Momma's Girl

This morning I took my dog for her first visit to the dog park at Piedmont Park. The experience surprisingly felt like I was taking her to her first day of kindergarten. The park is set up so that once you are inside the fence, which has a double-gate secure entryway, your dog can run freely off of a leash, play with other dogs, or play fetch. I fully expected Kelsey to dart off and start mingling with the other dogs, of which there were many, as soon as I took off her leash. Instead, she all of a sudden became shy and stood right by me, nervously looking around at all the other dogs as they played. Due to her tendency to run off at any given opportunity and ensue a chase, I was extremely surprised by this reaction. It was nice to know, for once, that she trusted me and looked to me for security when facing this new group of "kids". Eventually, she did warm up to the crowd and start walking around. At first though, instead of playing with other dogs, she was walking up to people and seeking attention, which she easily got. I hate to admit it, but my dog is a much better and more successful flirt than I am. Later she ventured away from humans and played with a few other dogs, and she actually came right back to me when I called her! I was so relieved, having pictured an embarrassing scene of chasing her around when it was time to go, as all the well-trained dogs and refined dog-owners looked on. By the end of our 30-minute visit, Kelsey was whipped, which was the general goal of the morning. All in all, we had a succesful first day at kindergarten.