Play Dates: Fun But Challenging Too
With my pal Hermione. It’s been said that golden retrievers have to be taught that not all people are friends, while we German shepherds have to be taught that not all people are enemies. My mom believes this old saying, so she has been on a mission to socialize me with other humans and dogs too. I go to play group at my trainer’s house where there’s a carefully selected group of dogs – border collies, Jack Russells, golden doodles, golden retrievers, and Portuguese water dogs. We all have mostly similar play styles and get along well. Play style is important. We German shephers love to chase, chase, chase, body slam, and bite necks. It can look rough, but generally isn’t. The Jack Russell in the play group loves to run too and is so fast that no one ever catches her. Oh, how I wish I could. That girl can run like the wind. If anyone gets too rough, the golden retrievers break up that group. They’re the peace keepers. There are also plenty of very attentive humans to make sure that w...