The Ts Step Out

We went to Bark in the Park this morning. It didn't start well--for one thing, Timber peed on the rug in the bedroom last night which I discovered when I got out of bed and stepped on the wet spot barefoot. First I was mad, and then I was worried, and now I'm more worried because I did some research on line and am thinking he may have a genetic kidney disorder which can be managed but not treated, and will finally result in renal failure at far too young an age.

For another, I made the mistake of trying to take them with just their rolled leather collars and leashes. Silly Mom. They were so uncontrollable that after half a block I dragged them back home and put their Easy-Walk harnesses on them. http://www.petexpertise.com/item--Easy-Walk-No-Pull-Harness--easy_walk_harness.html I use a coupler leash with the harnesses, and it makes them SO much easier to handle!

It was a cool, sunny, breezy morning, and there were lots of dogs there, everything from Chihuahuas to a couple of blue merle Great Danes. Somebody had two English Mastiff puppies, one silver-fawn and one more of a red fawn--apricot, I guess, is the correct term; there was a sable BC pup (very rare color in the US, and was he ever a go-getter!), lots of pick-em-up-and-carry-em dogs, a collie in full coat (gorgeous); a couple of dobermans, one of which looked like a rottie with cropped ears and tail--I've never seen such a husky dobe! Funnily enough I only saw one lab and one golden. I think I saw a white American Bulldog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bulldog. A very tall, very leggy, very lean GSD that I thought was maybe a year old, but the owner said was nearly four--wayyyyy different from the Ts! And lots of mixed breeds, including some from the animal shelter sporting spiffy yellow bandanas.

Timber barked twice, which I discouraged, and after that they were fine. He was Mr. Sociability with both people and other dogs, and only tried to jump on two people, and was very sweet with kids and small dogs. A very small boy came up from behind him and started patting him enthusiastically (with his mother trailing with a smaller child in her arms and a dog on a leash, calling "Ask first, ask first!"), and he didn't even bat an eye. He more or less ignored me, but he enjoyed the attention he got, and I was very proud of him.

Taenzer's reaction was interesting. She was much more reserved than she's ever been, and checked in with me in a way that reminded me of Stella and which she's never done before. Two or three people passed muster enough for her to suddenly look them in the eye and wag her tail and ask for attention, but mostly she stood back and observed. She was too stressed and distracted to take treats, but when we went to the "Boneyard"--a roped off area with old shoes, new treats, new toys, and crazy-wild full of smells--I was able to get her to focus enough to go find and retrieve my own shoes, which I'd taken off and tossed into the mix. It seemed to me that being successful at that made her feel more confident. With the first shoe it was hard to get her to focus on me instead of all the smells, but when she finally got it and brought it to me and got hugged and fussed over, she was much quicker and more precise at finding and retrieving the 2nd one, and she started being more interested in the people around us afterwards. I'll have to remember that. I won't always be able to get her to fetch a shoe, but I can certainly ask her to do some simple obedience to help her focus and feel in control.

A woman came up and wanted me to tell her about German Shepherds. I myself was pretty distracted, trying to keep an eye on both Ts, kids, the approach of other dogs (only one noisy encounter I heard--I'm always amazed at how non-confrontational all the dogs are at this set-up), and the loudspeakers were blasting out this horrible WHO LET THE DOGS OUT song--but I think I mentioned the most important things: training, socializing, intelligence, not back-yard dogs, hip x-rays at 2. Her husband wants one, but since he's in the military she'd have to deal with it. She said she didn't want hair, so I made sure to emphasize that if she got a GSD she would have hair out the wazoo, all the time. That you choose your rugs, furniture, and clothes with an eye to colors that showed the least hair. Funnily enough, she knew about Valiantdale Kennels (where Stella and Taenzer come from) but I don't think I ever found out how she knew.

The Forgottonia police brought their K9 units and did a demo, which I didn't see because someone else was talking to me. I was kind of sorry, because I did hear that one of the dogs is a Malinois and the other is a Dutch Shepherd, which is a breed I'm not at all familiar with and I would like to have seen it.

We were there about an hour and a half, I guess, and they were way ready to come home. I brought them in so they could get a drink, then took them out so they could run in the puppy pen and work off some of the excitement. We all napped in the afternoon, and then went out to play again. A nice day in the end, I think.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Timber tonight--crate him, I guess. I hate to, but the whole point of baby-gating off the door was to get him to wake me up if he has to go. If he's going to go ahead and go on the floor, I don't see any other option than to crate him. I'm thinking about getting a 2nd alarm, and setting one to wake me around 3 and the other for going to work, but I'm going to think about it a little more...