Through the Wickets

Coulee is a master at the game of fetch.  She can catch pop flies and line drives.  She can catch the ball after it's bounced or rebounded off the walls.  She can stop the ball with her body like a soccer goalie.  All her fancy moves have forced us to create a game that challenges both her and us.  We call it "Through the Wickets".

The traditional rules of the games are as follows:  We sit in the chair in the living room.  She stands across the room at the ready.  We attempt to throw the ball between her front two legs.  We score if we get it through her legs and "over the line".  The line is the change in flooring from the laminate in the living room to the tile in the kitchen/entry way.  If you hit a leg, it is called hitting a post and doesn't count.

It is harder than it sounds.  She is standing far enough away that she can see the ball coming and she is pretty good at blocking it with her body if she can't manage to get her mouth on it.  Most times she is able to deflect it so that it doesn't go between her legs or if it does make it between her legs, she flattens her body down and attempts to stop it with her belly. Marlin and I have a pretty good celebration whenever we manage to score.

Coulee and I played a little bit outside this morning.  She didn't stand very far away, but I was throwing with my left hand so it evened things out a bit. I think I only scored twice in 10 minutes.  I kept the celebration to a minimum - I didn't want the neighbours to think I was nuts.  :)