Animal magnetism

I'm dog-sitting for a friend from work. It's pretty low-key as far as this sort of thing goes -- the dog's got a fenced in yard that he hangs out and runs around in, so I really just have to give him food once a day and make sure he doesn't run out of water. This is about my pace for dog-sitting. I'm not really a dog person. Or a pet person in general. I had a rabbit as a kid and some fish that I think killed each other, but that's it. I like animals, and they tend to like me; I've just never really felt the need to own one. Part of it is that I like to be able to leave for a couple days at a time, or even for the day, and not have to worry about a pet. Part of it is that I can barely commit to owning a plant, so you can understand my trepidation about an animal. (Also, I'm slightly allergic to some animals, but that's not usually too big of a deal.)

But I'm also a little uncomfortable with owning a pet because hanging out with one feels a lot to me like making small talk with a stranger. It's cool to hang out together for a bit, but after about 5-10 minutes, it just sort of gets awkward.

Take today with the dog, for instance. My friend left yesterday morning, so I stopped by late last night, but then I came over about noon today to give the dog food and do laundry, which my friend encouraged me to do at her house. After the initial salutations and sniffing (by the dog, not me), I poured the food and filled the water bowl. We played fetch for a while and then both get bored of that. We went inside the house while I started the laundry. I gave him a chewy thing and he laid down on the floor while I started reading the newspaper. After awhile, he finished that and came over to see what I was up to. I petted him for a little bit. And then we both got bored of that.

He went back to laying on the floor and looked at me as if to say:
"So ...."
Me: (pause) "So ...."
Dog: "Here we are."
Me: "Yep. ... Here we are."
Dog: "So how long before my owner gets back?"
Me: "A week and a half."
Dog: "..."
Me: "Sorry about that."
Dog: (Puts head back down and goes back to looking bored.)

(A moment later)
Me: "I don't guess you know any cool tricks -- like how to play dead? Or how to play 'Halo'?"
Dog: "Nope. ... You know any cool tricks?"
Me: "No. Not really. Sorry."
Dog: (shrugs)

(We go back to sort of staring at each other. Eventually, he starts licking himself and I go back to the paper.)

I fear it's going to be a long week and a half for the dog.