Posts tagged "dog park"

Beautiful Day at the Dog Park from Kelsey Wynns on Vimeo.

Just another Saturday afternoon at the dog park? It's your weekly ritual, man's best friend's favorite activity. But you have to admit it's become a little bit stale, a little bit rote, at least for you. You load Rowdy in the truck and drive down to the park. You let him loose and make small talk with the other dog owners, keeping enough of an eye on your pooch so that he doesn't get himself into trouble. And then eventually after he's had his fill of fun (or probably before then), you load Rowdy back in the truck and head home. No biggie, and at least you got some fresh air.

But don't you realize that you're missing your chance to see some epic playtime? You might just think you see a pack of dogs spazzing out, but there is some hugely entertaining dog-on-dog fun happening. They're going gorillas out there. Slow it down. Really watch. Check out what you've been missing while you chit-chat about baseball or whatever.

Try not smiling on a swingset. It simply can't be done. Even the biggest grouch you've ever met says "Wheeeee!" when he's pumping higher and higher. Now sit a corgi--the smilingest breed of dog on the planet--on a swing and being to push it back and forth. Watch how it beams. Have you ever seen a happier looking creature on the face of the Earth? Neither have we.

It's not something we want to think about, but it happens from time to time -- a dog fight. They can happen at the dog park, when you are out for a walk, or in front of a crowded patio restaurant. Our reaction is often to freak out, yell, grab for the dogs' collars -- which, it turns out, may be all the wrong ways to react, putting ourselves in harm's way without even realizing it.

Getting involved in a dogfight is dangerous and it's not something we recommend. But we also know that when your dog is at risk, protective instincts kick in. That's why we asked dog safety expert Melanie Monteiro, author of "The Safe Dog Handbook - A Complete Guide To Protecting Your Pooch, Indoors and Out" to find out what she does to prevent and deal with dog fights.

1. Know the Dangers
The first thing Monteiro notes is that you must understand that it is likely you will be hurt. "You're always putting yourself in physical jeopardy when you go in to break up a dog fight," she says. "I've been injured doing it and several of my friends have been injured doing it." But there are general ideas to consider that will make you more informed if you do wade into a fight.

2. Be Alert
When you're out in public with your dog, be very aware of your surroundings. "Pay attention to your dog. If you're out walking and distracted by texting, or talking on the phone, you might not be prepared when a dog jumps out of an open garage door, or comes around the corner," says Monteiro.

Growing up with two beagles in the Midwest, there were few things more difficult than getting the dogs their proper dose of exercise in the winter. Walks in the snow brought on constant protest. One of our beagles would raise one paw at a time when she started getting too cold, balancing on three legs and then two, until eventually she flopped onto her back and had to be carried home to the fireplace.

One great solution is to visit an indoor dog park. There is usually a charge to enter -- a per-visit fee, a membership fee that covers the season or both. You will also probably need to show your dog's vaccination records.

Here are a few of the indoor dog parks now open around the country (parka and hot chocolate optional).

Fetch Club - New York City
Located near Wall Street in Manhattan, the Fetch Club envisions itself as a full-service pet hotel, animal spa, indoor park and doggie nightclub. Owners can take their dogs in for a variety of grooming services, gourmet snacks or personal training. Access to the indoor park is for members only -- an annual membership includes a set number of visits, with each additional park visit costing $8 and up.

Fido's Indoor Dog Park - Portland, Ore.
Built inside a former warehouse, Fido's is a large-scale park with recycled artificial turf and a doggie pool. Embracing Portland's artsy culture, paintings from local artists hang on the walls and the store stocks local and organic food and toys. It offers boarding for animals and a few perks for humans: free Wi-Fi and a coffee bar. Visitors can buy either a day pass or a membership for more frequent drop-ins.

Each week, Ben Westhoff shares the ups and downs of owning Pippi, the dalmatian mix he and his wife Anna adopted as a puppy in late 2009.

As we approach our first anniversary of owning Pippi, you may be wondering if the "honeymoon" period is over. No way! Anna and I still enjoy snuggling Pippi and goofing around with her, playing tug-of-war and roughhousing.

But speaking for myself, I'm burned out on exercising her so much. It was fun for a time, but if someone were to give us, say, a robot dog walker for Christmas -- one that was trustworthy and ran on renewable batteries -- I would set that baby to auto-pilot and never look back.

I've written many times about Pippi's seemingly boundless energy. If she doesn't get a solid hour to 90 minutes of supervised outdoor time every day, she has trouble controlling her energy, and is more likely to cause trouble. Just walking her doesn't really do the trick, either; what she loves the most is being off-leash, running at top speed after sticks or balls, or engaging in similar interactive play.

Petside: "Pet Semetery" may be a scary movie, but the idea of pets roaming around cemeteries is getting attention right now, and not just because it's nearly Halloween. More dog owners are letting their dogs go off-leash in cemeteries, causing some uproar from city government officials and citizens about dog waste near and on graves.

However, one cemetery in Washington, D.C. has found a unique solution to this problem: charging dog walkers an annual fee and requiring volunteer services in return for off-leash privileges.


Daily Treat: This Animal Planet blog features a post about an organization that helps take care of women fleeing domestic violence by temporarily taking care of their pets.

USA Today's Paw Print Post: Whether or not you're religious, this dog giving thanks is too cute for words.

PetSugar: Baby sloths being bottle fed. It doesn't get much sweeter than this.

L.A. Times Unleashed: The lion cubs at the National Zoo get swimming lessons.

Petside: The 4-1-1 on pet massage and its therapeutic benefits.

PetPlace: Halloween isn't just spooky; it can be downright scary for your pet. Do you know why?

Petfinder: It's never too early to start your holiday shopping, right? This could be the perfect gift for that dog lover in your life.

PeoplePets: Camels out and about in New York City. Talk about an unusual sight!

More from AOL: Learn about a treehouse growing in Manhattan and more cheerful news at GNN!

What does your dog do when you visit the dog park? Run, play, sniff? There's one other thing, based on our vast experience, that we're willing to bet they do during most visits to the park... But now, with the help of the Park Spark Project, launched by artist Matthew Mazzotta, a dog park in Cambridge, Mass. has found an innovative (and very eco-friendly) way to recycle the waste your dog leaves behind -- an on-site methane digester.

The concept is simple. People put dog poop into an air-tight container and it begins to produce methane, an odorless, colorless gas that is a major part of the natural gas many of us use in our homes. The methane is then piped into a street lamp that continues to burn as long as park visitors and dog walkers dump the doo into the digester and turn the hand crank to stir the mixture. (We recommend you try not to picture that part in too much detail.) The goal of this interactive project is to not only show how dog waste can be recycled into something practical, but to also spark ideas about other ways to use the heat and light created by the poop that had been filling up nearby trash cans.

If you live in Cambridge, be sure to check out the park yourself and support the project. But you can get involved regardless of where you live. Check out the Park Spark Project on Facebook or click on the contact link on the Park Spark Project website to submit your ideas or ask for details on how to help your city to give the Park Spark Challenge a try!

Both you and your pooch love playing at the park, but you can use the time for more than just hanging out with your dog. The park is a great spot for strength training. It only takes a little planning. We talked to some pet people and fitness experts to get the lowdown on how to involve your best buddy in your workouts.

Before You Exercise
"Remember to stretch out, and that goes for your dog too," says certified professional dog trainer Sarah Westcott of the Doggie Academy in New York. "Teach your dog how to bow for a great downward-dog-type stretch. Use a treat to lure your dog's head up and back to stretch his chest, then all the way around to his rump from either side to stretch his torso." (Of course if your pup seems stressed out by being included in any of the exercises here, continue without including him or her.)

Once you and Fido are loosened up, the next step is to move onto your workout. Of course, not everybody starts out at the same level of fitness, so fitness expert Andrea Metcalf provided us with some suggestions for three different levels. If you have any health concerns at all, of course, check with your doctor before trying the workouts.

Pup Fitness (Beginners)
"Practice some Paws-ilates moves. Leash leans are a great way to give your pet a break from a walk and start to tone up your waistline. Begin with your dog seated and the leash arm out to the side. Reach up and over your head to stretch your obliques and then return to side arm position. Perform on both sides of the body, switching the leash hand and moving your pet around to the other side. Try for eight to 15 reps, and don't worry if Fido starts to move around," says Metcalf. "Their moving will offer some bicep stabilizing resistance exercise. Strong arms and abs!"

Here at Paw Nation, we know that every pet has a story, and it's usually a story their owners just love to tell. So we decided to hit the streets to ask pets (and their owners) about everything from how they were adopted to what was the naughtiest thing they've ever done. It's our weekly series, "Pet On The Street."

This week in "Pet On The Street," we hear about all the cute things dogs do when their owners walk in the door -- including spinning, jumping, flipping and licking! Be sure to tell us how your pooch welcomes you in the comments below.

Ke$sha Shows Her Softer Side to Needy Animals
Singer Ke$ha is hard at work making a name for herself as a pop singer, but beneath all that eyeliner beats a big heart. She recently witnessed the devastation caused by major flooding in Tennessee, and donated 1,000 pounds of pet food to the Nashville Metro Animal Shelter to help them cope with the animals left homeless by the disaster, reports CatChannel.com.

Rare Sand Cat Kitten Born Via IVF Now on Display
This big-eared, blue-eyed kitten isn't just the cutest thing we've seen today; she also marks an important step in science and conservation. The kitten was born as a result of in-vitro fertilization and an embryo transfer procedure, and was the first success story involving these procedures, reports Gulf News. This is good news for other rare land carnivores in arid regions. Plus, the picture is so sweet!

Lottery Winner Plans to Spend $2M Winnings on Rescued Goats
Beverly Evens is living the dream. Her $5 lottery ticket ended up a $2 million winner! But rather than quit her job or make extravagant plans, Evens intends to use the money for a cause closer to her heart. She and her husband will spend the majority of the money on their rescued goats, according to Tonic News.

Anne Hathaway Hits the Local Dog Park
Celebrities! They're just like us! Well, maybe not, but Celebrity-Gossip.net reports that Anne Hathaway and her favorite four-legged friend, Esmeralda, did hit the dog park last weekend, just like we did. Of course, she looked a bit more stylish in her fedora and aviators than we did in our yoga pants and ball cap, but otherwise, we're pretty much exactly alike.

Zimbabwe's "Noah's Ark" Gift to North Korea Causes Concern
Conservationists are concerned over Zimbabwe's alleged plans to give North Korea a menagerie of exotic animals, according to BBC News. The chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force is voicing his concern about whether or not these animals -- such as giraffes, baby elephants, zebras and more -- would survive in the new environment.

Here at Paw Nation, we know that every pet has a story, and it's usually a story their owners just love to tell. So we decided to hit the streets to ask pets (and their owners) about everything from how they were adopted to what was the naughtiest thing they've ever done. It's our weekly series, "Pet On The Street."

This week, we ask dog owners in Portland, Oregon to tell us about the cute little quirks that make their pooches so special. Watch it now! Then you must go to our comments section and share details about your own dog. We absolutely love those kinds of stories at Paw Nation.

This week's guest columnist is my wife Anna.

There's as wide an array of doggie personalities as human personalities. The dog park taught me that.

It turns out our 9-month-old puppy Pippi's a wimp. At home, she exhibits alpha-dog tendencies such as teasing the cat, attempting to jump up on people and pulling on her leash. But at the dog park I see a different side of her.

In our park visits so far, Pippi's remained silent while many of the other dogs bark, snarl and make a racket. She does not enjoy roughhousing in the midst of a whirling canine cluster. (This is understandable because, as we've seen, it can turn quickly into a fight.)

Instead, Pippi prefers to make friends with a single pooch to engage in nice, one-on-one play at the edge of the field. She prefers dogs her own size or smaller. It was a real hoot to watch leggy Pippi befriend a short and stocky English bulldog who followed her around and whose owner told us had never run for that long or that fast in her life. They were two mismatched peas in a pod.

Pippi keeps a close eye on us as she plays, and we sometimes have to run alongside her to get her in motion. Otherwise, she just hovers around our legs. Unlike at home, she is generous with her toys in the dog park, even when another dog appropriates her red Frisbee. Maybe she just trusts that we'll retrieve it before we all head back home.

All in all, the dog park has helped me see what a peach of a pup we have. She suits us, and to some degree matches our personalities.

Have you learned anything surprising about your dog after observing him or her in a group setting?

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Other than the 1998 Luke Wilson movie, I didn't know much about dog parks before Anna and I got Pippi. I always imagined places where pups smelled each others' butts and guys attempted to pick up chicks. After our experience at one this weekend, however, I realize they can be much more intense.

The park we visited was just off one of New Jersey's godforsaken stretches of highways and Pippi had a great time. She was a little shy around the other dogs at first, but eventually got into the swing of things. I'll talk more about her behavior in a future post about dog parks, but for now I want to focus on a particularly fraught incident.

It began when a youngish guy came into the park with his muscular black pit bull. The pit bull played friendly at first, with dogs including a German shorthaired pointer mix who looked something like Pippi. But after a few minutes the pit bull got snarly and nippy (with the pointer mix in particular) and the dogs had to be broken up. A few minutes later the same thing happened again -- except the pit bull was even more aggressive this time. I couldn't tell if he was just playing or if he was out for blood, but the pointer's owner freaked out.

She split the dogs and began punching the pit bull in the chest and gut. This incensed the pit bull's owner, who began swearing at the other owner and warning her to keep her hands off of his dog. The gathering onlookers insisted that it was time for the pit bull to leave, and so his master angrily put on the leash and took him out of there.

Certainly everyone is responsible for the behavior of his or her dog, and it seems likely that the pit needed a break from the dog-park "fun." But to my mind the pointer's owner ceded the moral high ground when she attacked. The safety of everyone's dogs should be of primary concern, even that of those behaving inappropriately, right? Then again, perhaps the woman's maternal instincts simply took over and she was doing what any protective dog owner would do in that situation. What are your thoughts?

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Cold weather often generates a strange phenomenon in well-trained dogs. Shredded toilet paper appears throughout the house, garbage cans are overturned and special "presents" are left for you to discover. Though there may be other factors contributing to your dog's destructive behavior, cabin fever is often at the root of the problem.

Snowstorms and freezing temperatures may keep you from taking your dog for long walks or trips to the dog park, but there are a variety of ways you can keep your canine physically and mentally active throughout the winter.

Provide Interactive Toys
Most dogs love to eat, so why not use food as a motivation to keep their minds busy? Michelle Douglas, President of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, recommends stuffing your dog's meal in a Kong. "This way, your dog will have to work at getting the food and will burn calories in the process." The Buster Cube and the Dog Tornado are other toys that offer your dog the opportunity to work for their meal.

But the toys don't have to feature food to be fun. The IQube challenges your dog to remove squeaky balls from within a plush puzzle-like cube, and comes in a variety of sizes to accommodate both small and large pooches. Babble Balls are another fun -- and noisy -- option. The balls entice your dog by producing realistic animal noises each time he passes by, tapping into his desire to hunt. If, however, your temples are throbbing at even the thought of wild animal calls, Fetch a Bubble may be a good alternative. This clever machine blows chicken-scented bubbles into the air, sending your dog into a frenzy to catch the delicious floating flavor.

Here at Paw Nation, we know that every pet has a story, and it's usually a story their owners just love to tell. So we decided to hit the streets to ask pets (and their owners) about everything from how they were adopted to what was the naughtiest thing they've ever done. It's our new weekly series, "Pet On The Street." We hope you love it. And be sure to let us know what questions you would like us to ask and what cites we should visit!