Dogs!

One of the morning shows at the gym had a piece on dogs who compete over obstacle courses and such. At some point it probably involves catching a frisbee, too.

And they had a small demonstration, which was a relief because at first the tag on the screen said "Dog Show" and I was worried this was one of those things where the dogs are blow-dried and trimmed and styled to a degree that must shame the ancestral wolf within. At least I hope it does.

The dogs, coached by their people, ran through a couple of tubes, jumped some low hurdles and dodged back and forth between some upright poles. The thing was, they looked like they were having an absolute blast, even though everyone's breath was steaming and the people were all bundled up against the cold.

And I suppose I might have myself a blast too if I were a dog and doing these sorts of things: I get to run! I get to jump! I get a treat! And I am a good dog! A very good dog! I do not possess a spoken language to express my overflowing happiness, so I will lick your face instead!

I've seen other kinds of these shows, too, where the dogs do indeed catch the frisbee, and another where they are supposed to run and jump as far as they can into a tank of water, and several other contests. There's probably a sour-faced animal rights activist group somewhere that thinks these things are awful and exploitative and whatnot, but I seriously hope a Great Dane whizzes on their collective natural-grown-hemp-fiber pantlegs.