Sophia has been almost completely "re-wired" to be a dog
Today was a big day for Sophia. A couple of weeks ago we found out that Westcrest Park, where there is one of Seattle's awesome off-leash areas for dogs, built a separate fenced area for "small and shy" dogs. Finally we could go to a dog park close to home! Sophia generally is too scared of other dogs to handle the dog park (I've had a tough time with her at Magnuson Park...)
Not many people know about it yet (the small and shy area), and plus the weather is getting cooler and frankly requires a doggy jacket or fleece. So the small dog area was empty. Then a small dog she played with last week, Charlie, came over to be chased for a few minutes (he runs and Sophia chases). Then his owner, Kristen, took him back to the other side of the fence and that's when Sophia started barking and whining and digging at the gate between the two parks. She wanted very badly to go out into the BIG dog dog park. So we did. We walked around the whole park. It wasn't too crowded and Steve was with me so I felt he could intervene if necessary. Sophia can run so fast that I feel more confident she won't get hurt, and she shows more and more interest in sniffing other dog's tails. Normally she shies away from big dogs (as in, super scared), but my friend Colette has huge dogs and I've been exposing her more and more. She ran around with some shepherds, a pit bull, a chihuahua, some labs, a collie, and a puppy she had to teach a lesson to, and who knows what else. 4 dogs will go running by barking and she will throw herself onto the end of the line running after them barking. (Sophia acts as if she is the Recess Monitor and is always trying to keep everyone in line.) One time she got kind of far away, tho, and began looking over her shoulder than running around trying to find us. All I had to say was "over here" and she made her way back to us (there were about a dozen people and dogs standing in a pretty small area).
Anyway, it was very cool. We will always start in the small dog area, but if it's deserted like it was today, I think I will take her out into the big area. I still hold my breath, tho, and worry about her getting hurt. She emits some fear and I am worried some bully dog will sense it and take advantage of her.
Not many people know about it yet (the small and shy area), and plus the weather is getting cooler and frankly requires a doggy jacket or fleece. So the small dog area was empty. Then a small dog she played with last week, Charlie, came over to be chased for a few minutes (he runs and Sophia chases). Then his owner, Kristen, took him back to the other side of the fence and that's when Sophia started barking and whining and digging at the gate between the two parks. She wanted very badly to go out into the BIG dog dog park. So we did. We walked around the whole park. It wasn't too crowded and Steve was with me so I felt he could intervene if necessary. Sophia can run so fast that I feel more confident she won't get hurt, and she shows more and more interest in sniffing other dog's tails. Normally she shies away from big dogs (as in, super scared), but my friend Colette has huge dogs and I've been exposing her more and more. She ran around with some shepherds, a pit bull, a chihuahua, some labs, a collie, and a puppy she had to teach a lesson to, and who knows what else. 4 dogs will go running by barking and she will throw herself onto the end of the line running after them barking. (Sophia acts as if she is the Recess Monitor and is always trying to keep everyone in line.) One time she got kind of far away, tho, and began looking over her shoulder than running around trying to find us. All I had to say was "over here" and she made her way back to us (there were about a dozen people and dogs standing in a pretty small area).
Anyway, it was very cool. We will always start in the small dog area, but if it's deserted like it was today, I think I will take her out into the big area. I still hold my breath, tho, and worry about her getting hurt. She emits some fear and I am worried some bully dog will sense it and take advantage of her.
posted by Wendy Hughes-Jelen @ 11:20 PM
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