ION, Darb did awesome at the dog park today. It's been closed since I got her.
The park system closes it for a few weeks every year to replant the grass, etc. (It's fenced, and they put up barriers at the entrances.) This year it's been closed since mid-May, apparently mostly due to neighborhood jostling between the dog people, kid people, and gardeners. There was a community meeting last night that I couldn't go to because it was our first day of dog class. It's big neighborhood drama that I'm hoping to get more involved in. But anyway, it's back open.
But ANYWAY. First time at the dog park. She was so excited to be on the grass and play with other dogs. She wasn't off-leash since I'm not ready to go there yet. But had so much fun meeting dogs and jumping around a bit. Total spaz. But excited as she was, not overly aggressive about it, and kept coming back and leaning on me to ground herself or something. Which is huge, both emotionally for me but also in terms of my hopes for her to be able to be off leash but still controllable. And she was letting other dog owners pet her head and stuff without flinching (much) or backing away.
