Wednesday, February 04, 2009

don't make me tap the sign


don't make me tap the sign
Originally uploaded by Julep67
As you all know (if you're regular readers), we love the off-leash dog parks here in Kingston. Actually, we love one particular park which is very close to our house. The property it is on is being redeveloped and we're not sure how big the dog park will be.

The dog parks in Kingston were part of a pilot project so last fall, the city asked for feedback from folks who use the parks. I participated in the survey and last night was invited to a focus group meeting later this month. I'm really happy to have been asked because, having two dogs, we've got a lot to say about the parks and have a vested interest in keeping them.

My hope is that the city will allocate more resource toward them and they will become like the park in Trenton. We took Sam there last summer and it was awesome. The Quinte West park was divided into two areas so that smaller dogs could have a safe area to play in without the big dogs. Sam loves dogs his size and smaller but the really big dogs seem to intimidate him.

Since the weather turned really cold, we've not been going to the dog park but (despite the minus 20 something windchill this morning) I can feel that spring is just around the corner and I've been thinking a lot about road trips and dog parks. It'll be a little different this year with Gracie. Sam is the king of the road. He loves to go in the van because he knows that the van = something really fun. Gracie is still pretty nervous in the van. Even when we're going to the park, she shakes like a leaf and I have to cuddle her in my arms the whole way.

I'm confident though that by the time the beginning of April rolls around, she'll be fine. Gracie is probably one of the smartest dogs I've ever met. She understands most commands on the first try, Sammy definitely takes longer than that... although, there is a possibility that Sam understands and ignores it to see if he can avoid doing it. Gracie is a high energy dog but we've learned that with time and patience, she is capable of doing amazing things.

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