The Summer Olympics are upon us once again, and it seems like 35 dog years since we last saw them. It’s exciting to cheer on your home country as athletes from all over the world compete for ultimate bragging rights.
But if you ask me, it’s time to shake things up a bit in the world of athletics. Life in general is better with dogs, so why would the Olympics be any different?
Here are a few Olympic sports that would be more fun if dogs joined the competition.
Discus Throw
Sure professional discus throwers can hurl a circle pretty far. But how good are they at bringing the discus back?
If dogs joined the competition, we’d have the greatest game of fetch on earth to enjoy. In fact, who tracks down those frisbees now, anyway? I’ve never seen anyone pick them up. Such a waste.
Tennis
Dogs love tennis balls. And pups have played the part of ball boy in professional competitions before. So it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to give them rackets and see what happens.
They’d probably end up chasing down the balls and chewing on the rackets, but it would definitely be a lot more adorable than watching some sweaty athletes.
Synchronized Swimming
The amazing amount of coordination, the beautiful patterns, and the graceful movements make synchronized swimming one of the most elegant sports to watch. That’s why it would be so much more fun to add a bit of chaos.
Try maintaining poise and grace while there’s a doggy pool party going on. It may not be the most relaxing thing to watch, but it would definitely make things interesting.
Diving
Some dogs just can’t be held back from diving in the pool. They’re not concerned with technique or making the tiniest splash. In fact, most pups would probably try to make the biggest splash they could.
But things would be better if we judged the competition by happiest dive or biggest splash or most dives in a row.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Dogs would love running around with ribbons, hoops, and all sorts of toys. They may not be too great at the “rhythmic” part of rhythmic gymnastics, but they’d definitely be having fun.
And I could watch a bunch of puppies playing with toys all day. My tolerance for humans dancing around is much lower.
High Jump
My old dog doesn’t jump a lot these days, but in his prime he could jump higher than four times his height from a standing position.
It’s way more fun and exciting to see dogs jump than humans. They’re natural jumpers.
You could probably even set up a really tall table with food on it. That always makes my dogs jump higher.
Table Tennis
All sports should have miniature versions, but tennis is the only one that has a tiny, table-sized counterpart in the Olympics. That’s unfortunate.
But if dogs joined the competition, tiny pups could compete on an even playing field. Miniature Schnauzers versus Toy Poodles. Yorkshire Terriers versus Toy Fox Terriers. It would just be too adorable.
Beach Volleyball
No one loves a day at the beach more than a dog. Of course, the competition would probably be ignored for a roll in the sand or a nice dig session.
But if the movie Air Bud taught us anything, it’s that dogs have a surprising amount of coordination when bopping balls around with their noses.
Tug Of War
You may be thinking that tug of war isn’t an Olympic sport, but from 1900 to 1920 it was. And it’s time to revive it with the creatures that love tug of war the most — dogs!
Old socks, your favorite dress, or your homework assignment would all be fought over by dogs because the more precious and important the item being pulled apart in a game of tug of war, the more likely a dog is to hold on tight.
Trampoline
It’s pretty exciting to watch people jumping in the air on a trampoline, but it’s nowhere near as cute as seeing a dog discover a trampoline for the first time.
Their reactions are just adorable. And videos of dogs on trampolines have already gone viral around the world, so people would definitely tune in.
What Olympic sports do you think would be more fun with dogs? Would your dog be a great competitor at the doggy Olympics? Let us know in the comments below!
