Chow with fall colors

Chow with fall colors, originally uploaded by phaird.

What a beautiful weekend at the park. The leaves around the pond are changing and the colors were perfect. This is such a short time of the year but I really enjoy it because I can still get out and enjoy the weather without worrying about my toes to freeze or over heating.

It was a busy day for puppies. One guy brought his 4 bernese mountain dogs puppies to the park. They were so cute but the crazy thing was they were carbon copies of each other. I couldn't tell the difference between 3 of them and the 4th difference was the minor coloring on the tip of his tail.

Now that I'm bringing my son, I've got to keep moving and keep him entertained. He's only 3 so everything is still about him and he doesn't understand that we come to the park for our dog Toby. He enjoys himself well enough and I really like socializing him around all the different dogs. He's learning there are so many different kids of dogs will all kinds of personalities. I think the next goal is to get him a soccer ball and let me run around the park with that. That should make for some more great photos of him and hopefully the dogs.

Fun for all at the park

Ron's love of kids and dogs, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a beautiful fall day at the park this weekend. The sun was bright and the air was crisp. Geoffrey made a new friend this weekend with Ron who let Geoffrey play with him. Ron ended up getting more love from the dogs as well. When you get down the dogs level you are fair game for a kiss. He was a great sport though and Geoffrey is looking forward to next week.

Each week I've been seeing more and more new people. It's nice that a word of mouth event continues to grow. I hope more people continue to come.

Early day at the park.

weimaraner standing by, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a crazy weekend. On Saturday, I photographed at a Rottweiler fundraiser in Hopkinton State Park. It was a lot of fun. The dogs were all so well behaved and the people were all as nice as can be. I had a great time and took some great photos.

Sunday, a friend from out of town was visiting so I took the boys (Both sons and Toby) to the park to get their energy out. I went early so there wasn't a lot of dogs there yet. I did get to see Sky and Jet but there were others as well I didn't know. My boys needed to get their energy out and are always a lot of fun but can be a handful. I barely had time to take any pictures but I liked this one of the weimaraner. There was a puppy vizsla that just loved Geoffrey and Isaac. He would run back and forth between the boys to give them kisses. Geoffrey got knocked down but they had fun.

Romp for Rotties this weekend

For the love of Dog, a Rottweiler rescue group is having it's annual fundraiser this Saturday. I'll be there with my camera, a portable studio and a printer taking studio shot of their dogs. This is the third event I've done this summer and the weather for this event is expected to be perfect. The event is from Noon - 4 p.m. at the Hopkinton State Park, Split Rock Group area. It should be a lot of fun. If anyone is going to be there, swing by and say hello.

A word to the wise

Scout waiting, originally uploaded by phaird.

When you go to the dog park, make sure you arrive in a good mood. If you stand around, even trying to put on a cheery face, the dogs will know if your mood is foul.

I went to the park in a foul mood this Sunday. The clouds were hanging low and it's been a crazy September but I wanted to get Toby to the park. I didn't bring my son so I got to stand around and chat with some of the regulars. While just stand there, one of the dogs came right up to me and peed on my leg. No warning, no sniffing; he just came up, lifted his leg and let me have it.

So you might be thinking that this is a fluke and it happens to people all the time. It does happen now and again but the only two times it happened to me was when I showed up at the park in poor spirits. So a word of caution. When heading to the park, remember why you are there and what you get from going. The best part of my week is Sunday when I go to the park, play and take pictures of the dogs and talk with all my dog park friends.

Jet playing with Toby

_MG_3299.jpg, originally uploaded by phaird.

Jet loves Toby. As soon as we got to the park Jet was all excited about Toby. What I was happy about was Toby was okay with it. Toby doesn't always want to play "tag" with the other dogs and often doesn't do well with puppies but since Jet is 7 months and bigger so that might help. He's bigger then Toby but still has the puppy curiosity. He wants to push the limits but knows how to back off.

Jet is a new addition to Sky's family and it's been a really interesting addition. Since both are Boarder Collie's, they are very possessive. Since Sky is the senior member, he's had the upper hand but he is now shorter the Jet so the dynamics might shift. I'll have to wait and see. Jet and Sky haven't been to the park much but on this perfect Sunday, few people could resist.

I haven't been around as much just because too many family responsibilities have been taking my time. With Fall approaching and the school schedule starting, things might become more stable and I can spend more time at the park. I'm going to be shooting at another dog event soon and my wife is going to be doing her first craft fair which should both be a lot of fun. I'll try to keep you updated and let you know what exciting news is going on.

A perfect Sunday morning

Bella expressing joy, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a perfect morning at the park on Sunday. It wasn't hot or cold. It was overcast but no chance of rain. Dogs could run around the park or jump in the pond and wouldn't overheat. There was a good number of dogs and no conflicts at all.

This is Bella who I've known since I started coming to the park 3 years ago. She is one of the regular Aussies that come and greet all of her other dog friends or come and stand between someones legs to get her butt scratched. One of the nicest dogs you could ever meet.

There was a good group of dogs, people and kids at the park. I've been bring my boy the past few weeks and he's liked it because he can run around and throw rocks into the pond. I think that is getting old though because this week, he just kept saying he wanted the slide. It's hard to explain to a (almost) 3 year old that the parks with slides are not so friendly to dogs. I should try going back to Waverly Oaks where there is a kids park on one area and a dog park in another. If I didn't have a silly day job taking me away from my dog, kids and photography, I'd be set. I have a plan, I just have to get it in motion.