Friday, June 7, 2013

Where Does Your Dog Go?

I've spent alot of time lately at the ball park.  In fact, outside of work, my life is pretty much two dimensional:  baseball and dogs.  Usually these two things don't go together very well.  I don't want my dogs at the ball park, and usually they aren't allowed, anyway, by park policy.  I don't want my son hitting or throwing too close to the dogs (for fear they would try to fetch a fastball...they are retrievers, after all.  ;).  So at home, we try to maintain separation to keep the dogs safe.  I've never even considered taking a dog to watch a baseball game.  With my luck, one of them would eat somebody's nachos, burger, AND candy and then leave me a present in the car on the way home.

So where is this going?  A couple of weeks ago, an aunt of one of the players was visiting for the weekend, and she brought a tiny Chihuahua-something mix to the ball park with her.  It was cute, furry, and solid black.  It looked like a little fox...if a fox were to be black, anyway.  It was incredibly hot that weekend, and the game schedule was long on both Saturday and Sunday.  This  little dog was out there the entire time, leashed and confined to the space around the lady's feet.  As time dragged on (5 hours on Saturday and 6 on Sunday), I noticed how stressed and tired the dog was.  By the end of Saturday's games, the noise, strange environment, and heat seemed to have really gotten to him, and he would bark and lunge aggressively at any one who passed.  I felt bad for the little guy.  They returned with him the next day, and he yapped and growled the whole time.  The dog was miserable.  The people watching were annoyed.  Unfair to everyone - people and animal. 

Recent trends have people including their dogs in all kinds of activities that have always been "people-only".  I like the dog parks that have been built, and trails that allow dogs to run or walk with their people.  I like that there are Petsmarts and Petcos etc, and that there are drive-thrus that will give your dog a treat if he is with you.  Pets have become more mainstream, but are there places that you think are still better off dog-free?  Let me know your thoughts.....

As far as the baseball park goes, I think my dogs are better off at home than they would be with me at a baseball park.  I know my dogs, and while they would at first enjoy the excitement and new people, before long the strange environment, heat, and noise would get to them.  Lightning would want to go hide somewhere.  I expect Thumper would start barking and acting all big and bad, because that's what Thumper does when he's stressed.  My dogs are not tiny dogs, and misbehavior from them would not be tolerated by park officials.  For their sake and my peace of mind, they stay home.  Anyway, that's my thoughts, at this point in my journey with my dogs.  What are yours?

4 comments:

  1. I would take a dog to a baseball game, but I would also pay attention to her stress level. That poor Chi was stressed beyond belief; such ignorance. Some volunteers took a couple dogs to a Greek festival a few years ago. The Coonhound was a hit; the Sheltie played Princess (which she was) in a cart. They were careful to keep them cool, bringing them back early when they began to stress.
    I like your consideration of your Labs's retriever instincts! The food smells may overwhelm my hounds.

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    1. Thanks for your reply! I've been paying more attention at the ball park, and I've seen people bring their dogs out there. Like you said, the people were far more aware than the poor chi's person. I even saw one couple this weekend with their boxer pup. They would walk around, watch some of a game, even do some recall training. They were a good example. Pup was happy, people were happy. And watching them train their pup gave me a great distraction from a reallyreally bad baseball game. :)

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  2. Poor little guy! Makes me feel bad for him. All our dogs love to go for a ride but I wouldn't consider taking them out for the day in an usual place. They are all too accustomed to their normal surroundings. And Rayne is still too rambunctious to be in public for very long!

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    1. Lol. Rayne would be so overstimulated at a baseball game that I would feel bad for her. She would probably try to herd the baseballs. :)

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