The exercising of Galapagos

My Labrador [Gala] is an insatiable retriever of sticks thrown into the lake. Unfortunately, I can’t throw them far enough to even get thru a single page of my book, not to mention that she sets the stick at my feet and proceeds to shake off nasty lake water. So, I’ve taken a remote control toy torpedo boat and wrapped it with sponge rubber. On top I’ve placed a proximity sensor that commands the propeller to turn. The rudder is fixed to make a generous circle.

I throw out the modified boat toy and it just floats there until Gala is nearly upon it, then it moves, just a little faster than she can manage, and stops. The trick is to set the sensor on a timer so that Gala can eventually get it.

Now I can often get thru an entire chapter before Gala finally brings it back. And sometimes she is too tired to shake off, but just slumps at my feet.

Now that’s a good girl...


(By the way, this is for lake use only. Don't throw it into a river...)