Just a few years ago, we had to drive at least 15-20 minutes to the nearest doggie/bark park. Not a problem these days, we now have 3 bark parks (in 3 different "cities" no less!) within five miles of our house.
On Sunday, we headed on over to the one we just found out about (who knows how long it has been there!) and it also marked Rocky's bark park debut. He had a blast! I was trying to figure out why it had taken so long to take him to the park... but then we figured out by the time he was fully vaccinated and grown up enough to really play... it was likely well into "hell" season here in the Valley of the Sun. Since the temps have finally cooled off, it was time to get him out.
This was the first time we also got to see Rocky interact with other dogs, though it was not his first time to be around a lot of different dogs. The new "pet resort" we found and boarded Toby and Rocky at during our Colorado trip (and where they're headed again next week!) has all-day play time, so they have had pure doggie time before... but it was fun for us to see it for ourselves.
Having mostly experienced small/low dogs with his brother Toby and his "aunt" Lucy the pug (as well as being in the small dog play area at the "resort"), Rocky seemed particularly curious about the bigger dogs. He certainly is not used to looking that far up at a dog. Nevertheless, he was not afraid or bashful. One of the funniest images of the day was "Little Rock" chasing and running around with a greyhound! He pretty much made fast friends with any of the dogs (whether the other dogs felt the same is debatable!)... just loved to run and run and run... and even proved to be an effective "chick magnet"... oh well!
Toby had a great time as well. He was one of the few (only?!) dogs that barked at the bark park. Toby is not a big barker (or I should say a "bark a lot-er"... since he is loud and "big" when he does bark). He'll let loose with a combo of bark and howl if he gets frustrated... and since Toby is not the fastest dog on the block, a bunch of dogs running back and forth and in circles tends to get him a bit flustered... so he let everyone hear it!
Unfortunately, both dogs end up coming home a mess! Despite our dry climate, most parks are irrigated and for some evil reason it seems that most of these dog parks end up having some standing water and/or mud. I don't think I need to explain what happened... but I guess they were due for baths anyhow.
With the best intentions, and now that the weather is agreeable we vow to take the dogs to the park more often. We were glad to see this particular one was so well-used (guessing 20-25 dogs at any given time)... and not just the dog park... there's a skate park and countless Sunday morning soccer games in progress. It's no fun going to the bark park when there are hardly any dogs there (or if you're the only ones!).
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