As you might know, Romeo was neutered a couple of weeks ago (December 2010), so he was on limited physical activity for while. Last Friday was the first time since his neuter that I took him back to the dog park in Larkspur – 16.5 acres of wide open space. He was definitely in need of some serious physical activity, so I planned to attempt to run him ragged. I say attempt, because truly wearing him out is a task that is rarely accomplished.

We arrived about 9:15 in the morning. Normally, we stay for about an hour – which is far longer than most people stay. Most people will do a lap or two or three and then leave. Most of the time we're there, people leave, others come and leave, and we're still there.

For the most part, Romeo runs and sniffs and pees and runs and runs. He absolutely loves meeting all the other dogs, but since it's a big space, no one usually congregates in one area. Everyone tends to keep moving, so dogs meet, then move on and meet up again the next time around.  It's far less likely for dogs to get into fights because everyone keeps moving.

Romeo met probably 15-20 dogs on Friday, but most were short greetings and then we moved on. After we'd been there for over an hour, we met a guy with two Border Collies. One only cared about chasing the ball that was being launched for him, but the other was ready to herd any dog that would run. Romeo is not so much into chasing other dogs, but for whatever reason, loves to be chased. Once he got running, the Border Collie was in fast pursuit. Ahh, if only that could have gone on for about an hour, I might truly have had an exhausted dog! They chased for a bit, which was great. Believe me, the Border Collie was much better at it than I had been earlier when trying to burn off some of Romeo's energy.

We were just about to leave, when who did we see just arriving inside the gate but Romeo's best buddy in the whole world, August, the German Shepherd. They spotted each other and knew right away who the other was. Rather than racing over as Romeo normally does with new dogs, he and August stalked each other, then pounced. Well, we couldn't very well leave when his best buddy had just arrived, so we did another lap with them.

We were there for an hour-and-a-half, leaving just before 11 am. You would think with all the running, and meeting and playing with other dogs, that Romeo would be tired, right? But he was still racing around just as if we'd first arrived. Much as I would have liked to see him truly worn out, I really did have to get home and get some work done. So, while it was obviously some much needed exercise, it still wasn't enough to get him really tired.

When his buddy Ringo the Greyhound came to stay with us for the weekend – arriving a couple of hours after we arrived back home – Romeo was still ready to go!

Clearly, it takes a LOT to wear out Romeo. What does it take to wear out your dog?

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