Dog Park!!!!

Mom and Dad took me to the dog park for the first time on Sunday! They hadn't taken me before, because they wanted me to go to obedience classes first so I'd be better about listening to them. And, I have to say they were also being a little overprotective, because they worried about what might happen if there were irresponsible dog parents there with dogs that aren't as nice as I am. But, thankfully, the trainer at my classes helped calm their fears. Moms and Dads can be so high maintenance sometimes.

Anyway, I was so excited when we got there. I couldn't wait to get out of the car! I started to climb to the front seat to get out, which I never do, but then Mom told me I had to wait for them to open the back door. As soon as we got inside the gates we met another Golden. Her name was Bailey, and she was a very sweet girl. She was like me and was more interested in visiting all the humans in the park than playing with the dogs.

Here is a picture of me, Bailey's butt, and another dog.

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After I met Bailey, I decided to divide my time between sniffing the perimeter of the park and saying hi to the humans. It was only after I got all my initial sniffing in that I said some hellos to the other dogs.

You know what was the best thing about the park? All the balls! There were tennis balls scattered all over the ground. I went from one to the next, trading them out as I found new ones. And, you know what else was great? There were several dog parents there who were trying to get their dogs to play fetch, but they weren't interested. So guess who they played with... Me! I was so cute and so enthusiastic about their tennis balls that they just couldn't resist. One lady had a ball launcher and she threw her dog's ball for me over and over. Her lab would just look at the ball as it sailed away and then go on to do something else. How could he ignore a ball?! I just don't get that. Mom says I have no control over my urge to retrieve and that they could throw a ball for hours on end, and I'd still run after it no matter how tired I am. Anyway, the lab's Mom said she was glad at least someone was enjoying it.

I got kind of tired and hot after a while, so I took some short rests in the dirt in between getting up to chase more balls. Ha. And Mom thought the bath she'd given me on Friday night would last.

It was hard for a dog to take a break though. These guys came and visited me while I was resting. Check out the Great Dane. He's huge!

I was pretty pooped when we left and was ready to head home for a nap. I can't wait to go back though! Maybe next time they'll take me to Fort Woof.