Humm, I'm not sure if this is "werid" to you but it's something special about my dog, Mocha...because I never have seen other dogs playing with sand before! She always get excited if she caught a crumb of sand flew over from my shoe while I walk once we arrive at the beach. It just grabbed her attention and she would demand me to throw a ball of sand again, and over again. Once upon a time, Mocha and I played with sand for over 3 hours, it was so unbelievable that she never stop playing! She ended up had about a pound of sand inside her stomach - I was scared if she'd get sick but no...she had the sand out when she did her business..it's wayyyy better than smelling the regular one! jk... You should try it with your dog, s/he'll love it! I try to throw a ball of sand on my east side, then north, west then south, she'll kept on going in circle and circle and cirlce! You gotta go fast!