A Purpose Driven Dog

Tippi don’t cotton to random play or those long-haired hippie dogs.

Pretty much from the day we brought her home, Charlie had wanted to take Tippi to the dog park over in Oak Wood. I, on the other hand, had been stalling until I was sure that she would come when called. I wanted her to be “our dog” before we went to such a big area with so many other people and dogs.

The weather was so beautiful last night and Charlie pestered me like a small child until I gave in and we went for a quick visit before dinner. It was almost like Tippi had been there before; I think she just smelled all the dogs as we turned in to the parking lot.

We were lucky and weren’t rushed by a pack of dogs as we entered. Tippi started meandering around, sniffing and marking while Charlie and I followed her at a distance. At a certain point we joined the other owners in the “owners’ circle” and played with some of the other dogs. Tippi was doing well.

And like that it all changed - it was just a flash in my eye and there was a fight. Tippi and a black Chow mix started to scuffle around a group of three owners sitting in chairs. It just as quickly turned in to a full- fledged fight and several other dogs in the park joined in the fray.

Luckily I was standing very close by and sprang into action, grabbing Tippi by her collar, pulling her away from the pack, and stepping in between dogs with a Cesar Millan confidence. And it was all over just as quickly. The woman with the black Chow mix decided it was time to go home. Charlie, Tippi, and I ended up staying a little longer and having a conversation with some of the other dog owners, talking about Tippi being new to us. It was interesting how much more understanding people seemed once I said that we’d only had her for a couple of weeks.

Tippi typically calms down very quickly, so she stood very quiet and friendly like while we conversed. A couple of times the Bull Dogs and the Boxer came up to sniff Tippi again. Each time I made sure to step between them and Tippi’s head (she has “snout” issues), which worked very well.

Right before we left, a Golden Retriever who was part of the big scuffle strode through our little group and Tippi started to growl. I gave her a quick correction and it dawned on me: all the dogs she’s gotten mouthy with have had long fluffy fur. Huh! Guess she has a thing about those long-haired hippie dogs.

All in all it ended well. No one was hurt, unless you count the little old lady’s arm where the young girl next to her grabbed it so tightly it left a bruise. Charlie was disappointed that Tippi wasn’t running and playing, and it embarrassed him that she was in a fight.

This morning during our bike ride with Tippi she trotted and galloped and seemed to be having great fun … her fun needs to have purpose … she’s a Purpose Driven Dog.