Thanks Blake! So true about having to balance ignoring with disagreeing ("corrections"). I like the idea of the sign being from the viewpoint of the dog. That's cute. Your set-up in NYC looks amazing. Cheers from the other coast!

Super info! Thanks so much!

Thank you for the tip. I am willing to try anything at this point. Not everyone has the sense of humor of a 10-year-old boy, and it ceases to be funny after awhile :)

No tool in dog training is a must-have or an absolute. True--some people can't imagine using a crate. Their choice. No judgment. Didn't mean to imply anything about misuse, either. Apologies if my sentence was poorly written. Thanks for your comment.

Thanks for your question. To clarify, I don't mean to imply that you should crate your dog 24/7. Clearly dogs need exercise, freedom, etc. I just meant the crate is a great tool for containing your dog when he can't be supervised IF you think your dog's safety or well-being could be compromised, such as in the case of destructive chewing behaviors (dangerous) or as a tool to help with separation anxiety (well being).

I don't know the exact specifics of the law for non-working (non-service) dogs, but I've found even the big chains (e.g. Rubio's, Chipotle) that usually have outdoor seating are inconsistent in their rule about dogs. I am able to sometimes just slip in and no one says anything, and then sometimes I'm told to remove my dog. It seems random.

Wow...I've never even thought of that. Thanks for the advice! I'll pass it along to my DIY clients.

The folks at Carmichael Dog Park are a great group of owners. This park is definitely worthy of neighborhood support. Bring some calendars by The Local Bark!

I so often see exactly what you're talking about. Owners of small dogs think that because their dog is OK with big dogs, it's all good. When I'm out with my dogs or client dogs and this happens (people bring smalls into the bigs) I usually put on the fall-on-my-sword face and say "Oh, you know what, I'm concerned that my big dog is going to accidentally hurt your little dog. He doesn't really have experience around little dogs which is why we stay here on the big dog side. I'd hate for anything to happen."

I agree re: trying different parks. SO TRUE about different parks having different owner-driven cultures.