“People tend to forget that play is serious.”
David Hockney, British painter“The opposite of play is not work. It’s depression.”
Brian Sutton-Smith, American folklorist“Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.”
Stuart Brown, M.D. psychiatrist
photo courtesy of Airbeagle @ Flickr.com
Puppies awaken the child in us. Watch a person play with a puppy and what do you see? You see a person acting silly. I mean that in only the very best and affectionate terms. The person will speak to the puppy in a high-pitched tone, often repeating nonsense words. There is usually some hand clapping; goo-goo eyes; a lot of smiling; and an impromptu game of chase or follow the leader or rolling around on the floor together. Silly stuff. It does wonders for the person’s spirit and the puppy benefits too. (more…)
On pages 22-23, the author, Deborah Wood, describes an activity called the “Shell Game.” In this game, as your small dog watches, you hide a tasty and aromatic treat under one of three cups. Then you shuffle the cups in front of the dog so it is no longer obvious which cup the treat is under. Sound familiar? Your dog should then be encouraged to try and find the treat by sniffing each cup and, hopefully tip over the cup that is hiding the treat. Both of my dogs enjoy this game. Kelsey gets so excited when we play the game that she shakes. Here are two problems I discovered with this game along with two solutions.