Play is integral to my relationship with Nico. Too many people overlook the importance of engaging in play with their dog. Play has been proven to improve children's and young adults' physical, emotional, cognitive, and social skills. I’m sure most of us adults would also benefit from engaging in more play. I believe this also to be true with dogs. We know play is critical for young dogs to learn how to interact with each other. Play can also help improve our relationship and engagement with our dog. Nico and I play together daily, often a few times a day. Sometimes, we’ll play a good game of tug. Every evening, we play fetch for at least 10 minutes. We also hide treats around the house so Nico can play what we call ‘find it.’ I believe the games we play together are most valuable because they require us to engage with one another. Play is also a great way to improve your dog’s obedience skills by working on commands like ‘drop it’ and ‘out.’ Nico loves to play so much he’ll come up to me and push a toy against me, it’s his way of saying, “come on Dad, let’s play!” If you don’t play with your dog every day, I hope you’ll start.

Gear Used For This Shot

Sony A7RIV - Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM - Godox AD300 Pro - Godox X ProS - Godox 1D-S60S