The dog park is always a fun place to go, but it is even more fun with friends. Two weeks ago, Bailie and I headed out to our favorite dog park to meet up with our blogging buddy, Spencer. It was one of the hottest days of the year, so we went early in the day before it got too hot.
This might surprise you, but Mom is kind of a helicopter parent. We don’t get to go to dog parks anymore unless we have at least one other person with us because Bailie likes to take off, and Mom is a wreck when she can’t see her. Since Spencer brought his mom, we were good to go, but we also brought along an insurance policy. Yes, the pink pig, aka, squeaky ball! It came to Mom’s attention lately, that no matter what Bailie was doing, if Mom squeaked squeaky ball, Bailie comes running.
The moment Bailie was off leash, she took off as if she had been shot out of a cannon! She was always way out front, and sometimes out of sight. If Mom got nervous, she squeaks squeaky ball and Bailie came a running. She was then rewarded with a lot of tasty treats. Great way to practice recall and burn calories.
Sometimes we practiced a group sit for a photo. It wasn’t easy, but we did pretty well all looking at the same time.
Bailie found her first victim friend, a Golden Retriever. They had some wild romps together, but the Golden decided Bailie was a bit much and went back to her human.
It was pretty warm out and I was getting ready to find some water for a nice drink.
Here is another shot of us all walking in single file. I like to stay close to Mom, Bailie is way out front, and Spencer tends to hang out by the moms as well.
Bailie found a small dog to take a good sniff of. They didn’t do any racing, just sniffing.
The social butterfly also found a husky to hang out with. The two of them were searching picnic tables for food.
It was hot, there weren’t a lot of dogs because of the heat, we did a lot of walking, and we had a real nice time. Our favorite time to visit dog parks is when they are not too busy, so it was perfect. Thank you Spencer for joining us for a fun outing! Do you ever meet up with friends at off leash parks to play?
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That looks like a really fun park! I also love meeting up with other blogging buddies! So much fun!
It’s nothing like BlogPaws, but it is fun to chat about things with others who understand!
Great post! It sure was a blast and I need to find me one of those pink pigs!!! Bailie’s lucky I didn’t swipe it from your mom! π
Bailie was hunting wabbit in the yard the other night and would not come in. Mom didn’t want to chase her, so she got squeaky ball and Bailie came right in. Amazing the love she has for that pig!
Looks like y’all had fun!
We had a great time even though it was so hot and we were not at the beach!
Looks like such fun! π
It’s always fun to hang out with friends and to meet new ones too.
Looks like you all had a blast!
We all had fun, but I think Bailie had the most fun…kids…
oh you were like that 3 musketeers :o) it’s great that Bailie is a scent hound, so she could investigate that picnic tables like a pro :o)
I’m a scent hound too, but she is totally into tracking all the time. I think she might even track in her sleep!
Sounds like the squeaky pig is a winner! What a fun day!
I think we are now going to call it the power of the pig. It has an amazing hold on that girl!
What fun and great pictures! No dog parks anywhere near here π
Thanks. We used to go to the parks a lot, but now Katie doesn’t go and with Bailie being so wild, we have cut back but it is still fun sometimes.
Thanks God for the squeaky pig! Great way to get recall practice! You guys have all the fun! Mom doesn’t take us to dog parks because Lucy can’t go ( she is dog aggressive) and I don’t know why mom doesn’t remember that I like to go, except some dog parks won’t let. us stud dogs in. I think that is sexist!. Chablis
Around here, all dogs are welcome, but if your dog is in heat you are not supposed to go. I’m not always so friendly, but I do my own thing and other dogs usually leave me alone. Bailie can handle all the social stuff and the pig is a life saver.
What a great discovery about the squeaky toy! Looks like you guys had a fun time.
Little Bailie really has a bond with that silly toy and it seems to be getting stronger, so why not use it to our advantage?
Looks like a fun day! Glad you live close enough to Spencer to be able to meet up for some play dates!
He lives about an hour away from us, so we can meet up in the middle.
Now there’s a handsome friend–a DOODLE!!! Almost as handsome as me (ha!) Great post. Hooray for squeaky pig! Happy Friday! your (very handsome) doodle friend Dash
Oh dear, caught with a doodle! Spencer is a fun friend and quite well behaved too!
of course he is well behaved and fun !! he is a DOODLE!! we are the best. you have excellent taste in friends.
We figured you would feel that way! We are hounds with minds of our own!
What a great looking dog park. Torrey was that way when she was younger too, off like a shot. She is much better now about staying close. Maybe Bailie will grow out of it too.
I used to take off too as a pup, but if Mom hid, I would panic and run to find her. Bailie never even thinks to check where we are. She will most likely outgrow it in a year or two, but until then squeaky ball is Mom’s best weapon.
Love that shot of the pups all walking along the fence. It perfectly captures the companionship and adventure of pup friends.
We are all there together, yet in our own elements. Lots of fun, but nothing as wild as you guys at the beach.
When you live in Manhattan you meet up with your friends every time you take a walk. It’s the best part of the day!
We meet several of our dog friends in the neighborhood on our morning walks too some days. It’s fun for the dogs and the humans.
What a great day!
We had a lot of fun and were done before the heat and humidity got too bad.
Y’all sure had fun at the park and that pig noise was a darn good idea!
Bailie sure loves squeaky ball, aka piggy!
We love Spencer too. It would be nice to have a dog park but Mom still would keep us on our leash. She is a helicopter parent too. BOL!
I’m real good and don’t like to lose sight of her, but Bailie is young and careless.
I spy a husky!!!! LOL!!! Looks like you guys had a ton of fun!
α¦ husky hugz α¦ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Of course, it was the husky cruising picnic tables with Bailie!
Looks like a great outing! Spencer the Golden is quite handsome!
He is cute. Bailie seems to like him and keeps trying to kiss him.
You guys look so happy at the park. Cute!
Lily & Edward
A dog has to be happy off leash with friends!
We never have gone to a dog park yet, but that one sure looks like fun, and meeting up with friends had to make it even better! That was a great idea of your Mom to bring that pig. I always mean to put a squeaker in my pocket when we go on walks to help get Luke’s attention when his nose distracts him from listening to me.
With Bailie it is only squeaky ball. Other squeakers don’t work. She knows how he sounds I guess.
What a fun outing, Spencer looks like he would lots of fun to hang out with at a dog park. You and Bailie sound like me and Taffy, she takes off and I stick close to mom. We just met Rocco from To Dog With Love at the dog beach and we had lots of fun there. But its good to go early too before it gets crowded. Love Dolly
We like to avoid the crowds and the heat of the day.
It’s nice that you’ve found a high value reward for Bailie. I use food but if I could carry a squirrel around, Mr. N would never leave my vicinity!
We can’t believe Bailie is more motivated by her toy than food, but one just never knows!
what a fun day with Spencer.
It’s always fun to hang out with friends.
The squeaky toy sounds like the perfect motivation for Bailie to check back in with you! That’s so awesome and very proactive of you to plan ahead. We used to take the pups for playdates at dog parks when we lived in Northern Virginia. Around here in rural NC, there’s really no such thing as a dog park. It’s ok though, because the main thing I wasn’t a huge fan of up North was the fact that so many dog owners were more preoccupied with their coffees or cell phones than their dog’s supervision.
We have tons of dog parks, some are people in a cluster hanging out with dogs running rampant, others like this one are more people out walking with their dogs off leash because it is a big park. We rarely go the the smaller ones as we like to just walk and enjoy being off leash but hanging out with Mom as well.
I always love looking at your photos. They’re always clever. π
Thank you. We try to be a bit out of the ordinary.