"Shadow-Hunting"

Royal has developed many habits, but among the most entertaining is his love for chasing shadows.

We discovered early in the summer that when afternoon began to turn into evening, and the long shadows made their way across the yard, Royal became incredibly preoccupied with them. There was a week or so when we were convinced we had a problem: that the dog was so overwhelmingly interested in them and nothing (or no one) else...that he was going to drive himself crazy. He didn't seem to be scared or otherwise emotionally affected...just intensely preoccupied. He'd head out to the yard in the early-evening...prime "shadow-hunting" time...and we knew that we wouldn't be seeing him for the rest of the night.

Thankfully, he worked through that obsessive behavior relatively quickly. Now, it's more of a hobby, and he lets us play with him again now, too. Among other things, he'll chase the shadow of a ball being tossed in the air (not the actual ball, mind you...he's bored with those...just the shadow that the ball's upward trajectory makes on the grass). Then, he'll dig where the shadow lands...which isn't our favorite aspect of this hobby of his, but it is somewhat cute.

All things considered, it's quite entertaining! As is watching him chase the flashlight beam across the yard, an activity that provided great evening fun on multiple occasions this summer...and proved to be a great way to wear him out before bedtime. Goodness, that puppy can run fast. Of course, it's not an activity easily photographed...but it is another happy memory from our first summer with our little guy.

Royal, you're one cool cat dog.