Playtime supervisor

Sometimes I wonder if the individual attention I give my boys is too much. I'm not going to change anything, but I just wonder.

I've noticed they don't play amongst themselves without my direction. Oh, Jack and Rusty will lie together, but they don't play. And Eddie rarely tries to play with Rusty or Jack. It's beneath his alphaness. As for Rusty or Jack trying to initiate a game with Eddie, they wouldn't dare. He's got attitude.

But they play well together with supervision. We have a game called "Get Eddie" that we play in the backyard. It's pretty simple. Eddie grabs a toy and runs for his life. Rusty chases. If Rusty catches him, the rules are he has to stop. As soon as he does, he gets a treat. He's gotten very good at it.

Eddie has learned that he doesn't have Rusty's speed, but he can outmaneuver him around the agility equipment and generally make his way safely under the deck. He thinks he's uncatchable.

Jack doesn't join the pursuit (he'd get squashed), but he knows the "Get Eddie" game as his "Get Treat" game. He goes directly to the teeter-totter and looks at me. When I look his way, he walks over the top and awaits a treat at the bottom. He's got me trained well.

So that's my dilemma. Other dogs I know play well together independently, really an ideal situation. It gives the owners freedom to get something done around the house while the pups still get stimulation and exercise.

Not mine. I wonder where I went wrong.