Lesson #30: Don't Shy Away from Big Challenges

Professor McLovin loves playing with sticks. It took him a few months in our care to fully appreciate how much fun can be had with sticks but once he grew accustomed to this new type of plaything he quickly became open to all the intriguing and entertaining possibilities offered by a canine-arboreal combination.


When I pick out a stick for play, I go for something that is appropriately suited in such characteristics as length, girth, and weight so that Oscar can chase it at will. Buoyancy is an additional factor to be considered when throwing sticks into water.


However, when left to his own devices the Professor tends to throw common sense to the wind and opts for a very different kind of stick indeed: his mantra seems to be longer, bigger, heavier, more unwieldy. The pictures show the kind of stick that he likes to pick up on his own accord. You can judge for yourself whether you would choose a stick of this size when other options were available.


And yet he's never disappointed or frustrated by having to deal with a larger-than-necessary problem. If he can physically move it then he will figure out how. If he needs to work on it for hours in order to chew it in half then just give him enough time to get the task done. The Professor doesn't shy away from big challenges--let that be the lesson we learn from him today.