In this video, Suart Brown talks about the importance of play. And he mentions dogs numerous times as examples of creatures that promote play, and will play happily even with other animals, including humans. It made me realize that this is one of the huge benefits dogs bring to our lives. They play with us.
As adults, we often cut our play down to a minimum. I mean true play, not reading a book or relaxing. But dogs turn us into babbling playing fun-loving silly child-like wonderful people. And that is so healthy. That is good for us.
When I watched this video, I thought of all the ways my dog asks me to play every day, and while I accept some of them, I don't think I accept enough of them. He will throw toys up in the air, he will run, he will lay on his back and grin at me then when I pet him he'll nip gently at me and grin some more. These are opportunities. He doesn't want to play all day, just for a little while. I should be playing too!
The moral of the story is, play is good, and your dog will help you do it. For your own sake, accept your dog's offers of play more often. It will make your life, your work, your health, and everything else better.
The video is a little long and scientific at points, but see what you think. There's good stuff even if you don't watch the whole thing.
Good stuff as always Matt. I was out of work for a few months a few years ago and I’m 100% sure that my dog is what kept me sane and active.
Definitely. I tend to talk about dogs a lot more now, and a lot of people tell me stories about how their dogs got them through extremely hard times. I think they are so appreciative of what the dog has done, they love to share it. I know my bad days are a lot less bad now than they were before Kody came into my life.