The Children's Park

Hi All,
Baron has been home from Boot Camp for 5 days, and there is still marked improvement in his behavior. He is more polite, and rather than jumping in my lap, he drapes his 70 pounds over my lap; it's much more considerate, don't you agree?
Unfortunately, we are still having "issues" with dog park behavior, which is particularly interesting because I haven't taken him to a dog park. I had the not-so-brilliant idea of taking Baron to a fenced in children's park. It is vacant in the winter, because at 20 degrees with 8 inches of snow, in our neighborhood no self-respecting parent would let their child outside. For us it's ideal because Baron would be the only dog in a small, confined space.

Here is what happened: Baron entered the kid's park with his usual exuberance. He ran around, searching for other dogs; upon finding none, he searched for me. I was hiding behind the large toy train. He quickly located me, and Baron and I then ran up and down the ramp which composes the interior of the train. Well, Baron ran, I was stepping gingerly so as not to injure my bad knee. Once Baron tired of this sport he switched to his favorite game "Grab the Glove". Unfortunately the glove he tried to grab was not only mine, but was placed on my frozen hand. I resorted to a quick game of "keep-away" as in "keep the glove away from Baron so my hand will stay warm." After we both tired of this game, Baron looked longingly at the swings with an expectation that I place him in the swing and push him. Let's face it, even I have my limitations as to what I will do for my dear dog.

Unfortunately, when it was time to leave (i.e. I had had enough "fun"), Baron, like most children (which he is not - his is a dog, in case you forgot) did not want to leave. He refused to let me place his lovely "gentle leader" collar on, and instead was on his stomache with his haunches in the air in his typical "let's play" position. I was standing there trying to disguise my frustration (not to mention - I was freezing!). I put the gentle leader in my pocket and took out the agility leash. For the uninformed, the agility leash is basically a rope (mine is red) which loops easily around the dog's head; hence it becomes both a leash and collar. It even has a handle. Baron quickly grabbed the handle and played his 2nd favorite game, "tug of war." I tired of this game after about 5 seconds and grabbed the ingrate's collar, put the damned agility leash on and took him to the car. I did not have fun.
Dear Readers, I'll bet you can't wait to run out and get your very own standard poodle.
Botswain
PS
While Baron and I were at the Children's Park, several people stopped their cars to watch and chuckle. I like to think Baron and I are doing our part to brighten up a cold, gray winter's dayl.