Routine is something that most dogs like and conform to very easily. Butch is no exception but my only thought about this is what is his scope of reference or rather how long does he remember a particular routine once we have have changed things for awhile? All winter long the ball playing had to occur in the basement on Saturday when I usually do laundry. As soon as I start collecting the towels and sheets Butch gets worked up into a frenzy because he knows I'm headed down stairs and his giant ball is down there. This doesn't stop him from being ornery and grabbing everything out of my hands and running around the house thrashing his head from side to side with my hand towel or the odd pillow case that I dropped. As soon as I start taking the sheets off the bed he jumps up there and wants to make a challenge of it. I always accommodate him with a hidden football I throw to the other end of the house to have enough time to get the sheets off before he comes flying back into the room and on top of the bed grabbing the other end of anything I am holding growling and snorting like he is king! Well we finally make it to the basement and he heads straight for the ball smashing into anything in his way and bouncing the ball off his face, skidding across the cement floor. OK that will keep him busy for a couple of hours..literally, and give me some time to get some work done. Now we have done this dozens of times over the last few years and he gets it...he knows I'll let him play ball while the machine is running no problem. I can hear him from upstairs so if he has a problem I can get to him quickly and there is nothing down there that will hurt him or fall on him if he hits it with the ball. A couple weeks ago we went through this routine again but this time there was a twist. I stayed upstairs long enough for the washing machine to stop running. I still could hear his snorting and breathing playing with the ball, again...no problem. As I was concentrating on what I was doing I realized I did not hear him snorting anymore...Hmmm. As I walked down the stairs to the basement I caught a whiff of wet cardboard and as I reached the bottom step I was met by Butch with little bits of shredded cardboard and paper stuck to his slobber soaked face, head, legs....you get the picture. Cardboard and paper everywhere. He had tore into a couple of boxes and contents I had on the floor for the last 3 years! HE HAD NEVER TOUCHED THEM IN 3 YEARS! Now, I could have got angry, I could have yelled at him but I had to fight back the laugh and say "What did you do?" Something I haven't said to him in years. This was all it took for him to cower down, fully knowing what I was talking about. After a quick bath and clean up he went into his cage on his own and stayed there for 2 hours! I often boast how you could throw treats, food, and even a steak on the floor in front of Butch and he will not touch it until I say "OK," but this little incident was more MY FAULT than Butch's. I waited too long to go down stairs and start the washer again and I left the boxes within his reach. I'm sure he was telling me he was unhappy that I was late getting downstairs. Him and I know each other pretty well by now, and I know he would not do this unless there was a reason...there was...in an effort to continue the laundry and clean up the mess, I found that he had bounced his ball into a shelf that is 6 feet high and was waiting for me to come and get it. In his frustration while waiting for me to come down and ask "Where is your ball?" he took it out on the first thing he could reach...the boxes. I stand behind Butch's training and he listens very well for a stubborn little guy, so I have to say this was more of a tantrum as he is usually close to "out of control" with the ball! This is just another incident that reminds me to stay mindful of the potential for Butch to have a tantrum and do some damage if I'm not paying attention.