Dog Jealousy as Circus Trick

The other night we had four tennis balls for Lily and Jake up at Dog Mountain (The Pothier Monument) because I had brought two and Chris had one and I found the ball that had gone missing the previous week. With four balls the dogs got even more vigilant about keeping track of them. Jake corralled three of the four balls in a pile. Meanwhile Lily hung tight with her one tennis ball. Normally Lily loses interest in the ball after a few throws, but when Jake is there with his own ball she stays focused.

I came up with a game to play with the dogs. I would stand at the top of the green hill with a ball in each hand, Jake and Lily would sit like book ends waiting, and then they would jump into the air simultaneously to catch my twin pitches. I couldn't believe it. I felt like a circus trainer. We did this about eight times. Chris and Bill sat on the monument steps laughing, amazed that I was even more amused than the dogs playing this game.