Snow Monster

So. I was... err... I've been in North Korea. And in prison. Also, the moon! So, you know... No internet. Plus! My hands fell off. Yeah, that's it.

You don't doubt Mom, do you...?

We're doing sort of OK. We were doing better for a little while, but of course that couldn't continue and so a dog guarding its yard ran out into the road and attacked Monster as we were passing by. That sucked. And set us back in training, just a teensy bit...

I did not like that dog. Was I supposed to like that dog? Cause I didn't...

But let's not focus on that! (Believe me, I've spent far too much time obsessing over it already.) Instead, let's look at a happy Monster! I've been reading a bit about enrichment - giving dogs an outlet for natural behaviors, like digging and tearing things to pieces for example - and thinking I really need to pick up some slack in that area. However, I'm really bad at it. I find it difficult to not look at a "useful" side of it too - not that I don't think making Monster happy and letting him be a dog is useless exactly. I just... Look, I can't do it. There's the truth. I want to. I even think I am doing it. And then I take another look and realize I've made it something different... For instance, I've scraped together what little snow we have into a pile - intending it for Monster's digging pleasure. But can I just let him go nuts on it? Nooooo... Instead, I make it an item search game as well - finding and retrieving placed items (I'm sure this has a name in English but I don't seem to know it) in the snow. Now, it's not wrong - Monster still gets to dig and he loves searching too, so really I just made it even better. Right? But taking a look at it, the reason for doing it this way is because nose work and searching is somehow a legitimate activity, whereas doing something just for Monster (meaning has no practical application in for example dog sports) I somehow seem to view as a time waster.

Duuuuuude...

Yeah. Realizing you've got a problem is the first step to fixing it, right? Because this needs some work, clearly. Anyway, he really does love doing it! Take a look:

(Yes, I'm aware that the "retrieve" part is pretty much nonexistent. He's actually pretty good at that normally. I've got no idea why it just wouldn't work when I was filming...)