Puppy Playtime...with a Lifeguard!

I am a huge dog lover, and I always talk about my Minnie.  Well, a couple of months ago, Piper joined our family, and  I gushed about her, too... 

However, what I'm discovering is that we haven't given Piper a real opportunity to be her own dog.  We want her to develop her very own personality, rather than how she acts around big sis, Minnie.

So, we went to Dog Train.  Diane Gallagher is the owner.  I met her when I did a Does It Work? story on the Bark-Off, which  you can still catch on America Now episodes.

Anyway, Diane suggested we bring Piper solo to puppy play time.  We went Saturday afternoon for an hour...at only $5 a pop.  One cool thing?  Two other rotties were there!

FYI - Times are Saturdays at 1:45 p.m. and Wednesdays during lunch.

Another great thing - the dogs.  Not only are they well-behaved (I'm assuming most are students of Diane's), but they're also carefully watched.  DON'T GET ME WRONG, I love the idea of taking my pups to dog parks.  But, I have realized there are often careless visitors--even careless dog owners--who shouldn't bring their dogs to the public parks.  I'm not even talking about the potential for fights.  I worry about germs, disease, broken glass, etc.  

The cool thing about Dog Train's play time is that it's puppy playtime with a lifeguard.  We all watch the dogs play, but nothing weird happens.  Diane will call for us to grab our dog's leashes when someone new walks in or out.  We don't have to worry about dogs stepping on broken glass or tripping in a hole.  She holds PPT on Saturdays and Wednesdays... and we can't wait to go back!  I may see you there sometime!

By the way, Piper hasn't quite figured out how to play with other puppies.  She's working on it.   So far, she just likes to follow around my husband.