When Banker was young, he didn’t have to worry about toy competition. He grew up enjoying his stuffies, playing chase/keep-away, pressing his face into their softness, removing squeakers quietly through a small incision, and treating them with a certain level of respect. Then Competition (Parker) came along. I suspect that a little jealousy underlies the way that the new kid on the block treats the other’s toys, and Parker was often rough on toys. Banker had a hard time with this, but he didn’t want to take the firm approach with correcting Parker. He was pretty much a softie himself. So, he instead used another approach, one that we often use when we don’t want to exacerbate a behavior. He began to ignore the toys.
The boys always had a fondness for stuffed lions that had a certain quiet, pleasant expression. One Christmas when I had bought some stuffed toys, including a lion with this expression, for some kidlets, they kept breaking into the stash & getting the lion and a gorilla.
Later I found a large stuffed lion at Sam’s. It became Parker’s favorite toy. It was almost as big as he was. He would lie down with it, throw his arms around it, moosh his nose into the Friendly Lion, pull at the soft fabric, then moosh some more. Eventually, after many machine washings, I set the lion aside for repairs. The Friendly Lion still sits in that place looking lonely.
Then one day I found a giant caterpillar at Sam’s. It was made of a consecutive set of brightly colored stuffed pile balls with feet. It also had antennas at one time, but those apparently needed to be removed by the new Competition. (Darn girl dogs! <g>) I had intended to give this present on a special occasion, but I couldn’t get through the house before Parker spotted enough of it to know that it was supposed to be his and he became very excited. This toy took the position that the lion had held. How much better could it get? A toy as big and soft as the lion made up of balls!
About a year after the Caterpillar arrived, along came Jade. Toys began to accumulate again that needed repair. She showed Parker how to “shake the prey” using toys for demonstration, and Parker got plenty of practice on his own. I got a couple of good photos for a Christmas theme from the Newfs playing with the Caterpillar. In one they are struggling for the toy and using it for tug-o-war, with a girl Newf 
wearing a very determined expression. In the next, they are sharing, lying side by side and enjoying the toy. Eventually, the caterpillar took up residence in a semi-permanent location, needing repair.
Not very long ago, I found another giant stuffed toy at Sam’s, a bright green frog with big plastic eyes. This is my third trip to the laundromat with it so far. It sure draws curiosity from the kids when I carry it in or out. There isn’t much entertainment at the laundromat while you wait for the large front-loading washer or the dryer to complete their cycles, but you don’t have to worry about getting lonely. Those giant eyes follow you round and round from inside the machine. <g>
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011
Where is the facebook like link ?
I changed the ratings feature to a new set of links. Look at the bottom of the posts.
Do you know of anywhere else to get one of those frogs?? i REALLY want one thanks 🙂
If you have a Newfoundland or Lab who loves swimming, I would like to add that my Newfs LOVE Katie’s Bumpers retrieve toys, in particular the 13″ retrieve toy. We lost the yellow one, Parker’s prized retrieve toy, so there are some new ones for this year’s Christmas bag. He received an Iguana as a gift a couple of years ago that lets you put an empty plastic bottle inside. (This is one way that our Newfs contribute to recycling – get as much use out of it as you can.) It has been heavily enjoyed, so I got one of the Katie’s bumpers toys that holds an empty bottle this year too.
Pingback: THE SUBARU BUCKET LIST COMMERCIAL | The BigFoot Club
Pingback: WRAPPED UP IN THE ARMS OF LOVE | The BigFoot Club