December 7, 2014

Monday Mischief: A Spa Technique the Dog Hates

Last week, the hubs and I went away for our first ever vacation at a spa. (Although I scheduled some posts to go up while we were away, we were mostly "unplugged" so I wasn't able to reply to comments or visit your blogs. I missed you guys!)  While we were at the spa, we took a lot of classes, including one on myofacial release - basically using tennis balls to massage your fascia (the thin connective tissue that wraps around your muscles and most other structures in your body).

Rita is not a fetch-crazed dog. She has several tennis balls, but mostly ignores them. Oh, she'll chase them a time or two if you initiate a game, but she quickly gets bored and her tennis balls just lie around the house.
So, when we got home from the spa and wanted to try our newly learned myofacial release techniques with some fresh balls from the hubs' old tennis stash, you'd think she'd leave us alone, no? 

No.

There's apparently something about that fresh tennis ball smell that is irresistible to dogs! Even if they don't give a hoot about fetch. 

Every time we tried to massage our feet, hips or back, she was there. And she wanted to know why we were torturing her and not letting her have the ball.

If we didn't put them away right when we finished, she'd run off with them. She even managed to somehow open the drawer where I'd hidden them and snitch one.

So much for massaging ourselves wtith "fresh" tennis balls. I guess we'll be using old dog-slobbery ones instead!
MINE!

In Other News
I hope y'all had a chance to pick up a copy of the anthology, A Cup of Christmas while it was free. If not, it's now only $1.99, and ALL proceeds will go to First Book, a children's literacy charity. In it you'll find my Fido-friendly story "The Year I Got All Grinchy." Why just send any ol' greeting card when you can send an ebook! :)


Thanks to Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog, and My Brown Newfies for hosting Monday Mischief!

16 comments:

  1. We aren't into tennis balls much either. We have been told that the new ones are bad for dog's teeth, kind of like sand paper. Not sure if it is a myth or the truth. Funny she is all of the sudden so interested!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Even my non-obsessed dogs like tennis balls. I wonder what it is about them?

    --Purrs (and wags) from Life with Dogs and Cats.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love using tennis balls for massage...luckily there's no competition for them in this house.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tennis ball massages are the best! Great that you were able to get away for some "me" time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. lol plus when you aren't allowed to have something, you want it all the more

    ReplyDelete
  6. Typical. That made us smile. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

    ReplyDelete
  7. Public Service Announcement from this old mother hen....real tennis balls are terrible for your dog's teeth. They are extremely abrasive (so they can hold up on the court surface) and will quickly wear the enamel off a dog's teeth. Since Rita isn't all that into them, it probably isn't an issue, but for fetching nuts it is.(Sorry, can't help myself when I see someone using "real" tennis balls, I must say something. Kong makes good teeth-safe T-Balls). ......Now returning to the regularly scheduled post........ ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just like kids, they want what you have...always.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ha! I am the same way about my tennis balls... they mostly just sit around the house and I get bored of them pretty quickly. But let me tell you, if Mama and Papa started taking a bunch of tennis balls and playing a game where they were rubbing them on their muscles, and not including ME... I would be screaming to jump into the fun, no matter what the darn things smelled like.

    When they are clearly trying to distract me with my own stuff, it's one thing, but if there is an activity going on in the house, I MUST be involved. This is one of the many house rules I've established as supreme ruler of this dwelling.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kilo goes nuts for tennis balls too, the dirtier the better too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kids and dogs. And a lot of adults. They could care less about something until they see that someone else wants it, then they HAVE TO HAVE it at all cost.

    Also should mention that tennis balls are built for tough performance and not for doggie mouth and teeth. There are better choices for toys, but Rita seems to know that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. LOL None of your new tennis balls would stand a chance in this retriever household :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. That's too funny! I wouldn't even attempt that around here though, this crew is way too ball obsessed!


    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds like a great get away. I've had a massage and a facial but not a weekend deal with classes. Of course she doesn't want the balls until you want them. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  15. Haha - I think balls are so much more interesting when someone else wants them too! :)

    Happy holidays,

    Your pal Snoopy :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Tennis balls used for any other reason than fetch would be a disaster here....lol. Isn't it funny how they aren't interested in certain things until you are using them?

    ReplyDelete

We love comments - even just a smiley face or a LOL will make my day. (Yes, my days are pretty easily made.)

PLEASE NOTE: Comment moderation is turned on for posts over 2 weeks old, so if you comment on an older post and don't see it show up right away, that's why.