Out and about in Saratoga

A busy and fun day! The temps were a bit cooler and the humidity was down.
9 dogs and 9 owners met at Saratoga State Park this morning. We walked through the tall pines, and past the winding creek.



We practiced skills we have taught our dogs: walking nicely on a loose lead, sitting patiently, greeting people politely.

The dogs had to be on lead in the park but we had long lines so the dogs could go a distance and play in the water.













We walked among the gardens of Hall of Springs, we wandered past the Gideon Putnam. We passed by joggers and cyclists.















We crossed over wooden bridges. We sat in the shade and relaxed.

On the way back to cars we passed a parking lot with a row of balloons on the ground. Not sure why they were in the parking lot but it was another life experience for the dogs.















Then off to the center of town we went. It is racing season in Saratoga. The town was crowded. It was a pleasure to be with well behaved dogs while crossing busy streets and walking along crowded sidewalks.



The dogs enjoyed the attention from the many people who stopped to pet them.














They practiced sitting nicely to be petted.






They practiced moving off to the side and staying in one place on crowded sidewalks.



We held each others dogs while we each went into cafes to get take out lunches. The dogs got to practice being out of sight from their owners.


We then walked to Congress Park for a picnic.













This was Golden Retriever Lily's first time with this group of dogs, she settled in nicely. Each of the dogs remained in a down or sit while we ate and watched the ducks waddle near the pond.





Of course we rewarded them for remaining in position.















Melissa had a taste of Frappuccino.







Caedi Corgi was totally relaxed, no matter where she was!



















Glory patiently waited for a little morsel of food to come her way.














Melissa and Tate played and wrestled on the grass.
















Dylan waited patiently with Keith, while mom went out of sight.






Then back into the center of town we went...for ice cream.















Puppy Tate at the age of 7 months has already learned to relax and wait patiently in distracting situations.







Glory and Caedi are pros at waiting but had an added distraction of balloons!















We met Shelby, a 4 month old puppy Golden, she enjoyed her first taste of ice cream while socializing on the streets of Saratoga. Johnny's Italian Ices and Ice Cream, on Broadway, has some of the best choices of flavors for us humans. We had the option of small portions for our dogs.






Melissa enjoyed a taste of vanilla ice cream.




It was a fun day to train our dogs at the state park and in a busy town with lots of distractions. What a great way to spend a summer day with friends and our dogs. A big thank you for Debi for taking the majority of the photos. She and Keith are the owners of German Shepherd Dylan.