If you have a dog, here's something to try as an alterative to the normal game of fetch. Instead try a modified game of hide and seek. Many years ago - back when I had two dogs - I had discovered my dogs liked to play this game. If I threw a ball in the house it would give me enough time to quickly hide somewhere. The dogs would run to get the ball and then quickly return to search the house for my hiding place. They seemed to love then trying to find where I hid. All I had to do was say "Wanna play hide and seek?" and they would both start jumping around barking like crazy. (Although, I must admit, the dogs did tend to jump around and bark like crazy for lots of other reasons - so maybe that's not the best way to judge how good of a game this is. Maybe they thought "Wanna play a game of hide and seek?" sounded a lot like "There's a horse walking down the street! Wanna eat it?" They did go crazy whenever a horse walked by our house.)
A friend of mine just got a new dog (rescued from a shelter down south - Alabama, if I recall correctly). Why a dog this cute was in a shelter is beyond me:
Unfortunately there are plenty more dogs like him in shelters. Give
Petfinder a visit some time if you are looking for saving a dog or cat from an uncertain future.
But, back to my other point - I discovered he (the dog, not the friend) also seems to enjoy a game of hide and seek. My friend was a bit skeptical when I suggested the idea, but the dog was quick to get the idea of the game. So, if you have a dog and you are getting bored with the throw a ball and wait for it to be brought back, give a game of hide and seek a try.
