Watson and Cricket’s relationship fascinates me. They have a very strong bond.

When we brought Cricket home from Canada, she was 9 weeks-old, Watson was 18 months-old and well into the adolescent phase of puppy-hood. They became fast friends on day one.

We call Watson our Golden Retriever in a Collie body. He is adventurous, goofy, and wants to be in the middle of the action. He is Cricket’s dream guy! Cricket is a fun-loving gal who will play fetch all day with any object we toss for her. She is equally adventurous and she and Watson want to spend every minute together. They share everything. Well, almost everything.

There is just one point on which they agree to disagree…Watson always wins Franklin Ball. Cricket doesn’t like this, but she goes along with it.

Watson’s favorite game has always been fetching Franklin, the deflated basketball. He keeps his eye on our body movements to predict the ball’s trajectory and short-stops Franklin in the air before it gets very far. Occasionally he will step to the side so we can send the ball sailing, giving him the opportunity to show off his speed and agility.

The first time Cricket experienced Franklin Ball, she rushed in expecting to retrieve the prize, only to be rolled by Watson and come up with nothing. He trotted back to me triumphantly with Franklin and dropped it at my feet. Cricket looked a little surprised and dialed in her focus, trying harder the second time. After the third time of getting rolled and rebuked with a bark from Watson, she learned the rules. Rule #1: Only Watson is allowed to pick up Franklin during the game. Rule #2: Cricket is allowed to fetch everything EXCEPT Franklin.

She tried to come up with variations of Franklin Ball. She stood farther out in the yard so she could close in faster on Franklin, but she still knew better than to pick it up. It was comical to watch as she would reach Franklin first, only to skim over it and bark as she grazed it with her mouth. I imagine she is telling Watson, “I won, but I am going to let you have it.” She eventually resigned herself to reaching Franklin first, giving a quick bark and then backing off to let Watson retrieve.

But something very intriguing has occurred in the last week. The rules of Franklin-Ball have been turned upside down.

Since whelping her first litter on June 5th, Cricket regained her energy very quickly and within a few days she was ready for a break from the puppies and a rousing game of fetch. Watson was so excited to have her back on the playing field! My heart melted as I observed the sudden shift in the game.

Cricket is Watson’s girl, and he has been missing her for the last week while she was busy caring for their new puppies. What happened when they reunited emphasized this connection even more. As expected, there was a lot of sniffing and tail wagging. Cricket was eager to play a game and out of instinct, I kicked Franklin-the-ball across the grass. Both dogs bolted toward the ball and at the last second Watson pulled up and allowed Cricket to grab Franklin. She trotted back and dropped it at my feet as we looked at each other with bewilderment that she was allowed to fetch Franklin. Maybe Watson was just distracted by thinking about his new babies, or how radiant Cricket looks as a new mom. So, I kicked the ball again, expecting Watson to fully engage in the game. To our surprise, once again he let Cricket fetch the prize. I was intrigued by the change in dynamic. Cricket was not domineering the game or giving resource guarding signals, the shift was all by Watson’s choice. He was intentionally letting Cricket win.

Her excitement energized her from smile to tail as she bounced around the yard with Franklin. I love watching their connection grow stronger every day, and the best part is, the joy they have with each other overflows into the affection they share with us.