Melissa called bright and early this morning to see if Duncan and I wanted to join her for a playdate with Kona at the park. It was beautiful and crisp, cold enough that I donned a cap and gloves, but the sun was still warm and the park was bright and only a little misty.
Melissa and Kona were already at the park by the time we arrived, but the moment we crossed Bowles Kona spotted us and charged. Duncan hardly knew what was going on; I'm sure he expected little more than our usual quiet morning stroll, hunting for squirrels and sniffing out discarded water bottles. Kona was on him like a train and within minutes they were chasing and romping back and forth, running the distance of the football field as they chased and wrestled.
Socializing my dog has been a nerve-racking experience, more for myself than for Duncan. I never quite know how dogs are going to take to each other and what may be little more than friendly trash-talk quite often sounds like bloody murder to my ears. Obviously I don't want him to get hurt but I certainly don't want him hurting another dog. He never bites and has a tendency to roll right over and show his belly, even to younger and smaller dogs. The only thing Duncan does ferociously is play.
And that's exactly what he and Kona did. Melissa brought a brand new shiny green ball she'd picked up for Kona yesterday, and while we expected we'd spend the morning tossing it across the field for them, Duncan quickly corrected that line of thinking. He monopolized the ball and refused to share, laying down, chewing on it, even sometimes rolling over on top of it to prevent Kona from getting it. She could've cared less; she's more of a wrestler and quickly grows tired of fetching and retrieving. But she will run and run and huff and roll around and run some more. Like Duncan she never seems to tire.
After an hour or so they both got bored and we parted ways, Melissa off on an afternoon date and me to stop by Hero's and drop off some cat food we're donating, then the library and finally the grocery store. Duncan was beat and by the time I got home an hour later, he hardly noticed me.
I like these kind of days.
Melissa and Kona were already at the park by the time we arrived, but the moment we crossed Bowles Kona spotted us and charged. Duncan hardly knew what was going on; I'm sure he expected little more than our usual quiet morning stroll, hunting for squirrels and sniffing out discarded water bottles. Kona was on him like a train and within minutes they were chasing and romping back and forth, running the distance of the football field as they chased and wrestled.
Socializing my dog has been a nerve-racking experience, more for myself than for Duncan. I never quite know how dogs are going to take to each other and what may be little more than friendly trash-talk quite often sounds like bloody murder to my ears. Obviously I don't want him to get hurt but I certainly don't want him hurting another dog. He never bites and has a tendency to roll right over and show his belly, even to younger and smaller dogs. The only thing Duncan does ferociously is play.
And that's exactly what he and Kona did. Melissa brought a brand new shiny green ball she'd picked up for Kona yesterday, and while we expected we'd spend the morning tossing it across the field for them, Duncan quickly corrected that line of thinking. He monopolized the ball and refused to share, laying down, chewing on it, even sometimes rolling over on top of it to prevent Kona from getting it. She could've cared less; she's more of a wrestler and quickly grows tired of fetching and retrieving. But she will run and run and huff and roll around and run some more. Like Duncan she never seems to tire.
After an hour or so they both got bored and we parted ways, Melissa off on an afternoon date and me to stop by Hero's and drop off some cat food we're donating, then the library and finally the grocery store. Duncan was beat and by the time I got home an hour later, he hardly noticed me.
I like these kind of days.
3 comments:
They were chasing, they were racing,
they were fetching, kvetching, romping,
they were playing, laying, stomping,
they were chasing, chasing, chasing!
(Super sweet post, btw!)
HA! Ten years ago I never would've guessed that bit of storytelling would still be around. You make me smile. Thank you!
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