On cool days when the sun is shining, most of our dogs like to run. Our play yard is about 30 feet by 85 feet, so it makes a good space in which to run. There are also some obstacles in the way of lumber stacks that provide interest and challenge to the racing.

For as big and bulky as Blondie appears, she is quite agile and can make some amazing moves where she can dig in and get grip. She often initiates these racing sessions. She also knows that I prefer racing as a form of exercise over wrestling; wrestling often escalates into something beyond play.

Cochise is The Big Dog. He rarely engages in play or recreational running – except when he and Blondie are in their private play yard, then the two of them will engage in a lively game of tag. Sometimes turning into “lets see who can knock Doug over first”. They’ll race past and just barely sideswipe me. They never hurt me and it’s all in fun.

This morning, when I let the foster dogs out of their kennels, Blondie Arrooooo’ed a challenge and took off, the others gave chase. They sped around at top speed, one end of the yard to the other, around the lumber stacks, between the stacks, doubling back and around again, all at top speed. By the time I got into the office, into the camera bag, retrieved the camera,, got it booted up and running they had been going steady for several minutes. Much longer that is normal. I got the tail end of it when they were starting to tire.

Then the game changed and The Monitor stepped in…

That’s his job: to keep them in line and non-violent. He’s good at it too.