Too Many Dogs!

Bernese Mountain Dog.  Photo Courtesy of www.praisephotography.com

“Want to come with us to the dog park?” I asked Katie.  The words “dog” and “park” are just a couple sounds that make Lila’s ears perk up.

“The dog park stinks,” said Katie.  Not only did Lila’s ears bounce again at the sounds of those words, so did she.

“Plus, I need coffee.”   Luckily, there is a Caribou Coffee on the way.

“We can get coffee on the way!”  I said.  Lila and I can count the number of times Katie has been to the dog park on one paw.  We were happy to have the company.

Lila continued to jump up every once in a while as she watched us search for our sunglasses, hats, mittens and boots.

Lila went straight to the van after I opened the garage door.  When we arrived at the coffee shop, we had to leave Lila alone for a few minutes.  I try not to leave her alone in the van, but she handled the short abandonment very well and the inside of the van was intact after we got back.

Lila started her whiney cry as we got closer to the park.

“What’s the matter?”  Katie asked.  “Is she always like this?”

“Yes, she’s excited.”  The closer we get to the park, the louder the whining gets.

“It’s crowded,” said Katie.

I opened the door, and instructed Lila to go to the gate.  I’ve learned to just let Lila find her way by herself once we arrive.  The times I’ve tried to leash her up and hold her back have not been very good on my sciatic nerve.

Lila barked at the gate as if she were instructing me to hurry.

“I’m coming,” I said while I watched her jump, almost as high as the top of the gate.

“Did you see that lab jump?” a lady commented to her friend.  People are always amazed.

Lila ran fast towards the pink tennis ball after I chucked it across the park.  Even though we haven’t had any snow for a while, the snow at the dog park is still a bright white, all except for the little yellow spots that can be seen here and there.  We followed Lila along the worn away path.

“Do those boots have any sort of grip on the bottom?”  I asked Katie as I looked at her Uggs.  It seemed as if I could walk faster with my unfashionable boots that didn’t slide about.

“No, they’re kind of hard to walk in on the snow,” said Katie.

Lila still does not drop the ball for me, but when other dogs greeted Lila she abandoned the ball and forgot where she left it.  I was able to grab it quick, and Lila noticed right away.

“Don’t even try to keep up, Howie,” a man said to his little dog.  Howie and the man watched Lila run after the tennis ball.

It was nice to be outside and enjoying the day.  All the hustle and bustle of the holidays didn’t leave much time for me to be outside with the dog.  The sunny, blue sky and the white snow made the dog park seem fresh and clean.  One of the joys of winter is that the usual bad smells are frozen.

As a Bernese mountain dog came running towards us on its way to Lila, Katie commented on how she liked the smaller dogs.  Another lab joined us all at the park and had somehow gotten Lila’s pink tennis ball.  For a minute I had a hard time telling the two labs apart.

“Ricky, that’s not yours,” I heard a lady say.  Ricky dropped the ball, ran and jumped up to lick a lady on her face.  I remembered back to the day when Lila used to do that to practically everyone she met.  Ricky made Lila look like a good girl!

“Can we go now?” Katie asked.  “There are just too many dogs here!”  Lila was ready to go too.  We went on our way, Katie still holding her Caribou coffee cup in her hand.

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Snow Brightens Up the Gloom!

This morning when I let Lila outside, we were greeted by the freshly fallen snow that covered the dull and brown grass. Lila happily licked the ground getting a mouthful of the wet, cold stuff. Her big strides around the tree sadly made her leash wrap up to limit her “freedom.” I found my boots and went outside to get her. Lila dashed inside and watched me as I unraveled the leash. My footsteps and her paw prints marked up the once untouched blanket of snow.

Inside, Lila looked up at us as if to wonder why we were busy huddling over papers: Dad with the newspaper, Laura with photos and me with a cookbook searching for a mint cookie recipe that can be made quickly. Lila looked as if she couldn’t understand us. Why didn’t we want to go outside and play in the snow?

So I pulled on all the things I needed to keep me warm and cozy. When I opened the door to the garage, Lila bolted towards the van, the only vehicle around right now where Lila is allowed to enter. After I opened the large door to the garage, we were on our way. As I backed up, the tires crunched down the snow in the driveway. I was thankful that the streets had already been plowed.

As we got closer to the dog park, Lila started her usual whining and bouncing about. Sometimes her ears twitched to the sounds of the Christmas music coming from the dashboard. After we arrived, we noticed many other canine and human friends. People were hunched over with parka hoods trying to keep the flying snow out of their eyes. The snow was piling up on their shoulders and hoods making them look like walking snowmen.

The Outskirts of the Dog Park

The friendly dogs waited by the gate ready to greet Lila. Lila barked and jumped so high that she could almost go over the fence. When I got the gate open, Lila greeted a couple of dogs and anxiously looked at me because she wanted me to chuck the Chuck-It.  She whined at me again, but so did Rex. Rex, a smaller black dog, that looked to be part pit bull, was ready for me to chuck the tennis ball too.

“Ok, ready?” I asked. Now four anxious eyes looked up at me. I knew Lila could outrun Rex. I chucked the ball, and they ran. Lila was in the lead and got the ball. Oops, Lila dropped the ball. Rex got it. Lila came back to me, still all smiles, but without a ball.

“Oops,” I said, as I saw Rex run off, lay down with the ball in between his front paws licking away at whatever disgusting things might be stuck to it. Rex stood up, shook his head back and forth, just the way Lila does, and as if to say, “I got it!” Rex with the ball made Rex happy.

Lila Running and Searching

“Go find another ball, Lila.” Lila ran to the usual spots, but today it was more difficult for her with all the fresh snow masking what she can usually sniff out right way. I followed her, and could not see one either. We circled around the park a couple more times enjoying the wintry wonderland still without a ball in sight and Rex still clinging onto the one I threw.

Everything Smells Like Snow Today!

“I’m going to go get a ball from the van,” I told Lila. She sat down close to the gate and waited patiently, her eyes following me the entire time. I found one, grabbed it with the Chuck-It, and Lila bounced about again, as if she were a ball. Just as I was about to chuck it, Rex greeted us again, our first ball lost or forgotten. I thought about how pit bulls can get a bad rap, but Rex was a fine dog that just wanted to play.

I threw the ball, and Lila ran off fast, got it and held it tight this time. Rex went away to mind his own business. As I walked around the park again, Lila ran back and forth swinging her head from side to side, happy to have the tennis ball. The next time I looked, the ball was gone, but she did not complain. She ran in the snow following the other dogs around. One time I lost sight of her, and she came back to me from behind having run around the entire park by herself and all out of breath.

Lila Running to Show Off the Tennis Ball

All the dogs seemed to be happier with the welcomed change of scenery. Last year, we didn’t get enough snow to run around and lose things in. This winter is turning out to be different, so far. The snow brightened up the gloom and made for some happy dogs and humans who had fun just playing in the snow.

Making Friends at the Dog Park

When I opened the door to the van to let Lila out, she almost got away from me.  I managed to grab her leash as she ran off to greet the other newcomers to the park.  I was thankful that my arm did not get dislocated as Lila pulled me along.  Lila greeted two leashed dogs as she circled around them and their mom managing to get her leash wrapped around the legs of the mom who was standing just outside of the gate.  

“Sorry,” I said, as I tried to untangle Lila’s leash from the lady’s legs.  Sometimes having a dog can put us in embarrassing situations, and this time I felt I was breaking the boundaries of closeness between humans.  I figured out that it would be best if I grabbed onto Lila’s collar.  I unfastened and refastened the leash and got it untangled without knocking anyone over.  The lady and her dogs were free to go into the park, and so were we. 

Thankfully, dogs can go off leash after entering the park.  Lila ran off to see the other dogs and humans.  Lila is often attracted to people who have a Chuckit Ball Launcher.  People pretend that they are not irritated by Lila retrieving the balls that belong to their dogs.   One time a man wanted to play Chuckit with his dog.  The man did fake throws to two labs.  Yes, Lila was one of them.  The labs did get faked out and ran for the non-existent ball that was nowhere to be found.  While they were happily running side by side in search of the ball, the man chuckled while he threw the real ball in the other direction to his dog.  The man did three fake throws before the labs realized what was going on. 

Chuckit Ball Launcher

Since I was slightly embarrassed by Lila running off and playing with others who had a Chuckit, I decided to buy one.  I thought we would have a lot of fun playing fetch together.  At first, Lila was very excited and she did a great job of playing.  Then the novelty wore off.

“Drop, drop,” I said to Lila as she firmly held the ball on one side of her mouth while her tongue hung out the other side.  She continued to walk around me, her eyes on mine, not dropping the ball.  I held the Chuckit Ball Launcher in my hand waiting to scoop up the ball.  I waited for her to drop that ball so that I could chuck it, but off she ran to greet a human who was walking along the path on the other side of the park. 

“Hi, Buddy,” the lady said in a very high voice as she petted the top of Lila’s head.  This is when Lila dropped the ball for that lady.  The lady bent over, picked up the ball and threw it in the center of the park without even using a Chuckit Ball Launcher.

“Jeez,” I thought to myself.  “I am the one who buys her food, buys her treats, makes sure she gets fed on time, lets her outside, takes her for long walks, takes her to the dog park with a brand new Chuckit Ball Launcher, and what does she do?  She goes off and plays with some other lady.  What about me?  Is she forgetting about the own members of her pack?  The ones who love and take care of her?”

Lila ran off to chase the ball and brought it back to the lady.  I decided to walk along the path too, my hands in my pockets, shoulders slumped, face to the ground, making sure not to step into any droppings, and feeling a little unloved.

Lila found me and pranced around as if reminding me that she did not forget about me, as she firmly clutched the ball, still not willing to drop it for me.  

As we walked along the path coming back towards the entrance, I met the lady who called Lila “Buddy.”

“My dog went over to you with the ball.  I can’t believe that she…”  I said, without saying hello first.

“Ya, my dog does that too.  Sometimes I go running after my dog trying to get the ball.  I know that you’re not suppose to do that, but I do,” the lady said.  “Your dog is so sweet and friendly.”

She bent down to pat Lila on the head, and her dog growled showing her jealousy.  I realized that I felt just like that dog!

What else can I do but chalk it up to Lila showing me how to make friends or could it be that she just likes to see me annoyed?