Don't picnic in the dog park

Hello Everyone,

I don't often cook beef, but when I do, Arthur is awfully curious about what's going on in the kitchen. Before I've even started eating, his body language is saying, basically "Hey, are you, uh, are you going to finish that?" It's fun to watch his intense desire battle it out with his manners for control.

Recently, I was in the park and got to see a number of dogs go through the same battle. I was enjoying a nice walk with Arthur in the park a few blocks from my place. It was warm and sunny, a beautiful October evening. It was an ideal time for a picnic and there was a couple doing just that on one of the park benches.

Thing is, this park is multi-use, which means off-leash dogs. And since it was 5:30, when everyone gets home from work and takes their dog out, it was bustling with canines releasing energy pent up during the day. You better believe they were interested in what was going on with that picnic. Yogi Berra had nothing on these guys.

I get that people have the right to be in a park and not be accosted by random dogs. And if you were to simply wander through any off-leash park, you would be given scant attention, notwithstanding the occasional Walking Love Machine (aka Golden Retriever). Truth is, from a dog's perspective, random people are one of the less interesting elements of the park. There are, after all, squirrels to chase.

Except, that is, if those random people have food on them.

"Um, excuse me. Could you call your dog back?" It wasn't directed towards me. Arthur was chasing his tennis ball, and so was preoccupied, but to the person next to me. And to several others. The dogs weren't being aggressive, but like Arthur in my kitchen, they were just very, very curious about whether the couple were going to finish any of the food they just started eating. The subject of this post should really have a qualifier. Don't picnic in the dog park, if you don't like dogs coming around to check out what's going on with your picnic and stuff. wes

#Dogs