finding new dog walking places along the Yarra River

How could I not have known about this great off-lead walking place so close to where we usually walk?

We regularly go to Willsmere Park, since the day I surreptitiously followed a car with a dog to see where they were going, because the windmilling tail of the dog in the back seat signalled that it must be a good destination.

But I didn't know there's another huge area adjacent to Willsmere, reachable by a ten to fifteen minute brisk on-lead walk along a bike path.. We've walked along this path before, but never gone far enough to find the new area.

I went further with Penny this time because she's having some problems with her joints and the vet reckons walking on lead is the best exercise. He says an older dog (or one with joint issues) is prone to injury if she races off from a standing start to full speed - which she did a couple of weeks ago when we were walking at night. She, with her super doggy senses, knew there was a cat hiding under a nearby car, shot off, came back when called, and - to our dismay - she was limping on the leg that so long ago had the cruciate operation.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, that's why we walked further than usual on lead. And this is what we found...

We are so lucky here in Melbourne to have all these lovely off-lead walks along the Yarra River.

some dogged detective work

As I was driving through Hawthorn yesterday, I saw a car pull out of a driveway in front of me and noticed two doggy tails wagging slowly in the back of the car. 'They're looking forward to a walk,' I thought. 'I wonder if there's a good spot around here?'

We dog walkers are a keen lot. I was willing to drive back to Hawthorn if there was a good place on that side of town. So I practised all my pursuit skills, honed from many a police drama on tv. I followed at a little distance, along main roads, around corners, through roundabouts, along narrow streets and - when I began to worry that the driver might think it strange that the same car was behind him for so many kilometres - even let another vehicle come between us.

But what was this? He was headed for my side of town. What did he know that I didn't?

It was a bit embarrassing when I ended up right behind the other vehicle in a small dead-end street at a park. I slid past, completed a three-point turn (actually about a thirteen-point turn) and headed on back, looking straight ahead as if I'd just happened to turn into that street by mistake.

I noted a sign saying 'Willsmere Park', so I had a look at Where Is? and saw that it was a huge area.

Today we headed off to explore, and were thrilled to discover it is an off-lead park.



There were a couple of rules to follow, and one was not to take an off-lead dog closer than thirty metres to an organised sporting event, so we walked on lead past the cricket match.





And then we arrived at the lovely beach (okay, I know the river is muddy, but that's normal for Melbourne at this time of the year).



And walked along the shady paths, watching out for snakes.



And one of us even rolled in the lovely green grass.

dogs and the joy of running

Walks are one thing. Pretty good fun. But running...ah, that is sheer joy for Penny. So I thought I'd find lots of good pictures of her racing across the grass in various places if I searched our 'canine archives', but there are surprisingly few. Surprisingly few in focus - for reasons that relate to my photographic skills and Penny's speed.

I'm looking for photos because Rusty suggested that on Saturday next we bloggers have a 'joy of running' day.I want to take part because it will be fun. But also because it's a message that needs to be sent to 'them'. Those who want to see our dogs walking along beside us all the time on short leads, obedient, constricted, restrained, dominated, leashed... Oh, I could go on for hours seeking the right phrases to express the only way 'they' think a dog should interact with humans.

Not that I don't agree that dogs need to be taught to walk quietly on lead. To interact calmly with humans of any age.

But sometimes they need to run. And we need to make sure our city planners don't take away our right to run off-lead.

Australian leader of the opposition is a dog blogger

Since I started Penny's blog I've found lots of interesting people who like to write about life with a dog. It was a surprise, though, to see a story about a prominent Australian dog blogger on page one of mx - a daily paper designed to be read on the evening train commute by people who've lost half their wits during a long, tiring day at work.

Malcolm Turnbull, the Leader of the Opposition, was accused of updating Twitter posts about his dog blog during Question Time in Parliament.

Of course I took a look around the Net to find his dog blog. Call me easily influenced, if you like, but this is one of the few times I've warmed to a politician. I really liked the posts I read.

I particularly liked the one about Embarkation Park. Jojo the dog (aka Malcolm Turnbull, or whoever writes it - can't quite get rid of the cynical attitude to politicians, unfortunately) quotes one of my heroes in the fight to protect the millennia-long bond between dogs and humans - Clover Moore, whom I've written about previously when she proposed a bill to ban the sale of dogs in pet shops. On Turnbull's blog she is quoted as saying

"regular off-leash exercise helped dogs socialise and release pent-up energy, reducing nuisance behaviour such as uncontrolled barking."

Recently there has been an endless, fraught debate about the use of some of the local Darebin Parklands for off-leash exercise of dogs. Seeing the vital role of off-leash exercise mentioned on the blog of the Leader of the Opposition gives me heart that this issue has some powerful supporters.