Is this what its like to have kids?

My wife and I do not have any children at this point in our lives. We do, however, have a dog. Both of our families have had dogs in our homes growing up and it felt natural to get one of our own when we moved in together.

We got Syrus when he was approximately eight months old. He has been absolutely filled with puppy energy from day one. Even after a walk and a good romp around the house, he still doesn’t always get his fill. He likes to grab one of his toys and drop it in my, or my wife’s, lap while we watch television. If he gets tired of waiting for you to throw his toy, he takes it from you and begins tossing it himself so that he can chase it down.

Up until recently, I Haven’t minded him throwing his own toys. Most of the things he plays with are either rubber or relatively soft. The accidental toss into something doesn’t typically lead to any damage, and he seems to get a kick out of it.

Because of Syrus’ breed, he has been blessed with powerful jaws. Those powerful jaws do serious damage to toys in a short amount of time. It seems like the more expensive the toy, the less time it lasts. Because of this apparent trend, we try and buy cheap toys wherever possible (again, they last longer).

Just the other day I was over at Petsmart picking up dog food and a new collar, when I decided to get him something new to chew on. I paced up and down the toy aisle frowning and shaking my head and practically every toy that was marketed as “indestructible”. Ever since my purchase of a Kong Tails and Air Dog toys, I won’t fall for that marketing ploy again.

I left the toy aisle and headed over to the one filled with treats and bones. Raw hides are amazingly expensive for what they are, but my dog loves them. The downside is that they last little longer than an expensive toy. Before the day is out, he generally has them chewed into multiple pieces, which he plays with individually.

As I continued on down the aisle, I saw something that seemed promising. This item was a rock hard bone with a hollow center. I suppose it would be very similar to a soup bone. They had others that were filled with marrow of sorts, but I opted for the much larger hollow bone.

I brought the bone home and gave it to Syrus, who absolutely loved it. Like with any new item, once it was given to him he raced off into the living room to drop it on the floor and prance around it. Before long he figured out its intended purpose and went into chewing. So far it has held up surprising well and he will definitely be getting more in the future.

Like any other toy of his, he likes to bring it to my wife and I as we watch television. The first time, we ignored him and sure enough he took the bone back and threw it himself. Right about that time I had an OMG moment. While the bone didn’t break anything, it crashed across the floor and images of it sailing through my television or through a window began to enter my mind.

I find myself constantly telling him “no throwing bones in the house”, but he goes ahead and does it anyway. Granted, he hasn’t got a clue what I’m saying but that doesn’t stop me from telling him anyway. He seems to slowly be getting the idea, but that all goes out the window when he gets excited.

I’ve had the pleasure of feeling the wrath of this bone one early morning as he dropped it on my bare foot. I’m telling you, this thing has the potential to put a hurting on something fragile and my pooch has me paranoid.

While my wife and I don’t have children at this time in our lives, I think Syrus has been giving us a bit of practice for what a young child may bring to our lives.