cheap thrills: things to do for under $10 (item two)
recap: last week i posted about going to the rock gym as a super fun activity that can be done for under $10.
this time i'll mention something that is not only under $10, but free!
play with the dog!
need i say more? i could, believe me, i could. in fact, sometimes when i start talking about my dog i can't seem to stop... but i'll try to keep this to a short list of things that i lump in with "play".
chase: sometimes you can tell who's chasing whom, but other times we pretty much run around in big circles together. especially at home, because my backyard has a bunch of grass that forms a lovely ring around some trees and shrubs. we go round and round and round. the center creates a perfect place to "hide" from my dog's sight and switch directions!
fetch: i throw things. often one of dog-head's three kongs, sometimes his squeaky plush toy, occasionally a stick. he runs after it. he brings it to me and wags his tail. i like to make him think i'm going to throw it in one direction and then throw it in the other.
fetch variation: i throw one toy and right when he turns to bring it to me, i catch his eye with another toy. i throw the second toy in a different direction. he drops the first toy where he is and goes for the second. then i try to beat him back to the first toy! he's totally greedy and wants to control all the toys but usually fails.
lunge and wrestle games: uh, i lunge at him and then we wrestle.
ball: it's played with a ever so slightly deflated basketball, but it looks more like soccer. we kick the ball around. for hours. with one or more people. i'm pretty sure this is his favorite game.
less "game" like but related activities include: going jogging together! going for a walk on the leash! going for a walk off the leash! hi-fives (he jumps up in the air to smack his two front paws against your hands)! "wait! okay, free!" this consists of me making him wait at the front door while i go open the tailgate to the pickup, and then releasing him to run and jump into the back. i still don't get why this is so exciting to him. i make him maneuver upon demand while brushing him. like the "wait" game, i don't know why he loves this sooo much, but he does. and finally, one of my favorites. even though it doesn't make that much sense, i like to spy on him out the window while he "buries" his squeaky toy under the pine mulch. it cracks me up whenever i see it.
then there's all the other quality "activities" dog-head affords me. like the one where i sit on the couch and read, he sits on the floor and rests his head on my knee, and i absentmindedly stroke his ears. or the one where we sit on the floor and cuddle during movies. or the one where i let him jump up on my bed on top of the covers when the alarm goes off and i tell him he's the best dog ever.
in summary, hanging out with dog-head is free, and also one of the finer things in life.