You Learn

A couple weekends ago I took Abby to a dog park near my house for the first time. She was extremely cautious at first, sniffing around the perimeter of the park, letting all the other dogs sniff her, and spending a lot of time hiding under the picnic table where she felt safe. Eventually, she embraced her freedom and ran around the park, trying to get other dogs to chase her, and avoiding the hump-happy dogs. As we were leaving the park that day, I noticed that Abby was moving quite a bit slower than usual. She had torn up the pads on 2 of her paws and was bleeding. I got her home, quickly cleaned her up, and she fully recovered within the next 2 days. However, I was still a bit hesitant to take her back to the park, until last night.

The main branch of the library is down the street from the dog park. Because there is no parking at the park, you must park at the library and walk. As soon as we drove into the library parking lot, Abby knew where she was. She had only been there the one time before, but dogs learn so quickly (especially my dog because she is the smartest dog ever) that she recognized her surroundings immediately. She was wagging her tail hard enough to bruise an unsuspecting arm or leg, and she could not wait to jump out of that car. I occasionally take Abby places where she must remain in the car, so generally, she will look at me and wait for the okay to get out, or the "stay" command. However, she knew she was getting out this time. There was no question in her mind that she was going back to the heaven that was the dog park.

As we walked down the street, or as Abby walked me down the street, I could see her excitement building even more. As soon as she spotted that park, she was off, pulling me along, to the fence. We finally got inside, and she took off before I could even shut the fence behind us. There was no hesitation this time, no tail down, just pure joy. Just sitting there, watching her and the other dogs, makes me happy. You can't help but just smile. I sat down on a bench next to a girl who was there with her Great Dane. This was the most beautiful dog. She was very tall and all legs, her torso was lean, and she had a very sweet disposition. The owner mentioned how you could tell that her Great Dane was an only dog because she was wandering around the park by herself, playing on her own. And I realized, Abby did the same thing. She would run by herself, at full speed, in circles around the entire park. Sometimes, she would run past other dogs, trying to get them to chase her. When they did, she would run in a few circles, then dart under the picnic table as if to say, "Haha, sucker! I'm faster than you and smaller than you and I can get to this table before you can get me."

At one point, after numerous race track worthy runs, Abby just plopped down, right in the middle of a bunch of dogs and rested. This rest lasted approximately 2.5 seconds, and she was off again. Eventually, I noticed her walking with her tail down. I knew that it must be time to go. I presume that she was getting some bad vibes from a couple dogs that had just entered the park. I waited about five minutes, to make sure it really was time to go, and it was. I picked up her leash, and she immediately ran to my side like "Ok! I'm done. Let's go eat dinner now!"

It was so much fun for Abby and myself at the dog park, that I am now vowing to make this happen at least one night per week. Abby was worn out, and went to bed before I did.