Dog Park Habits

We took Bear to the dog park today, he hasn't been for a while. Every time we pull into the parking lot Bear goes nuts, doing that silly high-pitched whine with his mouth closed. I'm always afraid someone is going to hear and call Animal Control on us. It sounds like we're beating him.

We were standing around watching Bear run from one dog to the next sniffing hello, when a woman arrived with her Doberman Pinscher. I was a little excited, you see, I've always had a thing for Dobermans. They're absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous. You should see them run, they've got the most graceful gait. Their face is so noble, protective. Super cuddly, they think they're lap dogs. Big, muscle-encased lap dogs.

Sigh. I digress.

The Dobie's owner was standing a few feet away from us, no doubt watching my eyes follow her dog like you would a tennis match.

"So, which one is your dog?" she asked Caleb and I.

We glanced around the park and found Bear. Oh, we found him alright. He was clutching onto the back of a Black Lab, doing his best to make up for his lost manhood.

"Um..............he's.........well..........." we both stammered.

"He's the one on top?" She joked.

Yeah....... awkward silence......

So we love the dog park. We're just not loving the bad habits he's picked up. I'm blaming this incident on what happened during our last visit. The minute we'd walked into the park Bear met a dog that took an immediate, all-consuming liking to him. The dog followed Bear around the entire time trying to hump him. THE ENTIRE TIME. As I watched Bear trying to shake him off, I actually could see the annoyance in his eyes. Like, DUDE, what is his DEAL?! It wasn't long before Bear got frustrated enough to seek revenge, giving him the what-for.

As we left today the Black Lab followed us to the gate, humping Bear the entire way.

Lesson learned? At the dog park, what goes around, comes around.

(and........cue Justin Timberlake.....)