Two Weekends Ago...

Badger and Mushroom attended a play group we found on Meetup! Llamaentity was apprehensive at first, since we had both agreed not to take the dogs to a dog park for reasons best summed up by this post by A Heartbeat at My Feet. But I maintained that the play group would be different, and in the end, my excitement won out over Llamaentity's fear, and off we went.

Excitement!

It was a smashing success! Some aspects that worked out particularly well for us were:

• Supervision - The play group was held at a doggy daycare facility, and quite a few staff members were onsite. Before we could enter the play area, we had to give them proof that our dogs were vaccinated. Additionally, all of the other dog owners were very attentive.
• Size - The facility had two indoor play areas and one outdoor area. Each area was no larger than twice the size of my living room (without the furniture). Badger and Mushroom are both runners, but the small area didn't give them a chance to run away, as a larger area would have.
• The Dogs - A lot of the attendees were regulars, and their dogs were familiar with and comfortable around each other. Also, most of the dogs were quite a bit larger than Badger, and Mushroom was the smallest dog in the group. All but one of our dog-owning friends have small dogs, so we've been hesitant to set up play dates, since our dogs are very energetic.

If I recall correctly, this horse mastiff weighs 150 lbs

I guess she really is cross-eyed...

Badger found plenty of soft toys to destroy

"Outta my way!"

The play group meets monthly, so hopefully we'll be able to make it back next month! Also, I've decided to split the play group recap into two posts, so tomorrow's post will be on what I learned about Badger and Mushroom and what we ought to work on before going back.

What are some of your favorite places for socializing your dogs and why?

Credit for all photos goes to Best Friends Pet Care.