Dog Park in December

The weather outside kills me right now, kind of in a good way.

Yesterday, Arkhon, Dakota, Kevin, and I went to the dog park. Kevin wore a light jacket, and I wore no coat at all.

A picture of me and Arkhon.

It was about 58 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and it was a perfect day for a walk. So, about 11:00 a.m., we got ready and left. I jogged a bit, but mostly we walked and my arms got a work out as I worked with Arkhon on not pulling. I usually tie one dog leash to each side of the stroller, so if I'm pulling on Arkhon's lead, I have to steer with the other arm. That wore on my lower arm muscles after a while, but he is making great improvements.

We reached the dog park in about half an hour, and I made both dogs sit and stay before they entered the area. There is a fantastic off-leash, fenced dog park at the end of a walking trail near our apartment. Dakota doesn't much care for playing with the other dogs, but she enjoys laying in the sun. Arkhon and Kevin, however, love it!

Kevin made friends with an obese black Labrador who followed him around. Kevin would run in front of the dog, and it would trot after him with a ball in her mouth. That was pretty cute, and they had other people at the park chuckling.

I didn't actually bring the camera, but this picture shows you what it's like outside right now.

Arkhon made friends with a beagle named Loki, and the two of them wrestled and played with occasional interruptions from Loki's brother Thor, who thought he was the boss and dogs weren't allowed to have fun without him.

Arkhon with a different Loki: his brother.

There were quite a few people there, and at one point I think we had around fifteen dogs. Everyone got along great, though there were a few tense moments with a couple of dogs that came in overly-excited.

Dakota tends to follow me everywhere and to lay down wherever I'm standing/sitting. Arkhon likes to stay close as well, and he's pretty submissive to other dogs, so sometimes they pick on him. Yesterday though, nobody bothered him, and he made good friends with a few of the dogs.

We were outside for about two hours. Kevin fell asleep on the walk home, and Arkhon slept a lot of the rest of the day as well.

They sure love each other.

It is wonderful to be able to go on walks in December, but I'm kind of disappointed as well. We live in Utah. Right now, there's supposed to be snow on the ground and freezing temperatures. There's not supposed to be bugs in the air or frost on the visible grass at night.

I'm not really complaining, but I'm also worried about the amount of moisture we're receiving. If it doesn't start snowing soon, the farmers are going to be in trouble this coming year. I also miss the snow. I want to take Kevin sledding and build a snowman with him. It's hard to do that when there's nothing on the ground.

Maybe it's time to start praying for snow.

The Super Twins!

A Day at the Dog Park

Dakota's first dog friend, Meg

I have been watching some "Dog Whisperer" lately.  I really respect Cesar Millan, and he's helped me solve many a problem with my dogs.

Lately, I found out that we have a dog park nearby.  I really wanted to take Dakota there, but she has always been strange dog aggressive.  If the dog is accepted into the pack, she's fine, but if it is a strange, dominant dog, she usually will attack them.

Recently I discovered that this was because she is scared.  She is not attacking because she is mean or aggressive, she is simply insecure around other dogs.  I knew that somehow I had caused this, but it wasn't until recently that I figured it out. As a pack leader, I need to protect the members of my pack.  If a strange dog came running toward my baby, I would put myself in the way and protect him.  However, I usually forced the dog to go and greet a new dog, so the dog never learned to trust me to take care of her when strange dogs were around.. 

So, lately, if a dog is too high of energy, I block the dog until it calms down and then I correct Dakota if she growls. 

Yesterday, I felt we were ready.  Grig, Kevin, and I went with her to the dog park.  I was a little nervous, but I told myself it was going to go well. 

Amazingly, it did!  I was excited.  When we first arrived, there were some high-energy dogs barking and yapping, so we didn't bring her in until they left.  Once we did bring her in, she was immediately greeted by a gentle old labrador.  Her owner told me that she is a therapy dog and is great for helping dogs like Dakota get over their anti-social behavior.  It was a great start.

Dakota had a few altercations, but I was able to quickly correct her, and eventually she started to get it.  She stopped growling and only snapped a little warning snap if the dog was getting too friendly.  Other than that, she seemed to really enjoy herself. 

I was hoping that she'd eventually start playing, but we'll try again.  Having no fights was a great first step!

Afterward, we walked home, and had a great conversation.  We met some great people there, and we made some new friends, human and dog. 

Dakota made some new friends!

I think we're going to go again.  Ideally would be frequently, but with our busy schedule, once or twice a week is probably all we can hope for.