Lets play Fitch!

Every day I play Fitch with the dogs what is really a great energizer. I came to play this game by accident as I was seeking something more then only throw a ball for the dogs and then let them fetch it.

So I started to throw the ball over the fence of the dog pen, yell 'find' and then opened the door so that they could go look for it. Of course they can see the direction of where the ball is falling, but because they can't see the difference between the colors orange (ball) and green (grass and bushes), they have to use their noses big time. And because we live on top of a hill they have to run up and down the hill, what drains their energy so much. After finding the ball they come back in the pen and bring me the balls. That's how I came up with the name FITCH (FInd + feTCH).

It is really a fun game. With four dogs and three balls, there is a competition element as well and that makes it even more fun. It's wonderful to see how they eventually find the ball, how they use their noses, depending on the direction of the wind or if there is any wind at all. I sometimes also limit their time in finding the balls, and so they might not find them at all.

And because we also have some wood walls where the ball sometimes travels, the dogs have to be agile and fearless as well. Especially Jessie and Mijne are very agile.