Photoessay #1202 - Ready Teddy

I brought my camera to the dog park the other day. I go just about every day. Here's my hangout, the Mountlake Terrace Offleash Dog Park. Only takes six minutes to drive there, always easy to park. It's an acre or so, fenced with two entrances. You can see that it's wooded and not level.

I joined my buddy Sterling there with his dog Crystal, a short-haired mostly Husky same age and size as Teddy. They've known each other forever and used to wrestle a lot. In fact, Teddy taught Crystal most of her moves. Sterling worried that puppy Crystal was not getting this wrestle thing. Teddy used to push and roll and knock her down. The next day Crystal put all the same moves back on him. We all cheered.

Crystal would still like to wrestle but Teddy no longer has time for such nonsense. Teddy wants to chase the ball. All ball all the time. He needs Fetch Anonymous (for dogs who like to retrieve to much). Teddy believes that everybody at the dog park has come to throw the ball for him. He works everybody. Here he has convinced Sterling to throw the ball and he breaks in anticipation. As usual, he's completely concentrating of the throw. He'll get that ball and bring it back and drop it at Sterling's feet.

I need a picture of what he does most. Working the people with his technique of dropping the ball at their feed, nudging it and looking up. Repeat until they give in. And they almost always do, they're suckers for him. Even people who know his game succumb.

Crystal just watches, what do those ball dogs see in it?

And look at those trucks! Where's Stevey when you need him? Stevey's an older border collie who believes it's his mission to herd the trucks that drive up and down the access road next to the dog park. Fortunately he thinks that he has to be in the dog park to do his work. He's completely on duty whenever he sees trucks. He would need to be monitoring the green truck and, at the same time, chase the white truck up the hill nipping and barking, running as hard as he can. A border collie's work is never done.

We've had some nice days this winter.