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February 10, 2016

War of the Roses

Valentine’s Day isn’t until Sunday, but I picked up an early gift for the pups. They’re not big on roses, but drop the first “s” and add a “p”?  Ropes! My two love a good rope, especially when they know there’s competition for it And how to make the War
Valentine’s Day isn’t until Sunday, but I picked up an early gift for the pups. They’re not big on roses, but drop the first “s” and add a “p”? 

Ropes! My two love a good rope, especially when they know there’s competition for it

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

And how to make the War of the Roses/War of the Ropes a bit more fun for our participants (and your humble spectator)?

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

We raised the stakes with this massive, boa-constrictor-sized trophy

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

Eko made the first move

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

But Penny Mayhem quickly snagged a knot of her own

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

The best part of the huge rope is that it’s impossible for one dog to easily control both sides

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

In fact, at one point the pups were each happily chomping on their own end of the rope. But where’s the fun in a truce? A third party stepped into the fray…

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

Eko and Penny gamely united to wrest the rope back from my grasp

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

Which in turn reset their pitched battle for supremacy. I don’t want to say Eko felt betrayed by my sabotage, but… Eko felt betrayed by my sabotage

Rhodesian Ridgeback, puppy, cute, chicago, blog

“You madman! Why would you restart this war!?”

Normally I need an active hand to tire Eko and Penny out. I love ropes because the dogs do the job for me.

If you’re looking for a new toy, ropes are cheap, fairly durable and a great way to exhaust your dog indoors on frigid winter days. Tug-of-war is also an excellent game for practicing the “leave it” command.

For the pups who always tug on my heart strings, a rope seems like a fitting Valentine’s Day gift!

Comments for War of the Roses

  1. absolutely :o) they would make good rope holders… I always looked for two friends who liked to play with me… :o)

  2. Cute dogs and great photos!

  3. Emmadog says:

    Katie always loved tug toys and had her favorite rope until Bailie came along and chewed it up. She doesn’t play anymore, and Bailie prefers to tug with her toys. Your two seem to be having plenty of fun and we love the rope too!

  4. Kismet says:

    But we find little pieces of the rope (threads, actually) all over the house.

  5. Connie Taylor says:

    Our two like to play tug-of-war with a cloth frisbee I bought from “Tractor Supply” company. They will chase each other, tug on it and race side-by-side. I have to give Bentley the “park it” command so shel’ll drop it and I can toss it to Riley.

  6. Purrrrfect Valentine’s gift for those two…..however something tells me Emily would not be quite as thrilled as the pups if you tried giving her a rope as HER Valentine’s gift!

    Pam and Sam

  7. Abbie says:

    I love doing re-instigating a tug-of-war, although I mostly have to do it with foster puppies because Admiral and Keely are the only ones of ours who play, and they a.) have a bit of a size difference issue (a lab and a Papillion/Chihuahua mix), and b.) don’t really want to do a tug battle because Keely is intimidated by Admiral’s size, and Admiral doesn’t see Keely as an opponent. It only really works if I’m the middle man so that I can pull the right hardness for them respectively. High maintenance, I tell you! I love the size of your rope! It would be so handy if we had two big dogs!

  8. coastingnz says:

    Love that photo of Eko he is so unimpressed with your intervention…… lol

  9. T&S says:

    Thats a good one!
    You could also try your old t-shirt, make a knot on it. Our RRs love it!

  10. That rope is a MONSTER! You could dock an ocean liner with that thing. Mom hid a gift for me in the closet….

    Love and licks,
    Cupcake

  11. Dakota isn’t a huge fan of tug toys, probably because he is smaller than your two. I saw some tutorials on Pinterest that show how to make these out of T-shirts…so clever!

  12. Ogee says:

    Very cute. Mine could care less about the rope…but give them a Tuffy toy…and the battle is on!

  13. fran godwin says:

    HAPPY VALENTINES EKO N PENNY N WILL N EMILY

  14. That is a awesome rope toy, my gang loves rope toys. Have fun.

  15. Love that rope lick-pic. Perfect timing…kudos to the photographer! 🙂

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