The dog park

I have two dogs. Buster is a 4 year old Boxer and Millie is a 6 month old miniature schnauzer. I have started taking Milli to the dog park when I go for my walk/run at the park. I know the names of 20 dogs and none of their owners. It seems to be the thing to introduce yourself through your dog. The protocol is: Bring dog through gate. Let sniffing commence. Then announce to the person next to you your dogs name and what they are like.

I'm not saying it's a dumb thing to do. I adore my dogs just as much as the other animal fanatics. In face, I find myself doing the same thing! I think that the dog park is not so much for our beloved canines, but for our socializing too. It's easier to talk to people you don't know when there is some kind of buffer to distance yourself from rejection. "It's not that they didn't like me, they just didn't like my dog," for example.

We all have a fear of rejection. A fear that for some reason or another, we won't be good enough for someone else. The challenge is not to "not care what people think". That's like accepting that you are not good enough and you just don't care that you aren't. The challenge is however, to accept that you won't be liked by everyone. You may not be so-and-so's cup of tea. It is not by any fault of your own (unless you purposely try to be abrasive) but it is other's individual likes and dislikes that clash with your own.

Stick with those that "get you" and let the rest go their own way. With a polite smile, of course.