One way to entertain your dog on a rainy day

I was typing away at the kitchen table when something soft struck the back of my head. Naturally, I turned in my seat to see what it was — then reeled back as a red orb came hurtling toward my face.

A balloon bounced off my cheek and fell. Behind the chair sat my dog Oreo, his skinny black tail wagging rapidly.

“What are you doing?” I asked — rhetorically, of course.

dogballoon0713-1Seven balloons, which I’d tied to the kitchen hair for my friend’s birthday, dangled by their ribbons, the helium no longer holding them up. And Oreo was suddenly showing an interest.

How odd. Oreo had always disliked balloons. In fact, when I carried the colorful bundle into the house just a few days before, he’d hidden in the bedroom. But like many things that Oreo originally fears — water, brooms, the household cats — he had unexpectedly overcome that fear.

As usual, I fetched my camera, and for the next 10 minutes, I watched as Oreo lunged at the balloons.

A few times, a balloon would float down on his head, scaring him into the living room. But he’d come right back, tail wagging as he hit them with his nose, bowed, pawed, jumped and nipped. One by one, they popped — purple, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink — until they were all shriveled up sacks of rubber.

Bobo Jinx watches Oreo perform athletic feats.

Bobo Jinx watches Oreo perform athletic feats.

Then he tried to eat them (typical), so I threw them away and gave him a treat instead.

I found the whole ordeal quite entertaining, and I know Oreo had a good time, so I thought I’d share it with you. Maybe you can try it out with your pup on a rainy day.

Since I usually like to include a few nuggets of knowledge in these columns, I tried to do some research. But the only thing I learned is that I’m not the only one who has enjoyed their dog acting like a spaz over a few balloons. In fact, a video entitled “Dog vs. Balloons” has over 27 million views on YouTube.

The dog in the video, Simon, seems to have quite a talent for popping balloons; so much so that his owners have captured his various balloon-popping feats in several subsequent videos:

  • “Dog vs. Balloons II, This time it’s personal” (8 million views)
  • “Dog vs. Water Balloons” (33 million)
  • “Dog vs. Balloons IV: Airborne Assault” (3 million)
  • “Dog vs. Balloons V, Spiral of Death”(1 million)

Unfortunately, Oreo isn’t as talented as Simon. I won’t be capitalizing on his talents on YouTube anytime soon.

Aislinn Sarnacki

About Aislinn Sarnacki

Aislinn is a Bangor Daily News reporter for the Outdoors pages, focusing on outdoor recreation and Maine wildlife. Visit her main blog at actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com.