Althouse: Lake and Lab...

November 25, 2012

Lake and Lab...

... 5 minutes of...

(Here's the "Chuckit" ball launcher used to give young Zeus a workout.)

30 comments:

rhhardin said...: Is the ball thrower also the camera operator? It's very hard to keep the camera still while throwing.

I hold the camera in right hand and throw left handed, and even that doesn't work very well.; 11/25/12, 6:16 PM
Unknown said...: I watched the whole five minutes. I can't believe it.; 11/25/12, 6:19 PM
Irene said...: I did, too. It's more soothing than meditation. Or yoga.; 11/25/12, 6:26 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Is the ball thrower also the camera operator? It's very hard to keep the camera still while throwing."

Yes. Meade was alone with the dog, and he worked hard on his throwing + filming technique.

"I hold the camera in right hand and throw left handed, and even that doesn't work very well."

Meade threw right-handed (and he's right-handed). You've got to learn to use the camera with your "bad" hand. Note that he also did a lot of zooming (at the point when 2 hands could be used). It's hard to get good steadiness (and focus) and he worked on that.; 11/25/12, 6:27 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: And then it stopped! What?

Are you telling me you don't do a formal trophy presentation and a formal snap to heel cancelled out by dropping down and grabbing the dog in powerful body hugs and enthusiastic pettings and speeches of approval and gleeful celebration for having accomplished such an amazing and natural feat, and without any competition around this time, intimate like that, just you and he? Each time? Each and every time?

Clever for tossing and for staying tidy. It's not my intention to be rude, but I would not buy one.; 11/25/12, 6:33 PM
edutcher said...: I can see Quasy Dog's reaction to something like that, tapping her little foot, "You actually expect me to get wet? I don't go out in the rain and you want me to go in the freezing cold water?".

"I certainly hope you didn't have any sentimental attachments to that ball because it's gone forever unless you're going in after it, although you've certainly got the 'insulation' for it".; 11/25/12, 6:36 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Clever for tossing and for staying tidy. It's not my intention to be rude, but I would not buy one."

It enables you to throw much farther. You could throw more times, but it seems good to get the dog to go out farther.

There is also the don't-touch-slobber aspect, but that's not what is driving Meade.; 11/25/12, 6:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Kind of peaceful to watch.; 11/25/12, 6:43 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The temperature was about 30, but the dog was not cold in the water. He loved it!; 11/25/12, 6:44 PM
Unknown said...: The trick would be to know when the dog is too tired. It looks like he's game to do it over and over until he drops.; 11/25/12, 7:05 PM
rhhardin said...: Incidentally it's okay for dogs to eat crackers in bed.

They leave no crumbs.; 11/25/12, 7:06 PM
The Elder said...: The poor dog will find his lake covered with ice soon. Then where will he take Meade to maintain his ball-tossing skills?

It's such a challenge to maintain your human's skills in wintertime!; 11/25/12, 7:13 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: "I got this ball for you because I love you."; 11/25/12, 7:27 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I don't know why it made me think of this.; 11/25/12, 7:35 PM
McTriumph said...: "The poor dog will find his lake covered with ice soon"

I've shot over Labs that break ice on command for decoys. Labs are amazing dogs.; 11/25/12, 7:36 PM
edutcher said...: Ann Althouse said...

The temperature was about 30, but the dog was not cold in the water. He loved it!

The Yorks hate the rain, but love the snow.

Still trying to figure out that one.; 11/25/12, 7:50 PM
Wesley M. said...: The Chuckit is the best money I have ever spent on any dog toy. Whenever we take our Golden to the park, she will competely ignore every other dog and human being so long as I have the Chuckit in my hand.; 11/25/12, 8:05 PM
pm317 said...: Nice contraption that ball throwing thingy. I felt uncomfortable for the dog..; 11/25/12, 8:11 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: MM linked to very clever cat and dog video in another tread.

Thats it.; 11/25/12, 8:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: What happened to Green Bay?

You think Trooper enjoyed this game tonight?; 11/25/12, 10:09 PM
FleetUSA said...: My black lab, Max, loved to catch either a stick or the ball in a small lake near home. Best fun ever.; 11/25/12, 10:15 PM
reformed trucker said...: I have a couple of snowball launchers in the garage that look almost exactly like that.; 11/25/12, 10:22 PM
Phil Beck said...: Forty years ago I lived on lake Mendota and used to throw a ball into the lake for my dog Jason. Now, many dogs later, I have one of those ball-throw thingies for Gus. (Henry and Betsy don't like to fetch.) Be careful. If Zeus is like Jason and Gus, he will swim and fetch until his heart bursts. All because he needs to bring the ball back to you.; 11/25/12, 10:31 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: That dog is so beautiful. I wish we could get a lovely black or chocolate or golden lab. But the husband points out that not only are four children, two birds, two mice and a hamster probably enough living things to be responsible for, it would be just criminal to get a dog like that and then keep her on a quarter acre subdivision lot 98% of the time.; 11/26/12, 12:20 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: My German shepherd would fetch anything anytime anywhere. He'd jump off a building to fetch a stick if I got him worked up and told him to. But none of the Belgians would touch a fetch toy. Not in fun, not formally, nowise.

Until one fateful day Tera the magnificent Belgian got preggers by what appears to be a black Lab. I know nothing about the dog other than he was athletically able to leap tall fences. She threw two black Lab type pups and one fuzzy black pup.

They all three retrieved naturally without any training at all and for the first time in my life it was fun and madness and the glory of enthusiastic competitive retrievals. Every single day. I loved it. All the while the Belgian tied up to not interfere. Which made her

mad

as

hell.

So that when I untied her she magically and suddenly became SUPER RETRIEVER !!!11!11 just like that.

And man did we have fun while the pups were around. That whole time she was the most splendid retriever I ever saw, pure poetry in motion.

And then on the very day that the last pup was gone, there were no more games about fetching things. No matter how much she searched desperately she couldn't come up with the pups and it was brain deadness about retrieving thereafter. Just wtf-ness about anything fetching or finding things. No more stupid games with toys. She was still beautiful and active and she's indicate she knew what I was on about but she refused to play any of that. None of the Belgians liked it.; 11/26/12, 12:25 AM
John Cunningham said...: the Chuckit is a great tool, one can pick up a slimy ball without putting hand to it. My male, Jackson, is a destroyer of tennis balls, so I switched to lacrosse balls. same size as tennis balls, thus work well, and solid rubber, thus indestructible.; 11/26/12, 12:28 AM
Curious George said...: My cat plays "fetch". Not with tennis balls of course. I throw the little ring off the top a plastic gallon milk container, he brings it back. He'll do it for as long as I'll throw it. He occasionally wakes me up at 5AM by scratching my feet and sure enough, there is that plastic ring.; 11/26/12, 7:31 AM
Stilton Cheeseright said...: He's a good boy and he loves his work.

The dog, I mean.; 11/26/12, 10:37 AM
kcom said...: What's crazy is if you go to the Chuckit site, there are pictures but no video. Wouldn't it be pretty easy (see above) and pretty effective to have a video demonstrating a product like that.; 11/26/12, 11:18 AM
karrde said...: Zeus acts like all the Lab Retrievers that I've known.

They seem immune to cold, love water, and never get tired of playing fetch.

That Chuckit toy is amazing, too. Not only does it make throwing easier, it makes extremely long throws possible.; 11/26/12, 12:29 PM