Follow the Bouncing Ball
It’s already dark when I get home from work, but Dash still goes right to the back door for a play session. I’ve taken a flashlight outside and thrown toys for him to retrieve, but that can be awkward. So, I dug around in the toy basket and found several glow-in-the-dark balls. After exposing them to the light for a few minutes, we’re ready to go.
Now that he can see the ball, we can play like we do in the daylight. I can toss the ball from hand to hand or throw it in an unexpected direction, and he doesn’t miss a beat.
I love watching Dash return to me with the ball in his mouth. All I see is this green orb, bouncing toward me out of the darkness. After a long day at work, that always makes me laugh!
Do you need to conquer the dark evenings with glow-in-the-dark toys? You can sometimes find flying discs that glow in toy departments or some sporting goods stores. Check at your local pet supply store, online, or in catalogs for glow-in-the-dark dog toys.
Most dog toys glow after a brief exposure to light. Others use a small battery, and generally flash or glow when bounced or shaken.
Caveats:
- Some of the battery-powered toys make noise as well. Those with laughter or squealing sounds are controversial. Many trainers believe we shouldn’t encourage a dog to become excited by and chase a ball that sounds like a human child.
- Toys with batteries should be supervised toys. A strong chewer may be able to chew through to the battery.
- For my dog, I treat all but the toughest glow-in-the-dark toys as supervised toys. I don’t have sufficient information about the chemical that makes toys glow, so I don’t want him chewing and ingesting pieces of those toys.
Enjoy those winter evenings!
