Dog Park

Cooper and Bear made their first trip to the dog park a few days ago. We were a little nervous about the trip as they have only been around two other dogs in their short life, so we weren't sure how they would react to stranger dogs. I've wanted to go to the Dog Park for a while since I've heard good things about the local parks. We live in a city that supports dog parks and has several in the area- there is even a dedicated organization to the preservation of our dog parks (Houston dog parks). The park that is close to our house is really nice, it has separate fenced areas for big dogs and little dogs, with exercise equipment and a pond at each.

We took the little boys to the side for little dogs and walked them around the three acre lot on their leash first so they could get the lay of the land (and also be able to protect them if an aggressive dog showed up) then let them off the leash - Cooper immediately started sprinting and pretty much didn't stop sprinting until we left the park an hour and a half later. Bear would run too (mainly after Cooper) but he stuck closer to us. The puppies even got a crude introduction to swimming by accidentally jumping into the middle of the pond. I'm pretty sure they didn't realize what they were jumping into before they hit the water, but they sure figured out how to swim pretty fast.

My sister and her boyfriend joined us and we all enjoyed the beautiful afternoon, in the mid 60's, by chasing the boys and playing some Frisbee. We even got the boys to jump on the doggy exercise equipment which I figured they love (as much as they love the couch at our house). They didn't like it at first, but with a little help, they eventually warmed up to the equipment.

The dogs did have a few low points- we met a fellow Australian Shepherd named Pepper right before we left. After talking with her owners, we learned she is 8 months old and about thirty pounds and crazy hyper. She is much bigger than Cooper and Bear but really wanted to be their friend... the boys weren't having it. Cooper did not get along with her at all and actually showed his teeth several times and tried to attack. To Coop's defense, that dog was much bigger than him (too big for the "small dog" area if you ask me) and just all up in his business. We separated them and Pepper's owner put her back on the leash. Pepper's owners were very understanding with the little confrontation, and ended up leaving shortly after. Even though the dogs didn't get off to a good start, it was nice to meet another fellow Aussie. I'm glad we ended up getting Mini Aussies as the regular breed is soo much bigger than these guys.

Other than that, the boys did really good and made a lot of doggie friends. We plan to go back as often as we can to let the boys run. It was good to see them stretch their legs so much and get the type of exercise they really require. As you might have expected, the pups were exhausted and pretty much slept for most of the afternoon... as did everyone else :)