The Rules for Doggy Soccer
Posted by Donald Merand
Olive’s favorite toy right now is a ten-inch diameter plastic ball. There’s nothing special at all about this ball. It’s made of hard plastic that she can’t bite through, so really all she can do is push it around.
At least, that’s what it seems like to us humans. To Olive, this ball represents the apex of dog toy technology. She is completely mesmerized by the idea of a large object that she can’t chew, upon which a grip is near-impossible, and which is easy enough to roll around the back yard (or inside the house, as we found out one time. Her cries of joy (which sound remarkably like the noise she would make to bite the legs off an intruder) echo through the neighborhood, and she will do anything to please us in return for some time with the red ball.
Initially the game was a bit unfocused – I let her chase the ball around the yard, and would reprimand her (usually by having to physically pick her up and move her) if she chased the ball “out of bounds”. This was a little bit frustrating for both of us, so I’m glad that we’ve moved on from that stage. The stage we’re in now is much more sophisticated. All I need to say is “stop!” and she’ll immediately stop playing and look at me, and (usually) sit down. Also, if she runs the ball into my feet or up to the edge of the yard, she’ll (usually) stop. That’s what I’m talking about!
So the game is slightly different for her than it is for me. For her the rules are: play where you want in bounds, and listen to what Donald wants you to do. The rules for me are: be in the proper location so that instead of having to tug on her leash to keep her out of bounds, you can be “goalie” and catch the ball and kick it out of bounds. Everybody likes playing soccer better than tug-of-war with their dog, I think. So it’s actually fun for both of us, which is rewarding, because so few dog games can really be that way.