Dogs and Little Girls

It is always fun to go home for the weekend, but it was especially nice to go home for the holiday since my sisters Miranda and Gillian would be in town with their families. Although I try to call them occasionally, and we chat online more frequently, I don't get to see them very often. Modern communication technology is wonderful, but it doesn't completely replace seeing people in person.

I especially love getting to see and play with my nieces and nephews. Elayna especially is a lot bigger than the last time I saw her. I had a chance to watch her for a little bit on Friday afternoon and we had a fun game of catch with the dog.

When Miranda first arrived, she mentioned that Elayna was afraid of dogs, so I was curious to see how this would play out. Elayna found one of Xena's toys, and Xena found out that Elayna had it. I showed Elayna how to toss it and Xena would bring it back to us. However Xena, like most dogs I've seen, likes you to wrestle the ball from her instead of just dropping it. Elayna was having fun watching Xena chase the ball, but she was afraid to grab it the ball when Xena brought it back. She would squeal at the dog wanting her to drop it and would yell and point for me to grab it. I was greatly amused by this situation, but I would grab the ball and hand it to Elayna to toss again.

A few times the ball went under the couch and Xena wouldn't go for it because someone was sitting on it and blocking her. Elayna would go over and yell at the dog to go get it, and then try to get people to move so the dog would get the ball. A couple of times she even dove under there to get it herself.

Eventually, she was brave enough to get it from the dog herself, maybe because I stopped doing it to see if she would, although after a while Xena was more likely to drop it. I also discovered that the dog really needs her nails trimmed.