Our first trip to the dog park

[xsubsailor]

So I want to let the Pickle run free since she has so much energy and my yard is a bit small for her to really run all out. I look up a local dog park and we were off. I packed plenty of water, a bowl, baby wipes and some "clean up" bags. We get there and things look promising lots of dogs running around and the people look very nice. I get Pickle ready and we walk over to the entrance. The dogs see Pickle and she sees them, they are all excited and when I open the second gate they all run and start playing and sniffing each other. Pickle is doing great and the other dogs are also acting wonderfully. I see that there are water bowls and gallons jugs of water next to them - seems pretty good.

Then the Border collie sees Pickle and starts to "herd" her, as her owner stated. Every time Pickle starts to run here comes the collie. I start to walk Pickle away from the area and the woman with the collie starts to follow me telling me about the EB she used to own. Now I'm trying to get the dogs to different areas but the woman keeps following me. I'm trying to be nice but I care more about my Pickle than this woman and her story. The collie keeps up the "herding" until finally I see Pickle get that look like "this is gonna stop right now". She bumps the collie pretty good and I guess the collie got the message and leaves Pickle alone...... until Pickle goes for a drink. The collie decides that all the water bowls are hers and no other dog will get a drink - until Pickle goes over and pushes past the collie. The collie gets upset and snaps at Pickle. I start over to get Pickle and then she did something that surprised me. The collie snapped at her again and Pickle jumped all over the collie until the owner put the leash back on her dog. I grabbed Pickle and took her to the other end of the park but by this time the woman had collected her dog and left the park.

I had several people come over to me saying that the collie does that all the time and that the collie started at Pickle. Well, I saw that from the start but I wanted to see how Pickle would react. I was happy to see that she stood up for herself but I quickly jumped in because I don't want her to get hurt. After the collie left, Pickle had a great time with the other dogs and got along with all breeds such as Great Danes, Retrievers, Pugs, and Shepherds. It was really fun to watch her run as fast as she could with the other dogs and play.

After I got her home, she took a dip in her babypool to cool off and then she took a nice bath to get all the other dogs slobber off of her. I would say that she had a pretty eventful day but she (I) really had fun with the other dogs ... after the collie left.

 

[cali baker]

I'm so glad Pickle stood up for herself w/the Border Collie AND that she had a great 1st time adventure at the doggie park! Dog parks can be fun but they can also be a little daunting b/c you just never know what can and will happen there. Next time, we want to see some pics!

 

[Ftse 100]

Oh yes we do want pictures glad you and Pickle had a good time after the collie left.

 

[xsubsailor]

Oh yes we do want pictures glad you and Pickle had a good time after the collie left.

Sorry I broke the cardinal rule - I left my phone/camera in the car. But here's a pool picture
and an after we got back "sleepy" picture .

 

[Sherry]

That sounds like Pickle is a very well socialized bully, good for her and you!!! Hope you go back again soon.

 

[Ftse 100]

Sorry I broke the cardinal rule - I left my phone/camera in the car. But here's a pool picture View attachment 48366
and an after we got back "sleepy" picture View attachment 48367.

He is a cutie and so tired after all that playing.

 

[Marine91]

Good for Pickle standing up for herself. Sounds like she had fun. We can't wait to take Harlea once she hits 16 weeks!

 

[Lisabear123]

Good job pickle!

 

[bullmama]

Hopefully the collie won't be there next time. Pickle is so cute!!!


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi, yeah leash free dog parks can be hit or miss, they can be good or bad , and unfortunately it's the bad owners that make the bad ones bad. I've been to a couple of leash free parks, and my first experience was really good, we had about 10 dogs, and they were all playing really nice, except they smelled really bad from a black lab dog who smelled really bad, he had a greasy coat with lots of white dandruff, his owner didn't look like he'd had a shower in a while either, but he was a very friendly dog. Our second time at the same park wasn't as good an experience, there was just one lady there with two younger husky dogs. We walked into the park, with our two EB's Bulldozer and Blossom, and she asked me if they were friendly, I told her they were and that they were big sucks, and loved everyone and everything. I took off their leashes and let them go. My two guys were wearing their brand new Paul Frank sweaters and the ladies one husky went up to my female Blossom and started tugging at her sweater and growling at her, the lady couldn't control her dog, and he pulled the sweater right off over her head, and then her two dogs started a tug of war with it, they ripped it in half. We put our guys back on their leashes, and I told the lady that Blossom had only worn that sweater one time. She disappeared with her dogs into her car and drove away in less than 5 minutes. She obviously didnt want me to ask her to pay for a new sweater. We found another leashfree park in Oakville which is another town about 1/2 an hour drive from my house, it is very clean, has nice people and really nice dogs that all got along. It's just not convienant to go there, and it's been really hot, so we haven't been going there very much. We are fortunate though to live in an area that has a river and a nature trail behind our house, and we tend to go down there in the early mornings when it is cool, and let them go for a good run. They prefer to play with each other anyway, and they don't get smelly from other dogs, and there are no other dogs around, plus it's close to home, and has a lot of shaded areas.

 

[Davidh]

Sounds like she had a fun time, and that's good she got along with the others.

 

[2BullyMama]

Always an adventure at the public dog park.,... happy all went well, overall. Pickle will sleep for a few days, I am sure

 

[cowsmom]

oh thats so wonderful pickle had a good time after the collie left. we dont have any dog parks around here

 

[mc68mc]

I take April to the dog park in the small town we live near -but there are very few people who use it- been there at least ten times and only had one lady with a German short hair and a Weimaraner there at the same time we were -very nice park they have large and small dog area of about two acres each -well maintained just not much shade ..Glad you and Pickle had a good time