The best toys are the ones in front of you right now. While hiking, Bear decided that he had to eviscerate a poop bag container. You can hear the crack of it breaking at the very end.

His true, unrecognized talent is catching any sort of treat that I throw at him. Any treat, any time, any place. He's ready.

I bought him a Kong wobbler today. He is losing his shit over it. Once it's empty he picks it up and carries it around until I either 1) trade him high value treats or 2) refill it. Nothing has ever been as exciting to him as the Magical Kong Wobbler of Magic is tonight.

Bear is having a really, really important dream right now.

Bear is endlessly patient with puppies. And I love it, for many reasons. He is so, so useful for these little ones as they grow up to be well adjusted canine citizens. He's already helped multiple puppies work through fear periods or general concern about large, adult dogs. It doesn't take long, usually-- he's so patient and so sensitive to how dogs and people are feeling. Sometimes puppies have given mixed signals, and he always errs on the side of caution and backs off. Even when he's uncertain, he's willing to engage with them because he knows that he's going to get paid highly, and that I will intervene and redirect if he's unhappy. He is never forced to interact if he doesn't feel like it, but he almost always chooses to interact. I'm so proud of him.

There's a certain joy that comes from peaceful time in nature with the ones you love. There's also joy that comes from watching your German Shepherd run after rocks in a creek and bite the water because he can't find them. Guess which one I get more often.

So I bought him a chuckit last night... I think he might like it. And, I do too! I love this newfound drive he's got, and I love the work that goes into building on it.

They couldn't find the ball so they defaulted to screaming.