Dog toys.

Tralfaz and I disagree on a few things, as longtime readers of this space will know. Dogs and we have different priorities. I do not approve of his plan to lick the inside of my mouth to see what I've been eating, and have disallowed it. He thinks my refusal to provide treats on demand is some breakdown of the human/dog convention. We agree to disagree, though, and go on as best we can.

We also disagree on what his best toys are. He likes the kind you can fill with treats the best, but for outside play he's a big fan of anything you can quite literally sink your teeth into. He enjoys Frisbees, sure, but they aren't very pliable. A good, tough football-like object is more his speed. But not an actual football; with his teeth he would deflate that sucker faster than Tom Brady's equipment manager.

I, on the other hand, am a big fan of the Flying Squirrel by Chuckit!

It flies like a Frisbee, but it's made of a flexible fabric; that and its wingtips cause it to bank and even boomerang much better than a Frisbee. When thrown properly it can make amazing curves, banks, dips, and rises. It is extremely tough; Tralfaz has chewed on it hard and played tug-of-war with it, and it spent a month buried under semipermafrost in the backyard last winter with no ill effects. Tralfaz enjoys it, don't get me wrong, but it's not his favorite. It is mine.

Don't just take my word for it; here's a product review done by a thoughtful dog owner with more time on his hands than I have:

And remember, it's not all that weird to enjoy playing with your pet's toys, with or without the pet: