Saturday was such a beautiful day – it made pawfect sense to step away from the computer and spend some time outside. The blue skies and crisp autumn air was so inviting – I thought “why not have some tunnel fun.”
I first learned about “tunnel fun” from Emma of My GBGV Life. Emma is a French scent hound who happens to be one of Harley’s favorite online furrends…
This is such a fun blog to keep up with…
After I read Emma’s post We Got a Doublewide, I reached out to her Mom Joy. Doodleville needed to acquire one of these “too cool for Doodle school” collapsable indoor/outdoor tunnels. At the time (the winter of 2014), our region (like many others) was experiencing arctic like temperatures. Some days, we hit record lows and the meteorologists were advising everyone to remain indoors – including pets!
That’s why I was so elated when our tunnel arrived from amazon.com. I was over the moon happy. I interrupted Doodle Dads NFL game commandeering the basement by snaking this thing from one end of the room to the other. Please read about Forced Fun to find out how that all turned out #toopainfultorevisit
As I was setting this thing up, I wasn’t too sure if a second attempt at “forced fun” would be any different than the first, but I was willing to give it a try. Quickly I noticed as I worked that all eyes were on me…
Excuse me, can I ask you what you’re doing?
While securing the stakes into the ground on both sides, There was growing interest in what I was doing…
I’m not quite sure what to do here…
It seemed like hours went by and the most I got was this…
Determined not to rush him, or give up – I made myself another cup of coffee and sat patiently on a rock waiting for him to work it out…
Look out – we’ve got our head inside!
Since he had no problem sticking his head in, I thought why not give him a little incentive. We all know Harley loves sticks…
So I took it and threw it into the tunnel #yesIcheated…
Oh no she didn’t!
I was biting my nails as he stared and contemplated his next move…
Then, almost as if he willed himself to overcome his own fears – he slowly stepped in one paw at a time. Before I knew it, three paws were on the nylon – look out now!…
And then it happened – that’s right – I’m bragging
Even though he only made it half way – this was huge! Trust me. We now had ourselves our own little game. I would toss it, and he would go halfway in and grab it.
Harley retrieved it a few more times before he and his stick called it quits…
I’ve got BIG plans for next weekend! Come on over Emma 🙂
I am joining the Monday Mischief blog hop brought to you by Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog, My Brown Newfies.
October 20, 2014
You go Harley! Would he go in for treats? I know I can get Jack to do most anything for treats.
October 21, 2014
Slim, the stick and his beloved “Greenie Dental Chew” had more impact than a treat. But when the ground dries up a bit I plan to give it a whirl with a special treat – dehydrated chicken! But for that, he’s got to go “ALL-THE-WAY!”
October 20, 2014
Way to go, Harley! I want to get a few agility pieces for our home as well. Atka learned agility basics in his puppy kindergarten and did really well! Mauja is more agile so I think she would enjoy it as well 🙂
October 21, 2014
I like working with some of the agility pieces, I’m just not very consistent to be honest. I’m trying to get back on track – there’s always next Spring!
October 20, 2014
Go Harley! With treats or a fun stick anything is possible 😉
October 21, 2014
Our thoughts exactly Talent Hounds!
October 20, 2014
I love the tunnel, but I’m little and its easy for me to run through. Good job and looked like fun! Love Dolly
October 21, 2014
Dolly, I can see you now, racing through like a champ!
October 20, 2014
LOL! Love it! Mom was so excited to put ours out in the yard with the stakes, so she did and before she finished putting them in, Bailie was pulling them back out and trying to drag the tunnel around the yard! She loves to steal and drag…hopefully another phase of hers. So for now the tunnel is in the closet, but it will be out again for sure. Absence makes the heart grow fonder anyway! I sure hope Harley can make it all the way. I bet the boys would love to crawl through it with him. Mini humans that have visited us always love to play in it with us.
October 21, 2014
Oh Emma, when they did come outside (must have seen us from the window) they were all over it. Unfortunately Harley was just about “done.” Pawhaps they can play together on another day!
October 20, 2014
We have a kid’s tunnel that I tossed treats in and now Mr. N traipses in and out of it on cue.
October 21, 2014
That’s what I’m aiming for Mr. N during these beautiful fall days. We’ll keep you posted.
October 20, 2014
Oh Harley you rascal. Get in there!! It does look like fun, but I think I will take your word for it and not venture into tunnel land with Dash and Lilly. I think their response would be similar!
October 21, 2014
I think anchoring it in the ground with the stakes makes a world of difference Dash Lilly. Not as much movement. Go on, give it a try 🙂
October 21, 2014
Hi Y’all!
I love the tunnel! I go through so fast, unless my collar gets hung up on one of the ribs and then my Human has to crawl in and release me.
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
October 21, 2014
Hawk, I’m impressed, because you’re no small pup! Your mom should take a video of that – it would inspire many – including me! Great job!
October 21, 2014
What a fun way to get some exercise! Rita would be too chicken to go in there – even for a stick or a treat! (I helped the trainer at the shelter where I volunteer work on teaching a dog to use a tunnel. We started with it all coiled up, so it was almsot like going through a thick hoop. I held it while she coaxed the pup through with a treat. After a time or two, we’d stretch a little bit of the tunnel out, and coax the pup through agtain – and on and on until we had it fully unfurled.)
October 21, 2014
That was our problem in the basement – nothing was happening! I think the lawn made it easier because I was able to anchor the tunnel with the stakes, couldn’t do that in the basement on the carpet. So every time one of them placed their paw on it, it rocked and they were “done”
October 22, 2014
Riley loves her tunnels, so glad Harley liked it… little hint for his next venture in… don’t make it so long, keep it short and have him go through it at a shorter length, then keep stretching it out a little bit at a time… he’ll be flying through it in no time flat 🙂