I've been taking Rascal to the dog park for a couple of months now and he really looks forward to it. Or so it seems. As soon as I get out the special red string bag that holds dog-park essentials, he starts trilling and prancing around. One I get the harness out, which he'd rather not wear, but doesn't fight me about, he knows we're going. And he whines all the way there.
There aren't always other dogs there since it's been so hot, but sometimes there are. The whole point of the endeavor is to keep him socialized with other dogs. And he seems to enjoy the interactions...
Whole lotta butt-sniffin' going on, of course...
Just a few weeks ago when we went, there were no other dogs, but he got adventurous without me--I stayed in the shade...
On the other side of that fence, is the big-dog yard, where there are almost always dogs despite the heat.
I'm hoping--expecting--that once the weather breaks, there will be more dogs and Rascal can really have some fun.
After 15- 20- 30- minutes of running around, heat and other-dog-attendance depending, we head home. And he's quiet in the car. The first time I took him, he slept most of the rest of the day. These days he's a bit more acclimated and not prone to napping all day in recovery, but he's definitely ready for bed when the time comes.
Sadly for Rascal, no dog park visit next weekend as I'll be out of town for the holiday. Hope you enjoy your three-day break from laboring. :0) See you next week.
