Opposing Play Tactics

Lilah likes to play with Ritter, except Ritter doesn't quite understand how to play.

This evening, Lilah retrieved a ball from their (well mostly Lilah's) toy basket. Similar to a playful cat, she batted it about with her paws, chewing on it occasionally. From his bed, Ritter watched with rapt attention, studying the ways in which a dog would play with a ball. Or more specifically, how much pleasure Lilah derives from playing with that specific ball.

He finally gained the courage to step past the safety of his bed and moved towards Lilah who at this point was lying on the floor and chewing on the ball. Ritter didn't hesitate in grabbing the ball in his huge maw and bounding back to his bed where he would happily chew the ball until it no longer held its shape. Of course I wouldn't allow that and tossed the ball back to the middle of the room. Lilah skillfully caught it in her mouth.

She baited him, giving him that butt-in-the-air play signal and making soft barking sounds. He had caught her off guard at first. This time though, she was aware that he wanted the ball and so, being a smart dog made a game of teasing him. Lilah, being the ever-playful dog that she is, pawed the ball and made some encouraging noises at Ritter. He made a move for it, but she quickly got her mouth around it and prevented him from stealing it.

Now Ritter himself isn't a dummy. On to her game, he formed his own tactic: deceive Lilah into thinking that he was playing with her by wrestling, and when she let her guard down, steal the ball. He started by biting her legs and neck. Instantly Lilah was nipping back, rolling on her back and kicking with her feet, happy that someone was paying attention to her and playing. As soon as he saw his opportunity, Ritter grabbed the ball and ran for it. This happened multiple times.

I was lucky enough to catch it on video: