I’ve heard parents of human children laughing, and maybe complaining a little, as they watch their children dismiss the fabulous and hard to find toy that they received and play for hours with a simple cardboard box. Over the weekend Jackson and Tinkerbell similarly abandoned their selection of US made fancy balls and toys in favor of a giant block of ice.
In typical fashion, here in the Chicagoland area we experienced extreme cold one weekend followed by 60 degrees and sunshine this past weekend. Of course we are used to that, so everyone who has been hibernating was out and about doing yard work, enjoying the walking paths, riding bikes and generally taking advantage of warmth of our long lost friend the sun.
My husband took the opportunity to siphon some of the very heavy water from on top of our swimming pool cover. As I watched him breaking apart the thick layer of ice on top in order to access more water, I asked him to fish out one of the huge blocks of ice for the dogs to see if they would have fun with it. As he used the skimmer net to get the best chunk for them I called them over from their daily perimeter check of the yard, “Jax and Tink, come see what Daddy has for you!”
Because I have been using the phrase, “come see what I have” when I have something new and exciting for them, both dogs stopped what they were doing and raced over to us. My husband lowered the block of ice onto the grass with the skimmer and both dogs looked at him, their tails wagging furiously. “Ok, take it,” he said.
Without a moment of hesitation, Tinkerbell lunged for the block of ice, trying to fit the entire thing in her mouth to zoom around the yard with it proudly protruding from her jaws. She tried multiple times, each time dropping it and losing part of it in the process as pieces broke off. As a result, she ended up with a manageable chunk and Jackson swooped in and snatched up one of the smaller pieces that he pushed around the grass gleefully while Tinkerbell raced through the yard, head held high with her precious block of ice sticking out of her mouth. She did four laps around the yard at top speed in her signature “bucking bronco” style of running while her brother happily gnawed on his piece until his was a slobbery melted mess. 
Once the excitement and the newness of the block of ice released its hold on them, Tinkerbell grabbed her trusty football, a chewed up deflated kids’ football that appeared one day in our yard, and instigated a rambunctious game of zoomies with Jackson. I have come to learn that zoomies follow any mental or physical exercise, even long walks at the end of which they appear to be exhausted and ready for a nap; as soon as we arrive home and the harnesses and leashes are removed the zoomies begin as a way of burning off the extra energy and mental stimulation of the event. 
Since ingesting water from on top of the pool cover does not exactly meet my strict dog mom criteria for safety that I normally demand, I am brainstorming the safest and toxin free way to duplicate this experience for them in my own freezer and have purchased the More Cuisine Essentials silicone loaf pan from Amazon as it seems to meet my eco friendly criteria and is freezer safe. I am looking forward to its arrival so I can try it out and even toss in some Fruitables snacks to make it extra appealing. I will keep you posted on how this works, but for now, Love, Laugh, Woof and give your dogs a chin scratch for me.
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