Poor weather doesn't matter

Another weekend at the park but after a long week of great weather, the rain kept a few people away. I almost didn't go myself because it wasn't good for my camera.

Toby doesn't care about that though so we went and saw the regulars as well as a few new faces. Most dogs are happy to get outside no matter what the weather. Rain, snow or sun, they want to get out and run. With the lake freshly melted they were even in the pond. The ground has gotten hard so the mud isn't so bad anymore and everyone really enjoys the time out but it's the dogs who really get the best of it all.

A Golden day

golden3, originally uploaded by phaird.

Another great spring day. Lots of people were out and about and the dogs were all having a great day. There was a large number of Golden Retrievers out and having fun. Golden's love the attention and with everyone out, they went up to everyone to get some attention.

Golden's can be hard to photograph. Being such people friendly dogs, every time I went down on a knee to take a picture, they would run up to me to get some attention. I got a few pictures of noses because of that but didn't post it on my flickr page. Don't need to bore you. I hope to get some more photos of them next week.

First interview for book

Amber with rudi and dad, originally uploaded by phaird.

last Friday I did my first interview for the book. To be fair, this is my second attempt but the first didn't work out so I have to redo that one.

I've been spending lots of time with Rudy, Amber and Dusty, and getting to know their owner so we decided to sit down and talk about the dog park and his dogs.

I found out that we have a lot in common. We both have that west coast personality and both lived in San Francisco before moving east.

I think it went okay. It was great to sit and get to know Amber and Dusty's dad and finding out about all of them. The hard part is putting it into an interesting story.

Spring?

layers-of-dogs_blurry, originally uploaded by phaird.

Spring is here but only in name. The past few weekends have been cold but that hasn't stopped everyone from coming out. I'm looking forward to leaves on the trees and color on the ground. Spring can be so short here in New England and after a long winter, to be able to bask in the warmth of spring again will be a great feeling.

white dog

white-dog, originally uploaded by phaird.

One of the things that people may not appreciate about dog parks is the socialization. Dogs need to be around other dogs just like people need to be around other people. Left alone too long, they won't understand what it means to be around others.

This dogs owner was talking about how he was walking his dogs on a trail that went by someones property. Like most places that are by open lands, the only divide was a low stone wall. There were two dogs who lived on the other side and for some reason, they attacked his dog. They got her ear pretty bad but over all she is just fine. It's a scary feeling though watching your dog getting attacked.

There could be lots of reason that this happened but one reason may be because of the lack of community the dogs that attacked had. Some people think that if you've got two dogs or an open yard that it's all you need. If dogs only spend time with people, they won't know what to do around other dogs. The socialization that dogs get when they come to the park allows them to play and run around with other dogs to lets them learn what it means to be a dog.

Dog as a spiritual leader

Seems like Buddhism allows all creatures to enter a higher plain. Check out this article.

Life without parks?

I was just talking with a friend in Portland, OR. I plan on going out and visiting over the summer and thought we could spend time visiting some dog friendly parks out his way. I was shocked that he hasn't found any good places to go and that their leash laws are very strict. Many of his neighbors have dogs but keep them within their fenced yards.

Socialisation is so important for dog (as well as dog owners). When only around people or on leash, dogs never get a chance to be a dog. Running, chasing, wrestling, barking is all part of being a dog. They need that release to have that kind of dogs life experience.

For non-dog owners it's a cycle that they may not understand. When a dog is on a leash and see other dogs, the pulling, jumping and barking is only because they are being held back. The more restraint, the more they pull. It looks like they are being bad but really, they are just being dogs. By letting go, dogs will be able to meet and greet in dog terms and the level of tension goes away. You all know that though, because you love your dogs. :)