Greycliff's Chronicles: Coco's first adventure at the dog park

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Coco's first adventure at the dog park

Last week Coco and I went to the Sparks Marina to check out the dog park. Now that my fur baby has been spayed, chipped, and licensed, she is good to go for adventuring. We were fortunate in having a beautiful day. The winds were keeping the early warmth to a manageable level, which was good as I had been fighting an ongoing migraine for the last few days.

I refuse to let a migraine keep me down unless I'm praying to the porcelain Goddess, which I wasn't (thank you!). Coco is a puller and I was testing out a new harness. It is called the "Easy Walk'. It is a tangle of straps to figure out at first but it DOES work. The strap configuration allows free movement but better control of the dog.

Great for me and Coco.

Sparks has a nice fenced area for dogs. Unlike some dog parks, the run doesn't have segregated sections according to size. It is surrounded by chain-link fence that goes into the water. when the marina levels are up, the fence provides a good barrier. Inside the doggie run, are park benches, trees, and trash receptacles with doggie-doo bags.

I admit to being a little nervous at first. Coco has been socialized at her basic obedience but she wasn't the best student. Once we went through the double gate, I undid her lead but left on the harness (just in case I needed to grab her).

She was AWESOME.

My growly girl took a few moments to acclimatize but soon was sniffing and playing. She was letting the other owners pet her without any signs of aggression. I followed her around answering questions about my wrinkly girl from curious pet parents and bystanders walking by. At one point Coco followed a trio of dogs into the water. She was happily swimming and splashing with her new buddies. <note to self: NEXT TIME, bring a towel> It took extra time to walk around until she dried off. when we made it home, it was straight to the bathroom for a bath.