Apparently Isaac's "Please Don't Pet Me, I'm Working" Patch Isn't Sufficient

Isaac has a patch on his vest that says "Please Don't Pet Me, I'm Working."  But that is apparently not sufficient.  I need a patch that says "Do Not Pet Me, Talk to Me, Make Kissy Noises at Me, Bark at Me, Meow at Me, or Otherwise Bother Me."  I don't think all that would fit on Isaac's vest, though.

Yesterday, Isaac and I were in line at Kroger when an employee started talking to him, making kissy noises at him, etc.  "Oh, pretty, pretty doggie.  I can't pet you.  I'm sorry.  I would pet you but I'm not allowed.  It says so right there on your thing.  I'm sorry, baby.  Pretty doggie."

Isaac was so good.  He looked at her and that was it.  In the past, he would have tried to go to her and asked to be petted.

Staying Safe at Dog Parks

Since my new home is within a reasonable driving distance of a couple of dog parks, Isaac and I have been going to dog parks more often.  Isaac's trainer warned me to be very careful about visiting dog parks, and I've heard concerns from others about the safety of dog parks, as well.  I am cautious, and so far our experiences have been good, so I wanted to share some safety tips.

If you go to dog parks with your dog:

• Consider going to parks that are not very crowded, or at times when they aren't very crowded.  The more dogs present, the greater the chance of a dog fight breaking out.
• Don't take your dog to dog parks if he is aggressive at all or doesn't get along well with other dogs.  If your dog behaves aggressively at all while at a dog park, leave immediately.
• If another dog behaves aggressively toward your dog while at a dog park, leave immediately.  Yes, ideally the owner of the other dog would take her dog and leave, but if she doesn't, you need to remove your dog in order to keep your dog safe.
• Don't take any food or treats to dog parks.  Dogs are likely to fight over it.
• Do take water for your dog.  Some dog parks have water available, some don't, and even parks that normally do have water available may not have any for whatever reason on the day you visit.  You can give your dog water at your car, you don't need to take it into the park with you, but have fresh water available for your dog.
• Don't take toys to the dog park if it's against park rules (check before you go).  Don't take toys if your dog doesn't share well with others, because there is a good chance other dogs will want to play with his toys.  Only take toys that should be safe for any dog at the park; that means, if you have small dog but there might be big dogs at the park, don't take small toys that bigger dogs could choke on.
• Don't throw sticks for your dog at the park.  Dogs can get splinters in their mouths and get very sick or even require surgery.  If you need to throw something for your dog to catch, take a safe dog toy.
• Keep your dog on a leash until you get inside the fenced area.  Take your dog off the leash as soon as you get inside the fenced area.  Don't use flexi-leads or retractable leashes at the dog park, because dogs can wrap them around other dogs' legs or people's legs and injure other dogs or people.
• Pick up after your dog.  Not only is it gross to leave dog poop lying around, it's unsanitary and dogs and people can end up getting sick.  Avoid dog parks where you see lots of dog waste on the ground.
• And most importantly, always - always, always, always - make sure your dog is wearing a collar with an identification tag that includes a current telephone number.  If you have a cell phone, have that number on your dog's tag and take your cell phone with you to the park.  If your dog somehow gets loose, someone could find him and call you while you are still at the park.

Spoiled Doggie Got a Basketball at the Thrift Store

He was thrilled, of course. 

Can you tell from this picture how big his mouth is?

Went to the Doggie Beach Yesterday

It was quite overcast, and I guess due to that and being the holiday, it was practically deserted.  There were only two other doggies there, which I liked.  The more crowded it is, the more likely it is that someone's dog is aggressive or doesn't get along well with others, and disagreements break out.

I got a picture of the beach, so you can see it.  See how the fence goes out into the water?  And then there are buoys that keep the dogs from swimming out too far.  But I haven't seen any dogs even go as far out as the buoys.  They mostly stick pretty close to shore.

It was starting to rain a little as we were leaving and by the time we got home, it was pouring.  Isaac was still wet from the lake, mind you.  But he did not want to get out of the car because it was raining.  I was standing there, holding the car door open, telling him, "Unload.  Unload.  Isaac, unload!"  And he was looking at me like I was a complete idiot, wanting him to get out in the rain.

Like a Good Neighbor, Isaac Is There

Isaac is very popular among our new neighbors.  Most of them, anyway.  There is one woman that lives here that does not seem to like him.  Twice he's tried to sniff her hand and she yanked her hand away like she was disgusted.  That's OK, though.  I know not everyone likes dogs.  I keep  him away from her now.

But everyone else seems to love him.  I think it's funny because several of them think Isaac loves them especially much.  They want him to snuggle them and give them kisses, and he's happy to oblige, but then they say things like, "Oh, he just loves me doesn't he?"  And, "He doesn't do this with anyone else, does he?"  And I'm thinking, "Well, yeah, he does love you, but he loves everyone, and yeah, actually, he does this with anyone that will let him."  I don't say that, though.  I just say, "Yep, he loves you a lot."

There is a patio on the side of my apartment building and some of my neighbors like to sit out there and now that Isaac has figured out there are often people out there, every time we go outside he makes a beeline for the patio to see whose there and socialize with them a bit before we take our walk.  He also entertains them by rolling around on the grass, crawling under the picnic table on his belly, and just looking silly.

Isaac likes plastic soda bottles and a few of my neighbors discovered this when one of them was drinking drinking from a plastic water bottle and he caught sight of it and start barking and begging for it.  He finally poured out the rest of  his water, the nice guy, and gave Isaac the bottle.  I'm not sure why Isaac likes those bottles so much.  I think part of it is the noise they make when he bites them.  He got so excited about that bottle, he pulled the leash out of my hand and raced around the lawn in circles.  My neighbors got a big kick out of that.  Now, they save their soda bottles for him.  A new guy just moved into the building and the other neighbors have informed him that he should save his soda bottles for Isaac.  Isaac is a super spoiled doggie.

I like it that they all like Isaac so much and I think he is good for them, too.  Everyone in my apartment building is disabled.  A number of them are also elderly.  I think they are probably a little lonely and bored.  The unconditional love of a super snuggly doggie must be a good thing for them.  He's sort of like an unofficial therapy dog or something.