A suspended dog amusement apparatus, system and method are disclosed for amusing and exercising large breed dogs. The apparatus comprises a bar, a first suspension element for suspending the bar from a horizontal member at a support point on the bar, a weight element secured to the bar that applies a first gravitational torque to the bar about the support point, and a second suspension element secured to the bar that comprises a strand-like member attached to a resilient dog toy and which produces a second gravitational torque to the bar about the support point. When the apparatus is at rest, the gravitational torque forces produced by the weight element and the second suspension element are in counterbalanced equilibrium. When a dog engages the apparatus, the first and second gravitational torques are such as to provide an unpredictable and random movement of the resilient dog toy. A suspended dog amusement system is also disclosed that comprises the above-referenced elements plus a first suspension system comprising a strand-like member, an anchor, and a plurality of pass-through devices for raising and lowering of the apparatus by the dog's owner. Finally, a method for providing amusement and exercise to a dog is disclosed.
An apparatus for practicing baseball and softball hitting skills includes a ball holder on a rod that is suspended by a single degree of freedom support at an interior point of the rod length and the rod is balanced and proportioned relative to the support point and the ball in order to position a ball at any three-dimensional location in the hitting zone of the batter in a stable state by manual movement of the opposite balanced end of the rod.
