Let's Make a Trade

We have a new game.  It started when Marley started a game of fetch.  Generally, when we play fetch he stops after just a half dozen or so throws.  I started trading a piece of his kibble for the toy.  It went over well enough I started asking "Do you want to trade?"  We went through a cup or so of kibble that way. 

Now, he will apply the concept of "Trade" to any object he's willing to chase.  It's been a canvas toy.  It's been a Kong ball.  It's been a multi-armed toss & chew toy.  And most recently, it was a remnant of a rawhide chew bone. 

Not only does he bring the object and relinquish it, he places it in my hand!  If he drops it he will pick it up and get it to my hand.  He will also trade with Tom.  It took a higher value treat (chicken jerky) to trade for Tom's hat when it was left on the coffee table and Marley grabbed it.

The other thing he's learning is that he can run free in the yard if he wears his new muzzle.  He still needs to be supervised, but he can run without a leash.  The other option is to be on a leash so we can keep him away from the mushrooms.

This was the "haul" from one good pass of the yard this morning.  Tom walked Marley, watching for mushrooms.  He'd point them out to me and I'd take a photo then pick the mushrooms.  I found a bunch of them, too.  They range in size (in this batch) from about 2 inches across down to less than 1/8 inch across.  A couple of them were new to us even though we have been pulling mushrooms almost every day since late June.  Later in the day I realized a fallen leaf I had passed over in the morning was actually a slightly misshapen boletus mushroom.  Some days we only get a half dozen to a dozen; some days we get cluster after cluster of the damned things.  I am starting to hate mushrooms - all mushrooms.