Analyzing the Dog Park Culture

With the help of veteran dog owner friends, we've discovered the wonders of the local dog park and have enjoyed taking Princeton there for his socialization and exercise.

Wait, who am I kidding? It is pure entertainment for us. It's not always in the form of dogs either. Some of these owners are interesting.

But the big belly laughs and coos and "Aaawww"s come from watching the dogs play together. Or, in some cases, try to play together.

You see, the dog park is like high school. There are always a couple of dogs who are the leaders. The cool kids. This would be equivalent to the varsity quarterback or the student body president. This dog runs around wherever he or she pleases and a swarm of dogs buzzes around him or her, wanting to follow its every move.

That brings me to the followers. There are a bunch of loyal subjects who bow-wow down to the popular dog. These dogs are always a few steps behind and compete with other peer-level dogs for the popular dog's attention (which usually means mounting).

Then there are the dorks. It's probably easier to be a dog dork than a human dork as dogs don't really judge as harshly as humans do, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. The dog dorks run around with the playing dogs on the outskirts of their cluster. They keep trying to get "in" with a series of hops and tumbles, but they never quite make it. No one chases them and they can't break through the mold. You can usually see the owners sulking in disappointment that their dogs aren't accepted into the group. You know they're just saying things like "oh, Puggy, if only you didn't waddle so much and you could run a little faster, you could be in the cool crowd." The culture kills me; it's just too funny.

The dog park is like a microcosm of the real world in an ideal place.

For example, humans are not as friendly as dogs are. When passing by, we don't greet each other with a "hello" or a "how do you do?" In fact, we're considered overly friendly and invasive if we manage to make eye contact and half a smile. Dogs, however, just run up and sniff. Either they like what they sniff and continue the salutation or it doesn't knock their paws off and they move on. No hard feelings. Here, Princeton and a fellow pal sniff-hello.

When other dogs see two dogs socializing, they're more apt to join in. This doesn't happen in people world either. Most people are intimidated by what looks like an already-formed group. But for dogs, hey, the more the merrier.

But then, just like people, there are dogs out there who are all alone. They don't have anyone who loves them or anyone to love back. It warms my heart to see humans who come through and help the lonely dogs find homes. We do more for lonely dogs than we do for lonely people. Fortunately, the lonely dog always can find friends at the dog park. I'd like to think that my Princeton and our friend Scotty are giving him a pup pep talk and feeding him some encouragement.

As we humans do, and as I've done in this blog, we personify dogs. It's easier to relate to them that way, I suppose. So when we see dogs try to show dominance, we giggle because it looks like sex. And sometimes it actually is, but in so many ways, it's the dog version of a buff and confident human man flexing his muscles or a pretty and available woman who walks hip to hip in killer heels. But deep down, I am a child and I still think this is hysterical. Looks like he's not so lonely after all.

For the record, Scotty constantly does this to Princeton, too. In fact, I think Princeton is walking away on the right side of the picture because he feels a little betrayed. See? There we go with the personifying again.

But really, at the end of the day, especially a dirty, funny, and doggone happy time at the dog park, it's all about family in any combination. We love our dogs and we want the best for them, so we constantly try to provide them with the best lives they can have.

So we run with them in flip flops through the doggy yard:

 

We pet them and tell them "good boy!" and "good girl!" 

We collect our favorites and help find them specialized homes:

We document family time together:

We also make discoveries! It wasn't until the dog park outings that we realized Princeton is quite an athlete. He certainly didn't get his track and field genes from his parents! The Twelve Pound Turbo really turns it on and goes nuts around the grass. Take a look!

Princeton at the Dog Park from AliGoesBlogWild on Vimeo.