Oh, Shinonome and Max are back!

Congratulations!

Congratulations.

You and Max put on a spectacular performance.

Yeah, especially with your last throw!

That was mind-blowingly awesome!

I was honestly a little startled since you never practiced doing such a long throw.

But what you did was super cool!

That was definitely the loudest the crowd's gotten so far!

Hear that, Max...?

Woof...!

For now, let's try to catch our breath before the next round starts.

There's a bench over there that you can use. Why don't you both...?

That's!

Huh...?!

What's wrong? Why are you shouting?

Oh, I'm sorry!

But I just saw Samo... I mean, another Samoyed over there!

Oh, look at that.

I think it's also in this competition...

I knew it!

Wow! I didn't know Samoyeds could do disc dog...!

Your dog did seem to have fun while we practiced, Hanasato.

Hm? Ah, are you looking for a Shiba...?

Oh...

Yes... I was hoping to see one make a couple spectacular catches...

But I'm not seeing any.

Does this mean Western dogs are more suited for this sport?

I think it's just that none happen to be in today's competition. I've seen some before at other ones.

Really...?!

I'm having such a hard time seeing Shibao do anything like this. On top of stubbornly liking to do things at his own pace, he gets bored so easily...

Haha. He did seem like the epitome of his breed.

He really is...

My bandmates and I played with him the other day, but he still ended up sitting down after getting bored.

They seemed to really enjoy how I got his face to scrunch up when he refused to move towards the end...

Scrunch up...?

Oh, it's what happens when Shibas refuse to go for a walk or return home.

Yes, I've heard that their faces become all scrunched when they resist as you pull on their leash.

It's a famous phenomenon among dog lovers! I think it's really cute how their breed's characteristics show like that.

Cute? That makes them sound like a handful to me.

Haha... Yes, he is a handful, and I get a little embarrassed whenever someone sees us in that situation.

But it's natural for things to not go the way either of us want. After all, we're both living creatures.

Right! Even dogs that are the same breed can have totally different personalities and preferences!

Ah, just like us humans...

Yeah.

Woof!

Oh... Hehe. I think Max is saying that he agrees.

Yeah.

No, wait... He might be trying to tell us that he's worked up an appetite after running around so much...

So, bone appetit...?

Ah, that's very clever of you...

Huh? What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing. I was genuinely impressed by your response.

?

Hehe. I hope your hard work is rewarded with a big feast, Max.

Woof...!