I have a Jack Russell, and used to have a Shephard . . . both smart dogs. They both also have done the same weird thing, and I'm wondering if anyone knows why.

There are certain spots in the yard he won't normally go. He's a fiend for his ball, and even at 10 yrs old, would play it 24 X 7 if people would comply. But, if his ball goes on the side of the house, he will just stand there and look at it. Some days he'll go there, but most he won't.

Then when I'm throwing the ball in the yard, suddenly he won't take a certain route any more. He'll run through the space to get the ball, but will practically do a figure 8 to avoid coming back that way.

Usually he drops the ball right straight at my feet, but when there is a "spot" he doesn't like, he will walk around a semi-circle to bring it to me, but won't walk across an area. Sometimes that area gets bigger as we play.

Most of the time, nothing matters . . . he'll chase in the rain, mud, dark . . . he doesn't care. Other times he gets weird.

I thought maybe it was a "hot spot" of some sort (a dead body buried next to the house, radiactivity . . . ).

Cherie