Pascha at Morning Playtime
 December 28, 2024
 Pascha is 1 year 8 months old

For once, I didn’t have to go anywhere on a day perfect for photographing, so I took pictures of all 11 dogs during their morning play sessions.  It was just above freezing, warm enough that I didn’t need gloves, plus there were enough clouds to eliminate sun glare most of the time.  The sun penetrated the clouds during Pascha’s time and gave some really interesting back-lighting effects.  Some of the photos also showed steam from her breathing.  I even got a photo of her cooling off in a snowbank by some spruce.  This time of year, we have to do the ball sessions WAY in the back of my two acres where the lack of trees and dog traffic means that the snow melts quickly.  Where we usually do our ball sessions is now packed ice from our previous play times and is dangerously slick.  The dogs are happy when we go to the back area because they get a little extra ball time – it takes several minutes to get out there, and then back to the house, and as long as they drop the ball close to my line of travel, I will throw it as I walk.  They also get some great exercise because that area drops down towards a creek drainage.  I sit at the bottom of the “hill” and throw the ball up it, because it’s safer for them to run full-out after the ball while going uphill and then return downhill more slowly.  I try to throw the ball far enough that it’s close to the ground by the time the dogs catch up to it, but sometimes they get there in time for some leaps in the air after it.  You may notice the hair up on her back in some of the photos.  That’s her prey instinct showing.  In the wild, chasing prey, they never knew if it would turn and fight, so that’s a reflex that still shows that she would protect herself if the tables turned and SHE suddenly became the prey.

See all the other dogs’ playtime photos
to Pascha’s page