Saturday, May 1, 2010

Dog Park Afternoon....

This afternoon we all went for a walk down to the lake. Not a real lake....well...it’s real enough, but it’s man made. Over here they build many housing estates around man made lakes. They’re lovely and usually have paths to walk around or to ride your bicycle or take your dog for a walk.
We took Marley and Jasper with us. Daddy wanted to scout out the lake for any good fishing spots.

He’s taken the children back fishing now while I stayed home and bathed our two very dirty boys.

The dogs were so excited and for the first time ever they both willingly jumped into the lake and swam. We had them on their extendable leads and they swam to the extent they could, but if we had let them go they would have kept swimming out into the middle of the lake. The water was clean but around the entrance where fresh water meets salt water the soil is a dark orange/red colour and the dogs were orange from head to toe
Especially Marley!

The lake is salt water. It streams in from the ocean but is protected against any large fish or sharks coming in. I have seen stingrays in there years ago so some must slip in and then grow and not be able to swim out again. Marley and Jasper got so very dirty that we decided seeing that they would need a bath anyway, to take them to a nearby dog park afterwards on the way home so they could run around.

What funny boys we have
There were so many dogs there today

It was a lovely crisp Autumn day. Whenever we take them walking on their leads they are straining to get as far away as possible from us, but as soon as we let them off the lead they fret and won’t go more than a few feet away from me.
I found it hard to take photos of Marley because he spent most of the hour we were there right between my legs.

And when he could have been playing with the other dogs he was up on the bench like a human!

Silly puppy!

Just take a look at the look on his face

“Mummy come back....don’t leave me!”

The children had more fun running around with the other dogs than Marley and Jasper did.

Here’s Banjo the Jack Russell Terrier who likes to play soccer with his big pink ball.

And this big fellow named Hammer who kept wanting to drink our puppies water.

Jasper was very cautious meeting new friends. Especially dogs as big as Hammer!

He spent a lot of the time sitting with Daddy and I under the rotunda and just wimpering.
We kept telling them both “Go and Play!”...but they wouldn’t leave us and just watched from the side lines.

The dog park has two sections. It’s all fully enclosed and safe and has drinking troughs scattered about.

The larger section is for bigger dogs and is about one acre in size. Then off to one side there is a smaller park for little dogs. We took the boys to the larger park first because we thought they’d love to run and run and run...but it just made them fret seeing all that competition and the big dogs.

Then we took them into the smaller dog park and they seemed a bit happier.

WARNING!
THE FOLLOWING IMAGES MAY OFFEND SOME VIEWERS...
By the time we went into the smaller dog park Marley was a slobbering mess!
I don't often get to photograph him in such a dirty state....and just as well.

Don’t you think it’s funny how people name their dogs.
Banjo with his pink ball was owned by a young woman in her 30s who seemed to be very easygoing.

Then there was McDougall and Molly the Toy Poodles all dressed up in their little coats, owned by an elderly Scottish lady.

She explained to me that there are four types of poodles, Standard, Mini, Toy and then there’s the Tea Cup Poodles. I’ve never heard of that one. They’re very tiny apparently. What a gorgeous name
"Tea Cup Poodle"
I must look them up.

Later in came another lady in her 30s – very stylish, fully done up with her make up, hair, nails, perfume, even high heels...at the dog park!
She was very friendly and called everyone “Daarling...and...Gorgeous.” In her arms she held a white ball of fluff who she called "Blossom"
he he he....had to laugh, because she just looks like a Blossom don’t you think. She’s a Bichon Frise.

Where we live we seem to have an endless supply of white fluff ball dogs
Here’s the "Fluff Ball" convention

Maltese x Lhasa Apso, Maltese x Shih Tsu, Lhasa x Shih Tsu, Bichon Frise...they all look very similar to me, but so many of them!!!
Hmm....gets me thinking...what do Marley and Jaspers' names tell about our family.

...and once again after a long adventurous afternoon we headed home all tuckered out and dirty.

PS. Daddy and the kids just got home. They caught five Bream, one Butterfly fish and two mullets.
Here's a lovely big 48cm Mullet for dinner tomorrow night...mmm!

3 comments:

  1. What a fun day it was! Poor Marley looks pityful with his wet ears (but still cute!). Here, we also have lots of "small white fur balls" and I always mix them up. Is this one a bichon or a poodle? When there a mixed breed in the gang, I'm completely lost!!!

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  2. What a fun day!! I see Puppia vests on the white fluffer dogs too. Miss Kodee and Miz Becky are ok with large dogs, its Mom who has issues lol

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  3. Marley and Jasper! What a fun day and wow, look at that huge fish! Did you get a chance to taste? We think your names tell us good things... now we wonder how others think of ours, especially after our wine post. hahaha. Our mom's mom has some tea cup doggies. One of them, tea cup chihuahua is so tiny and she can sit on our mom's palm. That's impossible!!

    Momo & Pinot

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