Random Thoughts on Dogs

Just a few thoughts I think about when walking Chewie through the park:

Being a good dog owner has very different meanings here than in the U.S. First off, people do not pick up their dog's poop on the sidewalk/street/park etc. One can get in trouble for not picking it up in the park, but we still see poop everywhere we go.  Our borough's website basically says that poop on the sidewalks/streets will get cleaned up.  It's all too strange for me.  I just have to pick up after Chewie, no matter where we are. Honestly though, people look at me like I'M the weird one, picking up poops from the sidewalk. The other thing that people look at me weirdly about is Chewie being on a leash (or lead, as it's called here.) You would think that I was walking Cujo.  Must be that lead equals untrained, aggressive dog because NO ONE uses a lead in parks here-- at all.  ALL dogs are off leash.  And all dogs seem to understand the rules: walk near owner, don't go berserk for other dogs and don't take off to the other side of the park.  Most owners/dogs play with one of those tennis ball extender thrower things and the dogs seem to go nuts for it.  Maybe that's how they are rewarded for good walking behavior. 

The lesson I've learned from all of this is that I'm a crazy person for picking up Chew's poo and keeping him on a lead.  Go figure.