Dogpark: Canine Diplomacy

Humans barely exist at the dog park. When we arrive there, our dogs tear from us to the fun and the freedom. Some dogs check in every so often. Others appear removed but the instant their owner leaves to use the port-a-john or go to his/her car, the dog is glued to the gate or follows tightly along the fence. Once the owner returns, however, the dog is gone again.

It's a highly social world in one respect but primal in another. Their behaviours are instinctive but the dogs create their own hierarchy. They don't campaign or lobby; they don't vote. Except for some mean misfits, they're easily tolerant...partially due to a lot of exploratory sniffing. The "leaders" don't impose or oppress, they simply stand up and out. The followers roll over, run away or hang out in the background or on the picnic tables.

The Great Danes are the largest in the park: Beatrice and Beauregard, Zyedeco. Maggie, our Great Dane puppy will catch up. Lulubelle, a mantle Great Dane and Dallas, a harlequin are up there. Sam, the Rhodesian Ridgeback/Rottweiler definitely is. And there are the Newfoundlands and St. Bernards, and a Great Pyreneees, all enormous in their own gallumphing way.

There's no "most popular" breed there, that I can see. Sure, there are yellow Labradors, the madcap Maisie and several Marleys and a mass of others. And often there'll be a gathering of Golden Retrievers, the "blondes have more fun" dogs of the park. Keith, one of them, is an adept ball thief, keeping as many as three stolen tennis balls in his jaws.

The black Labrador is everywhere and everywhichway. Elvis and Sophie and Addie are just three. The black and the yellow Labs are proactive and reactive, in perpetual motion. As are plentiful mixes, the Lab/Collie, Lab/Shepherds like Alex and Jake, Riley and Sonny. And there are the Lab/Beagles and the baying Beagles, themselves. And Puggles, Beagles crossed with Pugs. Oscar, an independent little fellow, is one of those. And many pure Pugs...like the steadfast Cruise...waddle and snort their way through the crowd.

The Border Collies, like Nicky and Indy, two of Maggie's favourites are supposed to be the smartest of dogs. What they are is tireless - with no sheep to herd.

Cruise has a bouncy, sturdy younger "sister", Amah, a ten-month-old Bull Mastiff . There are many "bull" dogs at the park, the muscular fighting breeds. Well, there's only one Bull Terrier, Claire. She's very happy-go-lucky. And a number of English Bulldogs snuffle about, as well, Simon being the most amiable. Mason, massive of girth and taller than the former, is the American version. He's not snuffly. The Pit Bulls and their mixes are popular, if not a little suspect. Most are rescue dogs and they're imposing. They bring with them their reputation. Missy, a brown and white, and Tuxedo, black with a white chest and white paws, have both been aggressive. But Melanie, a caramel Pit is like her colour. Tuxedo's "sister" Calley, though, a Pit Bull/Viszla mix sometimes plays viciously. And another, a cross between a Pit and a Dalmation looks intimidating. Maybe it's the light blue eyes.

Two Huskies, Koda and Aspen, seem scary. They're outdoor dogs and their owner says, "They're Alphas." And how about the Dobermans? You might expect them to be threatening, but Ozzie, a black and tan one, is merely bratty and a thief of anything loose, mostly plastic bowls, which he shreds. He's a nuisance. Milo, Zydeco's younger "brother", still a baby Doberman, is a disturber and a biter.

Dalmations dot the park; Weimaraners more than do. "Hunters" are all over the place: German Short-Haired Pointers, and Viszlas. Nell, the speedy Springer Spaniel is a hunter. So is Betty Lou, a Britanny Spaniel. And Finn, another Britanny Spaniel obsessively hunts his orange plastic ball.

Standard Poodles aren't common, but there are some, most noticeably a handsome black and apricot pair and Hopkins, (after the poet G.M. Hopkins), also black, who can be combative.

Not combative, but definitely crazy are the "Doodles": the Labradoodles and Goldiedoodles. In exchange for their non-shedding these dogs are energy unbound. They zip and zoom. Tucker, who pesters some of the bigger dogs to overreact, is a shaggy Labradoodle. Charlie, a curly, pale Goldiedoodle is bonkers, a barker and another ball thief.


If "Doodles" are the Roadrunners, then the tail-less Australian Shepherds like Phoebe and Chloe are the rockets. And Heidi, a Sheltie/Australian Shepherd mix is also jet-propelled.

I've seen a couple of Bouviers, especially a rare blonde one. There are giant Schnauzers. And once there were two Neopolitan Mastiffs, enormous blobs of melting skin. An Irish Wolfhound, a Scottish Deerhound and a Skyehound used to come. And Sarah, who was meek but is now bold is the only pure bred German Shepherd I've seen.

The Bassett Hounds like Annabelle are robust and rotund. She spends half the time at the park on her back waiting for her stomach to be rubbed and howls when it is. Buford is much younger and very lithe, (for a Bassett) and way more active. In fact, he's fast. Mavis, part Basset, part Lab looks exactly how you'd imagine.

The other day two tiny black and tan long-haired Dachshunds arrived. Apparently they'd been in a puppy mill for six years but they were not the least timid. All the Dachshunds are forthcoming, fearless. In fact, most of the little dogs are: the Bichons, the "Poo"-crosses, the miniature Schnauzers, the Cocker Spaniels and Pekinese, the Lhasas and Shi-tzus and Maltese. A couple of Chihuahuas. The Winstons and Lewis' and Maceys and Flopsys and Pipsys. Not to forget the Jack-in-the-box-Russells. They all hold their own.

If you got this far, you're probably thinking what a long list of breeds and mutts and their personalities. That's the point. Of course I can't remember all of them and their names. There are dozens. And these are all dogs from my daily regular time...3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, (later in the summer). But the park is open from 6:00 am until an hour after sunset. Think of all the dogs I've missed.

What I wanted to show is that if dogs had ethnicity, (which in a way they do with their genetic predispositions), they're a non-judgemental lot. There's an enviable accord at the park, a kind of canine diplomacy.

No single dog is rich or poor, beautiful or ugly. None is either a rampant Republican or a deep Democrat. None is a Bears or Viking fan. None adheres to a religion. No one dog holds another's breed against him/her. No one dog is snobbish or excluding. No one dog is a despot.


Dogs are not subtle. They show anger, jealousy, empathy, protectionism and possessiveness but these don't create a dog park war. Yes, there are sometimes small outbreaks of ferocity but they are short-lived, rapidly corrected. If the offending dog persists, he/she is banished.

The dog park is not a peaceable kingdom. But there, dogs rule and they could care less.