Some dogs want to play with a ball all the time, sometimes to the exclusion of anything else. Betty’s friend Indy’s a bit like that.
Most dogs who are like that are very good at running after the ball, picking it up and bringing it back – often again and again and again, as others I’ve spoken to often complain………
I’d like to introduce you to another perspective on this though.
There are dogs who don’t play fetch, they play keep – and yes, Betty is one of them.
I keep a ball and thrower in the car and most mornings, when we arrive at the beach, she’s all excited to get the ball before we leave the car.
She brings it back a couple of times – especially if there’s a reward in it, then changes her mind and decides she’ll just carry it – head held high, a spaniel-cross at work.