My dogs seem to have very different approaches to dog toys. They share the same (large) set of (small) toys -- generally plushy and squeaky. To the younger dog, Angus, they are a tool for play with his hu-Dad. Angus will bring a toy to me hoping I will throw it and he can fetch and return. What fun! To the older dog, Lena, the same toys are materials for contemplation, She wants nothing more than a quiet corner to which she can retreat with one of them and make it squeak, as if that is a meditation aid while she contemplates the world of forms. They are, in other words, the Aristotle and Plato of dogs and doy-toy lovers. I think of Angus stretching a paw out toward the world in front of him, while Lena points a paw upward, indicating that such is the location of a heaven of squeaks.