Parker's Big Outing

Mike has been walking Parker every morning, but they rarely meet anyone. I’ve been walking, running and playing with him in the backyard, but that’s not doing much for socialization, either. So it was time to take him out.

On our first visit to the vet, Parker had balked at getting into the car. I had tried to do some in and outs with him subsequently, but trying to convince a fifty pound dog to get into the van was too much for my back, so I gave it up, hoping to rope Mike into helping this past weekend, but we never got around to it. I then spaced the whole thing until yesterday, when I had to get him to the vet’s for his heartworm test, but it turned out he was willing to trust me enough to get into the van when I asked him. Albeit reluctantly. And, when we left the vet’s office, where he had been poked with a couple of needles and had stuffed dripped into his nose, he hopped right in.

Today I barely got the door open before he hopped in and off we went to a local park, where I had high hopes of meeting some dog friendly people. No such luck. There was a woman there with a little terrier off lead, but, by the time I parked the car, she had leashed and left. So it was just the two of us, walking around the perimeter and doing figure eights around park benches. Parker is lovely on a leash. He doesn’t know squat about heeling, but he knows to walk close.

We even spent some time on the playground equipment, walking up and down steps together. This was all to the good, but not what I had in mind, so we loaded up into the van (hopped right in, no problem) and headed for Pets Mart.

Although Parker used to get spooked when cars went by when he and Mike first started their early morning walks, he’s calming down about that and being in a busy parking lot didn’t bother him a bit. Nor did that swooshing door which opened by magic as we walked in. Startled, yes, but a quick look at my face and he decided it was okay and in we sailed.

Guess we were too early, because there weren’t too many people there. The few who were all asked to pet Parker (“What a handsome boy!”). He -- allowed it. Didn’t encourage it or act as if he particularly liked it, but didn’t pull away, snarl or dip his head. Good boy!

Best part, as we were standing in line as the cashier, two customers ahead of us was a woman with a dog and two small children. One barely walking and the other maybe four. Parker’s tail went up into a high wag and, although he didn’t strain on the leash, his nose extended as far as possible in the kids’ direction. I decided Mom was way too busy to bother with asking if Parker could taste her offspring, but I did take it as a good sign.