My brother is a genius…sometimes.  Yesterday was not one of those days.  It’s been bitter cold here the past few days, so going outside to play hasn’t been an option.  Not to mention our backyard has turned into an ice rink.  So unless we learn how to skate, fetch just isn’t a good idea.  However without his endless games of fetch, Asa was starting to suffer from cabin fever.  As for me, I was keeping myself amused by flipping Dad’s hands off the keyboard while he tried to type an important report for work.  But I digress.  Anyways, Mom decided to take out Lemmy’s old treat ball and play a few rounds of that in the living room to keep Asa occupied.

In case you’re not familiar with the treat ball, it is a simple game of skill.  Mom fills it with our kibble, then we roll it around until the treats fall out and we can eat them.  Easy, right?  Well apparently not for Asa!  Asa jumped and growled with delight as Mom put the treats in the ball.  After all it combined his two favorite things – a ball and food!  Then after making him needlessly perform a few commands such as sit and down, Mom triumphantly placed the ball in front of Asa for the game to begin.  But he just sat there!  Ok, in his defense he is use to Mom throwing balls, not placing them on the floor.  So he was politely waiting for Mom to toss it so he could retrieve it.  Doesn’t he realize there is more to life than fetch?

Mom started to roll the ball to show him that the treats fall out.  Well Asa caught on about eating the treats, but once the ball stopped moving he just sat there looking confused at Mom.  He even pawed at the ball and whimpered a bit, signaling that he wanted the game to continue.  Again, Mom showed him how the game worked.  And again he didn’t catch on.  After about 10 minutes of this and one refill, a light finally went off in Asa’s head and he began to cautiously push it around with his nose.  Game on!  Well sort of.  He immediately rolled it under the rocking chair and needed Mom’s help getting it out.  Eventually though before the last piece of kibble fell out, Asa had mastered the treat ball.  But seriously, why did it take him so long?  At least Mom’s mission was successful and all that thinking had him mentally exhausted the rest of the afternoon.  Thankfully the weather is suppose to warm up today.  So hopefully the frozen tundra behind our house will melt and we can get in a good game of fetch before the temperature drops again.

Oh and in case you’re wondering why I wasn’t invited to play too.  I was banned from using the treat ball ever since the great ball smashing incident of 2013.  Ok, I admit I’m not as patient as Asa, and I was way smarter than Lemmy.  Therefore when I was around Asa’s age, I figured out if you bite the ball, pick it up, and throw it around, the ball breaks open and the treats all come spilling out at once.  Why wait, when you can have instant gratification?  Who cares that I almost broke the TV?  It’s a minor price to pay for treats!