A Tired Dog is a Good Dog

Today was a beautiful winter day (and as someone who is too lazy to get out there and partake in winter activities, I don't say this very often). It was mild and sunny out, so we figured it would be a great day to take Oscar to the dog park. We wanted to get him out there last weekend, but he was under the weather so we thought we'd let him rest up and get better.

Since it was so gorgeous out, there were tons of people and dogs at the park. We were out there for over an hour and walked around the whole park. Oscar was so excited to be out of the house that he was literally quivering with excitement in the car. In fact, he was a bit overexcited at the start, and chased a dog who was leaving right out into the parking lot. We had thought that we were far enough into the park that it was safe to let him off leash...we were wrong. While the park is fenced, the entrance to the park is just a break in the fence, which is not the most secure setup. He's a speedy little guy, so he darted away and the Come command didn't do a heck of a lot in the moment. We ran after him (which was a little embarrassing), put the leash back on him, took him further into the park, then set him loose again to play with all of the other dogs. 

We ran into lots of dogs on our walk around the park, including a bunch of other schnauzers. At one point, Oscar and two other schnauzers were hanging out. It was a little schnauzer convention! They were all different colours too - the salt-and-pepper Oscar, a black and silver one, and a white and gray one. So cute! 

Other than the parking lot mishap, Oscar did great. He stayed close to us for the most part and played well with the other pups. He also did pretty well with his recall, too. All in all, a very good day of socialization and exercise - and I got to try out my new camera! Fun all around!

Plenty of room to run around and play!

Exploring...

Oscar perks right up when he sees other dogs.

One of the times that "Come" worked. Doggy lightning!

Oscar got wet after running around in the parking lot.

Snow in the paws...what a hassle!

Heading home.

The snow in his paws melted into pools of muddy
water in the car.  The waterproof car seat cover
came in very, very handy!