning the death of Chavez.

Isn't that a disfigurement?

Venezuela is losing 9 to 3 in the 8th.; 3/7/13, 10:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Freeman, lol, yup I was waiting for that too.; 3/7/13, 10:56 PM
bagoh20 said...: The new Dobbie I have:

Einstein; 3/7/13, 11:06 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: or bashes into a mirror. A cat does.

But now I'm tempted, and I mean really tempted, to photoshop a black lab with a metal detector looking for a tennis ball.

... must ... resist ... damnit.; 3/8/13, 5:59 AM
David said...: Did Zeus need counseling after the crushing disappointment?; 3/8/13, 7:03 AM
Rusty said...: pm317 said...
Poor Zeus.. I felt bad for him as he went round and round in his confusion.. I could see that he felt a sense of failure which made me sad.

Yes. Labs live for that stuff. They will exhaust themselves doing it.; 3/8/13, 7:16 AM
pm317 said...: Rusty,

I don't know about labs much but I know the dog was fine. I was yanking Ann's chain. But thanks for the info.; 3/8/13, 7:31 AM
KCFleming said...: I look for my keys and my resolve in much the same way.; 3/8/13, 7:36 AM
Aridog said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/8/13, 7:53 AM
Aridog said...: Zeus looks like Rand Paul looking for the reason for his minibluster, then giving up when Eric the prevaricator told him "atsa good boy", we won't do bad stuff, we promise, honest Injun, no really, seriously, ....and pssst: you won't catch us if we do. Hyuk hyuk; 3/8/13, 7:58 AM
Dante said...: While talking about getting balls, or balled,

One thing I really don't get is the feminist rallying cry of "I have a vagina." Is there any other major purpose behind the vagina than to give a man pleasure?.

It's almost a retort to the guy who says "I have a penis," and like sour grapes.

The important difference is "I have a uterus." As in, I make the next generation. But for some reason, that major piece of machinery, and that very important function, is not lauded by feminists.

I'm hoping someone can explain it to me.; 3/8/13, 8:37 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: It's no fun trying to play fetch with a herding dog.; 3/8/13, 8:47 AM
lemondog said...: Snow-blindness.

Buy Zeus goggles.

See Amazon Dog Goggles

Does cold impair a dogs sense of smell?; 3/8/13, 9:13 AM
Meade said...: "Did Zeus need counseling after the crushing disappointment?"

I always carry an extra ball just in case emergencies such as this one occur.

Zeus's trauma ended soon after I stopped the video, although his emotional scars lingered on and on.

For about 4 seconds.; 3/8/13, 10:24 AM
hllm said...: Our Golden enjoys hunting for the ball in the snow. It's funny, she disconnects her eyes and seems to be using smell exclusively. I can tell when she does this because her tail wagging changes from side to side to fill circles - looks like she's going to take off. I noticed Zeus changed the wag as well.; 3/8/13, 11:20 AM
David Davenport said...: Meade, here's a suggestion.

While the snow lasts, train Zeus to look for the ball in a hole in otherwise untrodden snow.

Don't throw the ball. Drop it so that it sinks into the snow. Then take Zeus by the collar and direct his view to the ball down in the hole.

Repeat this several times until Zeus gets the idea.; 3/8/13, 11:40 AM
Amartel said...: The tail is such an enthusiasm barometer. Poor Zeus.; 3/8/13, 1:34 PM