New Toy and Reading Progress

            I’ve come to the realization that I have to throw out two of Grace’s Nylabone toys. Both have had good, three month long lives of hard chewing. Grace reduced one to pretty much stubs and the other she chewed to the point where the two halves crunch together whenever she moves her jaw. While she could probably get a couple more weeks out of them, I think it’s best to get rid of them now. Chew toys aren’t forever.

            So I decided last week to head out to PetSmart with Grace for training and possibly to get her a new chew toy. We practiced her down in the dog food aisles while I checked out grain-free options other than Blue Buffalo Basics. She didn’t bark or ignore me completely when we walked past another dog, and she even made me proud because she behaved better than the other dog.

            Then I put her in a down as I checked out the store’s Nylabone options. The same s-shaped toy I wanted to replace hung on the rack, and I’m sure she would have enjoyed having that toy again. But I wanted to get her something different.

            I spotted a large, tan bone in one of the baskets at the bottom of the shelves. The toy looked solid, like Grace would need to work on chewing a dent in it. Plus the toy’s size made me happy; it was bigger than her front leg and would probably stand up to several months of chewing. The twenty dollars I’d spend on it would be well worth it.

            When we got home and I’d gotten the toy out of its packaging, Grace eagerly grabbed it between her teeth and trotted across the living room with it in her mouth. She looked a bit absurd as the toy was bigger than her head. But her eyes lit up and she got to chewing right away. She still loves the toy a week later, and who knows, maybe Santa will put another Nylabone under the tree on Christmas Eve.

            While Grace has been chewing on her new Nylabone, I’ve been working on thereading goal I wrote about last time. I finished the last book I was reading yesterday, and I’m going to start the next one today. I prefer to just sit and read for a few hours at a time. So the challenge is finding those hours amidst working and getting other things done plus making sure Grace doesn’t get into trouble. But I’m up for it, especially becauseI love seeing the pages and hours fly by.

Book of the Week: The Game by Laurie R. King

Next Week’s Book: Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King