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In no time at all we realized that the only kind of toy
Lola liked was the stuffed animal sort. My parents have tried to coax her
over the years with hard plastic bones, a giant plastic oreo cookie, etc.,
but she'll have no part of that. They've given in and now she has a collection
of stuffed animals at my parents' house that they always arrange for her
in a basket on the living room floor when we visit. In her almost five
years, she's amassed a large collection of stuffed animals, mostly garnered
at yard sales for $1. or less. She has dogs, cats, snakes, several teddy
bears, a duck, a fuzzy ball, mice, a racoon, two rabbits, and a toy that
looks like an avocado pit, all the better because it squeaks. Lola's toys
are kept in her dog bed, which she slept in for about a week and then never
got into again. Nowadays, she fetches about half a dozen to a dozen toys
and carries them into the living room every day while we're at work. I
once commented to a dog store owner that Lola had a lot of toys, and he
said I could save money by just leaving out a few, and putting the others
away in the closet. When I rotated 'new' ones in, she'd never remember
them. I read somewhere that dogs can't decide between more than two
things, so that having three toys out or ten would be meaningless in terms
of choice. I've discovered that both of the above pieces of advice are
untrue regarding Lola.
Lola definitely remembers her toys. She has her favorites. She has some she chooses when she's feeling manic and aggressive (the teddy bear that's her size), and her soothing kinds that she sleeps next to. She has toys she likes to pick when playing with me (aforementioned avocado pit). She has toys she likes to have in her mouth when greeting guests at the door (fuzzy ball). She enjoys carrying her mouse toy to the elevator, dropping it there, getting in the elevator, going for her walk, and picking up the mouse on her way back to the apartment. I've seen her play with three or four toys at the same time, carrying each one and placing them next to each other. With one paw on a mouse, she'll be chewing on a duck and eyeing the fake leopard skin cat. She can create quite a busy whirl around herself. It's fun to watch. |