Discarding play as a useless behavior with no purpose at all proved to be an egregious mistake.

Social play is based on a foundation of fairness, perhaps a uniquely egalitarian behavior.

Play is important in adopting dog; shelter dogs who don’t play with objects are less likely to be adopted.

I’ve been nose-deep in dog play for more than 50 years, and I never get bored. Dogs, like other animals, just want to have fun without a care in the world. These are some of my field notes from watching three dogs at play—Jethro, a large German shepherd/rottweiler/hound mutt; Zeke, a black lab; and Suki, a Belgian sheepdog:

Jethro runs toward Zeke, stops immediately in front of him, crouches on his forelimbs, wags his tail, barks, and immediately lunges, biting Zeke’s scruff and shaking his head rapidly from side to side. Jethro works his way around to his backside and mounts him, jumps off, does a rapid bow, lunges at his side and slams him with his hips, leaps up and bites his neck, and runs away. Zeke takes off in wild pursuit of Jethro, leaps on his back and bites his muzzle and scruff, then shakes his head rapidly from side to side. Suki bounds in and chases Jethro and Zeke, and they all wrestle with one another. They part for a few minutes, sniffing here and there and resting. Then Jethro walks over to Zeke, extends his paw toward Zeke’s head, and nips at his ears. Zeke gets up and jumps on Jethro’s back, bites him, and grasps him around his waist. They then fall to the ground and mouth wrestle. They chase and then roll over and play. Suki decides to jump in, and all three frolic until they’re exhausted.

Jethro runs toward Zeke, stops immediately in front of him, crouches on his forelimbs, wags his tail, barks, and immediately lunges, biting Zeke’s scruff and shaking his head rapidly from side to side. Jethro works his way around to his backside and mounts him, jumps off, does a rapid bow, lunges at his side and slams him with his hips, leaps up and bites his neck, and runs away. Zeke takes off in wild pursuit of Jethro, leaps on his back and bites his muzzle and scruff, then shakes his head rapidly from side to side. Suki bounds in and chases Jethro and Zeke, and they all wrestle with........

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