Ode to the Chuck It.

The Chuck It..........oh how I love my Chuck It.  Chuck It?  You've never heard of a Chuck It?  This cannot be, but perhaps maybe you have not heard of the Chuck It.  The Chuck It has single handedly revolutionized the art of retrieving as a past time and wonderful way to exercise your dog.  As most of you know I have recently had a knee injury; because of this I am slightly out of commission.  Not completely but I cannot do what I typically do with the dogs which is walk, and walk a lot.  Normally we head out to the park along with my trusty Chuck It.  We make our way several times around the park, more or less depending on what park we are at.  Luke meanders around, sniffing everything he sees that needs sniffing and peeing on of course.  Elsa does her Chuck It.

I have to admit, I throw like a girl.  That's right, I said it; I throw completely like a girl.  No matter how much weight I curl or press............the throwing remains the same.   It is really pathetic, but with my trusty Chuck It I throw like a superstar.  You heard correctly, a SUPER STAR.   I can throw that thing nearly the length of a football field, I swear.  This makes exercising Elsa, easy.  Before Elsa arrived and well into her little puppy stage the Chuck It remained stored.  I hadn't used it in years; having lived with senior dogs for so many years it just was not needed.  Luke is not allowed to go after the ball or anything else because he gives it his all which at 12.5 is too much.  He almost always hurts himself so he is sidelined for good as far as retrieving goes.**

Elsa on the other hand is not even in her prime yet although I cannot imagine her getting any better than she already is at it.  She loves her Chuck It like nothing else and if I have it on me, she is on me.  But even that I have to be careful about as she tends to do circles when she thinks that I might throw the ball.  Even if the Chuck It is not yet in my hand.  Her circles are different than most as they are driven by the weight of her butt; she swings that sizable ba-dunk around with some power behind it.    So if that thing hits your leg on the way around it is enough to injure a completely healthy knee so I am being very careful about the circles.

Some folks say that the Chuck It is dangerous or can lead to injuries but have you ever seen Elsa do anything else?  Even playing with another dog, she gets slammed, slams others, ends up on her head.  The Chuck It can be overused I imagine.  I keep it at an absolute max of 15 extreme throws, but typically less and sometimes they are just small throws.  But it is enough for her to open up and get a good rip.  She needs it and once she's had her rip she's good for the day.

Oh how I love my Chuck It.

**We just got back from another walk and Luke actually had a turn.  He was being very goofy and ran after Elsa with the ball.  I asked him if he wanted a turn and he did.  So I grabbed hold of Elsa and tossed it far enough that it would take him a while to get to.  This ensures that he doesn't dive too hard to get the ball.  He picked it up and headed back but dropped it along the way to smell a few things and Elsa grabbed the ball back.  He was very goofy again and came in for his treats.  What a guy.