My hound, Henry, was an abused hunting dog who was abandoned by his owner. When I first adopted him from a rescue organization, I was very disconcerted by the fact that he seemed completely uninterested in play of any kind. To this day, he just looks at me like I'm nuts if I throw a ball or toy in his direction. However, the one and only "game" that I finally got him interested in -- and which he now LOVES -- is the "Oven Mitt" game.
At least once a day I put on a thick pair of old oven mitts and get down on the floor with Henry for a wrestle. He tries to get the mitts off my hands, and I fight him off. It gets quite vigorous, with us both growling and snarling at each other and working up a sweat, but the mitts protect my hands if Henry gets a little too rough.
Henry tells me when he wants to play our "game" by finding the oven mitts and dropping them at my feet....
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