First Trip to the Dog Park

The little man got his rabies vaccine yesterday and he know weighs 38lbs.  The next step is to get neutered and Keith and I are debating on when to do this.  Keith says if we wait a little longer he will grow bigger and stronger.  I think he is already going to be big and strong and we don't need him any bigger.  I mean he is only 5 months old and already weighs 38 lbs.  We haven't scheduled the "de-manning" of Brody yet but it will be coming up in the near future.

On Memorial Day it was actually warm and sunny out so we decided to take the boys to the dog park here in Folsom.  I was a bit nervous because in the past Brody has been know to bark and jump at other dogs when he sees them.  I am not sure if he is saying a friendly "Hello" or if this is his attempt to assert his toughness.  In any case he needs to start socializing with other dogs so instead of putting him in doggy day care (I know it sounds ridiculous but it's good for socializing) we decided to take him to the dog park.  We took out the leashes and both dogs went ballistic!  We finally go them settled and set off on our walk.  Brody was so excited he just kept jumping up, and when he jumps it's more like a hop because he gets all four feet off the ground at once. He bites his leash and holds it in his mouth as he walks sideways down the sidewalk.  He really is not very good on the leash and in dog class we were told that when a dog pulls we have to stop the walk.  The reward for not pulling is to continue the walk.  Well that lesson has gone down the crapper because if we enforced that rule I would still be standing right in front of the house, 5 days later, where the walk started.  Half way through the walk Brody began to tire out and the walk went a little more smoothly.  Although, he did periodically jump on Roscoe and bite him in the face, but Roscoe is used to it and it didn't seem bother him too much.

When we arrived at the park we lead the boys into the fenced area and took off their leashes.  They immediately ran around and chased after each other.  There was only one other dog there, a Labradoodle.  The Labradoodle came trotting up to Brody and Roscoe and the usual sniffing occurred.  Brody was a perfect gentleman although he was a little weary of the other dog but after a few seconds they all ran around together.  At this point I took a deep breath and relaxed.  About 10 minutes later two other dogs came into the park.  I am not sure what they were.  They sort of looked like Chihuahuas but they were bigger maybe 10-15 lbs.  Brody noticing new dogs had arrived ran up to these dogs and tried to say hi but they snapped at him.  The poor baby was so scared he came running over to my crying.  In Brody's defense these dogs ran up and barked at a little kid too so I don't think it was Brody who was mean but these other dogs.  After his run in with theses bullies he stayed close by his big brother Roscoe for the rest of the time at the park.

We stayed at the park for about 20 more minutes then decided we better start the walk home before the dogs and the kids were too tired.  All in all it was a good day at the dog park, Brody did very well and if it ever stops raining we will take them back again!